Social Media - is it already being overused by so-called Marketers?

Hi all, it's good to be back writing after a while.

Now, this thing get me started to write again. I opened my Facebook account today, only to find there are tons of people trying to sell something. Some event hardly related to me, like some people might think that I would like to buy a decorated-bra from Facebook? I think you can have groups, fan pages in FB so that you don't need to bother others by going to personal walls and offering something. At one point, it is a smart move to run your business going online, without the worries of space, permits, regulations, and tax avoiding. However, I found it difficult to justify that it is fair for everyone to try selling things and post it on someone's wall without any permissions.

It is also interesting to find that some of my friends really do buy things from FB, which make me wonder, that's why this "online selling" is getting bigger and bigger, because there's a market.

As most of you knew it before, Indonesia is ranked third only behind US and UK in Facebook users (as of Aug 2010). And I have a huge confidence that in term of postings, Indonesia must be way bigger than its users number, given the fact that Indonesians are famously known as chatters.

Let's go a bit theoretic on social media. As I found in Wikipedia, the term social media defined by Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein as "a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, which allows the creation and exchange of user-generated content."^[1] Businesses may also refer to social media as consumer-generated media (CGM). A common thread running through all definitions of social media is a blending of technology and social interaction for the co-creation of value.^{[citation needed]}

People gain information, education, news, etc., by electronic media and print media. Social media are distinct from industrial or traditional media, such as newspapers, television, and film. They are relatively inexpensive and accessible to enable anyone (even private individuals) to publish or access information, compared to industrial media, which generally require significant resources to publish information.

One characteristic shared by both social media and industrial media is the capability to reach small or large audiences; for example, either a blog post or a television show may reach zero people or millions of people. Some of the properties that help describe the differences between social media and industrial media are:

1. Reach - both industrial and social media technologies provide scale and are capable of reaching a global audience. Industrial media, however, typically use a centralized framework for organization, production, and dissemination, whereas social media are by their very nature more decentralized, less hierarchical, and distinguished by multiple points of production and utility.
2. Accessibility - the means of production for industrial media are typically government and/or privately owned; social media tools are generally available to the public at little or no cost.
3. Usability - industrial media production typically requires specialized skills and training. Conversely, most social media production does not require specialized skills and training, or requires only modest reinterpretation of existing skills; in theory, anyone with access can operate the means of social media production.
4. Immediacy - the time lag between communications produced by industrial media can be long (days, weeks, or even months) compared to social media (which can be capable of virtually instantaneous responses; only the participants determine any delay in response). However, as industrial media begin adopting aspects of production normally associated with social media tools, this feature may not prove distinctive over time.
5. Permanence - industrial media, once created, cannot be altered (once a magazine article is printed and distributed changes cannot be made to that same article) whereas social media can be altered almost instantaneously by comments or editing.

Please keep in mind, there are lots of misinterpretation between Social Media and Social Networking.

A social network is a social structure made up of individuals (or organizations) called "nodes", which are tied (connected) by one or more specific types of interdependency, such as friendship, kinship, common interest, financial exchange, dislike, sexual relationships, or relationships of beliefs, knowledge or prestige.

It is also interesting to see that there is a big development of online dating services going into social network media, such as Facebook.

Personally, I agreed to maximize the social media as part of your marketing strategy in promoting your products/services, what I may completely disagreed is on the way you use it. To simplify, let's take Facebook for the case. If you want to promote, you can use the fan page, create a group, or approach groups that put the same interest as your target market. You should not promote directly to others' walls, or tag your friends with your merchandise. Do it with class, provide a group that cater your target market's needs and wants. It may take longer to generate sales, however, it will be better for the long run, as you will build community, not just impulse buyers. You have to pick your poison; if you want to generate sales, do it from your corporate website or designated online sales website. Social media is more appropriate to be part of your Public Relation tools, to understand more on your potential target market, and to create loyalty.

What will happen in the future if there is no strict regulation on how people would promote their offerings? I bet there will be more and more people trying to sell something on FB. What I do now is that I delete it right away for those who tags me or writes on my wall with their offerings, which at times annoyed me. What do you think? Is the social media already being overused? Please share your thoughts, and I will be gladly discuss on this issue.