How Social Media Has Evolved and Where It Is Headed

Want to prepare for emerging social technologies and marketing tactics?

Wondering how to reach your audience as algorithms change?

To explore the past, present, and future of social media marketing, I interview Brian Solis.
More About This Show
The Social Media Marketing podcast is an on-demand talk radio show from Social Media Examiner. It's designed to help busy marketers, business owners, and creators discover what works with social media marketing.

In this episode, I interview Brian Solis, a digital analyst and futurist at the Altimeter Group. He's considered one of the founding fathers of social media marketing. He authored The Social Media Manifesto and the book Engage. His most recent book is X: The Experience When Business Meets Design.

Brian explores the insights revealed in his most recent update to The Conversation Prism.

You'll discover how human aspiration and intent can help you reach your desired audience as social media continues to evolve.

Share your feedback, read the show notes, and get the links mentioned in this episode below.
Listen Now

Here are some of the things you'll discover in this show:
How Social Media Has Evolved and Where It Is Headed
Social Media in 2007

The early days of social media were a really exciting time, Brian explains. After Web 2.0 in Silicon Valley in the mid-2000s, Facebook opened to the public in 2006, Twitter appeared in 2007, and early social networks like Friend Feed and Friendster were still around. Some people saw the promise of social media but most of the world had no idea. There was zero direction. Social media was, and still is in some ways, the Wild West.

When Brian wrote The Social Media Manifesto, he was thinking about the idea of a revolution. Social media had the potential to be a great democratizer of information. Social media was a platform where everyone could share their voice.

As someone who struggled to get through to traditional media or buy media to reach people, Brian believed that the ability to reach people directly and people-to-people engagement were going to be the future of all media. Brian wrote the manifesto so individuals, marketers, brands, and traditional media would think about the potential and how to be part of the movement, rather than try to control it and broadcast through it.

At the time, Brian ran a couple of companies, including an early digital agency/lab dedicated to helping startups reach their markets.

Using techniques that might be considered "growth hacking," the agency found clever, nontraditional ways of helping companies with few resources get as big as they could so they could get acquired, make an IPO (initial public offering), or simply reach profitability. Brian was in and around the development of not only social media but also many other social technologies.

Brian says after the rise and fall of Web 1.0, Web 2.0 showed promise but was then hit with the economic challenge of the 2008 recession. However, Brian was interested in the way social media seemed almost recession-proof. It took everything by storm. For instance, South by Southwest Interactive enjoyed a surge in popularity around 2005 through 2007 with the rise of Web 2.0 and social media.

Plus, it was the beginning of entrepreneurship, at least in this era. Everybody in every industry was suddenly a social media pro. You had marketers, advertisers, coaches, you name it. Everybody latched onto social media because it seemed like it was the next gold rush.

Social media showed the promise of fantastic opportunities, not just from a market or a profit standpoint, but for changing the world. Brian wanted to do his part to steer social media in a positive and productive direction.

Listen to the show to hear more about the evolution of the Internet and social media.

The Conversation Prism

Brian started working on The Conversation Prism in 2007, and it officially launched in 2008 at South by Southwest w...