Anyone who knows me well is very much aware of the fact that I’m known as “Mr. Technology”! NOT! I’m still learning how to use all of the features on my cell phone. I flush my toilet and the garage door opens! However, I strive to keep up as much as I can with my limited capabilities.

Ironically, I have been encouraging a number of our clients to take advantage of the many technical options available to them today as they strive to compete in a very chaotic and competitive business environment.

I’m also very much a rookie when it comes to social media, although I have recognized its phenomenal growth and the impact it’s having on the business world.

I vividly remember several major clients laughing aloud at the suggestion of investigating the impact and possibilities of utilizing social media. That was two years ago. Today, they are aggressively pursuing the benefits of this new revolution. Sadly, some of them are doing so as a result of watching their competition beat them to the punch.

If you are one of those many who thinks social media is a passing fad and has no place in your life or that of your business or organization, you might be interested in the following information. In fact, you’d BETTER be!

Social media is the biggest shift since the Industrial Revolution!

By the end of 2010, Generation Y will outnumber Baby Boomers!

96% of Generation Y have joined a social network!

Social media has overtaken porn as the #1 activity on the web!

1 out of every 8 couples married in the U.S. last year met via social media!

It took radio 38 years to reach 50 million users.

It took TV 13 years to reach 50 million users.

It took the Internet 4 years to reach 50 million users.

It took the iPod 3 years to reach 50 million users.

Facebook added 100 million users in less than 9 months!

iPod application downloads hit 1 billion in 9 months!

If Facebook were a country, it would be the world’s 4th largest! …

Yet, China’s QZone is even larger with well over 300 million users!

A 2009 U.S. Department of Education study revealed that on average online students outperformed those receiving face-to-face instruction.

1 in 6 higher education students are enrolled in online cirriculum.

80% of companies are using LinkedIn as their primary tool to find employees.

The fastest growing segment on Facebook is 55- to 65-year-old females.

80% of Twitter usage is on mobile devices—people update anywhere, anytime—imagine what that means for bad customer experiences?

Generation Y & Z consider e-mail passe.

In 2009 Boston College stopped distributing e-mail addresses to incoming freshmen.

YouTube is the 2nd largest search engine in the world!

YouTube currently boasts 100,000,000 videos!

WIKI is an Hawaiian term meaning: QUICK.

Wikipedia has more than 13 million articles. Recent studies show it’s more accurate than the Encyclopedia Britannica! 75% of these articles are non-English.

There are more than 200,000,000 blogs. 54% of bloggers post content or tweet daily.

78% of consumers trust peer recommendations … only 14% trust advertisements!

hulu has grown from 63 million total streams in April 2008 to 375 million in April of 2009!

Only 70% of 18- to 34-year-olds have watched TV on the Web and only 33% have ever viewed a show on DVR/TiVo.

25% of Americans in the past month said they watched a short video … on their phone!

35% of book sales on Amazon are for the Kindle!

24 of the 25 largest newspapers in the U.S. are experiencing record declines in circulation.

More than 1.5 million pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photos, etc.) are shared on Facebook—daily!

SOCIAL MEDIA ISN’T A FAD, IT’S A FUNDAMENTAL SHIFT IN THE WAY WE COMMUNICATE. LEARN ABOUT IT, MASTER IT, USE IT TO YOUR ADVANTAGE!