Social Media; The new word of mouth in a “socialnomic” world If we were to think back to the first popular form of social media that we remember, be it Xanga, MySpace, etc., and contrast its influence in our daily lives with that of more recent social media networks such as Facebook and Twitter, the difference we observe would be notable. Recently, tweets and Facebook status updates are taking the place of print and online reviews. It is comparable to television commercials and targeted advertising. It has become so sensationalized in almost every part of our daily lives that we ordinary people have unintentionally become advertisers ourselves. As we promote ourselves through such social means, we also promote the products and services we use. It has become a real phenomenon, one that can make or break a small business. A brick-and-mortar business that wasn't started online and doesn't operate much or doesn't operate on the Internet still needs a social media presence, because it's likely to have one with or without your participation. Social media is not a fad, it is a revolution, a total change in the way we communicate. People talk. People tweet. People post. Social media has become the new word of mouth. Looking now at the kind of forms of social media that have dominated our lives on a large scale, one must consider Facebook as the alpha social medium. According to the research, Facebook has violated the top dog status and even beat porn as the number one activity on the web. To illustrate how radically popular it is, let's look at the numbers compared to other technological innovations. To reach 50 million users, it would take 38 years on radio, 3 years on TV, 4 years on the Internet to get that many followers. How...... middle of paper...... enter your Facebook page. Voila! Not only have you scared away more customers, but you've also created an instant focus group to test your cakes and other treats.” Work Cited PageHendricks, D. (2014, May 25). 3 ways are a driving business revolution. [Web log post] Retrieved May 21, 2014, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/drewhendricks/2014/02/25/3-ways-social-media-is-driving-a-business-revolution/ Kunkel, Richards E. (2013, February 25). 15 Social Media Statistics Every Business Needs to Know [Web log post] Retrieved April 15, 2014, from https://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/advisor/15-social-media-statistics-every-business-needs-know- 001509118.htmlRodriguez, N. (2011, August 10).Ten myths about social networks for small businesses. [Web log post] Retrieved April 18, 2014, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/nealrodriguez/2011/08/10/ten-myths-about-social-networking-for-business/