#technology shapes #history: social media, marketing and human development

Abstract

The author addresses three key research questions: 1. What is the theoretical and historical background for a society shaped by social media? 2 What are some of the predominant characteristics of Web 2.0 and how have they shaped and been shaped by present-day interpretations of community, identity and communication? 3. What are the effects that social media has had on marketing and advertising, and vice versa? All these questions will be answered within the framework of the historical progress that brought us here, with a heavy focus on the effects of the capitalist consumer-oriented economy. Because social media and marketing are intricately linked, the author explores why they are connected and how that connection is shaping our society. By posing these questions, she hopes to describe in detail the positive and negative impacts that social media has had on the ways we relate to one another and to ourselves, while looking at the subject through a critical lens. The author describes her own experiences as a social media marketer, developing social media properties for several different companies, including an Ecuadorian vegetable chip company, the Kalamazoo College Economics Department, bars and street festivals in Chicago, and programs on Detroit's National Public Radio station. The author concludes with concrete suggestions for developing a social media strategy.