Social Media: The Fifth Estate

By Omkar Joshi and Deepak Krishna

Ever since an awesomely nerdy student got drunk, got blogging and got insanely creative, Social Media
has emerged as the biggest revolution of our times. The advent of internet had already made us all
inhabitants of a global village, and social media has been the raging wild fire in the digital jungle
surrounding that village. There was no way to remain untouched by it. It was just a matter of time
before everyone you knew was there, and as a completely justifiable consequence, so were you. And
what became of our student? Well, his creation (and consequently his bank balance!) has become the
most talked about phenomenon on the planet. So much so, that it now boasts of being comparable to
some countries in terms of its citizens and the monies involved.
If anything can rival Social medias acceptance, it is its effectiveness. And quite rightly so. It has provided
means to share views, achievements, happiness, concerns, random rumblings like never before. I dont
know you and hence might not particularly like it if you were to come up to me and ask about my new
job or new car. And yet, Id happily put it on all my social profiles (may be even accompanied by some
cheery images) for the entire world to see. Weve had technological wizardries before, but nothing has
dissolved boundaries and shortened distances like this.
Personal gratifications aside, it has a very profound and distinct business aspect. It has paved way for a
real dialogue between the seller and a buyer and that at too at almost no extra cost. As a seller, you can
reach out to your customer like never before and can receive all the glowing commendations your
customers have to shower on you. At the other end of the rope, as a buyer, you can rest assured that
youll never miss out on the best that your favorite store has to offer, and also that your complaints will
be heard by the entire world and not just your disinterested cat.
And this medium has already started to influence as well as portray public sentiment, and shape as well
as drive corporate decisions. The social media campaign for the movie Ship of Theseus, for example,
made use of both push and pull powers of the medium. The movie which was initially slotted to release
only at a select few centers gave people a chance to get the movie to their city by voting on Facebook.
This works in the favor of both the parties. As a viewer you get to watch a movie you wanted to see but
was not getting released anywhere near you; as a producer/distributor, you can create a buzz for the
product ensuring that your foray into a territory will be well received, thereby reducing risk as much as
possible.
They say that statistics do not lie and so let us also take a look at some numbers. Indias population of
internet users stands at about 151 million (Source: U.S. Census Bureau Population data, retrieved 26th
June 2013). That number is almost equal to the entire population of Italy, Spain and Australia put
together. Talking about the most popular face of social media, the Facebook, the total number of users
in India is almost equal to the entire population of the United Kingdom. In other words, when a
merchant in the UK puts together a national level marketing campaign, across multiple channels making

sure that he reaches out to the entire population, a merchant in India can get through to an equal
number by simply showcasing his business on Facebook! And all this is still barely scratching the surface.
The internet usage is at about 12.6% of the total population, against 43% in China and 81% in the US,
two countries above India in terms of total number of internet users (Source: International
Telecommunications Union Geneva Report, retrieved 22nd June 2013). It does not take great math skills
to understand and appreciate the scope and potential this medium promises and the power it will come
to yield in the coming days.
To say that we have already accepted both the social and the media aspect of this revolution would be a
grossly incompetent understatement. What we should indeed interest ourselves with is the exciting
opportunities that this revolution will keep churning out for you, me and everyone from all walks of life
as it keeps growing and captivates more and more people with each coming day.
Omkar and Deepak run Adventura Media, a national Brand Marketing and Advertising Agency based in Goa and
Ahmedabad, with expertise in Integrated Campaigns, New Media and Design. They can be reached at
9850478887 or adventuramedia@gmail.com.