Cullmann Design Blog

CNET’s Rafe Needlemen has written a post forecasting what’s to come for social media in ’12. Among some excellent insight into the maturing mobile space and it’s impact on social media networks and some deliberation on this year’s IPO, Rafe hits on a point about the impact of social media on the 2012 Presidential Elections.It’s early for politics, but the last presidential election happened just as social media was getting widespread traction. Today, over 65% of adults, or a majority of “The People” are on Facebook and other social media networks. The campaign polls of only a few years ago are replaced by real-time feedback based on Facebook “likes”, website data, and online polling. The role that social media is going to play in the shaping of this political campaign cannot be underestimated. This is good and bad: The transparency and accessibility of social media makes it attractive to a new generation of voters. The widespread miss-information (and savvy of campaigns using these techniques) is a challenge for those seeking real platform information on candidates. Both parties are looking to win new voters and keep constituents with use of this still new medium.

The use of social media does not stop on Facebook. Look for campaigns that smartly deploy #hashtags in their television and print campaigns. Hashtags are search tags used to help those multi-tasking viewers participate in conversations happening on Twitter and other social networks while they watch television or listen to live broadcasts. These tags (#glee #superbowl, #egypt, etc) help group people, messages, and topics in a busy stream of information. The effect is like creating a channel to follow-along with interactively and participate along with an event or program. The Washington Post has already published a guide for Hashtags Guide for the 2012 Elections to help users, and political groups arrange their media programs.

2012 should bring new campaigns in social media and also many more users for the big networks like Facebook and Twitter. It’s very promising for those new to this kind of truly interactive media and I hope it brings mainstream adoption of social media as a way for politicians to truly gain insight about their audience’s needs and wants.

Read Rafe’s full prediction list on CNET’s website.

In 1967, the graduate is counseled to pursue a future in plastics. Good advice for the time. To the modern business graduate, what is a sure thing?Regardless of what you believe the shelf-life of social media is, there is a fundamental shift in business communication that is occurring. At one point recently, the business world and the interactions between companies, and between companies and their clients was opaque. With the growth of social media, and the mindset of consumers that they can reach large businesses, that perception is changing.

With this change, comes an opportunity for those who understand what to look for in a changing world. The people are not the social media experts and gurus who claim that Facebook and Twitter are the end-all-be-all of new business. The people who have a future are the people who understand that the world is changing and are constantly on the look-out for what will change next and how.

I don’t want to make light of the current state of employment in this country, nor do I believe that the current guard of business is asleep at the wheel. I am proposing that the savvy graduate coming into the business world will need more than a business degree to make a difference. The opportunity for new graduates to make a mark for themselves is leveraging what they have likely been using to communicate with their friends and family, using to promote their band, and using instead of a television to entertain themselves. They will need to bridge those tools to promote businesses and brand, but do so in a way that makes sense for the channel and time.

The same successful graduate who uses these tools will also need to be know why they are using them. Is Facebook a better choice because it has a broader demographic than Google+? Will Google+ provide a platform relevant to marketers? Having a hunch which is the right choice (and being able to articulate why) is what companies need right now and will be willing to pay for.

It sounds insane, but what the modern business needs is more alchemy than science. It’s the individual who can understand how to apply what is available now and read the tea-leaves to for the next big thing to come from Disrupt.