Our Viral Voice – The Power of Social Media
By: Lexi Smith
In the 80s, there was a commercial for Faberge Organic® shampoo featuring Heather Locklear saying: “and she’ll tell two friends, and so on, and so on.” Today, we have Facebook and Twitter to speed up our viral messaging and product promotion; and, according to Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook COO, “the social [networking] world is being led by women.”
Women are using social media to connect, to share information about their personal lives, to gather information, to collaborate on real-life issues and to help change our world. As part of online communities, we are generating, disseminating and using information to affect change. Recently, the world witnessed just how powerful this change can be when women in Egypt used Facebook and Twitter to help organize protests that led to President Hosni Mubarak’s resignation. The Internet provided a vehicle for them to be heard, to take charge and to lead in a peaceful way. Even if they couldn’t (or wouldn’t) go out in public – they could log on and still have a voice.
Are social networking tools leveling the playing field by giving us a new way to find and use our voices? Are we gaining status in the virtual world, or is what happened in Egypt a fluke? Studies conducted prior to the recent protests in Egypt show that men and women are using social media almost equally – but for different purposes. Men are more active users of sites that are more content-oriented (e.g., You-Tube), while women prefer more discussion-based sites (e.g., Twitter). Some studies make the assumption that men are using social media to gain professional recognition, while women are using it primarily to engage with friends and family.
The Pew Internet & American Life Project: How Men and Women use the Internet indicated that while men did lead in online activities that were more research driven and work-related, women have quickly caught up. Furthermore, we are now equally participating in online tasks such as banking and bill paying, shopping, listening to music, downloading files, and searching for current news stories. The noted difference is that men use social media tools more passively than women. They search for information, they respond to information posted, they use what they find to create new information; women are creating information, sharing information, and problem-solving as they interact online. In other words, our behavior and online communication is more active than reactive.
Psychologist, Leslie Sokol, author of Think Confident, Be Confident, believes that men and women are hard-wired to communicate differently – and this difference is translated into how and why we use social networking tools. She indicates that historically women were the gatherers and community builders – they had to work as a team to survive and adapt. As a result, we have learned to be more forthcoming and expressive than men. Perhaps this accounts for why the women in Egypt were able to establish such a powerful presence. We connect on an emotional level; we hit nerves that get a response; we work naturally in teams. We are the originators of viral communication. It only makes sense that social media is giving our voice a powerful vehicle; and, with power comes responsibility.
Lexi Smith is a lifestyle guru for the woman seeking positive change. She is owner and creative director of Being Fabulous!, a consultation and personal shopping service designed to help clients achieve a higher quality of life by finding their own signature style.