Alex Veeneman, Opinions Editor
In the world of digital and the ever-expanding presence of social media, Melody Kramer has a unique role to play. At her desk at National Public Radio station WHYY in Philadelphia, she is the sole Web producer for the culture program “Fresh Air,” presented by Terry Gross and aired on NPR stations nationwide.
“I’m a people person,” Kramer said. “The connection to the Internet is important — it’s nice to have feedback on different guests and seeing what people are thinking.”
Social media has been at the forefront of what Kramer has done, and she says it can be experimental.
“I try things all the time that don’t work,” Kramer said, noting that in addition to presences on Facebook and Twitter, there are presences on Google Plus and Pinterest. “The medium’s moved very quickly. It is a medium well suited to experimentation. I don’t mind playing around. I like to experiment.”
As a result of this culture of experimentation it has embraced, social media, especially Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, has without question expanded not only the changes in how we communicate in the 21st century, but the potential of innovation.
The April 9 announcement of Facebook buying the social photo sharing site Instagram for $1 billion signifies Facebook’s presence and that continued potential of social media.
“We believe these are different experiences that complement each other,” Facebook’s founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote in a post on his personal page. “But in order to do this well, we need to be mindful about keeping and building on Instagram’s strengths and features rather than just trying to integrate everything into Facebook.”
Professor Ben Eveloff of Lewis’ Communications Department said although this was a good deal, there are still a number of things to consider, including how Twitter will react to it, as Instagram is primarily used on that service. Eveloff noted, however, that Facebook and Twitter may not likely work with each other considering the unique perceptions and competition between the two.
This is an interesting time for Facebook as it looks to expand its potential as arguably the most popular of all the social networks currently present. But this deal certainly presents the knowledge of Facebook’s importance to social networking, if not its influence. What Facebook’s next move will be will without question be one to capture.
Alex Veeneman
Opinions Editor | Click here for Alex's Archives
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