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#MyFirstBlog @FusionPR

#MyFirstBlog @FusionPR

By Gabby Cox, Intern (@omgitsgabz)

I’ve had the pleasure of interning at the Fusion LA office for about two weeks. In a short amount of time, I’ve already been introduced to the power of social media in a way I have never seen before.

I write on blogs, have a MySpace, a LinkedIn account, and consider myself to be a Facebook and Twitter fanatic. My presence is all over the Internet and it’d be an understatement to say that I check these profiles as often as I check my email. Until recently, I thought the essence of social networking was to stay in touch with a relatively small group of acquaintances, making high school reunions and printed photo albums obsolete.

I’ll be the first to admit that I underestimated the power of social media. As a global studies major, the dynamics between technology, social media and globalization are always on my mind (something I’m excited to blog about in the future!), but as an intern at Fusion, I quickly became fascinated by the way PR professionals are utilizing social media.

My current fascination is Twitter. The concept behind it is simplistic, but its effects as a PR tool are not. With 140-character-long tweets reaching huge audiences, it’s possible to actively participate in conversations, garner trust in supporters, build virtual communities of followers, and spark the interest of potential fans.

However, considering Twitter’s popularity, I have to wonder why almost none of my friends have signed up for accounts and always roll their eyes at the term “retweet.” I have 54 followers on Twitter, compared to 600 friends on Facebook. Why is that? Maybe my tweets simply aren’t groundbreaking enough for the Twitterverse… but I still have to question why there is such a huge following for business-oriented tweeters and a disconnection between Twitter and college students. Isn’t this something for PR and social media experts to be concerned about when trying to reach a younger demographic through social media?

Definitely something I want to investigate as a small personal project during my time here at Fusion.

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