PART 2: What's in a status message?

Taking cue from my previous post on this topic, I have something more (interesting or not, that is for you to decide!) to share...

Technology evolves continuously or rather simultaneously is a fact all regular or frequent online users may have experienced first hand at some point in their surfing lives. Shortly after I posted my part 1, I came across 'Kwippy': Twitter + IM Status blogger!

One of the features is that when a friend on your messenger updates his status, you are notified. So not only one can express themselves, but also make sure their friends read it,with undivided attention... all through a simple status message.

Read more about it on this link: 'Kwippy'

And finally to actually answer my own question of what is in a status message?
Well, my opinion is that if interpreted in context, it could lead to an insight about that person or if many are taken together, a community, a generation and may be something even larger.

Keeping advantages to marketers aside, browsing through status is also hobby of a few ( few because I am sure many deny it!) friends on that messenger list. Even reading scrapbooks of other users, to skimming through news feeds or notifications have hints of our 'Take-a-peek' nature.

It is quite ironic...the web grants you anonymity to do and keep tab of so many things and people as well and it, at the same time, grants you the power to express 'you as yourself' to the world...even with one status message!

What's in a status message?

With the craze of social communication and networking catching faster than fuel catches fire, finding people who disagree with my view that the internet governs a large share of time for these socially active people, will be difficult.

This medium has undoubtedly become a treasure chest of consumer insights and a window of candid self-expressions with vivid descriptions of emotions ranging from exasperation, indifference, chagrin, disappointment, heartbreak, ecstacy, confusion, nostalgia or even the state of 'randomness'.

And starting from blogs to posting comments to writing on scrapbooks and walls, users are celebrating their present with a dialogue box that gives them 140 'characters' to verbalize their mental, physical, social, geographical state of mind--active or passive, potential or kinetic --WHICHEVER!

But before twitter came under the hype-light (its being written about on every other website or article or blog ), there was one more such avenue, which didn't have 'followers' or a special portal --the messenger: be it MSN or yahoo or gtalk~
the status message space and
the display pic
both give you the same 'freedom of expression.' or should i say, 'kingdom of expression': quotes, links, visible / invisible, vacation pics, cropped pics, random pics, just-like-that pics, movie dialogues, poems and the list goes on...

Reminds me of Shakespeare's "What's in a name?" Today, we can ask, "What's in a status message?"

Do share weird / funny things u may have posted as ur status msg.

SoM

 

SoM: Social Media
SoM: Share of Mind

Now-a-days, Social media, Barack Obama are spoken in the same breath. That explains the Share of Mind tools of social media have created for the 44th US president. Twitter, You tube, Facebook.

The medium that is meant to generate a grapevine on the web or plant a 'virus' to spread the WOM has become the talk of the town: yes, if you know what I am getting at--social media meant to create a share of mind for other brands has created one for itself...it has become a brand in its own.

HOWEVER, I am debating with myself which came first: the chicken or the egg?
What happened first: the outburst of Social Media and the way it grabbed share of mind of internet users all over the world? or Did the brands (like Barack Obama )that were built and communicated through this medium, make Social Media - THE bug that has managed to 'byte' into a our SoM.