Home topics technology technology-social-media Social Media Social Media Social media as the ultimate communication channel Guest Author February 9, 2012 In order to truly comprehend the power of social media, it’s important to grasp the basics and then understand how each affects the contact centre. To get started, remember the alphabet…. In the first of a four-part article series, Shama Kabani and Jennifer Wilson have provided insights on various social media topics broken down by alphabet. This week, we look at social media, from A to E. Surprising to many, social media is anything but a new concept… it actually spans back almost a decade now with LinkedIn introduced in 2003, Facebook in 2004, and various blogs even earlier. What is new, however, is its overwhelming popularity and continued rapid growth. With over 95 million tweets going out daily, 50 million LinkedIn members, and 750 million active Facebook users worldwide, social media is the fastest growing communication channel, and not just amongst the younger generation. Interestingly enough, 37 percent of Facebook users are over 45 years old, 64 percent of Twitter users are over the age of 35, and 44 percent of all social networking users are between the ages of 35 and 54. What this means for businesses is that many people, young and old, are sharing and looking for information on social media sites. Therefore, it is in the best interest of businesses to have a plan in place for implementing a social media structure . For starters