I personally love how ABC is obsessed with social media. Maybe it’s because of the holidays, but I feel like all of a sudden, there are 9372386491 reports concerning some type of social media. I happened to be watching World News with Charles Gibson last night, and in that one broadcast appeared two stories about social media.

The first was one about tweeting for holiday savings (rightfully placed since it was cyber monday!) Last Wednesday, 11/25, a similar report was on the same station but on Good Morning America. But basically the gist of the stories was how retailers are using social networks to get the news out about great deals they are having. The report on World News said that experts estimate nearly half of retailers are using social networking sites like facebook and twitter to get the word out. But apparently retailers don’t only use the sites for shopping info, they use them for customer complaints and questions…because it’s a lot easier and faster than calling the help lines and sitting on hold.

All in all, I love these types of stories. They’re informative because not only do they get information out about deals, but how to get those deals efficiently! Plus it shows that news organizations are actually paying attention to social networking sites. Furthermore, the stories could force people to start using and even, dare I say, LIKING Twitter! In class today we were talking about how the media is too focused on the Tiger Woods story on not on healthcare…because healthcare directly benefits us and what happens to Tiger doesn’t. But I think these are stories that can directly benefit people; sure they’re human interest and not as serious as healthcare, but they could potentially save people money! (And who doesn’t want to save money these days?!?)

The other story on World News was about a YouTube video that became a sensation. Charles Gibson calls it “putting YouTube to good use.” It’s called the Pink Glove Dance(seriously, watch it..it’ll give you chills). It was put together by the staff of the Providence St. Vincent Medical Center in Portland, Oregon to raise awareness for breast cancer. At the time of the report, over 1.6 million people had clicked on the video. Today, at 7:57 p.m., there have been over 2 million views; this just goes to show how the media can make a difference and help get the word out there for a good cause. I truly believe we need more stories like this out there every once in awhile; they really make you feel good. =)

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