Social Media is ol' news bro!

I got news for you pal – social media is not new - David Wang.

The blogger and self confessed online marketing evangelist emphasized that: In the end, we’ll all realize that “social media” will become just “regular ol’ media”.

He's also a committee member of the Social Media Club (logo above), Kuala Lumpur Chapter.

Wang wrote: Add that to the speed of conversation and the reach of the internet and boom – social media is now rivaling traditional media as an influence platform.

Read the whole article here.

Recently, a speaker at a forum : Marketing Chapter: Advertising Outlook in 2010, Ben Israel, digital strategy director, Integricity Corporation Sdn Bhd said "You can't call it 'New Media' any more, because it's not new any more."

"In 2009, everyone is online. It’s not just the young people any more. You can’t say it’s just the kids who are online any more," said Israel.

Since the rise of social media, many advertisers have jumped onto the bandwagon – for example, by paying bloggers to write advertorials or sponsoring products for them to review – simply because research says "word of mouth" is the most trusted medium.

People ‘n Rich-H Sdn Bhd managing director Marilyn Teoh said her company has started to monitor social media, what it says about clients and their brands.

"After listening to them (consumers), we start a conversation with them to build a relationship with them," she said.

While social media is often used by advertisers, it can also be a public relations tool. In fact, it is a holistic tool, said Teoh.

That is why advertisers are now engaging on blogs and bloggers to 'endorse' their products.

"We treat a blogger as a news reporter, we give him the credibility. Let them blog about their true experience," she added.

Warren Tan, Integricity Corporation managing director however emphasized on the need of a strategy. "Social media needs to work hand-in-hand with other non-social media strategies," he said.

Concurring on the need of focusing on the right strategies, Neo@Ogilvy media director Stanley Tay said, "The challenge is looking at social media and finding the right target segment."

Read the whole article here.

So can we term Social Media as the current or contemporary media if it's not new anymore.

What then can the traditional media be called - ancient media?