Entry 2: social media + interactions = travelling the world FOC

What is the definition of social media?

“Social media are media used for social interaction, using highly accessible and scalable communication techniques. Social media is the use of web-based and mobile technologies to turn communication into interactive dialogue.”

- Wikipedia

See the relevance? Just by giving you guys the definition of social media, I am already tapping into one type of social media, which is Wikipedia and how are you guys reading this in the first place? Through another type of social media! Blogspot.com! Now can you see how interconnected we are in this century and how our lives have become so interwoven into social media! To the point where just by looking at our generation today, it is as if our lives depend on it! But what if that is not just a far fetched statement but actually true? Think about it…

The first thing you do in the morning when you wake up is to check your Twitter account, followed by you Facebook account. Whenever you want to research and look up for some info for class, you immediately type Wikipedia.com into your URL. Whenever you feel like watching generic entertainment on the Internet, you go to YouTube. With all these advancements made in technology, the connectivity between social media and us just keeps getting closer, tighter and stronger. What if it takes over our lives? That’s a scary thought to keep in consideration.

BUT…

Lets move on to something more positive. An example about how social media was used effective and social manner. I recently discovered about a seasoned traveler who through the use of his website, managed to travel the world for free!

Ramon Stoppelenburg

Is a world traveler and a Dutch author who in the beginning of 2001 started the website www.letmestayforaday.com. By using the Internet for requesting a place to stay and help with food and drinks, he received 3,577 invitations from 77 countries. In exchange for the given hospitality he wrote an extensive daily report on his website before hitchhiking to his following location. The travels took Stoppelenburg through the Netherlands, Belgium, France, England, Ireland, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Austria, South Africa, Spain, Australia and Canada. Coverage by international media and the number of visitors to the website allowed Stoppelenburg to have everything sponsored: his website, clothing, camera, backpack, shoes and even his airline tickets.

Now imagine that? Just wishing I could do the same as well. Because I just want to travel the world too! All expenses paid! But back to the topic at hand.

So guys can you all see how helpful social media is? How influential it can become? And this happened almost a decade ago, can one actually fathom the growth that social media has gone through for the past ten years?! I cant… but if you can, please leave a comment below to share your thoughts!