SANTA!!!

Ok, it isn't really him...but they do look quite alike.

Rich Gordon is a professor and Director of Digital Innovation at Medill—Northwestern University’s school of journalism, media, and integrated marketing communications. Gordon is quite good at what he does by the looks of it seeing as he has published many journalistic pieces, started and ran his own newspaper, and is now responsible for several research initiatives focusing on online communities and social networks. He’s just a little busy.

Today I decided to take a look at what he has to say about contemporary social media and found an article of his entitled “Social Media: The Ground Shifts” from a Nieman Reports online publication. In the article Gordon states it is crucial for organizations to embrace social media in today’s world. The author refers to social media as “online communities” and defines Facebook and Twitter as the driving forces behind interpersonal communication online. Gordon attributes

the success of these platforms to being user-friendly and allowing each user to create a unique and personalized experience.

I agree with Gordon’s assessment of why social media has taken off over the last few years. Nowadays, news travels faster than ever before and an audience can access the world with the click of a button. If I am to take away one thing from this article’s overarching message, it is that my social media posts will be more successful the more I capitalize on these two basic concepts—simplicity and personalization.