Is Social Media The Pretty Girl at the Marketing Ball

I've been seeing social media being described as "the pretty girl at the ball", and stop me if I'm wrong, but I think the credit can be traced to Ann Handley when she made her social media predictions for 2009.

What this means is that many people in the blogosphere see social media becoming very attractive because of budget cuts and the downturn in the recession. According to Associated Press, retailers are being forced to overhaul their businesses in order to survive as shoppers scale back on their spending.

I've heard that in a downturn, marketing is everything, but how does one market with little money? This exact question is why social media is being considered "the pretty girl at the ball".

As a consumer, I realize that I could see all this negatively - it makes my interactions on the internet with friends something to be "gamed" in order to make more money.

But I choose to see it otherwise - social media makes the world a village in the only way possible in such a global economy. If I lived in a village and there are 5 bakeries, I'm likely to go to the one that has a good deal, or is closest, or that I'm comfortable with. If the bread tastes funny, I can make it known instantly and give my bakery of choice the opportunity to address my problem. And because of social media I can do these things.

So for me, social media is the pretty girl at the ball.