When I joined Facebook I was a freshman in college and the only thing on there were pictures of my friends getting wasted at parties. Now everyone has Facebook. My mom has a Facebook. Instead of drunken pictures she posts statuses that say, “So excited for my daughter Sara to come home this weekend!” It started with parents and then switched over to corporations.

My friend received her acceptance letter to graduate school at the University of Pittsburgh last week. She opened the large envelope, looked at the first page and it said, “Visit our Facebook page!” “Follow us on Twitter!” When she told me this I was completely weirded out. Although I guess I should not have been, just about every person and company out there has a Facebook Site.

From Burberry to Kathy Griffin everyone has a Facebook fan page with hundreds to hundreds of thousands of fans. They are uploading photos, sending links to random websites they like, posting information about appearances, sales, concerts, the list goes on and on.

Social media has allowed companies to relate to their customers like never before. They are now able to show their publics a different side of their company. They can show them that they are not just a company who sells $300 polo shirts, but that they also enjoy talking about themselves excessively. Okay… bad example but a company like AM+G for example posts lots of articles that we find interesting all the time.

Although Facebook is great let’s admit it people are getting lazy. Post more than a sentence, good luck getting anyone to read it.

This brings me to Twitter. Although I can understand how Twitter became such a phenomenon, I really cannot believe it. Twitter caught on like wildfire. It was like one day they announced the launching of the site and the next day it is the most used word of 2009.

I think that Twitter is so popular because it provides a very intimate experience between users. It is like having a conversation with whomever you are “following.” It has given people communication with a company or celebrity that they have never had before.

Who would have known that John Mayer was such a pervert? Or that Kim Kardashian does not know how to spell Pisces (although I probably could have guessed that one). Who says more than 160 characters in a sentence anyway? (To all of those who speak 300- 400; if people paid attention to you before, they probably do not anymore).

Aside from that, Twitter has been huge for larger companies as well. Dell, for example, posts their sales up on Twitter before they go up on their website. If you follow them on Twitter you are at a huge advantage.

I will admit that I joined Twitter a few months ago, but I swear I only did it as a career move (what does it say that I am embarrassed to admit I have a Twitter but not about having a Facebook? I guess I can explore that in another blog, but think about it). The importance of Twitter in the advertising and marketing world has grown in immense proportions. I just have a friend who basically did not get a job because she did not have a Twitter. A year ago having a Facebook was seen as a bad thing, but not it can be the difference between a new job and living on your parents couch.

It is evident that social media is the wave of the future. It is possible that in the future there will be no more advertising, only social media. … Okay probably not but it will affect the market. Advertising will become more competitive and to not have a Facebook, Twitter or whatever they come up with next will mean you may as well not have a company at all.

All of that being said make sure you follow US on Twitter and Facebook!