I was thinking back to the beginning …  a lot of people have said they did Social Media 20, 30 years ago.    Influencers were around a hundred years ago, and people of influence always skewed things throughout history.     So why is all of this so new?  Or is it?

I think Social Media Analytics began in 2004, along with the first recorded use of  ”Social Media”, as it is commonly understood,  according to Webster Dictionary online.

Last year I noted a dramatic increase in searching for the term “social media monitoring” and traced back to the latter part of 2009, and pondered why.  I think it had to do with the merging of search results from Google with the latest tweets from Twitter and some Facebook information – that all began to come together in 2009.  Since then, the momentum has been accelerating , but not in all categories, according to Google Insights for Search.

Categories: Shopping, Internet, Lifestyles, Business, Computers & Electronics, Health

According to Google, the biggest change was in Shopping, but none of the categories has more than 10% and wish Google was more forthcoming in the sites and sectors that are in each category.   It also looks like, very clearly now, that the business sector picked up on Social Media around 2009, and it doesn’t even factor in, before.

Also thinking about the Web Science Trust event i went to a few weeks ago and that “Web Science” is about studying the Web and the effects of it on society and the future.

I guess, with Social Media and Social Media Analytics turning 7 years old …. maybe we ought to have party….ha!