Happy Social Media Day! [2016's Greatest Hits...So Far]

Happy Social Media Day!

We all remember 2003 - MySpace took over our lives as the first major social media network, and since then, it’s evolved into a media we use for photography, professional aspects, and heck, even as a mechanism for dating strangers. It’s wacky to think about how much social media has changed in just over a decade; how successful these companies have become; and how vital social media is now for advertising and engagement - after all, Mad Media wouldn’t be here right now if it wasn’t for this evolution! (Or maybe we would be, but providing services in who knows what…)

Just alone in this past year (well… half-year, since it’s only June), the social media stratosphere has given us so many videos to laugh at and amazing application updates (because who doesn’t swoon over new Snapchat filters?).

And so, you might ask us: what were our favourite social media moments of 2016 (so far)? Well… let us begin.

Apple Commercials:

Okay, so we have to admit - Apple KNOWS how to create advertising campaigns. There’s no doubt about it. I mean, it’s not like Apple necessarily needs any advertising since they’re the biggest tech company in the world… but regardless, they put time and effort into making high quality commercials.

They even got Taylor Swift to agree to a series of commercials after her letter to Apple, explaining why she was temporarily withholding her 1989 album from Apple Music. But even more importantly, they got the one and only Cookie Monster to partake in a commercial! Basically, our modern day technology-obsessed self and our childhood is coming together to produce a 1:31 minute video. #nostalgia

To be fair, a commercial isn’t necessarily social media, per se. But we found the videos on YouTube and Facebook, so it counts!

Snapchat Update:

As avid Snapchat users, you cannot imagine our excitement when the new update came out. On top of the classic 10-second photo, you can now add filters to your selfies - making you look like an alien, a dog, or like your friend through face swap. But I have to admit, the face swap can get a little weird when you’re taking it with your S.O. and you hope to god that this won’t be what your child looks like. Warning: it can cause some serious tension, but also nonstop laughing for 10 minutes.

But from a business standpoint (as we still have to do from time to time), the update is also beneficial. Companies and celebrities alike can create stories to connect with millions of users throughout the world - all with the power of a phone. It makes you think, it's so easy to connect with people nowadays.

Kudos to you Snapchat, for evolving into something greater than you were just four years ago.

Chewbacca Mask Lady:

Now, of course we needed to insert a viral video into our list, and Chewbacca Mask Lady seemed to top the list. Okay, I have to admit, I never really understood the video… but it seems to have had an impact if it went viral in a mere 24 hours. Long story short, it spewed a spiral of TV talk shows, autotuned remixes, and even a Hasbro action figure of herself!

Ms. Candace Payne has social media to thank for that! Her video reached 140 million views on Facebook alone, and broke the record for most viewed Facebook Live video. If you needed evidence that social media has immense power, this is your example.

Zombie Apocalypse Prank:

Ok, ONE more viral video for the list. It seems that the majority of hilarious videos we see involve someone acting post-wisdom-tooth-surgery. But this one seems all to real - convincing her that a zombie apocalypse is happening? That’s simply cruel!

But all ethics aside, this YouTube video has 21 million views and grabbed the attention of Ellen Degeneres herself - the queen of bringing viral video stars onto her show. However, this video became popular with the power of ALL social media platforms combined (since I personally came across this video on Twitter).

Politics:

For Canadians - remember the insanity that ensued over Prime Minister Trudeau accidentally elbowing the NDP MP Ellen Brosseau. Now I won’t get too political with this topic because we all have our opinions, but as soon as this happened during the televised House of Commons session, Twitter blew up the hashtag #elbowgate in a matter of seconds and started trending on various other networks as well. If it wasn’t for digital media, we likely wouldn’t have thought twice about the mishap while it was airing.

For Americans - three words. Obama. Mic. Drop. How cool is your president? Signing off his last Correspondents Dinner speech, Obama dropped the mic and said “Obama out”. It proved to be a social media hit to even those who didn’t watch the televised dinner, resulting in many different gifs and memes. If Obama didn’t have respect before, he does now - being one of the few (if not only) world leaders to literally drop a mic… and on purpose.

And let’s not forget the fact that THE POPE joined Instagram! We’re still trying to wrap our heads around that one. Only HE could have 2.7 million followers and not be following anyone back. Props to you, Pope Francis.

Without social, we would have never laid our eyes on most of these moments (and many, many, MANY more). For that, we salute you social media! We thank you for all the personal connections, business opportunities and technological-based joy you've enriched our lives with! I mean, what else would we do on our phones, amirite?

And with that, we wish you a social media-filled day (because we definitely will be entrenched in social all day...as per usual)!

#socialmedia #marketing #socialmediaday #taylorswift #obama #micdrop #apple #snapchat #trudeau #popefrancis