Is social media just a fad, or is it fundamentally changing the way we communicate?

Think about some of this data:

  • By 2010, Gen Y will outnumber Baby Boomers — 96% of them have joined a social network.
  • 80% of Twitter usage is on mobile devices. People update anywhere, anytime. Imagine what that means for bad customer experiences!
  • YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world.
  • 54% of bloggers post content or tweet daily.
  • 25% of search results for the world’s top 20 largest brands are links to user-generated content.
  • 78% of consumers trust peer recommendations.
  • Only 14% trust advertisements.

Of course, this doesn’t mean stop everything else. If your offline efforts are working, keep at it!

What do you think … is social media permanently changing how we communicate? What do these numbers mean for business owners?