Election shows power of social communication

For millions of people around the world that were following election coverage this week, Twitter and Facebook were tools many of us used. Some experts considered this to be the first true “social election.” Large news outlets like CNN were using Twitter as a way to gauge the real-time reactions from the public.

Twitter was even able to break its own record. After being declared the victor, President Barack Obama tweeted out a picture of himself hugging his wife Michelle with the caption “Four More Years.” In 24-hours, the post was retweeted over 700,000 times. That surpassed the previous record of 200,000 held by teen pop star Justin Bieber.

“The Twitterverse shapes the news and public opinion,” political advisor Rob Johnson told NBC News. “The Internet is truly a real and powerful tool in politics. We no longer click refresh on websites or wait for the paperboy to throw the news on our porch. We go to Twitter and learn the facts before others read it.”

As the public becomes more ingrained with the idea of instant information, which is seeping its way into the business conscious as well. If consumers have the ability to learn anyone’s opinion on a breaking news event, why can’t the same happen in the office. As bring-your-own-device (BYOD) practices continue to grow, employees find themselves using the same gadgets for similar purposes in their personal lives as they are for business communication.

Any company relies on decision-makers ability to access the most updated information. Unified communication and BYOD policies can speed up data sharing but only if deployed successfully. Experienced IT consulting firms can help organizations of any size implement the telecommunication solution that works best for them.