by Marisa Bunney, Social Media Associate
Facebook. Twitter. Flickr. YouTube.
Four Square. Ping. Tumblr.
These are some of the most popular platforms in the world of
social media. Our computers, iPods, and cell phones have all become
hubs for social networking. At any given moment there are literally
billions of text messages, wall posts, and tweets buzzing through
the air around us. In fact, at a gas station over the weekend, I
saw a priest, a police officer, and a teenage boy...
Hold on, let's take a 30 second timeout. This is beginning to
look a lot like the start of an inappropriate joke -- "Alright, so
a priest, a cop, and a teenager, walk into a UniMart...."
(Pause for laughter)
Okay, back to business. What did they all have in common? Cell
phones! Social media and the desire for constant communication
knows no boundaries. Having been raised in an era of what can only
be referred to as a Technological Revolution, I thrive in this
sphere. And it's interesting to me to see how we continue to
manipulate the English language. A new dialect, "text lingo" has
literally been created as a result. LOL! Nevertheless, whatever
language or form they may come in, it's all about words.
As a writer, I embrace-and at times, detest-the power of words.
Words have the immense talent of evoking a
"bright-'n'-shiny-warm-'n'-fuzzy" feeling and the daunting
capability of creating the opposite - that
"I-had-no-idea-I-was-so-inadequate-thank-you-for-informing-me-why-do-i-even-bother-getting-out-of-bed-in-the-morning"
kind of thing. You see, I've always thought words were severely
underestimated, hanging their heads in the shadows of pictures. As
the old adage goes, "A picture is worth a thousand words." While
that may be true, I propose that a word is worth a thousand
pictures---and smells, and tastes, and memories, and sounds. "How?"
you may ask. Well, since we're talking about pictures, let me show
you.
Childhood, innocence, happiness,
fun, sweet, summer, messy, adorable, funny
These are SOME of the words I think of when I see this picture.
It gets a rise out of all the senses: you can feel the heat of the
summer air, taste the sweetness of the watermelon, smell the
freshly cut grass, hear the laughter of a child, see the sheer joy
in her eyes.
Now, humor me for a moment. Think of the word 'watermelon.' What
do you see? Smell? Taste? Hear? Feel? I see my cousin, Kelly, and I
drenched in pink juice on a hot summer day. I feel the coolness of
the fruit and the smoothness of the rind, I smell its sweetness.
See, words let you paint your own pictures, using your own colors
and textures. Its precisely why I hate watching
"Based-on-the-bestselling-novel" films after having read the book.
When I read something, my mind plays the story as a movie in my
head--under my own direction.
So, yes, a picture does hold plenty of power. But where would we
be without words to describe them? What if the words tranquil,
warmth, smile, gray, didn't exist? Don't get me wrong, I have
nothing against pictures. I actually love them. But words are also
an essential part of expression. And given the rapidly emerging
world of social media, they're everywhere --- from advertising
copy, to tweets, to Facebook posts --- we live our lives by words.
So, I think it's about time they have their moment in the
sun.
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