Okay, it’s only half way through the year, but I’m confident enough to call it – from a PR/marketing perspective it’s the Year of Social Media!

Having done tech PR for over 18 years now, I’m delighted by social media’s rise and that I luckily selected a career that continues to swiftly evolve and stay interesting. Not “interesting,” like the “interesting”/ WTF ref call during the Slovenia/US soccer game, but “interesting” from a who would have predicted that social media would create such a magnificent amplification opportunity for PR peeps?!

One can’t argue that in 2010 we’ve hit tremendous critical mass with Facebook, Twitter, Yelp!, etc. And, while I will still never “get” Farmville or Frontierville, Geolocation apps like Foursquare and GoWalla spurred by those seeking Mayorships, are growing and adding tremendous velocity to this already RED hot sector. And, for those of you still not convinced, keep in mind that time spent on social networks increased 277% in the United States last year, according to media research firm Nielsen, and Twitter itself grew more than 500%.

Okay, a true optimist would see social media as an opportunity. It’s about amplification of your success, such as getting attention for your glowing media articles and visionary ideas. It’s about connecting and extending your community and most important, it’s about being authentic. I “heart” social media. My firm (reidy communications) has been at the forefront of social media and we continue to partner with clients to create an array of social media programs including both the day-to-day/block-n-tackle plans, crisis plans and wonderful creative social media initiatives.

A pessimist, and I’d personally guess someone who isn’t confident about their products and brand, view social media as chaos. They can’t control it and its viral. The perfect storm.

Talking about chaos… If I’m the CEO or VP of marketing at BP, social media would create an enormous amount of gray hairs for me. Ari Lightman, associate professor at Carnegie Mellon, who also happens to be my brother-in-law, recently wrote a post about the importance of taking control of your social media. While BP is an example of a crisis-on-steroids, their horrendous situation was propelled by social media. He’s spot on in his assessment of BP, “…The Altimeter group and WetPaint slotted them (BP) into the Wallflower category, which includes those companies that are involved in a low number of social media channels with below average engagement the social media wallflower as the Altimeter Group refers to them.” They’ll go down not only as the largest eco disaster, but a company that is utterly out of touch with marketing, PR, and social media.

My $.03. Embrace social media. It’s here to stay and should be a powerful tool in your toolbox.