All other issues around metrics, guidelines and methods aside, perhaps a key underlying question around Social Media might be; is there enough people participating in a way that matters to corporations and governments? Part two of that question might be; and is it local enough?

Social Media is part of our business, so of course our objective is to say “yes” to both posed questions. Saying “no” would be shooting ourselves in the foot. Our position is “yes” because we’ve done the research to validate our business case (we’ve identified some niches the competition hasn’t, but we can’t say anything yet on that front.) So why do we pose that there is enough mass? And what do others in Social and Traditional Media think?

Obtaining precise numbers on blogs and microblog usage is challenging at the very least. We can say there’s roughly 50 million blogs and upwards of 200 Million+ people active on Social Networks, blogs and microblogs on a regular basis. Then there’s mobile social networking, where research firm eMarketer estimates roughly 2.7% of Americans use mobile Social Network apps, and our research indicates about 1% of Canadians (Canada has the worlds highest mobile data fees, reducing uptake significantly) use mobile Social Network apps. All of these areas are growing in usage. There are also 40+ companies that are active in the Social Media monitoring market, indicating a growing market segment. of those 40, roughly 95% are less than two years old. Suggesting an early-stage market.

Quickly and anecdotaly then, we can conclude that the mass is there. People are using Social Media and everything points to an increasing use. Patterns are still developing, acquisitions starting to occur and battles are raging over “measurement” and “monetizing” of Social Media. But that’s another topic.

So then, are people participating in a way that matters to businesses or governments? Given the CNN/YouTube Debates in the U.S., the forcing of Rogers to lower it’s iPhone pricing in Canada in less than a week through Social Media pressure, the CEO of JetBlue losing his job due to Social Media reaction - all point to evidence that yes, there is enough mass. Governments and businesses, along with other institutions are justified in their growing concern.

Is it “local” enough to matter to smaller businesses and municipal governments? Soon we think. As “local search” improves and newspapers move more services on line, locally Social Media will begin to matter more and more. There may be other reasons local social media matters as well and we welcome views on this. So yes, the evidential actions and supporting usage statistics would say - Social Media matters. The tipping point has been reached.