WeMedia 08 Sound Bites: Real Voices & Social Networks

Young Bloggers & Social Media at last week's WeMedia Buenos Aires event

Four "youths" were on stage at WeMedia 08 which has been dominated by media, business and marketing leaders (adults). It's refreshing to hear from those who are not caught up in the professions. Each is deeply engaged with social media. Some are even celebrities. When Cumbio entered the auditorium, the Twitter stream exclaimed "Cumbio is in the house!"

They are here to share their digital lives. Cumbio sounds like a regular teen.I love that she leads real-world meet-ups at the mall. Milton runs a popular blog. Pablo brought his own PowerPoint presentatuion of teens and social media.

Myths and Reality

• Each has a perfectly normal sounding life with lots of digital sprinkled in throughout the day. They are not on the computer all day. That is clearly a myth for these people. They weave it in with tremendous facility. Cumbio can post a half dozen images on her photo log in less than an hour (and recieves 100,000 visits (a day?).  I am certian that I am online far more hours than any of them (and have no more to show for it, I think)
• Pablo: "TV is only used for movies, I like...TV s not my favorite medium"
• At least two of them don't understand the appeal of Facebook. The audience of adults cheer that one on. 
• Cumbio's pretty sober about the difference between core friends - 5-10 - and the extended network of aquaintances that the Facebook software chooses to call "friends."
• Cumbio champions a new kind of media literacy - how to best use Fotolog and retain your privacy. very smart.