Social Media ....Will Shrink You?!

It’s no secret that technology has enabled the advancement and enlargement of many businesses. With improvements in technologies, companies can now reach more people, target their audiences more effectively and potentially become more profitable. Further, advancements in technology have even created the opportunity for new companies to emerge out of the woodwork. Companies such as FaceBook and Twitter have been created, all feasting on the desire that members of society possess requiring them to have access to information immediately and to be in contact with people constantly.

Companies are exploiting the connectivity of society to create solutions to perceived ‘new’ needs. Gone are the days that women gathered together to support one another in their trials and tribulations of weight loss at the weekly Weight Watchers meeting. Stealing a page from the Biggest Loser’s success story, numerous companies have decided to capitalize on society’s desire to be thin and have created social media platforms, where members can help one another to achieve their weight-loss goals.

Websites such as WeightLossWars, claim that members will succeed in their weight loss goals due to the support offered by staff and the sense of community facilitated with other members. With a society fascinated by the lives of others, companies such as WeightLossWars, have capitalized on profiling each of their members for which their reasons are twofold; 1) to encourage other members to obtain similar goals and to individuals that they are not alone in their struggle and 2) once information like someone’s weight is public, the member is likely to work harder to show their progress to their virtual community members which ultimately increases the sense of competition.
Other companies such as minnus , a Canadian networking-based organization, have used the hype of the most recent Olympic games to encourage individuals to increase their activity levels. The company is challenging people from across the world to get together in teams in a race to lose 12,000 lbs by 2012. The website promotes not only a healthier ‘you’ but ultimately a healthier world.

Further, with self-help guides such as Mashable: The Social Media Guide, becoming healthier and skinner was never so easy and accessible; with information from what to eat to where to get on-line support at the tip of our fingers. As society becomes more aware of the potential hazards of diet fad pills and easy-fix diets, what will happen to companies such as Herbal Magic and Weight Watchers? Will these companies who have feasted on the desire for society to be skinny for so long, become obsolete with the emergence of healthier, cheaper and more accessible on-line weight-loss support groups and resources? Is this a PR practitioner’s nightmare or an opportunity?

I suppose only time will tell – personally, I’m awaiting the emergence of on-line plastic surgery websites..perhaps we’ll learn to perform face lifts from the comfort of our very own computers one day!