By Jodi Taylor
 
Social media, being such a key source of communication, gives people everywhere the option to state opinions.  It allows people to give facts regardless if true or false, and a reader will believe these facts without looking further for hard evidence.  I believe that “buzz” is a route many take because we have become such a lazy society.
 
If we watch the news, we believe it because it’s a high source of media out there to gather information, and most think it is always right. News can’t even get the credit of being hard news. It’s buzz news, in my opinion. To get real facts, research is key.

By Adele St-Pierre
 
Google was invented less than 20 years ago. It’s hard to believe that something we rely on so much has existed for such a short time. I think a lot of people forget how distant things were at one point in time. A point in time where school projects were done through books and notes, and if you were sick you would seek professional help, not WebMD.
 
Technology has evolved quickly, and it doesn’t show signs of slowing down. For this reason, in ten years from now I believe everything will be done for us. For example, cars are already starting to park by themselves and in less than five years, I believe they will soon be able to drive by themselves. Technology is making us lazy and incompetent, to the point where we will no longer be able to read a map, or conduct research by using a book.
 
In ten years, technology will consume us even more than it has now. I fear for future generations, for they will not know a world without technology and will not have any grandparents or parents to teach them otherwise. 

By Gerry Mueller
 
The way we communicate has changed over the past hundred years. One key word that would differentiate the way we communicate from the past to the present day is speed. One of the first instances in history of utilizing speed in communicating a message was the semaphore telegraph used by Napoleon during the Napoleonic Wars.
 
But today’s technology has pushed speed to the limit. Nevertheless, communication can still continue to evolve in other ways. This can include using live holograms as a way to communicate online and video chatting on mobile phones (not done writing). 

By Kalli McKernon
 
The blending of “buzz” or branded content with factual news is of ethical concern, but I believe it will become increasingly common over the next few years. While all types of advertising can be seen as manipulative in some way, branded content is slightly more concerning because it is advertising that is disguised as news. As more news agencies and newspapers, in particular, continue to face financial setbacks, I think branded content will start to become quite appealing. This is especially true of news organizations that are having trouble selling the more traditional types of advertisements that have sold in the past.

 You might think that well respected newspapers would be less likely to head in this direction because of concern for their reputation, but in 2014 The New York Times posted a story that was paid for by Netflix in order to promote the series Orange is the New Black. It in no way mentions the show, but instead looks at how the prison system in the United States does not meet the needs of female inmates.

The goal was to get people thinking about an issue that is the main premise of the Netflix show. Clever? Of course it is. The article is identified as paid content in very small text, but if you’re not paying attention, you might miss the disclaimer.

It’s important to keep an eye out as more of these types of articles start emerging. By no means is it a badly written article, but it always helps to think about where you are getting your news and information and who wants you to see it and why.

By Cedeline Lambert
 
In a world where everyone, expert or not, can create content online, it can be hard to differentiate the hard news from the buzz. Most people know that you can’t trust everything you see online, but how can one tell if what they just read was real or not?
 
A few years ago, Buzzfeed made its first appearance on the web.  The website described itself as a social news and entertainment company. They now have thousands of likes on their social media account and millions of followers. As entertaining as they are, I wonder: is Buzzfeed only a very good provider of sponsored buzz? Or do they actually provide hard news?
 
If you go through their articles, wedged betweenan article about the newest Kardashian drama and another about a Kanye West Twitter clash, you can find articlea about a Syrian rebel and other important issues.
 
Does that make Buzzfeed a hard news provider? I personally don’t think so. Does that mean we shouldn’t read their articles? Not necessarily.
 
At the end of the day, it’s your job to decide what you want to read and to make up your mind about what you learn online. In my opinion, Buzzfeed is a master in the art of providing articles that will create buzz and stimulate interest, but are those articles relevant?
 
I think not.  

By Bethany La Chappelle

My personal feeling about the blending of what is considered hard factual news and what is considered buzz news is indifferent. This practice is so prominent that it has become the norm.  I don’t second-glance at buzz news having a bigger presence in my life. I don’t have cable and as such don’t watch the news, and I follow few, if any, actual hard news channels online.

Buzz is what I would call entertaining; buzz is not factual and is a kind of suspense created near an event, or the creation of a controversy: throw in some facts and something funny or shocking, without all the tiny, gritty details, to make the story more likely to be read or watched. It can be fun with quizzes and lists. Buzz, in my opinion, is more relatable to the average viewer and/or reader than something written as hard news would be.

One company to look at would be ‘Buzzfeed.’ They run anything from quizzes, lists, news and videos. They have all the bases covered to reach a vast quantity of people through entertainment with some facts and knowledge thrown in. Buzzfeed is excellent at having a heavy online presence; they are quick on updates and being in the know.

Check out Buzzfeed.

By Gautam Khanna

In my opinion, it’s best to have “hard news” because it’s factual and gives the actual scenario of the current situation.
 
I have seen, on social media platforms, that people come up with “buzz news,” that is branded content. The buzz creators get paid for that news, from the agency, to put up that content.
 
If the actual or factual news is published, then people will have an actual sense of what is going on in the world.  Buzz news carries a lot of content that looks to be original but it is actually made up. Buzz creates a filter in people’s minds that the buzz is the actual news where as it is not: it’s paid news.
 
Some of the common tactics used to create buzz include building suspense around a launch or event, creating a controversy, or reaching out to bloggers and social media influencers. For example, there is always hype around the Toronto Maple Leafs’ team during NHL season. This is just because the Toronto Maple Leafs have a huge fan following, and the hype is only for the fans, so that more and more people will come to see the game. money because they get their share of audience from the current die-hard fans of Toronto Maple Leafs.

By Roberto Hernandez

If I were to talk about the future of communication, and social media trends and innovations of the future within the next 10 years, I would say there will probably be new features and technology that will make us “closer” when engaging with one another.
 
Of course there will still be the big competitors like Facebook, but I think there may well be a new company in town to attempt to compete. erhaps bringing new technology to the table, like some sort of device that works with VR Goggles so you can “hang out” in the same room as a friend and make it seem like you’re actually there, with the ability to sit down on chairs, walk around, all while actually being stationary and moving only within this device--hatever it may be or whatever you want to call it, because as of right now it doesn’t exist.
 
If this technology were to exist within the next 10 years, I would say that it might benefit public relations and marketing communications through the ability to have a one-on-one meeting with your client without having to travel, to be able to see them physically in your meeting area, and be able to have that social interaction with the client to have a better relationship without having to actually move from your desk at work.
 
I think this technology would be interesting and fun, although it may get a bit strange: there could be good and bad things to it, like all things in life. Perhaps just virtually-moving in place will make us not want to go out as much, or become lazy. Or maybe it will help increase our relationships with people within and beyond the work field.

​But that’s for you to choose.

By Tanya Geno

Ever wondered about the future of communication and how it would change our way of doing things? Can you imagine a world where flying cars would zoom across the air to their destination? I believe that our social media trends and innovations are going to change in the next 10 years, in the same way that technology keeps transforming around us. Maybe some people believe that it shouldn't evolve because it makes individuals less likely to communicate between themselves, unless they’re “liking” or “sharing” that moment on social media. But let's be real, here: media has a way of evolving.
 
Social media is a key tool to improve the current public relations/marketing communications practice around the world. It is the key to inform the population, faster, about current news around the world.

I cannot predict the future but I can tell you this: eventually Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites will lose popularity because mankind will create something even better to help individuals communicate with each other. Do you remember social media sites such as Vine or MSN?  We've totally forgotten about those because technology figured out a way to help us communicate more easily. 

Now we have Facebook, but have you seen how the population is slowly becoming less active than they were 5 years ago?