- Instant feedback
This instant feedback and communication has changed the world, and it influences the way popular culture is experienced. Before, society lacked this same immediacy, although people could call into radio stations or write letters to the editor. In the past, feedback was expressed in a slower fashion and it reached a limited audience. Today, people from all over the world experience news and gossip at the same moment and they react together. In a sense, the online community has made society even more of a "global melting pot".
- Marketing changes
Since feedback and immediacy have changed popular culture, marketers have also aligned their approaches to suit online communities. These powerful virtual societies are populated with all manner of consumers, and they are very important to marketers, who seek out new and creative ways to get their attention at online communities. For example, most musical artists, actors, actresses, and corporations are fully represented on social media - they each have Facebook pages, Twitter accounts, and virtual presences at other popular online hubs.
One fun example of online media in popular culture is the pop-rock band, Duran Duran, whose members all created avatars in the virtual world environment, Second Life - this means their record releases and promos are touted via their avatars, as well as by band members in the real world. On Twitter, Duran Duran lead singer Simon Le Bon maintains a popular Twitter account to liaise with fans all over the world.