"Check in," "update your status," "like this" these are phrases that are fast becoming, or have become, part of popular vocabulary.
Recent innovations of highly accessible, instantaneous communication technologies such as portable devices, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and blogs, have rapidly changed perspectives and the way people do business and interact as a society.
They have sparked revolutions, created companies worth billions of dollars, cost companies millions of dollars and reunited long, lost relatives and friends.
On Wednesday (June 1), Inside Edge, the local not-for-profit knowledge-based industry organization, will host a moderated panel discussion on the recent trends in social media technologies - both the pros and the cons.
"Beyond Facebook: The Impact of Social Media" will examine the influence of recent communication technologies upon local culture and business.
"The purpose of this panel is to really engage with the residents and the business community," said Inside Edge president David Crewson.
"Social media is pretty much a de facto means of communication in a lot of circles now. If you see how businesses have actually tried to adopt various communication channels to speak with their customers with varying levels of success, it opens up entirely new markets."
Crewson said the young demographic in Squamish creates a targeted market into which most local businesses have yet to tap.
"Especially here in Squamish where it's a relatively young marketplace, we don't see that there's a lot of businesses that have adopted aggressive social media campaigns to access the younger, more progressive demographic," he said.
"Through the panel, we'd like to create a dialogue between social media users and local businesses to determine if there is a valued proposition that can be established."
The panel is to include KDB Systems owner Kerry Brown, Tiipz co-founder and CEO Jason Cyr, Impact People Practices founder Christine McLeod, other community business experts and two Quest University students studying social media and its impact on business, international relations and event management.
"Humans are inherently social, and we have historically gravitated towards various forms of social networks for survival, interaction, identity and prosperity," McLeod said.
"Online social media is a natural evolution with both local and global implications."
Cyr said telecommunication technologies, in combination with innovations in online social media, have introduced a universal infrastructure that has overcome geographic and cultural barriers and developed new forms of interaction and information sharing.
But not all information sharing is a positive reflection on the business involved.
Less than a decade ago, if a customer at a restaurant had a fly in his or her soup, the customer would likely get a "so sorry" and a free meal voucher to come back another time. In this new social media age, disgruntled customers can cause a lot more damage.
Brown, the event's moderator, remains somewhat apprehensive about social media as a whole.
"Despite the benefits of social media for businesses, it can also be the cause of much angst. Companies have discovered new ways to communicate with consumers, but unhappy customers have also been empowered," Brown said.
"For example, when a YouTube video of baggage handlers mishandling a guitar went viral, it cost United Airlines $180 million in share value."
The YouTube video is called United Breaks Guitars and was performed by Halifax-based band Sons of Maxwell after the lead singer's guitar was broken while in the airline's custody.
The video has 10 million views and prompted a United official to phone and apologize, but not before what most considered irreparable public relations humiliation for the airline.
"This is an example of the huge implications social media can have," Crewson said. "It's really empowered the consumers and equalized the playing field between the company and the consumer.
"From a consumer's perspective, it's empowering and positive. For businesses, if they have an understanding of social media, it's only another means to communicate with their customers and that's a good thing, but if they don't, it definitely can be more of a liability."
Social media technologies have recently enabled protests and demonstrations that have led to political and social change in the Middle East, have changed the way people source and trust information, and have made and destroyed careers and reputations.
The event will take place on Wednesday (June 1) at 7 p.m. at Quest University. Local businesses and residents are invited to participate, share experiences and learn how the phenomenon of social media will continue to change their lives and workplaces.
"It's a way to bridge the business community, the residential community, the academic institutions and the industry groups within a panel for common dialogue," Crewson said.
Attendance is free. For more information, visit www.insideedgebc.org.
