You know you’ve hit it big time when you change longstanding traditions, or at least when people alter their approach based on you or in this case, a movement.
I got engaged on Friday night in downtown Greenville. I planned for quite a while to make this night special for Elizabeth, my new fiancée, as well as for myself. I planned to surprise some of our family members by making the 5 hour trip up to NC on Saturday afternoon. 
What I hadn’t planned for is fencing the news from our Social Media communities. I had planned to let all my close (and not so close) friends/followers on Facebook and Twitter know that all was successful and that I was now engaged. I realized that if I posted to Facebook, 940 of my friends would know that I was engaged before some of my family. That was definitely not desirable. Also, you can’t have your best friends find out via status update.
We let our immediate families know before I tweeted it. We didn’t post any photos until everyone whom we desired to see the ring in person had seen it.
When you plan a strategy, and that strategy requires an accompanying plan for Social Media communication, you realize that Social Media has changed the face of life. When it alters plans for a thing like an engagement, you recognize the depth of impact it has really had.
A 40-year old would find this despicable and reject it. As a 20-something-year old, I embraced it and enjoyed it. After all, we did get over 150 wishes of congratulations and kind notes from friends and family via Facebook and Twitter.
Though Social Media has changed the game, in many ways, the game is better for it.
I experienced the same thing with our baby announcement. The world has changed.