Global Social Networking: Curious?

Ever wondered what the effect of social  networking is around the globe, how many people actually use social networking and what countries do not? In a recent study, China came in at 53% of users actually participating in social networking, while the United States had 98% participation (http://www.socialbusinesstoday.net/2012/01/social-media-engages-globe-percentages.html). Restrictions on content may be one of the reasons why China’s social networking engagement is so low. With the increasingly globalized economy however, this may end up changing positively in the future, with more people being involved in social networking in places like China than ever before.

The changes witnessed in the social networking landscape are different even from a few years ago when places like Germany only had about a 31% participation in social networking (http://www.technolog.msnbc.msn.com/technology/technolog/social-networking-grows-unevenly-around-globe-125947). This rapid increase in usage speaks to the explosive and exponential nature of social networking. Social networking is starting to integrate more and more into people’s daily lives, as the last post mentioned, meaning that people are participating more and more in social networking, using it as a tool, as a way of interacting, and as a form of entertainment. What are the causes of this global development in this form of communication? Perhaps one could point to the ease of use and access as a contributing factor. However, it is more likely that people enjoy society, publicity, and exposure as a whole, leading to a growth in social networking. People are almost becoming their own news services with this tool, providing individuals with unlimited audiences, a younger crowd of more emotional and impressionable individuals, and a platform to speak their mind to their network. The question really becomes: who wouldn’t want to socially network?

Social Networking and Your Life

So how is social networking affecting you? Do you believe it has zero net effect on your interactions with others, or do you believe it plays an integral part in your personal life? Not only is social networking influencing just teenagers and younger generations, but marketers, entertainment industries, and general advertising is slowly accepting the fact that individuals are moving online and are becoming increasingly connected with their peers (http://www.buzzom.com/2011/05/impact-of-social-networking-on-our-day-to-day-lives/). Whether or not this phenomenon is positive or negative remains to be seen, however social networking’s effects are seen on a daily basis.

Take protests for example. No longer are protests simply invisible events, accomplished and finished forever. Fishermen in the lonely village of Idinthakarai (see picture above) are protesting a nuclear power plant by refusing to fish (http://www.tehelka.com/story_main52.asp?filename=Ws210312Koodankulam.asp). Police are attempting to get the fishermen back out on the sea to fish but the men will have none of it. Instead they are continuing to fight against the erection of the nuclear power plant by going on a hunger strike. Due to a massive social networking campaign that has been spurred by local and national media as well as people in the village itself, this event is becoming more and more public. Support slowly rises day to day as the villagers continue to strike and people become increasingly aware of the situation. Eventually, the political and public pressure may end the erection of the plant and give victory to these fishermen and their aspirations. Thus, although we may not think of social networking as a powerful tool for public action, but simply as an entertaining part of our society, many individuals worldwide view it differently. It impacts us, it impacts you, and in an increasingly connected society, this tool will become a more powerful weapon.

How else does social networking impact you?

Networks and User Security: A Concern?

Most everyone knows that social networking has become one of the biggest trends over the past few years. We have seen social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn reach milestone subscription marks in the millions. With all of the popularity, and the huge rate of information spreading, some people are forgetting that other people can see what you are doing. Sure, we have those people that say they don't care who see's their information, but ultimately, they are outnumbered. It's no secret that in the past, we've seen different stories arise about sites such as Facebook, that have had to increase their user security because of an outrageous demand by the subscribers. While many social networking sites have kept security as a top priority, who is the blame for the information getting into the wrong hands? Many are quick to blame the social networking sites, but do we really feel like they deserve all of it? The biggest thing since the emergence of social networking has been to simply not say anything that you wouldn't want  a stranger to see. It is really that simple. We have a lot of people who constantly update their every move, to every place, every hour of the day. If those people really are getting upset about their privacy, maybe they need to learn to how control their posting habits and slow it down a bit.

What do you think about privacy?

A Quick Sketch: Workplace Performance and Social Networking

Even though workplace activity is restricted to a certain degree by corporations seeking to instill some measure of control on their employees, social networking is still allowed in some companies. 48.3% of corporations still allow social media, and by extension social networking access to their employees (http://socialtimes.com/social-media-in-the-workplace-infographic_b74120). This shocking statistic highlights just how little companies know about how workplace productivity is affected when employees go browsing on the web in their favorite social networking spaces.

            According to a research study, “Companies that let employees access Facebook during work hours can expect to see total office productivity decline by an average of 1.5 percent” (http://touchpointcity.wordpress.com/2009/08/09/social-media-and-workplace-productivity-on-a-collision-course/). Although this may not seem like a high percentage, to companies trying to work on low margins, with cut throat pricing methods and extremely competitive markets, this decline in productivity may signal a decline in overall bottom line. Also, note that this study does not include Twitter, Youtube, or other forms of social networking. Even though employees may not explicitly recognize the need to avoid exposure to social networks while at the office or on the job, companies should still consider whether this is improving business performance and enhancing profit or whether browsing is sinking the ship and the employees with it.

            What are your thoughts on the decline in employee performance? Are these numbers too trivial or have you found that these declines in workplace productivity are a factor of something larger in the company, such as low employee morale?

Marketing 2.0: How Marketers are Ticking You Off

Marketers are increasingly using your Facebook, Twitter, and social networking sites to advertise to you, the consumer, who will hopefully glance at their product or offering and create business for their company. Although advertising on Youtube, LinkedIn and other sites can lead to hits, according to the TechJournal, “A recent study on social media conducted by Relevation Research found that 52 percent of US online consumers, 16 years+ have liked, followed or subscribed to a company/brand via social networking. But close to a third of these later turn around and dump the companies/brands with which they initially forged a relationship” (http://www.techjournalsouth.com/2012/03/advertising-on-social-media-can-backfire-lose-customers/). Thus, as much as the idea of advertising on a social network may appeal to a firm, a business needs to appreciate its customers in a deeper way.

            One of these ways is by creating value-adding content that users can apply to their own lives or use while shopping for other products and offerings. Interesting facts, pictures, and content keep users engaged rather than pushing a product in front of users so that they are forced to look at and examine a product. Social networking has a large reach of audience members, so examining content so that it appeals to every part of a market is sometimes difficult to do. Rather than forcing content on users who will eventually abandon a firm’s advertising on social networking, businesses need to create content that is appealing to various market segments, establishes a community, and establishes credibility with users (http://akhilesh89.hubpages.com/hub/Online-advertising-on-social-networking-sites-is-essential). Without this strategy, companies will continue to fail in their advertising efforts towards consumers, and advertising  on social networking will go the way of banner ads, with users ignoring content entirely in favor of other forms of advertising.

            What are your thoughts about advertising on social networking? Could it be labeled as intrusive or unnecessary? Is it effective to you personally as a student or consumer? What are some potential flaws with this kind of advertising?

Social Networking and Marketing

Social Networking effects on Marketing and Products

Social Networking  is important to marketers because it is not only a one stop shop for sharing and communicating on similar interests, but also a place where consumers share opinions about different products and offerings.  Marketers and researchers collect information and data mine it to transform into leads on new products and improvements.  Therefore trends lead to marketing actions.   Social networking also increases brand loyalty.  For example, on Facebook, users can “like” different products, thus displaying their interest in various brands which gets other SN users talking about similar items.  From social networks, ad firms and researchers can develop plans to discover the needs and wants of consumers that are constantly providing feedback on new products and services.

(Kerin, Roger A., Steven William. Hartley, and William Rudelius. "8." Marketing. Boston: McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2009. 209-10. Print.)

Now that we know SN’s contribution to marketing, the question of products arises.   To make the comparisons, lets look at the smartphone product line.  Are companies designing smartphones around social network compatibility more than texting and other basic phone features?  It seems that iPhones and Androids are advertising more and more for the social networks and media that are accessible on their products.  You could say that the SN compatibility feature has become a necessity to potential phone buyers.  With this, many carriers have designed their products around SN features, making it easier to drag and upload pictures to Facebook, Flickr, Google+, etc.  Looking back on a few years ago when phones were centered on texting features, such as sliding keyboards, QWERTY, and swipe text; it is safe to say that the new trend for phones is centered around screen display for YouTube videos, Face Time Chat, or group chats on Google+.  Also larger data packages are available for how much information is being processed and stored in a smart phone.   It is clear to see that consumer wants and needs are shaping the innovation for the smartphone product line.

The Harvard Business Review addressed an interesting concept of companies keeping up:

 On the positive side, new communication technologies and channels have made it easier to get on the map quickly and to create buzz and word-of-mouth. The problem is that start-ups are now subjected to new and not necessarily desirable pressures, which are exclusively related to communication channels. In short, it is the "fear of being left out" syndrome.

This statement shows that technologies,  including social media and networking, have indeed impacted the market and product lines of industries everwhere. (Hagiu, Andrei. "Social Networks Will Change Product Innovation." Web log post. Harvard Business Review. HBR Blog Networ, 18 Mar. 2011. Web. 17 Mar. 2012. <http://blogs.hbr.org/hbsfaculty/2011/03/how-social-networks-will-chang.html>.)

 What is your take on product and market innovations effected by social networks?

Social Networking and Schools

Students’ involvement with social networking is probably at an all time high nowadays, and this addiction is increasing day by day. This has made some educators furious while making others more comfortable with technology. However, the general perception of social networking involvement with education just does not seem to fit today's teaching model. Social networking is widely regarded as addicting, unsafe, dangerous, and posing risk to today's youth and adults. So how can the idea of schools using social networking for educational purposes fit the scene? Here's how it can and how it should:

How it should:

Schools should make use of technology in order to secure the learning environment, such as filtering, blocking certain access, using secure web space for teaching online through social networking sites. Though it is not as easy as it may seem, but it is certainly attainable and enforceable. With that said, educational institutions should have more control over the learning environment than the students and they can interact with the students in a way that is interesting yet knowledge building for students.

How it can:

Schools can guide students over the do's and dont's of online activities, especially while using social networking for online activities. Social networking, with the use of technology, can be used to deliver clear policy and procedures for online behavior as well as consequences for violations. Effective technical monitoring is vital in order to successfully achieving teaching and other educational objectives.

Let us know what you think in the comments:

Should social networking really be used for educational purposes? Do we have the right technology to monitor and ensure such objective can be accomplished?

Social Networking as an addictive technology

As we all know, social networking is a huge percentage of all activity done on the internet now. The question we're presenting is, has social networking evolved into a technology that is addictive?  So this question brought us across a study which stated, " Those who primarily used the Internet for online chat believed that the Internet is psychologically beneficial to them, but also believed that frequent Internet users are lonely and that the Internet can be addictive. It is argued that 'chat' users who are socially fearful may be using the Internet as a form of low-risk social approach and an opportunity to rehearse social behavior and communication skills, which, may help them improve interaction with offline, face-to-face, social environments " (http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/cpb.2006.9.69).

With that being said, along with experience in the topic being around many people others would deem addicted to social networks, we would say the answer is yes, it is an addictive technology. Now there are lines to be drawn, just because an individual checks their page often wouldn't make them addicted, maybe they have a conversation going on they wish to continue. We believe the line begins to be drawn when people can't get off the sites not just one day but everyday. When people are socializing but can’t get off their devices to socialize face-to-face, and when people can't go a single day off the social network without it causing discomfort, then addiction is starting to set in.

What are your opinions? Where is the line drawn from a social network user being addicted or just an advocate of the site?