What Is the Difference between Twitter and Instant Messaging - Assignment Example

Assesment Name Class Unit Quiz 1. What is the difference between Twitter and Instant Messaging? Twitter is a social networking service based on microblog. Users of twitters use short posts known as tweets. Instant messaging (IM) is a form of communication service where one is able to create a private chat room with other people and makes conversation in real-time (Dreamtech Software India, 2002). Unlike tweeter, chat occurs in a private virtual chat room. The conversation involves those in the friend list and enables one to know who is online. IM allows users to perform both voice call and video call a feature that is not available in twitter (Bridgewater & Cole, 2009). Unlike IM, anyone can follow a twitter user provided they have an account. This is different with IM where user has to add one to friend list in order to chat. The default setting for twitter is public which is very different compared to IM which is private (O'Reilly & Milstein, 2009). Only members of the IM friend list can see the chat. Unlike IM which disappears when one closes the application, tweets are posted to the twitter website. This makes tweets permanent and available to public whether members or not which is very different from IM. Those interested in tweets can search them online unlike in the case of IM. Messages posted in IM can only be read by members since the service is private. Once a member is online, the system uses alert so that one can initiate a chat. 2. List and briefly discuss three (3) benefits of a business-related social media strategy Social media marketing strategies have several benefits to a business. The three main benefits are; low cost, brand building and loyalty (Madhur, 2014). Low cost Social media strategies are cheap to implement and can be done on a low budget. Most of the social media platforms that can be used in the strategies gain money through advertising. This makes most of these tools free to use or low cost. The value of the community created is higher than the cost. The highest cost that is incurred in rolling out social media strategy is staff learning based on these tools (Hinchcliffe & Kim, 2012). Brand building Brand building is very vital for business irrespective of its size. Social media provides an avenue where a firm can build its brand equity. It has been proved that brand equity is one of the most valuable assets that a business can have. Having social media strategies have helped business to have strong brand names (Hinchcliffe & Kim, 2012). Search Engine optimization (SEO) advantages. Social media have a great effect on the SEO. When a business is able to increase their content online, the possibility of attracting links to the content is high. This helps in making the business website visible in the search engines. For search engines such as Google, the ranking of website is based on the content popularity. SEO strategy thus helps the business in a great way through enhancing their visibility online. Having visibility online helps the business to gain popularity and also gains more customers (Madhur, 2014). 3. What are virtual teams and how can they help to improve an organization’s capabilities Virtual teams are functioning teams made of individuals who are interdependent. Members in the virtual team are geographically dispersed and rely on the technology enabled communication to accomplish their tasks. To be considered a virtual team, they must have a task to perform and the outcome must be shared. Technology used ranges from phones, e-mails and videoconferences to knowledge management tools (Cristina & Susan, 2003). Organizations using virtual teams are able to benefit from improved capabilities. Organizations have invested in virtual teams due to their diverse advantages over traditional work teams (Mulki et al. 2009). There capabilities are improved through saving costs that enable them to produce more efficiently. Cost cutting especially when the business is faced with budgetary problems is very vital. The employees working on virtual teams do not require workspace and other office amenities which enables the firm to increase its productive employees without having to add workspace (Maznevski & Chudoba, 2000). The employees in the virtual teams are more satisfied in their job due to work life balance. This helps the organisation to have motivated employees who enhance capabilities. The employees have less absenteeism and turnover as compared to normal teams. Research has proved that virtual team improves firm performance by 20% as compared to traditional teams. New technology has been a major contributor to business success. It has been proved that virtual teams are able to learn and apply new technologies which help organizations in their daily work (Cristina & Susan, 2003). 4. What is the role of a content management system? How can it help an organisation gain a competitive advantage? Content Management System (CMS) is a preferred means for content delivery (Arthur, 2006). The role of CMS is to manage organisation content which comprises data, knowledge and information which enables the organisation to function in a cost effective manner and enhance decision making (Arthur, 2006). The main goal of CMS is creation of increased integration and automation within organisation processes which enable efficient and effective delivery of internet. CMS functions can be separated into four main categories which are; authoring, workflow, storage and publishing. Authoring involves creation of the web content while workflow refers to the steps that are taken by the content before authoring and publishing. When finished, storage takes place where the authored content is placed in a repository. The stored content is delivered through publishing (Boiko, 2005). Though firms contain a lot of information, it has been proved that they struggle to make it usable. The information is in most cases not prioritized. CMS allows the employees to prioritize information at ease. This enables the organisation to have the information in a quick manner. CMS enables the organisation to have a competitive edge through unlocking knowledge (Arthur, 2006). Organizations have been suffering due to poorly organized knowledge which makes the organizations unable to fully utilize it. Knowledge management systems enable the information to be readily available. When knowledge is easily available, an organisation can quickly work on it to gain a competitive advantage. As organizations become more globalised, information has become a major asset which can give them a competitive advantage. Organizations have become knowledge based (Boiko, 2005). References Arthur, M. H. 2006. Expanding a digital content management system: For the growing digital media enterprise. Amsterdam: Elsevier Focal Press. Boiko, B. 2005. Content management bible. Indianapolis, IN: Wiley Pub. Bridgewater, R., & Cole, M. B. 2009. Instant messaging reference: A practical guide. Oxford: Chandos Pub. Cristina B. G. & Susan G. C. 2003. Virtual Teams That Work, Creating Conditions for Virtual Team Effectiveness, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Dreamtech Software India. 2002. Instant messaging systems. New York, NY: Wiley Pub. Hinchcliffe, D., & Kim, P. 2012. Social business by design: Transformative social media strategies for the connected company. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Madhur Chaturvedi, 2014. “Effective Social Media Strategies – Four Tips, Four Benefits”, Oracle. Retrieved 25 November 2014, from. http://www.oracle.com/us/corporate/profit/big-ideas/042213-mchaturvedi-1937903.html Maznevski, M. & Chudoba, K. 2000. “Bridging Space over Time: Global Virtual Team Dynamics and Effectiveness.” Organization Science, Vol.11, no.5, p.473–492. Mulki, J., Bardhi, F., Lassk, F., & Nanavaty, Dahl, J. 2009. “Set up remote workers to thrive”. MIT Sloan Management Review, 51 (1), 63-69. O'Reilly, T., & Milstein, S. 2009. The Twitter book. Beijing: O'Reilly. Read More