The Importance of Social Media for Sharing of Information - Essay Example

?Social Media Table of Contents Introduction 3 Thesis ment 3 Information Sharing and Facebook 4 Data Collection 5 Findings 5 Discussion on Findings 6 Conclusion 7 Works Cited 8 Appendix: Questions for Interview 9 Introduction Social media is observed as “interactive platforms via which individuals and communities create and share user-generated content” (Kietzmann, Hermkens, McCarthy and Silvestre, “Social Media? Get Serious! Understanding the Functional Building Blocks of Social Media”). Social media can be recognized as one of the major platforms for people to communicate individual opinions. The advancement of social media has allowed people to access, communicate and share information across time and location. Information sharing is considered as one of the major aspects of social media. The success of social media relies on the way people transmit and share information in an efficient manner (Panahi, Watson and Partridge, “Social Media and Tacit Knowledge Sharing: Developing a Conceptual Model”). Thesis Statement The report discusses the opinions of people on the usage of social media for sharing information. In order to understand the opinions about social media, two people have been interviewed on how they make use of social media for gaining information in one of the popular social networking sites named ‘Facebook’. The objective of the report is to recognize the importance of social media for sharing of information in present times. Information Sharing and Facebook Social media permits users to share their views, experiences, thoughts, understandings and perspectives effortlessly. Social media has opened new opportunities for users to involve in online groups and to develop media contents. Social media utilizes Web 2.0 application which has brought in a big revolution in the internet. Social media encourages sharing of information in a cooperative way. There are several social media applications through which people can share information such as wikis, blogs, internet forums and messaging among others (Santti, “Developing Corporate Knowledge Management through Social Media”). Popular social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook allow users to communicate and store information and to use social media applications. In these social networking sites people can establish relationships and influence social associations for sharing information and resources. In this context, it can be stated that Facebook is the biggest social networking site in the world (Wilson, Boe, Sala, Puttaswamy and Zhao, “User Interactions in Social Networks and their Implications”). It allows users to share basic information such as name, birthdate and other private interests. In Facebook, people use messaging applications in order to share information. Unlike other social networking websites, Facebook is developed by the model of networks which categorizes users to membership oriented groups. Users’ network membership enables to decide the type of information they can view and how their information is viewed by other people. Users can easily share photos and can post remarks (Wilson, Boe, Sala, Puttaswamy and Zhao, “User Interactions in Social Networks and their Implications”). Data Collection In order to understand the opinions of the people about information sharing in social media, two teenage students have been interviewed. The reason for selecting teenage students is that they are considered as the most active players in using social media and they also engage in social media activities frequently. Findings The interviewees were interrogated with close ended questions and open ended questions in order to understand their modes of using social media along with their thoughts about it for information sharing. The interview began with asking two questions concerning the frequency of using Facebook messaging and information sharing. It has been found that both interviewees use instant messaging on Facebook on a daily basis. With respect to sharing information both contribute information to the friends and the relatives. In reaction to the third question which was based on understanding the reason for using social media, both had demonstrated that they use Facebook mostly for staying in touch with friends, finding any general information, sharing interests and exchange files. It was observed that whenever the interviewees learn new things, they are likely to inform to their friends. The fourth question was asked to the interviewees for recognizing their views on finding information regarding any educational subject. In reaction to this question, both interviewees depicted that they do not prefer to use Facebook for obtaining any educational information rather they mostly use Google, Wikipedia and other search engines for finding educational information. The fifth question was asked to recognize the most preferable activities of interviewees in Facebook. The findings depict that the interviewees mostly engage in posting media contents, blogging and providing suggestions on Facebook. Very few times they engage in submitting any article or forming polls in Facebook. The sixth question was an open ended question which was asked for understanding the most useful aspect of Facebook. The interviewees have replied the instant messaging system and the capability to view their opinions through text or pictures as among the most important aspects in Facebook. The seventh question was asked in order to recognize the value of Facebook to them. On this question, the interviewees replied that Facebook provides as great communication medium in comparison with other media such as telephone or e-mail. It not only helps to discuss the personal interests, but also helps to make decisions on significant aspects. The eighth question was asked in order to understand the good side of Facebook for sharing information. The interviewees informed that Facebook provides the opportunity to express freely. It ensures collaboration and transparency on any political, social or other aspects of common interests. Furthermore, Facebook also provides the opportunity to communicate in informal way which is useful for better information sharing (Rajalampi, “The Role Of The Intranet In Enhancing Communication And Knowledge Sharing In A Multinational Company: Create, Store, Retrieve, Transfer, Use And Share Information”). Discussion on Findings From the above findings, it can be stated that the growing importance of Facebook among people is due to its feature to share information in an informal manner. Facebook provides user an ideal communication medium through which people can communicate and share feelings in an effective way where level of transparency and privacy can be controlled. However, it has also been observed that social networking is less useful in obtaining academic or educational information; rather it is more useful for sharing information related to personalized interests. Social media can remove the gap between formal and informal communication where people can debate and discuss on specific topics of interest (Gershon 1-15). The communication medium plays a vital part which can shape the message and the manner in which people think on certain issues. In this context, it can be stated that the media philosophy of Facebook helps to demonstrate the true thoughts which cannot be enjoyed by other mediums. Conclusion The above discussion proposes that social media has the capability to share information. It provides a better platform than any other media to interact with people and discuss any topic of common interest. By establishing the prospect to share information, Facebook fosters informal relationship among people. Due to its unique features, social media such as Facebook facilitates people to witness and pay attention on any aspect and thus create the opportunity for effective flow of information in society. Social media has allowed the users to stay attentive on any current issue and to communicate and interact constantly with others. As a result, social media has successfully integrated in the culture of modern people. Works Cited Gershon, Ilana. The Breakup 2.0: Disconnecting Over New Media. United States: Cornell University Press, 2012. Print. Kietzmann, Jan H., Kristopher Hermkens, Ian P. McCarthy and Bruno S Silvestre. “Social Media? Get Serious! Understanding the Functional Building Blocks of Social Media”. Business Horizons 54 (2011): 241-251. Panahi, Sirous, Jason Watson and Helen Partridge. “Social Media and Tacit Knowledge Sharing: Developing a Conceptual Model”. World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology 64 (2012): 1095-1102. Print. Rajalampi, Marja. The Role Of The Intranet In Enhancing Communication And Knowledge Sharing In A Multinational Company: Create, Store, Retrieve, Transfer, Use And Share Information. Aalto University School of Economics, 02 Jun. 2011. Web. 31 Oct. 2012. Santti, Petra. Developing Corporate Knowledge Management through Social Media. Helsinki University of Technology, 21 Nov. 2008. Web. 31 Oct. 2012. Wilson, Christo, Bryce Boe, Alessandra Sala, Krishna P. N. Puttaswamy and Ben Y. Zhao. User Interactions in Social Networks and their Implications. University of California, 03 Apr. 2009. Web. 31 Oct. 2012. Appendix: Questions for Interview 1. How often do you use Facebook? 2. Do you contribute any information in Facebook? 3. What are the reasons for using social media? 4. Which internet application you use most for finding information on educational subject? 5. What are your most popular social networking activities? 6. According to your viewpoint, what is the most important aspect of Facebook? 7. Why do you think Facebook is necessary? 8. What is good about sharing information on Facebook? Thank you for your opinion. Read More