Strategies of Social Networking - Assignment Example

?ASSIGNMENT 5 College Positivism is a theory that suggests that the only knowledge that is authentic is scientific knowledge. This means that any knowledge that is not scientific is not authentic. The theory further describes scientific knowledge as knowledge that has to be confirmed through the use of scientific methods such as experiments. This theory is still very evident in our society today. For example, a patient visiting a doctor and explains his subjective feelings while the doctor uses the objective terms. The doctor is considered to say the truth since they use terms that are understandable to the scientist. These terms are known to be objective and not subjective. From this, what it means is that the doctor knows more about what the patient is feeling than the patient themselves (Norman, 2004). According to Norman, the world today needs to consider the subjective points of view and not depend so much on the expert opinions. This is ironical since most of the subjective views always come from those affected. E.g. a computer scientist would not know the kind of interface that various groups of people may want without getting their opinion on such. We have to get a more subjective point of view so as to adapt to the explorations that are available today in terms of usability. For example, computer scientist cannot completely ignore user’s subjective views as they are the final people who will use their product. For example if a computer engineer wants to come up with a new hardware, they have to study the needs of the common man and understand what they need. If computer engineers never thought subjectively then they would end up building products that are complex and few users would be able to use the products (Norman, 2004). Norman also believes that we have different points of observation. Every user has a way in which they see different things; a professional might see something in a more complicated way as opposed to the non technical manner that a less experienced user might see it. It is for this reason that people can have their own observation and opinions on different matters. Scientist therefore needs to leave the positivism idea and learn to accept some of the subjective opinions. From this observation, it is evident that even though scientist only believe in the objective tone, much of the subjective tone is necessary if they want to understand what people want. Otherwise they would be making products for themselves. 2 Philosophy is described as the study of reality, knowledge and existence. Most people tend to associate philosophy with books and theories that try to explain fundamental laws in physics and nothing that touch our daily lives. Philosophy has been there for thousands of years and various philosophers have existed and have been able to explain the various things that touch our lives. Just like philosophy has touched and influenced a lot of people and life, the IPod has been a great tool in influencing the lives of millions of people. The iPod is transforming the lives of millions of people every day and making them get new ideas within a click. People are listening to music of their taste and others reading social links and contributing a lot to the economy. However, have we ever taken time t o try and link philosophy with an iPod? An iPod can define an individual, the contents of a person determines the kind of things that the person likes as well as the information that is useful to their lives. Since philosophy is concerned with the social lives of people as well, it is ironic that most people would try to evade this important field yet it touches them in almost every angle. Most scholars have tried to link various current cultures with philosophy; computer science has however brought this even closer linking people with most philosophical issues such as graphical user interface. It is due to philosophy that a computer scientist is able to determine the type of service that people need. With the right study and understanding of people’s knowledge and culture, a philosopher is able to determine the kind of interface that people would need and that is accepted to each culture. Apart from programming, computer scientists are also involved in the study of people so as to understand what people want and what products are needed in the market. For example, computer scientists and engineers understand that people need various types of music and so they make the iPod with all the musical features that one might need (Wittkower, 2008). The construction of computer hardware itself is so much dependent on philosophy. For proper construction of hardware devices, one has to have a clear picture of algebra as well as Boolean and discrete algebra. All these are part of philosophy and so developers have to know that they need philosophy in every part of their lives. It is therefore evident that people need philosophy in every part of their lives. 3 With the invention of the internet, money making has become the big thing as internet use spread all throughout the world. Various businesses are shifting their marketing strategies to the internet and using the internet to advertise their products. Social media has played a major role in developing internet advertisements. This is because social media accounts to almost 80% of internet uses daily. As a result of this, various groups and organizations are making lots of money. This clearly agrees with McLuhan’s idea that the media today is solely made to promote goods and services. Understanding the media today and its role in the society fundamentally leads down to the understanding of selling and promoting. These are the words of author McLuhan in his book understanding media. This leads us to the big question, what is the main role of media today. With the advancement in technology, there are various social networking sites that are free and each day, they require more and more people. What do they benefit from all these people who don’t pay them anything? Have you ever wondered why Facebook makes so much money yet you never pay them anything, these and more are some of the many questions surrounding the media. In 2007 there was a fail whale experienced by twitter due to the traffic that as a result of an increased number of people in the site. This shows that social networks is one of the few places where millions of people can be found at the same time meaning that if one wanted to sell a product, then the place to look at is social media. Social media therefore acts as a market place where various products are marketed and the more the people, the more customers they have and the more sellers the sites gets. This gets us to the big question about social media marketing. Most sites describe social media marketing as the process of acquiring traffic through the use of social media sites such as twitter and Facebook. The term social media is a radical term and can in most cases be used to describe sites that provide different social actions. Whereas most people use the sites for social interactions, others use it for financial benefit. The first thing that a marketer does is to create a content that is unique and can attract attention and therefore encourage more viewers to see the content. As the product spreads, it gets more viewers since the message will look like it comes from the people themselves and not from the company. It is very important to know that search engines and social media are very closely related. Making money online is the main point that the two are trying to put forward. I believe in what they are saying since with proper planning and with proper strategies in place, it is possible for one to make a lot of money using social media. I also believe that social media marketing cannot be effective alone and should be accompanied with other forms of marketing such as the use of billboards. This is because not all consumers are in social networking sites neither are all people in social networking interested in the products that a company or person might be marketing. 7 How people make money from social media marketing There are various ways in which people make money through social media marketing. It is important to note that not all money made by the company goes to their pockets rather they have to distribute this money through a chain of people who were useful in the implementation of the whole process. Some of the methods of making money include; Affiliate marketing This is a type of marketing strategy where a company awards an affiliate some amount of money for any customer that they bring. With this, the company gets to sell the product while the affiliate makes money. This is one of the fastest growing moneymaking ideas that use social media to make money. Those people who have websites or blogs have a higher advantage as they can have interesting information in their blog that attracts more and more customers. As a result of this, companies would be using their blogs to sell products and by so doing pay for that. There are various online companies such as Google that has had a lot of impact on social media marketing. They have provided a lot of tools that are useful not only for the marketing process but also for creating the blogs (Evans, 2010). Strategies of social networking According to Evans, for one to fully utilize social media marketing, they should have strategies that will ensure that they are on the right track when marketing the products on various social networks. They also have to know their products well and understand the type of social media that they ought to use. However, marketers should not only believe in social media networking alone they should also have other means of marketing their products (Evans, 2010). The first step to a successful marketing on social networks is coming up with a business plan. Just like any other marketing procedure, marketing on social networks also needs a well organized plan. The plan has to be short and precise and should have in it; a short history and mission of the business or advertisement, a model of the advertisement and the intended group of people that the message is directed. Social marketing is one of the best marketing methods if the marketer has a good knowledge of its market population. For example, if a product is meant for people from a specific age group, then this can be programmed in such a way that only end users from this specific country are able to see the final advertisement. This is unlike other forms of advertisements which cannot seclude people to advertise to. Creating a voice also known as SMM voice is very important in social media marketing. One of the major problems that arise from social media networking is the creation of voices that are not resonating with the target audience. A lot of research is needed on the audience so as to find the right voice for the audience. The advertiser also has to choose the right tools that will facilitate the marketing process. Choosing the right tools also means looking at the social networks such as Facebook, twitter, Google plus and MySpace among other social networking sites. References Evans, L. (2010). Social media marketing: Strategies for engaging in Facebook, Twitter & other social media. Indianapolis, Ind: Que. Norman, D. A. (2004). Emotional design: Why we love (or hate) everyday things. New York: Basic Books. Wittkower, D. E. (2008). iPod and philosophy: ICon of an ePoch. Chicago, Ill: Open Court. Read More