Social Network Sites - Essay Example

Web 2.0 is the second generation of web-based services and tools that emphasize online sharing collaboration among users. It is no longer a place that holds static pages; it is no longer a “medium” that people come to. The web pages are now dynamic and organized and based on serving web applications to users. Web 2.0 has no ‘walled gardens’ which implies information can freely flow in and out of the web services (James, 2007). There is a rich user experience and data organization; it provides services and has characteristics that support and enhance interaction among users. Web 2.0 helps to create websites that look and can act like desktop programs. The web2.0 space leads to the evolution of three distinct areas – user-generated content sites, social media applications and true online communities (Young, 2007). User-generated content also known as consumer generated media (CGM) reflects the expansion of media production through new technologies one of which is blogs. The term ‘weblog’ was coined in December 1997 by Jorn Barger in his “Robot Wisdom Weblog” (Johnson, 2007) although some claim that the earliest blog was the first web site created by Tim Berners-Lee in 1991 (Herring et al, 2005). Blog is the short form of weblog and blogs are commonly referred to as diaries and is not traditionally associated with formal library communication. The definition of blogs also differs and there is no consensus on what it actually is supposed to mean. While the Merriam-Webster Online refers to blogs as a website that contains online personal journal with reflections, comments and hyperlinks provided by the writer, Yahoo calls it a non-commercial website that contains dated log format with links to other websites. Edelson (2005) describes it in simple words as "just" a browser interface to web site publishing. The primary characteristics of blogs according to Gill (2004) include: 1. Reverse chronological journaling (format) 2. Regular, date-stamped entries (timeliness) 3. Links to related news articles, documents, blog entries within each entry (attribution). 4. Archived entries (old content remains accessible) 5. Links to related blogs (blogrolling) 6. RSS or XML feed (ease of syndication) 7. Passion (voice). The act of updating a blog entry is called blogging and the one who writes a blog is a blogger. This sort of publishing is easier for the user and different for the systems administrator. In other words blogs are basically websites where content can be added through a web browser. The user just has to type into the field and click and the blog is posted. Other features include automatic archiving of posts, a search engine, a calendar, timed release of postings, and perhaps most significant, commenting. Blogs also provide RSS (really simple syndication) Feeds. Websites also can provide this feed but blogs automatically refreshes it. Software is available to create and maintain blogs that are posted in reverse chronological order (Herring et al, 2005). The concept of blogging gained popularity in mid-1990s and it is believed that on an average a new blog is created every second. Technocrati tracked over 37.3 million blogs in May 2006, according to Chen, Tsai and Chan (2008). The information is the blogsphere is rather chaotic and random because of the free format nature and the sheer volume of posts that are created everyday. The blog search engines are still in its infancy and blog access and searchability is still poor. Blogging started as an American pastime and most bloggers are younger, better educated and more likely to be urban dwellers. Most blogs have one author and the main reason cited for blogging is to express personal content. About 33 to 70% of all bloggers provide identifying information like their names on the blog (Guadagno, Okdie & Eno, 2007). There are different psychological reasons cited why people blog. First is based on the notion of relative anonymity. Individuals interact with others online but have the discretion how much to reveal or conceal about themselves while releasing information. They may thus reveal more information than they realize because they know they can maintain anonymity. Secondly, individuals post information on their blogs without having regard to how others may perceive it. Because of these two reasons there have been instances when an individual has been fired from his job or arrested after confessing on the blog of having committed a crime. Many also post information and photos on their blogs without considering how it would impact the prospective employers as everyone has access to these spaces. Blogs have made a great impact on how businesses function. The blog postings can influence a company’s reputation of affect the product life cycle (Chen, Tsai & Chan, 2008). By analyzing the blog threads it is possible to track the important bloggers and then determine the influence of the blogsphere. As blogging gained in popularity, blog-specific search engines were created. Companies use blogs for public relations, work sharing and even generate advertising revenue (Edelson, 2005). In addition businesses use it extensively for marketing their products. Customers today use the latest digital technologies and have an unprecedented control over media and content. At the corporate level blogs have been split into five categories – employee blog, group blog, executive blog, promotional blog and the newsletter blog (Xifra & Huertas, 2008). Blogging is a form of viral marketing because it uses social networks, user-generated content and interactivity to spread the message. At the same time blogging is more enduring and effective than viral marketing. Corporate blogs and blogging about firms is an integral part of long-term integrated marketing communications strategy. Companies like General Motors, IBM, Sun Microsystems, Microsoft, GE, Home Depot, Guinness, Honda, and Southwest Airlines are using blogs as a medium of communication to interact with its customers and other stakeholders (Singh, Veron-Jackson & Cullinane, 2008). It provides them a new way to stay relevant to their customers. GM uses its blog to discuss its latest designs with its customers and the North American President also met a group of bloggers as he would meet journalists. GM is an excellent example of blogging to improve marketing communications and has different blogs including the Fastlane blog, FYI Blog, Cadillac Drivers blog, and GM tuner source. Each blog has a different audience. Blogs enable marketers to segment their customers and interact with them at a personalized level. The data collected from personalized interactions can be a valuable tool for future marketing. The blogs of Garmin, a market navigation company, are a source of information for its users as they discuss topics ranging from bike racing tips to NASCAR events. If firms can effectively manage their blogs they can gather powerful market intelligence, create different communities of loyal customers who in the true sense serve the purpose of advocating the brand. Journalists see blogging as an alternative source of news and public opinion, educationists and businesses see it as an environment for knowledge sharing while individuals create blogs as a vehicle for self-expression and self-empowerment (Herring et al, 2005). Blogging makes people more thoughtful and articulate observers of the world around them. In fact according to Gill (2004) journalism is not a medium but a collective diary that records common life. Blogging is based on this concept of participatory journalism where there is two-way communication. It allows readers to interact with journalists and news organizations. Blogging provides many viewpoints on shared experiences and also serves as a data bank. Blogspheres have great influence and can make or break news. When the Trent Lott story was not correctly reported by the mainstream media, two bloggers took over and challenged the story reported by the mainstream media. This did have repercussions At the individual level, blogging has been described as socially interactive and community-like in nature. There are conversational exchanges and threads are formed on the blog itself. Popular news stories are the most common types of discussion on blogs. Research suggests that in the week immediately following the event of 9/11 the daily number of posts increased (Herring et al, 2005). The posts that are most insightful or controversial get the most comments. They blog about everything ranging from political issues to technology trends. Blogs have become a tool for two-way human conversation and a major tool for online two-way public relations. They have a conversational air about them and users experience greater satisfaction and trust, mutual control and involvement (Xifra & Huertas, 2008). Blogging is extensively used in the educational institutions but there is a mixed reaction regarding its advantages. Some studies reveal the blogs contribute successfully to students’ online engagement while others claim that blog technology has failed to motivate students to become involved in online activity (Kim, 2008). Computer-mediated communication (CMC) is being replaced by blogs and in this RSS (Really Simple Syndication) helps to increase the motivation to participate in e-discussions. As soon as blog is updated RSS technology delivers updated information to other bloggers that are subscribed. Besides, blogs help to overcome the drawbacks of using the Blackboard which requires registration, logging in and searching. Blog users can begin communication with fewer steps and formalities. Students share their learning experiences and express their thoughts to the instructor and their peers through the blogs. Blogs in MBA courses increase interactions and students get a facility to discuss beyond class meetings but as stated earlier there have been mixed response to its efficacy in the field of education. While blogs have advantages, there are several risks involved as it poses potential threat to the youths’ physical and emotional safety (Mitchell & Finkelhor, 2007). The educators feel these social technologies are only corrupting and destroying the youth (Boyd, 2007). Teenagers are at the highest risk because they try to put on a false image with the intention of impressing those in power. Teens use it for socialization rather than crave for adult acceptance. They even try to set up a false profile hiding their names, age and other details. They consider it their personal space and feel free to use it the way they want. They do not consider anything personal or anything that they would like to hide. They are more vocal and expressive than what people were two decades ago. Blogs contain text and multimedia which allow teens to express their feelings, thoughts and experiences. There have been media reports about sex offenders meeting adolescent victims through blogging sites which pose danger to the youth (Mitchell, Wolak & Finkelhor, 2007). Since bloggers post a lot of information sex offenders take advantage and pose threat. Online harassment has also been reported by the media among the bloggers. Even though the youth that engage in blogging are all educated and do not interact with other bloggers at random, the risk remains. Thus it can be seen that blogging started in the mid 1990s and this web2.0 tool has now become a very effective medium of communication and interactions in every field. At the personal level, individuals use this tool to exchange opinions on every topic – be it politics, views about books or movies or technology. Education too has embraced this technology to enhance and expedite discussions and explanations. Businesses have embraced this technology and use it as an excellent tool for integrated marketing communication strategy. Corporate blogs too are common now and it allows the executives to understand how the employees feel about the company and their executives. It is a more interactive form of journalism and most importantly because of the ease of creating blogs and updating them. Many have become publishers of their own views. They have found a platform to air their opinions. It can be put to more effective use by business houses and marketers. The potential of blogs has yet to be explored. Along with these advantages are the pitfalls that include the excesses that the youth use the blogs for. Sexual offenders take advantage of the personal information available on such blogs and create nuisance in the society. Nevertheless, it has also been possible to track criminals through blogs. Thus, blogs are here to stay and the benefits far outweigh the challenges. Reference: Boyd, D. (2007).Social Network Sites: Public, Private, or What? Available from: http://www.danah.org/papers/KnowledgeTree.pdf [accessed 12 August 2008] Chen, Y. Tsai, F. S. & Chan, K. L. (2008). Machine learning techniques for business blog search and mining. Expert Systems with Applications 35 (2008) 581–590 Edelson, E. (2005). Open-source blogs. Computer Fraud & Security. June 2005 Gill, K. E. (2004). How can we measure the influence of the blogosphere?. Department of Communication University of Washington. Available from: http://faculty.washington.edu/kegill/pub/www2004_blogosphere_gill.pdf [accessed 12 August 2008] Guadagno, R. E. Okdie, B. M. & Eno, C. A. (2007). Who blogs? Personality predictors of blogging. Computers in Human Behavior 24 (2008) 1993–2004 Herring, S. C. et al. (2005). Weblogs as a bridging genre. Information Technology & People Vol. 18 No. 2, 2005 pp. 142-171 James, C. (2007). WIKIS IN THE COLLEGE CLASSROOM: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF ONLINE AND FACE-TO-FACE GROUP COLLABORATION AT A PRIVATE LIBERAL ARTS UNIVERSITY. Available from: http://www.ohiolink.edu/etd/send-pdf.cgi/Coyle,%20James%20E.,%20Jr..pdf?acc_num=kent1175518380 [accessed 11 August 2008] Johnson, K. (2007). What’s the Ballyhoo about Blogs?. Serials Review 33 (2007) 175–187 Kim, H. N. (2008). The phenomenon of blogs and theoretical model of blog use in educational contexts. Computers & Education 51 (2008) 1342–1352 Mitchell, K. J. Wolak, J. & Finkelhor, D. (2007). Are blogs putting youth at risk for online sexual solicitation or harassment? Child Abuse & Neglect 32 (2008) 277–294 Singh, T. Veron-Jackson, L. & Cullinane, J. (2008). Blogging: A new play in your marketing game plan. Business Horizons (2008) 51, 281—292 Xifra, J. & Huertas, A. (2008). Blogging PR: An exploratory analysis of public relations weblogs. Public Relations Review 34 (2008) 269–275 Young, A. E. (2007). Social Media Marketing and the Hotel Industry.. Available from: http://www.4hoteliers.com/4hots_fshw.php?mwi=2351 [accessed 11 August 2008] Read More