The Effects New Technologies Have on International Communication and Negotiation in Business - Essay Example

Name Professor’s Name Subject Date Analyse and assess the effects new technologies like online social media have on international communication and negotiation in business Social media is a part of technological innovations that have taken part in the world today and have been significant in peoples’ lives. Social media entails a platform that allows people to exchange and share different ideas and information and this is done through the aspect of networking. Social media uses the internet and this explains its significance since it is available all over the world and it can be used to reach a large number of people. Some of the notable types of social media include Facebook, Twitter and YouTube and they have been instrumental in changing the livelihood of people all over the world. Businesses and companies have realized the impact that social media has and this is the reason they have shifted their marketing strategies towards the social media. The social media marketing entails the creation of website traffic with the aim of attracting the attention of the readers in an effort to reach a wider market for the different products that they produce. Other notable technological innovations that businesses are using for marketing purposes include blogs. It is, therefore, evident that the different technological innovations that are in existence today have revolutionized international communication and the negotiation of business. The advantages that these new technologies have had on international communication as compared to the previous technologies include the fact that the products that the businesses are marketing are able to reach a wider market (Bryfonski, 2012: 15). The social media has had a high impact since people are able to make transactions without being physically present since people can be able to buy and sell different products online. An example of such a website that offers this service is Ebay where several products are on offer and if a person is interested in any product that is on offer then someone just pays through online platforms such as PayPal. The product bought will then be shipped to the country in which such person resides and this has enhanced trade irrespective of the country that someone dwells (Bryfonski, 2012: 19). International communication has, therefore, been enhanced through such technological innovations such as PayPal whereby people can pay for items bought online and this has made the world a global market. International communication has also been enhanced through innovations such as the WhatsApp application and this has enhanced communication throughout the world. The requirement for someone to use the WhatsApp application is that someone should have a smartphone and can access the internet. Through the application then someone can be able to connect with different people. Communication has been enhanced since information is transmitted through a faster means and is accessible to a vast number of people (Qualman, 2009:12). Another advantage that these technologies have had such as YouTube is that people can be able to communicate different ideas in the different disciplines that are in existence. People take videos in the form of interviews and they are able to communicate the various ideas that they may possess. Information such as how to be rich can be easily accessed and this can be beneficial to the people who are interested in knowing how to be rich and wealth. Other notable topics that are communicated through these technologies such as in Facebook and YouTube include tips on healthy living and through such communication then information is transmitted to many people. Information concerning tips on healthy living can be useful since people can know how to protect themselves from contracting several diseases that are life threatening such as Cancer and by so doing lives are saved. Through these technologies then information in the format of video, audio and visual can be communicated and this is through platforms such as Instagram, WhatsApp and YouTube. International communication has been enhanced by the technological innovations since messages can be transmitted through emails as compared to traditional forms of communication such as sending messages through the postal address. Gmail and Yahoo mail are examples of emails that have transformed the way messages are sent including the official ones. Communication has been transformed since people apply jobs through email addresses whereby people post their curriculum vitae there and this enhances the communication between the employers and the job seekers. Companies have transformed communication through the various departments that exist and this has been through emails and information such as memos are transmitted (Dorenda-Zaborowicz, 2012: 9). The fear of networking and opening up of several branches by companies has been resolved through international communication. Companies have been able to open up branches in several parts of the world and this makes their products closer to the people and an example of such company is Samsung. Through international communication then the company can be able to know what is happening in all its branches in different countries in the world and this has been advantageous since they have been able to serve new markets. The fear of networking by the companies has, therefore, been eliminated through international communication (Bryfonski, 2012: 22). Some of the notable disadvantages that these technologies have caused in international communication include increased cases of fraud and scams. Fraudsters and scammers have emerged as a result of these technological innovations whereby these people have conned and stolen much money from innocent users of the various innovations that are in existence. The fraudsters tend to pretend to sell a product or service but in essence their motive is to commit fraud by stealing peoples’ hard earned money. Through international communication then these people have been able to commit this crime to many innocent people around the world and this has caused agony to many of them. Crimes such as cyberbullying have also come up through international communication because of the technological innovations. Cyberbullying entails the use of social media such as Facebook, blogs and Twitter whereby the messages that are posted there are intended to slander, harm and embarrass someone. The behavior is usually harmful since the messages that are posted are hostile and at times entails defamation. Cyberbullying is a harassment that should be condemned since it may lead to the spreading of hate speech that could lead to chaos. It may also lead to practices such as racism and it is a very inhumane act, therefore, cyberbullying should be condemned. The technological innovations such as YouTube and WhatsApp can be used to spread obscene images and videos and this affects morality in the society. International communication is, therefore, affected by such deeds since they can lead to promiscuity and other ills that have been experienced all over the world. The transformation of such messages, therefore, causes more harm than good since children and teenagers can gain access to such materials easily through the internet and this will deteriorate their moral values (Qualman, 2009:18). Companies and businesses may use the technological innovations in order to blackmail and sabotage their competitors and this has been achieved through international communication. A business may spread a biased rumor concerning its competitor with the ill intention of driving customers away from such a company or business. Through the innovations viruses have been created and they may be used by business by sending an email that contains viruses to its competitor with the intention of destroying their website and this can lead to sabotage. The sabotage can be caused through the loss of confidential and critical information and data by such a company (Dorenda-Zaborowicz, 2012: 19). Another disadvantage that emerges because of the use of social media is that activities such as terrorism have been enhanced through international communication using platforms such as WhatsApp and Twitter. These platforms have been used since some of the messages that are transmitted by the terrorists cannot be tracked down. Terrorism has continued to cause much grieve and pain in the world today. The acts of terrorism such as the detonation of bombs have, therefore, continued to hurt people through the killing of innocent people and subjecting others to lifetime injuries and deformities. Terrorism activities have, therefore, continued to cause much havoc in the society that people are living today and international communication has had a role to play since the messages that the terrorists transmit are done through these platforms. The new technologies are helpful in the development of international public sphere. The social media has, therefore, been instrumental in campaigns concerning human rights and this has been through platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. Campaigns have been advocated to stop vices that lead to the violation of human rights especially the aspect of equality. One of the vices that have been condemned through social media that violates the human rights of a person is racism. Racism entails the beliefs and practices that show some form of discrimination towards certain peoples’ traits and qualities such as the skin color or the place of origin. It is a practice that entails viewing some people as being inferior to others based on certain characteristics despite them being permanent such as the color of the skin Racism violates the United Nations Universal Human Rights of equality since people are judged based on their skin color and their diverse backgrounds. Campaigns that discourage the practice of racism have been carried out and they have been enhanced through Facebook and Twitter and this act has been advantageous since it has been able to reach a large number of people throughout the world. Advocacy on equality has, therefore, been achieved since peoples’ mindsets have been changed through such campaigns that have been carried out by different organizations such as the United Nations. A notable campaign on racism that happened recently in the social media specifically in Twitter was when Dani Alves who plays for Barcelona Football Club that is based in Spain had a banana thrown at him as a result of his skin color. The action by that fan was very inhumane since it was a form of harassment since its intention showed an ill motive. Dani’s fellow teammate became very angry as a result of the act and he resolved the issue by addressing the problem by using the social media. He used Twitter to drive the message home by using the hashtag we are all monkeys and went ahead and took a photo of himself as he was eating a banana and he did this to show that we are all equal. Twitter a part of the social media was used to campaign against racism that has become a big social problem in the world today. The social media has, therefore, been used to resolve the different social problems that affect people. Another international campaign that has been carried out through the social media concerns health. People have been encouraged to live healthy lives in order to prevent themselves from becoming victims of life threatening diseases. Notable disease in which social media has been used to advocate including Cancer and AIDS since they have resulted to very many deaths in the world today. The campaigns that have been carried out have been meant to educate people more on these diseases in order to try and curb the death problem that has been caused by these diseases. Blogs have been used to lead campaigns on these diseases and an example of this is a campaign on AIDS that has been carried out by the blog.AIDS.gov. The campaign that has been advocated has been through social networking in order to encourage people to undergo an HIV test in order to know their status. The campaign on Cancer has been advocated through Twitter where people give testimonies about Cancer and an example of this is the hashtag why cancer trends on social media. It is, therefore, evident that social media has played a significant role in the world today since it has made communication easier and it has been instrumental in carrying out campaigns that have changed the world for the better. Technological innovations should, therefore, be encouraged since they are making life easier as compared to when they did not exist. Social media is, therefore, one of the genius technological innovations that have been made of all times. Works Cited Bryfonski, Dedria. The global impact of social media. Detroit, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2012. Print. Dorenda-Zaborowicz, Marta. "Marketing w social media." Nowe Media 0.3 (2012): 59. Print. "Journal of International and Intercultural Communication Reviewers." Journal of International and Intercultural Communication 3.4 (2010): 279-285. Print. Qualman, Erik. Socialnomics: how social media transforms the way we live and do business. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley, 2009. Print. "Using Social Networking to Promote HIV Testing." blogaidsgov HIV Policy Programs Research New Media. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 May 2014. . "Why cancer trends on social media." BBC News. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 May 2014. . Read More