Social Networking Site - Case Study Example

SOCIAL NETWORK SITE Social Networking Site Author Author Affiliation Date Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 An overview of Media Technology 3 Social networking Websites 4 MARKET RESPONSES TO SOCIAL NETWORKS 6 ROI of Social Networking 7 Social Networking Tools 7 Social Impact of Social Networking Websites 9 Conclusion 10 Conclusion 11 Introduction The idea for new media technology was appeared immediately with the evaluation of contemporary computer technology, the design of information exchange in medium turned out to be an influential application. However, with the passage of time, these systems and technologies turned out to be extremely common, gradually replacing conventional mediums, mainly in the application domains of personal computers and video game systems. These technologies also offered desktop publishing techniques that permitted for simpler image manipulation methods as well as online publications. This paper will discuss most popular media technology based arrangement used these days. In this scenario, this research will discuss the roles of social networks for the business and their social impact. An overview of Media Technology Due to the evolution of media technology standards, specific commonalities are present among all the kinds of modern mediums. Additionally, the geographic distance is reduced because of the reality that the technology could be utilized in almost each marketplace all through the world. In addition, the intensity or speed of communication is augmented for the reason that of the improve efficiency of the new media arena due to internet. In addition, the interactive level of data and information exchange permitted users to acclimatize to novel methodologies as supplying their own input. Moreover, previous isolated shapes of communication, like that telephony and video, are combined jointly into the new social media technology (Chavis, 2011). In this scenario, a term social media is very common these days. Social media can be defined by breaking it into parts. For instance, media is a medium which is used for communication, like a television or a radio, thus the social media would be a social instrument of communication (Nations, 2011). Social networking Websites Social networking is the rising of a new technology based platform on which individuals become part of precise groups, similar to small rural groups of people or an area subdivision. Additionally, the social networking is used by the person, particularly in the office, university, and high school, which makes it most well-liked online platform. When this kind of services and facilities are provided on web sites, these websites are recognized as social websites. In addition, the social networking websites work similar to an online society of internet users. Once a person is successful in getting access to a social networking web based platform they could be able to start to socialize. This socialization can comprise reading the web based profile pages of other associates or sometime even contacting them (What Is Social Networking, 2011). In this scenario, the friends that they are able to make are immediately one of majority of advantages to social networking. One more of those advantages comprise diversity for the reason that the internet allows the people from all through the world to get access to social networking websites. In other words, even though a person is in the US, they could still have online friendship with somebody in India or Denmark. In this ways, not simply will people make new friends, however they immediately might study a thing or two regarding new cultures or innovative languages and learning is for all time a good thing (What Is Social Networking, 2011). A social networking site also refers to a "friend-of-a-friend" site, which is developed on the idea of customary social media where people establish connection with new people and the people they already recognize. In this scenario, the basic goal of a networking site could be simply community based, facilitating people to set up and keep relationships with others; on the other hand many people also use it to establish business or professional relationships. Despite the fact that the characteristics of social networking sites vary due to purpose of their usage, however they all facilitate people to represent information about them and provide some kind of communication medium in form of forums, chat rooms, email, instant messenger all these tools and technologies allow the people to establish connections with other people. In addition, some of the social networking sites allow the people to look through for people based on definite criteria; on the other hand, remaining sites require that user be "introduced" to other users of the site by means of a connection they share. Additionally, a lot of social networking sites have their own features such as communities or subgroups that could be based on a specific concern (McDowell, 2011). MARKET RESPONSES TO SOCIAL NETWORKS At the present, majority of business corporations (regardless of their size and nature), is certainly getting benefits from consumers movement to new media outlets like that social networking sites as an important tool or source to get information. However, primarily businesses came to internet with customary company websites. But, with the emergence of latest tools especially social media and social networking sites, companies have got wonderful opportunities. In addition, at the present business organizations have started putting attention on their efforts for collaborative websites comprising however not limited to social networking sites for instance, Facebook or MySpace, blogs, forums, and even YouTube. As the organizations have shifted from their individual company websites to collaborative sites, as a result society at large has got benefits from this shift (Baruchnewmedia, 2011). In addition, the continuously growing use of social media tools and social networking communities among IT and business groups is propelling drive for social networking platforms and practices to become best business practices. According to a survey carried out by SmartBrief (The State of Social Media for Business: Select Themes 2010) revealed that the use of social media in the business environment has reached to the point that approximately 60% of US businesses are currently making use of social media. In fact, the survey has shown that after two or more years of experience using social media, businesses self-confidently and persistently control social media for definite business goals (Yolton, 2011). ROI of Social Networking Business people sometimes talk about the Return on Investment (ROI) in Social Networking. In fact, it sounds great, but what does it mean to the business people? How does it actually help them grow their business? The simply answer to these questions is that businesses could be successful through Social Networking. However, normally, social networking is a process that helps organizations establish relationship and then continue and maintain them by means of customary practices such as telephone, e-mail and face-to-face meetings. In this scenario, the social networking highly facilitates organizations to build trust. A company could be on top in the world class companies, however until their potential customers identify that, it would be useless to the business. In this scenario, the social networking allows the people to become conversant with business, especially about the organization and their objectives and approaches from a “safe and sound” distance. In addition, the people with similar thoughts are drained to one another, and people establish relationship with people they want to. Thus, if a company builds identity on the social networking site, it will allow drawing people who share their viewpoints and want to work with you (Tubb, 2011). Social Networking Tools I have presented below some of the commonly used tools of social network which can be used by a business to attract the customers: (Paul, 2009) External Usage Branded community For technology support Reader interaction/communication Partner collaboration Improving professional network For posting user blogs and blog comments Internal Usage For project collaboration For organizational collaboration For organizational discussion For organizing/filtering Information For knowledgebase management (collaboration) Social Networking Functions Some of common purposes of Social Networking are: (Paul, 2009) Blogs Microblogs (Twitter) Wikis Project tracking/participation software Multimedia Information ranking/filtering--voting Discussion forums Presence/instant messaging (IM) Public social networks Social Impact of Social Networking Websites In reality, social media can also affect individual or group productivity in the same way that a screw driver which may be categorized as a physical capital and a college education which may be categorized as a human capital may augment an individual or group productivity. In this scenario, the physical capital referred to the physical objects while human capital referred to the properties or characteristics of people. In addition, social capital referred to the link that exists between a variety of individuals or groups as well as the social networks and norms of mutual exchange and trust that happen as a result of these links. Additionally, the social capital could be related to “civic virtue”. In fact civic virtue may be associated with social capital however; they differ in a way which social capital highlights that civic virtue could be more influential when it involves in dense networks which involves mutual social exchange among individuals. In actual fact, a society can consist of a lot of virtues however if the people are isolated rich social capital may be lacking (Naina, 2011; Matei, 2010; Addiction Blog, 2011; Humphries, 2007). Moreover, when people communicate and collaborate with other people on a common basis certain norms are produced which are jointly exchanged among those individuals. In addition, the civic engagement and social capital involve definite mutual responsibilities for action. These social networks and the development of social norms result in collaboration which produces mutual benefits. In this scenario, several categories can be formed on the basis of social capital or social networks. For instance, family groups, church groups, chat rooms, professional groups and others as well as various civic organizations. Furthermore, like many community networks social capital can generate constructive results for instance the establishment of mutual trust and support among individuals (Naina, 2011; Matei, 2010; Addiction Blog, 2011; Humphries, 2007). Conclusion The idea for new media technology was appeared immediately with the evaluation of contemporary computer technology, the design of information exchange in medium turned out to be an influential application. In this scenario, a term social media is very common these days. Social media can be defined by breaking it into parts. For instance, media is a medium which is used for communication, like a television or a radio, thus the social media would be a social instrument of communication. A social networking site also refers to a "friend-of-a-friend" site, which is developed on the idea of customary social media where people establish connection with new people and the people they already recognize. In this scenario, the basic goal of a networking site could be simply community based, facilitating people to set up and keep relationships with others; on the other hand many people also use it to establish business or professional relationships. This paper has presented a detailed overview of social media and social networking sites. This paper has discussed the technologies which can be used by the businesses to improve their business processes. The use of social networking can help the business improve business efficiency. Conclusion Addiction Blog. (2011, February 24). The negative impact of social networking sites. Retrieved October 26, 2011, from http://internet.addictionblog.org/the-negative-impact-of-social-networking-sites/ Baruchnewmedia. (2011). How Business is Using Social Networking. Retrieved October 24, 2011, from http://baruchnewmedia.com/wiki/How_Business_is_Using_Social_Networking Chavis, J. C. (2011). What Is New Media Technology? Retrieved October 25, 2011, from WiseGeek.com: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-new-media-technology.htm Humphries, L. (2007, January 15). The Impact of Social Networking Tools and Guidelines to Use Them. Retrieved October 26, 2011, from http://www.llrx.com/features/goodgoogle.htm Matei, S. A. (2010, July 26). The social impact of social media: creator or destroyer of social capital? Retrieved October 25, 2011, from http://matei.org/ithink/2010/07/26/the-social-impact-of-social-media-creator-or-destroyer-of-social-capital/ McDowell, M. (2011, January 26). National Cyber Alert System. Retrieved October 26, 2011, from US-CERT.com: http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/tips/ST06-003.html Naina. (2011, May 17). The impact of Social networking on our day-to-day lives. Retrieved October 27, 2011, from http://www.buzzom.com/2011/05/impact-of-social-networking-on-our-day-to-day-lives/ Nations, D. (2011). What is Social Media? Retrieved October 25, 2011, from About.com: http://webtrends.about.com/od/web20/a/social-media.htm Paul, F. (2009, May 06). Smart Social Networking For Your Small Business. Retrieved October 21, 2011, from http://www.forbes.com/2009/06/05/social-networking-interop-entrepreneurs-technology-bmighty.html Tubb, R. (2011, June 13). Effectively using Social Networking to Build your IT support Business. Retrieved October 24, 2011, from http://www.mspbusinessmanagement.com/blog/effectively-using-social-networking-build-your-it-support-business-part-1 What Is Social Networking. (2011, June 26). What Is Social Networking? . Retrieved October 24, 2011, from http://www.whatissocialnetworking.com/ Yolton, M. (2011, April 12). Can social networking really drive business value? Retrieved October 24, 2011, from http://www.bluefinsolutions.com/insights/guest_blog/can_social_networking_really_drive_business_value/ Read More