Social networking is a way an individual can grow their social and business contacts by connecting with individuals. Some social networking sites that provide these connections are twitter, facebook, linkedin and myspace. These sites bring people together by communicating ideas, thoughts or information on activities, events or to join specific groups or topics.
In today’s corporate world, these types of social technologies can be used as a marketing tool to promote a brand, bring awareness to a particular product or to introduce a company to the world. Social networking is also used for socializing, and developing relationships and forming groups
As discussed in,"Tweeting Your Way to A Job", twitter can be used by individuals as a promotional devise to endorse themselves to potential clients or organizations for a position within their company. Some companies use twitter as a type of customer service tool helping to solve issues that customers have. Also, in "AT&T uses Twitter During Service Outage", AT&T used twitter as a customer information resource to keep their customers informed and updated during the service crises. As mentioned in "What Are You Doing? "Media Twitters Can't Stop Typing", some feel that twitter can be used as a worthy news source. Some people feel that twitter can provide the breaking news and is a good source of valid communication.
The benefits of social networking is that it provides information instantaneously. From breaking news to the latest videos, social networking keeps individuals updated and informed. You can pick any topic and see the exposure it can provide. In "Getting the Most Out of Twitter", it states that a large number of posts and retweets provide links showing that it is a popular way of spreading news and brings topics to forefront. Another benefit of social networking is ability to get all the updates and information on a business conference without paying all the money to attend it. Through twitter, people can be updated on all the specifics of the conferences and the speaches from speakers. Social networking is also a way to connect with friends and family and keep people in touch socially.
The dark side can be that overtweeting can be a negative thing. It can annoy customers with overexposure and potentially take away from your brand or company promotions. Also, if you are using twitter or facebook as a customer service tool, one bad tweet from a customer, could hurt a company and put them at the mercy of the customer. Another dark side of social networking is that it can expose information on an individual and delve into their privacy. It can give scammers and stalkers, every detail on an individuals comings and goings. Also, depending on the information and photos an individual posts, can lead to career suicide.
In the future, social networking could evolve to be a valid source that would provide resources on emergency situations, such as evacations or information on potential natural disasters real time. Also, social networking, if streamlined and used appropriately, could be used for voting. People could cast their polictical votes right from their computers or ipads as opposed to go to the ballots.
"Tweeting Your Way to a Job," by Laura M. Holson, The New York Times, May 20, 2009. Available from http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/21/fashion/21whiz.html
"AT&T uses Twitter during service outage" by Marguerite Reardon, cnet News, April 9, 2009. Available at: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-10216712-94.html
What Are You Doing? Media Twitterers Can’t Stop Typing" by Alessandra Stanley, The New York Times, February 28, 2009, p. C1. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/28/arts/television/28twit.html
Getting the Most Out of Twitter By CLAIRE CAIN MILLER, The New York Times, March 4, 2010, p. B5. Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/04/technology/04basics.html
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