Category: Facebook

Social networking has become a whirlwind phenomenon that the 21st century population cannot ignore or suspend (Powell, 2009). Among all demographic categories of people, social networking seems to have no barriers, and today, many people around the worlds have become fast receptors of social networking services (Rutledge, 2008).

Social networking has been enabled largely by advancement in information technology (computers) whereby, internet has become the basic forum where most of interactions take place (McManus, 2010). As a result, there seems to be no boundaries among people, organizations, groups and the larger social environment in using social network services for their various needs (Ryan, 2011).

People use social networks differently, but in most cases, social networks have become popular avenues for interaction, sharing of interests, ideas, events and popular activities that individuals may find interesting or valuable (Lusted, 2011). Some of the current popular social networks include Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo, and many more (Lusted, 2011).

Key features that most social network exhibit include profile pages on which different individuals identify themselves by posting information concerning them, category pages for messaging, chat forums, and so on, and connection links such as like, join, add, remove, and bloc (Kelsey, 2010). All these features combine to make different social networks popular sites that people have gradually become addicted to.

Facebook, as noted above, constitutes one of the popular social network services that individuals around the world use for social connection (Facebook, 2011). And in order to effectively use the services provided by Facebook, users have been required regularly to agree to terms and conditions that Facebook, as a company, has established (Facebook, 2011).

The terms and conditions, just like in any other organization, reflect the overall regulatory rules and regulations set by different institutions or bodies, which people are required to abide to. This is always done to ensure rights and freedoms of individuals, groups, organizations, or societies are not abused, instead, they are respected even as one uses Facebook forum.

This leads us to ask and subsequently evaluate the basic proposition which states that, why Facebook terms of use would be effective and more so, why is it necessary to choose the particular service or platform.

Answer to the above statement requires a holistic journey of evaluation into the policy of Facebook regarding terms and conditions for usage of the service or site. Facebook, like any other social entity in a pluralistic society, is prone to abuse, where people in different ways may misuse the forum at the disadvantage of other people (Weintraub, 2011; Kumar and Zhang, 2010).

In order to limit this, terms of use established by Facebook aim at instituting some level of control on how information and all other aspects can be used. At the same time, terms of use instituted are aimed at effectively regulating commercial use of members’ information (Dixon and Gellman, 2011). Marketing in the 21st century has become tech-hitch and all efforts are done to meet targets at the lowest cost.

Given that many people use Facebook, it becomes fertile ground for marketers. And in an effort to protect members, terms of use become appropriate. In the same measure, Facebook terms of use are implemented to effectively ensure protection and operate within legal framework regarding copyright, trademark, publicity, privacy or any other form of individual right (Garfinkel, 2011).

Moreover, as the issue of security becomes a global concern, there is need for individual protection against all forms of insecurity that may also include hate-speech and discrimination, which Facebook tries to effectively regulate through terms of use (Garfinkel, 2011).

On overall, effectiveness of Facebook terms of use aim to ensure sensible promotion, exchange, and usage of information on the site among different individuals that meet social needs of different groups of people within tenets of legal and human rights (Garfinkel, 2011).

The need to choose particular service can be perceived to be greatly influenced by the need for effective regulation, monitoring and subsequent guidance, all aimed at ensuring maximum security and observance of human rights for the use of Facebook forum (Bankston, 2009).

Given that regulation sometimes becomes a problem especially with advent of sophisticated information technology tools, it can be deduced that choosing a particular service or platform makes it both for the user and owner to ensure security, freedom and rights are respected.

In conclusion, it can be stated that different social networks exist today and although each has different features and usage needs, they all appear to perform a singular role of connecting people worldwide.

Nevertheless, Facebook terms of use as an online policy primer have effectively regulated the usage on the forum although some level of criticism has been advanced (Jones, 2009; Bankston, 2009), which calls for future consideration and appropriate modification of the terms of use (BBC News, 2009).

References

Bankston, K. (2009). Facebook’s new privacy changes: the good, the bad and the ugly. Electronic Frontier Foundation. Web.

BBC News. (2009). Facebook faces criticism on privacy change. Web..

Dixon, P and Gellman, R. (2011). Online Privacy: A Reference Handbook. CA: ABC-CLIO. Web.

Facebook. (2011). “Statement of rights and responsibilities”. Web.

Garfinkel, S. L. (2011). “When private information is not”. Technology Review, Vol. 114, No. 4, p. 63. UK: Cambridge. Web.

Jones, K. C. (2009). “Facebook’s terms of use draw protest”. InformationWeek Article. UBM TechWeb. Web.

Kelsey, T. (2010). Social Networking spaces: From Facebook to Twitter and everything in between. NY: Springer. Web.

Kumar, A. and Zhang, D. (2010). Ethics and policy of biometrics: Third international conference on ethics and policy of biometrics and international data sharing, Hong Kong, January 4-5, 2010. NY: Springer. Web.

Lusted, M. A. (2011). Social Networking: Myspace, Facebook, & Twitter. NY: ABDO. Web.

McManus, S. (2010). Social Networking for the older and wiser: Connect with family and friends old and new. MA: John Wiley and Sons. Web.

Powell, J. (2009). 33 million people in the room: how to create, influence, and run a successful business with social networking. NJ: Que Publishing. Web.

Ryan, P. K. (2011). Social Networking. NY: The Rosen Publishing Group. Web.

Rutledge, P. A. (2008). The truth about profiting from social networking. NJ: FT Press. Web.

Weintraub, M. (2011). Killer Facebook Ads: Master cutting-edge Facebook advertising techniques. MA: John Wiley and Sons. Web.

Introduction

Facebook is an internet-based social networking platform that was founded by a Harvard University sophomore, Mark Zuckerberg. Launched on the fourth day of February in 2004, the website is operated and owned by Facebook, Inc; a private entity. However, companies like Microsoft have a stake in this platform. It is worth to note that the term, Facebook was derived from the paper facebooks – representing campus community members – that American preparatory school and colleges gave to fresh students, staff, and faculty as a means of identifying each other within the campus.

Main body

Facebook has free-registration that allows anyone to access to the website. The only requirements are a minimum age of thirteen years and a bona fide email address. Registration, however, has to be verified by the Facebook administrators depending on the criteria dictated by the terms and condition of the forum. In fact, if any user wishes to change any details that he or she entered previously, the administrator has to verify the information first, before the user’s details are changed. Note that there is a potential for users to give false information while registering with Facebook since no form of documentation is required for verification purposes. However, the platform obligates the user to include information that is true. In addition, users have the option of joining various networks that are identified with the workplace, region and city; as well as interact and connect with anyone within the platform.

Moreover, users can create and update their individual profile; add friends as well as send them general and poke messages, and inform other people about themselves. Note that absolute privacy is not adequately guaranteed in this platform, especially for users who are not fully familiar with the websites privacy features. Almost anyone can view the profile information and activities of others in the website. However, this viewing is limited to users who are approved friends or are in the same network, and individual users have the option of allowing their friends to view their information.

The platform has several features. It includes Pokes, which is an application used to send virtual pokes, a Wall which is to posting messages, and Photos that allows users to upload digital photographs. Also Status feature enables users to notify others users of their actions and whereabouts. Note that the Wall can be viewed by anyone so long as the viewer has also the profile’s owner approval which is determined through the privacy settings. Furthermore, user can post both textual contents and attachments to the Wall. Additionally, programmers are allowed to create applications that are compatible with Facebook through the Platform feature. In this regard, Facebook itself created the Marketplace, events, Video Gifts and Photo applications. The Marketplace allows posting free ads; Events informs users of upcoming events; while Video feature enable users to share personal videos.

The Photo application, which is very popular (The Facebook Gifts), allows users to upload an unlimited number of photos as well as photo albums. However, the application limits the users to save only sixty photos in an album. Privacy settings are activated in this application that allows individuals to limit and determine who views their photographs in a particular album. It allows the flexibility of applying different settings to different photo albums. In addition, the Photo feature enables users to label or rather tag users in a photograph. For instance, if a user’s friend appears in a particular photograph, the user can label the photo so that a notification is sent to the friend informing them that they are tagged, and a connection is provided to them to allow them view the photo.

As time goes, Facebook has been adding more features in its social-networking website. One is the features include News Feed application that is present in every homepage of the users. It is used in highlighting information relevant to user’s friends such as upcoming events, profile changes, and birthdays as well as other activities on the platform. Zuckerberg (2008) had once lamented over Facebook failure to control the viewing of an individual’s events, conversation and relationship status by other users. The Chat feature has also been integrated in the Facebook website, and allows users to see who of their friends are online on top of allowing them to chat. Gifts feature enables users to give virtual gifts to friends. These virtual gifts are worth $ 1 for every purchase and can be accompanied by a personalized message.

The Facebook note, which is a blogging application, is another feature that includes capabilities like tagging, embedding of image, etcetera. Furthermore, allows readers to give comments on entries of other users. Also, it allows users to import blogs from other blogging services such as Blogger, LiveJournal and Xanga.

Facebook is almost similar to another social-networking platform known as MySpace, but there is a major difference in the degree of customization (Brad). Whereas in MySpace users are allowed to manipulate their profile using Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) and Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), in Facebook only plain text is allowed.

Chess is an example of an application that was created by independent programmer. Related to Scrabble, it enables users to play games with friends. The game is asynchronous, which means users can continue with their game anytime even after breaking for some time. Other applications that have been created in Facebook include Most Lovable person, Hug me application.

Seemingly, the website has several subscribers and operates on a global scale. That is, it has users all over the world. More than sixty nine million people use the platform actively. According to websites ranking company, Alexa, Facebook traffic rose from sixty million to sixty seven million between September 2006 and September 2007. Moreover, Quantcast places the website at number 16^th in regard to user traffic; whereas Compete.com ranks the platform at position 20. However, it is noted as the most popular website in terms of photo uploads.

However, the platform is not in operational in Iran and Syria due to the fact that it allows excessive freedom to the users (American Islamic Congress). Moreover, it has users ranging from celebrities, musician, actors, college student, working people and the general public. However, although the scrutinizing is not strict, only users above the age of thirteen years are allowed to join the platform (Carolyn; Facebook).

The social-networking website has controls that ensure that the use of the platform is maintained within certain ethical standards. For instance, users can report any activity that is illegal or contravening their interests. The administrator has the sole rights of deciding the course of action for anyone or group that faults these rules.

Although the platform is free to users, it gets its revenues from advertisements which are in form of banners (Zoe). Microsoft, Inc. is the only Facebook partner that controls and operates banner advisements (Facebook). As such, advertisements that appear in Facebook must be approved by both Facebook and Microsoft in addition to having an agreement between the advertiser and the two companies. The platform collects data that is useful in directing these advertisement banners to the right audience (Louise).

Conclusion

The website is a powerful social networking tool. It allows people from all corners of the world to share information as well as interact and link up for various reasons. Moreover, it is useful to users who want to rely information to people globally, whereby information is categorized as commercial and non commercial. Furthermore it has the advantage in that it is free to anyone irregardless of his background.

On the other hand, Facebook has been marred by controversy over issues such as privacy protection (Catherine, A15). The platform privacy agreement states that “we can use information about you that we collect from other sources, including but not limited to newspapers and Internet sources such as blogs, instant messaging services, Facebook Platform developers and other users of Facebook, to supplement your profile” (Facebook Privacy Policy).

References

American Islamic Congress. 2007. Facebook Faces Censorship in Iran. 2008. Web.

Brad, Stone (2007): Facebook Expands Into MySpace’s Territory. The New York Times. 2008. Web.

Carolyn, Abram. 2006. Welcome to Facebook, everyone”, 2008. Web.

Catherine, Rampell. 2008. What Facebook Knows That You Don’t, The Washington Post. Pg. A15. 2008. Web.

Chess. Facebook. 2008. Web.

David, Kirkpatrick. 2007. Facebook’s plan to hook up the world. CNN. 2008. Web.

Facebook – My Account. 2008. Web.

Facebook Platform Launches, Facebook, 2007. Web.

Facebook Privacy Policy. 2008. Web.

Facebook. 2008. Terms of Use. Facebook. Web.

Facebook. Product Overview FAQ: Facebook Ads. Facebook. 2008. Web.

Friends and Social Timeline. Facebook. 2008. Web.

Louise, Story. 2008. To Aim Ads, Web Is Keeping Closer Eye on You. The New York Times. Web.

Statistics. Facebook. 2008. Web.

The Facebook Gifts. 2008. Web.

Zoe, Barton. 2006. Facebook goes corporate.

Zuckerberg, Mark. 2006. Calm down. Breathe. We hear you. 2008. Web.

Introduction

Online advertising has been one of the leading marketing strategies for most organizations in the recent past. It is proper to mention that organizations have had a great time engaging their customers online especially through social media like Twitter blogging, Facebook pages, Google pages and online television services.

The moment a new product is introduced into the market, organizations enjoy a formidable force that ensures customer awareness creation. Offline interactions among customers ensure knowledge of the new products. This kind of advertising ensures rapid acknowledgement of new products, services and after sale benefits.

Hikaru & Nahoiro (2011) stated that online advertising involves firms marketing their products and services through the internet and usually do not rely on one single medium. They usually use various means to promote their products and service and this includes social media.

The current technological developments have allowed firms to involve their customers socially via tweets, offline messages, customer acquisition approaches and offline-word of mouth. Research has shown that when customers discuss about a product or service, it can only portray their knowledge about it and the willingness to keep interest for the brand in the long run (Jansen et al. 2009).

Search Engines

Australian experts in the Tourism sector have found out that online advertising is booming and growing at a faster rate because it is becoming popular among most of the population due to the social approach strategies (Ahasanul et al. 2011).

Optimization of Search Engines, abbreviated as S.E.O, refers to the practice of increasing traffic from the ‘unrestricted,’ ‘natural,’ ‘tabloid’ or ‘gradual’ listings on the search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Bing (Armstrong & Barrett 2001).

These sites have web pages and other contents such as audiovisuals or local listings which the engines provide in a ranked manner depending on the most important as may be deemed by the reader (Arviddsson 2006). This search masterpiece allows consumers who want to know more about products or services offered by a particular organization to look up the websites or blogs hence obtain desired information.

It is therefore right to mention that online search optimization is one of the essentials in the business world in view of advertisements. Search engine advertising is the practice of increasing traffic from or conspicuousness arising from search engines (Chang & Thorson 2004). It is sometimes shortened as ‘search marketing’.

It covers two broad areas silhouetted as gaining traffic through free efforts as well as increasing traffic by paying for search advertising (Arviddsson 2006). It is therefore paramount that a firm with a website can apply these search engines techniques to increase the visibilities of the results enlisted during the search for the same by potential customers. One of the key methods of optimizing search engines is by use of articles.

Owners of website normally hire professional writers to create articles that contain hyperlinks. These hyperlinks usually direct readers to specific pages on their websites once they click on such hyperlinks. In broader context, a firm giving keen eye on its customers and potential clients will ensure that they are well choreographed in their web pages and to hasten customer accessibility in search for more about them.

Ahasanul et al. (2011) reveal that advertisement is an important part of an organization especially a fast food restaurant where management needs to carry out various changes: for instance, diversity in slogans. This increases likeability of the potential customers towards the products.

Trip Advisor

Another online advertising technique that a firm (such as a hotel) can use is the Trip advisor. This has helped many customers looking for places to spend a night during the course of their journey. An organization with well-organized objectives will put such online travelers’ reviews, map and photos specifying locations of their products and services. Through online adverts, likeability increases.

Customers through word-of-mouth and on social media, instigate the intrigues by others. Trip advisor is therefore an important software that users can download in their phones in order to look up locations when they travel (O’Guinn, Allen & Semenik 2009).

Social media

It is important to note that online advertising is influenced by traditional advert media like TV. Most often, potential customers need a source of information before tweeting or blogging about a product or service. Company poised to attract more customers ought to interlink certain traditional media like TV or even print media to facilitate the online advert.

Matsumura & Yamamoto (2011) states that “the source… mass media, marketing information that is created and sent by firms, and content created by others on other social media… cannot tweet about or follow something they do not know… plays an important role in raising the awareness level”.

Usually traditional advertising is the entrance point leading to interests in products and services, and thus leading to conversation and there after expanding customer base (Naik & Peters 2009).

Instant messaging on twitter has enabled social media bloggers to be a strategic target for various companies. World leading corporations have signed up accounts on twitter as a way of outreaching for a wider customer market (or rather product marketing strategy). Among them include the Mercedes Benz Company, the H&A, BMW and even Audi in United States.

According to Matsumura & Yamamoto (2011) “…of users make Twitter an attractive medium for firms, and thus Twitter has attracted lots of attention from firms”. A new product blogged about on twitter only takes a few seconds to be known by a very large group of people.

Hotel or restaurant advertising itself on twitter probably gets the highest number of customers especially if its services are of quality and up to standard requirements especially in this generation of economic and quality awareness. The management of a company or firm would therefore prefer channeling most of its publicity resources to micro-blogging on social media.

Consumers tend to talk about new products up-coming or already in the market in such a way that even those who lack accounts on social sites would get to know about it and most probably develop likeability. According to Chang & Thorson (2004), social media acts as a ground in which consumers and their potential sellers can develop a rapport which could lead to creation of interest in their products and services.

It is also an entertainment ground; moreover, a place where people interact and learn more about their social lives. These interactions accelerate conversation about products and services, which in turn spread as word-of-mouth.

However, it is important to note that not all products discussed by users of social media get a positive review. Some comments could even discourage already acquired customers from consuming certain products and this could have a negative impact on the manufacturers of such products in the market.

Facebook has also become an interesting platform that has led to the growth of many companies and/or firms that rely on the media. People interact on Facebook allowing potential firms, institutions and other corporate bodies to take into account the need to advertise products, services and even job vacancies to the general public.

This has seen most companies exacerbate their likeability, increased product sales within short periods of time and even improved profitability. Companies create blog pages on this medium when users are curious about particular information; there is a directive that ensures they find it.

As stated by Kaye (2013) “once a Facebook user clicked on “About this ad,” he/she would be taken to the page of the third party Facebook Exchange (FBX) partner responsible for the ad”. Facebook search engine has many options that make a consumer comfortable using it; a consumer can easily opt out of a page if he or she is no longer interested.

In a wider view, this has enabled bloggers and Facebook users to only hold onto such firms they like the most. Studies especially on online behavioral advertisement has helped in applying accountability principle programs to further understand and allow users to primarily be at ease on social media operations (Kaye 2013).

In this aspect, many companies have found vast knowledge about their consumers especially in the e-commerce websites. Facebook is a social utility with a billion monthly users. Like other providers of free online content and services, Facebook is funded primarily by advertising revenue. This offers an appropriate platform for online advertisements (Lad 2010).

Google advertising

Google advertisement provides a remarkable approach that ensures users and product consumers get to know their desired products properly before bidding for them online or buying from the companies in question (Pride & Ferrell 2007).

This provides an opportunity for a firm to showcase its products on a Google web page with appropriate details such as price, probable discount, picture of the product, where to find it and about the delivery.

On several occasions, consumers search for information about what they want to buy before committing resources to the same. According to Hogan, Lemon, & Libai (2005) ads provide searchers with more specific information about your products before they ever visit your site.

Conclusion

It is appropriate to establish that online marketing or product marketing is a fundamental goal that every company must pursue especially in the current world. In the contemporary society, social media as a system for advertising has become an idea that can’t be neglected. Every firm must employ online marketing strategies if it has to keep up with the customer trends.

Trusov, Bucklin & Pauwels (2009) indicate that tweets have strong impacts on customer acquisition. Therefore firms should come up with strategies that not only target offline customers but also those that use social media as a daily communication tool. Social media as an inbound marketing strategy can be a strong tool in that it targets customers globally increasing the returns that are likely to be received in the long run.

Businesses and firms still lag behind when it comes to online marketing. For those that have taken advantage of this untapped market their profits have been seen to double as the marketing strategy is cost effective compared to traditional marketing.

List of References

Ahasanul, H, Sabbir, R, Ismail, SA, Farzana, Y & Almas, A 2011, ‘Assesssing the Impact of Advertisement towards Malay Consumers: an Empirical Study of Fast Food Restaurants in Malaysia’, Business Management Dynamics, Vol.1, no.2, pp. 39-53.

Armstrong, S & Barrett, N 2001, Advertising on the internet: How to get your message across on the World Wide Web, Kogan Page Publishers, London.

Arviddsson, A 2006, Brands: Meaning and value in media culture, Cengage Learning, New Jersey.

Chang, Y & Thorson, E 2004, ‘Television and Web Advertising Synergies’, Journal of Advertising, vol. 33, no. 2, pp.75-81.

Chang, Y & Thorson, E 2004, ‘Television and Web Advertising Synergies’. Journal of Advertising, vol. 33, no. 2, pp.75-81.

Hikaru, YD, & Nahoiro, MG 2011, Marketing Ecosystem: The Dynamics of Twitter, TV Advertising, and Customer Acquisition, Academic press, London.

Hogan, JE, Lemon, KN, & Libai, B 2005, ‘Quantifying the Ripple: Word-of-Mouth and Advertising Effectiveness’. Journal of Advertising Research, vol. 44, no. 3, pp. 271-280.

Jansen, B, Zhang, M, Sobel, K & Chowdury, A 2009, ‘Twitter power: Tweets as Electronic Word of Mouth’, Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, vol. 60, no. 11, pp. 2169- 2188.

Kaye, K. 2013, Facebook to make Targeted Ads More Transparent for Users. 4 February 2013. Kate Kaye: Blog. Available from: <https://adage.com/article/digital/facebook-make-targeted-ads-transparent-users/239564>. (21 April, 2013).

Lad, K 2010, Advantages and disadvantages of print media, Cengage Learning, New Jersey.

Matsumura, A & Yamamoto, T 2011, Inbound marketing, Cengage Learning, New Jersey.

Naik, PA, & Peters, K 2009, ‘A Hierarchical Marketing Communications Model of Online and Offline Media Synergies’, Journal of Interactive Marketing, vol. 23, no. 4, pp. 288-299.

O’Guinn, CT, Allen, TC & Semenik, RJ 2009, Advertising and Integrated brand promotion, Cengage Learning, New Jersey.

Pride, WM & Ferrell, OC 2007, Foundation of Marketing, Cengage Learning, New York.

Trusov, M, Bucklin, RE & Pauwels, K 2009, Effects of Word-of-Mouth versus Traditional Marketing: Findings from an Internet Social Networking Site. Journal of Marketing, vol.73, no. 2, pp. 91-102.

Introduction

Essentially, the two step theory suggests that dissemination of information takes place in two stages. In this light, the theory contends that the social structure comprises of the opinion leaders and the general public. According to the theory, the opinion leaders are the people who get first hand information about the eventualities that take place (Ginzburg, 1969).

These eventualities are obtained from the traditional media including the television, radios, newspapers, movies, and the magazines among others (Katz, 1995). In addition, it suggests that the community comprises of the general public who are not exposed to this information coming from the traditional media.

The general public might be unable to consume this information from the traditional media due to the language barrier, preference of technology, and lack of time among other things (Gray, 2008). For example, the old people in the developing countries do not understand English, yet it is used in most of the traditional media (Katz & Lazarsfeld, 2006).

They can, therefore, get information through the opinion leaders who can understand and translate the information to an understandable language. In principle, therefore, the opinion leaders are responsible of disseminating the information they have gathered to the rest of the people in the community. This implies that communication takes place in a process that comprises of the two stages. In fact, the name of the theory reflects the nature of this process.

Surprisingly, the present digital age has introduced a special aspect purporting the two step flow of information. The young people have shifted to the use of social networks including Google+, Twitter, and Facebook among others. Most young people have shifted from the traditional media completely and used most of their time on social sites.

This is due to the accessibility of the social sites from portable devices such as the mobile phones and tablets. This implies that the social networks are main platforms for disseminating information that the digital age seems to abandon. In this essay, we will focus on Facebook as a tool that facilitates the two step flow of information.

Literature Review

Existence of the Theory

Facebook has captured the interest of many people across the world due to the ease of access and use. In 2011, Facebook had about 745 million users where 50 percent of them were logged into their account on daily bases (Harvell, 2012). The statistics show that Facebook users spend about seven hundred billion minutes on Facebook.

This popularity has made Facebook to be a platform of advertising businesses by entrepreneurs and advancing political agendas (Joshi, Rutledge & Morley, 2011). In light of discussing how opinion leaders share political opinions with the entire public on social media, it is important to understand the existence of the theory on social media.

The politicians always seek fame amongst the public in order to satisfy their political ambitions (Banfield, 1961). This implies that they must attract huge masses of people in order to gain influence. However, most of the young people, who comprise of the largest portion of the population, have shifted from the traditional paradigm of obtaining information from the mass media. They prefer the social networks that are more interactive than the traditional media.

As a result, the politicians have captured the opinion leaders who can articulate the issues that are presented in the traditional media on Facebook (Kirkpatrick, 2010). This implies that the information that is available on the traditional media is also available to the people of the digital age. The opinion leaders follow the information from the traditional media and post it on their timelines.

Some people, commonly known as the bloggers, follow the mass media on real time and post on Facebook immediately. Consequently, the information is available to the people who have common political jurisdiction. Since the information flow in two stages, where the opinion leaders obtain information from the media and post it on Facebook for users to see, the communication follows the two step theory.

This explains the manner in which the opinion leaders use the theory of two step flow of information on Facebook. In this case, it is clear that a part of some Facebook users are addicted strongly to the site that they cannot consume first hand information from the traditional media.

Dynamics of the Theory

There are various dynamics that are used on Facebook, by the opinion leaders, in order to disseminate information from the mass media. These dynamics are based on the various provisions that the Facebook has allowed users to utilize. These include Facebook groups, pages, advertisements, timelines and sharing.

Timelines

Facebook allows its users to have timelines for posting their personal feelings and sharing them with their friends. The opinion leaders register with Facebook and use their timelines to post the political information to the other users. In this light, Facebook leaves a space where the opinion leader, just like any other user, can either write in text or upload photos and videos. Additionally, it allows the user to choose their privacy options in terms of the people who can view the information.

The user can either allow the friends or the general public, which include all people on Facebook, to see the information. This implies that the opinion leader can choose people in order to focus on the relevant people especially when considering the political jurisdiction. In many cases that involve the opinion leaders, they try to attain fame and popularity. Also, they seek to earn respect among the people whom they want to influence.

This respect enables them to have as many friends as possible. When friends are too many, the social site allows people to follow the users on their timeline. This implies that an opinion leader can still remain visible to people even when the number of friends are more than the maximum limit.

The timelines act as the starting point for all opinion leaders who wish to disseminate information from the traditional media on Facebook. In this sense, timeline is one of the most essential dynamics for applying the theory of two step flow.

Facebook Pages

The second tool that can be used by the opinion leaders in order to facilitate the dynamics of applying this theory is the Facebook pages. On these pages, people can subscribe or like the page in order to view information from them. However, some pages are public and can be viewed by any person on the network. When opinion leaders become popular, by having many friends, it is the next step that they can take in order to spread information from the traditional media.

They can create personal pages and invite their friend to like the page. Since they are already popular, their friends will like their pages quickly and increase the effectiveness of the fan page. Most opinion leaders pay some amount to Facebook in order to advertise their page. As a result, the page is advertised to all users and to friends. This ensures that the page is liked by many people.

The opinion leaders can articulate various eventualities that happen around their jurisdiction on this page. This means that all people who have liked the page can view the information that is posted by the opinion leader. If the page is sponsored, Facebook can allow more people to see the post.

For example, the post can be seen by the friends of all people who have liked the page. As a result, the information is spread to many people who use Facebook as a social site. Therefore, Facebook fan pages can act like a tool for the implementation of two step flow of influence.

Facebook Groups

Human beings were created as social beings who seek to relate, speak, and work together with their colleagues (Winston & Wilson, 2004). While the digital age introduces new aspects of technology, people do not change their mentality. This implies that human beings use technology within the limit of their nature. As a result, people will never seize to embrace the social aspect due to the elimination of the analogue error.

In consistency with this reality, Facebook allows its user to create groups using their accounts. The user can make a group and invite the target population to join the group. In that group, members can share ideas about businesses, education, and politics among many other issues. In fact, the opinion leaders prefer to make groups rather than pages especially when they are targeting people with similar objective, jobs and residences (Veer, 2008).

This can be attributed to the interactive aspects of the groups as compared to the pages. The interactive aspect is facilitated by the ability of the members to post issues unlike pages that allow the followers to comment about the issues raised by the administrator of the page.

In relation to two step flow of influence, opinion leaders can use Facebook groups that target people with the same interest. For example, an opinion leader can make a group bearing the name of a political territory like a county or state. The people of that county have a common political interest.

As a result, people from that county will join the group since it has a sense of belonging and develops an aspect of personal attachment. The opinion leader can post information from the group making it visible to members. This makes it possible for the citizens to follow information from traditional media through Facebook and achieve the two step influence.

Advertisement

Advertisement is the most important aspect of all issues that need attention to the general public. In the analogue age, advertisement was done through posters, bill boards, radios, and television among others (Burges, 1997). While the world is shifting to a digital age, the need for advertisement remains a pivotal aspect of human life. In this light, we must accept that the digital age has not eliminated the analogue age.

This implies that the people who use analogue adverts need the opinion leaders to spread influence on the digital platform. This factor creates a need for using the two step flow of influence (Ginzburg, 1969). In this case, the opinion leaders act like a bridge between the analogue and digital platforms. They access the issues on the analogue adverts and transfer them to the digital platforms.

In essence, Facebook is one of the most popular platforms for digital advertisement that is being used to create a two step flow of influence. For example, an opinion leader can advertise or create influence for political preference (Davies & Hagger, 1991). In this case, they can make pictorial presentation of the analogue adverts and post them on Facebook for people to see them.

Facebook can charge the advertiser for the purpose of sponsoring the adverts to the relevant people on Facebook. In fact, sponsored adverts do better than the general adverts that are made without advertisement fee (Dunay & Krueger, 2010). Therefore, it is very clear that the two step flow of influence can work through advertisement on Facebook.

Formulation of Research

A research question is a beginning point that creates the entire foundation for a research paper. In this case, there are various questions that can form the basis of this research (Lester, 1992). First, we understand that influence must be timely and cheap (Schramm, 1960). However, the two step flow of influence take place in two stages. This makes it essential for us to find the efficiency of the two step flow of influence in relation to cost and time. This aspect will need us to concentrate on a question that addresses time and cost.

• How effective, in terms of cost and time, is the use of two step flow of influence as compared to other forms of influence?

However, this question can present two possibilities of the research outcomes. The outcomes can either purport its effectiveness or suggest its ineffectiveness. If the research concludes that it is not effective in terms of time and cost, we have to proceed through formulating another question.

• If not, how can we integrate traditional media and digital Facebook to reach the people directly?

References

Banfield, E. C. (1961). Political influence. Glencoe: Free Press.

Burges, J. B. (1997). The advertisement. Cambridge: Chadwyck-Healey.

Davies, C., & Hagger, H. (1991). Making adverts. London: Longman.

Dunay, P., & Krueger, R. (2010). Facebook marketing for dummies. Hoboken: Wiley.

Ginzburg, N. (1969). The advertisement. London: Faber and Faber.

Gray, W. (2008). Essentials of Multiphase Flow in Porous Media. London: Oxford University Press.

Harvell, B. (2012). Facebook. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons Inc.

Joshi, K., Rutledge, P., & Morley, S. (2011). Using Facebook. Indianapolis: Que Pub..

Katz, E., & Lazarsfeld, P. F. (2006). Personal influence: the part played by people in the flow of mass communications (2nd ed.). New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction Publishers.

Katz, H. E. (1995). The media handbook. Lincolnwood: NTC Business Books.

Kirkpatrick, D. (2010). The Facebook effect: the inside story of the company that is connecting the world. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Lester, J. D. (1992). The research paper handbook. Glenview: Good Year Books.

Schramm, W. (1960). Mass communications: a book of readings (2d ed.). Urbana: University of Illinois Press.

Veer, E. A. (2008). Facebook. Sebastopol: Pogue Press/O’Reilly.

Winston, R. M., & Wilson, D. E. (2004). Human. London: DK Pub.

An Audience Study on the Effectiveness of Using Facebook for Multinational Cosmetics Companies to Target Local Emirati Females Living in Dubai.

Introduction

Research question and sub-questions

Social media influence many aspects of the people’s life, including the persons’ purchasing behavior. In this context, it is important to conduct a research on the role of Facebook in affecting cosmetic companies’ marketing strategies in Dubai and answer the following research question: How can multinational cosmetic companies MAC and Bobbi Brown effectively engage in communicating with local Emirati females in Dubai via Facebook?

Sub-questions important to be answered in the research are the following ones:

1. How has MAC used FB for marketing its products to Emirati females 20-25 y/o in Dubai?
2. How has Bobbi Brown used FB for marketing its products to Emirati females 20-25 y/o in Dubai?
3. How do local Emirati females 20-25 y/o experience and assess marketing via FB for the multinational cosmetic companies MAC and Bobbi Brown?

Importance of studying this topic

The importance of studying this topic is in the fact that the role of social media in affecting the market can be different, depending on the cultural features of certain regions, such as Dubai. Theories that support the discussion are Framing and Agenda-Setting Theory and Social Cognitive Theory.

In this research proposal, I will discuss the research methodology with the focus on data collection and analysis of the appropriateness of close reading and focus group methods to answer the formulated research questions in the context of the presented theories. I will discuss the methods’ strengths and weaknesses, explain the choice of methods, and analyze the methods’ reliability, validity, and ethics.

Methodology

Focus group method

The focus group is a qualitative survey method used to explore what opinions and perceptions are prevalent in the concrete population group (Belk, 2007, p. 256). Focus group in the form of a discussion or interview is the most effective method to choose for this research because participants can discuss the proposed issues openly and from their individual perspectives (Hultman & Ek, 2011, p. 166).

The method allows recording any agreement or disagreement in the discussion without interrupting the conversation. Furthermore, the focus group method is correlated with Social Cognitive Theory, according to which individual opinions of participants are discussed with references to the visions of other members of the group (LaRose & Eastin, 2004, p. 358).

Close Reading

The next method to be used in the research is close reading. The method is useful because it allows analyzing the effectiveness of texts used in marketing with the help of social media (Treadwell, 2010, p. 114). Close reading helps interpret the text and identify patterns, as it is important with references to Framing and Agenda-Setting theory.

Close reading is an effective method to examine posts of cosmetics companies and focus on how they frame objects in their slogans and messages (Close reading of a literary passage, 2014).

Strengths and weaknesses of methods

Strengths of the focus group method are the focus on the real-life data and flexibility in conducting the interview (Babbie, 2009, p. 323). It is an in-depth socially oriented research technique which provides opportunities for obtaining individual perceptions in the non-threatening environment (Hesse-Biber & Leavy, 2010, p. 209).

Focus group is “a quick and cheap alternative to ‘proper’ survey or interview research” (Belk, 2007, p. 256). The limitations of focus group are impossibility to control dynamics properly and difficulties associated with the data analysis (Babbie, 2009, p. 323).

Strengths of close reading are the possibility to analyze any text in the sphere of marketing and identify patterns (McNamara, 2012, p. 112). Still, close reading is time-consuming (McNamara, 2012, p. 114).

The appropriateness of using methods

The focus group method is appropriate for the research because of the necessity to explore the individuals’ opinions regarding the use of social media as the part of the marketing strategy. The received data will be used to create the conceptual framework to discuss the issue.

This method is the most effective because of reflecting the females’ real visions regarding the effectiveness of social media use in marketing. Close reading is important to understand what aspects in texts attract the target group’s attention.

Data collection and stages of the research

To collect the real-life data with the help of a focus group interview, it is necessary to develop an interview guide (Packer-Muti, 2010, p. 1025). The second step is to assemble the group of young female Emiratis with similar demographic features (Babbie, 2009, p. 323).

The next step is to conduct the interview while recoding the data. It is important to control the participants’ engagement into the discussion and make notes regarding the patterns identified in the conversation. The collection of data through close reading includes the reading of posts; making annotations; and identifying patterns (McNamara, 2012, p. 112).

Validity, reliability, and generalization of results

The focus group method is characterized by the “high face validity” because personal data is collected during the research (Babbie, 2009, p. 323). Close reading is reliable, but it is a less valid method because different researchers interpret the received data from different perspectives (Close reading of a literary passage, 2014; McNamara, 2012, p. 115). The results received via focus group and close reading cannot be generalized (Packer-Muti, 2010, p. 1024).

Ethics

Inviting respondents to participate in the focus group interview, it is necessary to ask them to sign the informed consent regarding the use of collected data and to focus on the issue of confidentiality (Belk, 2007, p. 134).

Conclusion

In order to conduct the research on the topic of using Facebook posts for influencing the target public of young females in Dubai with the focus on the business of two cosmetic companies, it is necessary to use such methods as the focus group interview and close reading because these methods address the requirements of the exploratory research.

Focus group is most useful because it provides the data regarding the personal perceptions of the target audience, and this data can be used for improving marketing strategies. The problem is in the fact that this data can be applied only to the discussed companies because of the method’s limitations.

Close reading is effective enough to provide the idea on why young female Emiratis are interested in the discussed companies’ products. The study could have been better if I had used a combination of other qualitative methods to support the focus group’s results.

My focus on highlighting certain topics in the focus group’s discussion and during close reading could impact the results of the research and my overall approach to analyzing the received information while discussing it in the context of the identified theories. The bias could be avoided with the focus on using more detailed ethnographic research in addition to the focus group method.

References

Babbie, E. (2009). The practice of social research. NewYork, NY: Cengage Learning.

Belk, R. (2007). Handbook of qualitative research methods in marketing. Boston, MA: Edward Elgar Publishing.

Close reading of a literary passage. (2014). Web.

Hesse-Biber, S., & Leavy, P. (2010). Handbook of emergent methods. NewYork, NY: Guilford Press.

Hultman, J., & Ek, R. (2011). Can there only be one? Towards a post-paradigmatic service marketing approach. International Journal of Quality and Service Sciences, 3(2), 166-180.

LaRose, R., & Eastin, M. (2004). A Social Cognitive Theory of Internet Uses and Gratifications: Toward a new model of media attendance. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 48(3), 358-377.

McNamara, D. (2012). Reading comprehension strategies: Theories, interventions, and technologies. Boston, MA: Psychology Press.

Packer-Muti, B. (2010). Conducting a focus group. The Qualitative Report, 15(4), 1023-1030.

Treadwell, D. (2010). Introducing communication research: Paths of inquiry. NewYork, NY: SAGE Publishing.

Facebook is a social networking website that helps to connect people in different places, who could be students, relatives, workers in different places, or people who do not even know one another. One is only required to register and start looking for friends on the network. This seems to be a good and easy connection and it has attracted very many people who have registered and even uploaded their photographs (Boyed 1). However, Facebook has brought about a lot of problems and it is advisable for those who have registered to quit (Ellison, p. 7).

To start with, Facebook has made a lot of marriages and good relationships to break, leaving the involved parties distressed.This mostly happens when a married man comments on something that was shared by a lady on Facebook. The wife, on finding that comment, mistakes her husband to be having an affair with the lady. If that wife then happens to get another person who will discuss that with her in a way suggesting that her husband is unfaithful, she may stop trusting her husband, and it may end up breaking the marriage (Mazer, p. 5).

The same case applies to relationships. Many have argued that Facebook is good because it brings potential marriage partners together. However, in reality, it has killed more marriages and relationships than those it has built. There is therefore no need of bringing people together for marriage and then break them or bring mistrust between them, as it only leaves them more distressed and frustrated.

Some see Facebook as a good thing because it connects people working in different places and helps them to share ideas without having to meet face-to-face. However, if one looks at the other side of the coin, he or she will realize that Facebook has lowered the productivity of many workers by wasting a lot of their valuable time in work places; it has also made many people lose their jobs. This is because an employee using a computer and expecting messages from friends will keep visiting Facebook. That way he or she will have wasted a lot of valuable time at the end of the day. This makes him or her ineffective and inefficient and at the end of it all, he/she may end up losing the job (Mazer, p. 5).

Many have also been attracted to Facebook in the hope that they will be able to interact widely with people and be exposed to many ideas. However they later realize that this is more of a problem than an advantage. This is especially when one receives an irritating message from a person he or she does not know, or when the children are exposed to immoral experiences like pornography. Also, sharing of ideas has brought about social conflicts, where people, especially the youth, get exposed to lifestyles in other countries and decide to adopt them. This at times fails to agree with their home values and brings about conflicts between the young generation and their parents (Mazer, p. 8).

In addition, Facebook has increased crimes like robbery, murder and many others. This is because it is very easy for people organizing robbery or murder to retrieve people’s photographs from Facebook. This has made people organize such crimes successfully without struggle.

Finally, by making people from different countries share and interact, Facebook has given people with ill intentions opportunities to show false love to people in other countries looking for love and lure them into migrating to their countries only to frustrate them at the end of it all. To solve the above problems it is important that people cancel their Facebook accounts.

Works Cited

1. Boyed, Danah. Social Network Sites, 2007.
2. Ellison, Nicole B., Charles Steinfield, and Cliff Lampe, The benefits of face book, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 12 (4), 2007.
3. Mazer, Joseph, Richard Murphy & Cheri Simonds. “I’ll See You On “Face book”: The Effects of Computer-Mediated Teacher Self-Disclosure on Student Motivation, Affective Learning, and Classroom Climate”. Communication Education 56 (1): 1–17; 2007

Introduction

One of the evident outcomes related to technological progress is the development of mass communication. People find it interesting and easy to communicate online, exchange information, share their opinions, and spread news without thinking either it is good or bad. People believe that they become free from boundaries and limitations as soon as they join the web and create their judgments. However, at the same time, millions of people cannot understand how dependent on media they become. On the one hand, social media promotes education and job opportunities for youth worldwide (Ali et al., 2016).

On the one hand, there is a thought that young people who spend hours online are at risk of violent behaviors and associated depressive symptoms (Gansner, 2017). In Bangladesh, several cases of violence were originated from Facebook posts, which resulted in several deaths and multiple hurting (Minar & Naher, 2018). Many theories of mass communication exist to analyze behavioral changes due to online activities, and framing theory is one of them. In this paper, this theoretical background will be used to investigate the relationship between violence and Facebook posts among young people.

Literature Review

In modern literature, much attention is paid to the impact of media on people regarding their age, occupation, social status, and other characteristics. In this case study, Facebook is defined as one of the most popular media contents for young people to use all over the world (Minar & Naher, 2018). The status of this social media type continues improving in both developed and developing countries for communication purposes and sharing their life events.

However, in addition to a variety of opportunities, access to social media is characterized by fraud, cyber violence, and other risks (Peterson & Densley, 2017; Sun & Wang, 2016). Therefore, to make sure that Facebook posts do no cause actual harm or, at least, try to predict serious negative outcomes, framing theory and the analysis of real case studies are recommended.

The Worth of Mass Communication

In their intention to create equal relationships, people promote mass communication as a means to impart information. According to Hanson (2017), “communication is an interaction that allows individuals, groups, and institutions to share their ideas” (p. 5). When a small group of people decides to communicate online, they establish certain rules in terms of which they can post and give feedback. Mass communication is a “society-wide communication process,” meaning that national or international standards are expected to be developed (Hanson, 2017, p. 6). There are many ways of how this type of communication may be organization, and the use of media is one of the options.

The choice of the language of the media depends on cultures, traditions, and religions, which identify the required flow of knowledge, emotional experiences, and messages (Zheltukhina et al., 2017). In addition to freedom and unlimited volumes of information, such benefits of mass communication as increased creativity, well-developed social life, and the possibility to break geographical challenges cannot be ignored. Facebook introduces media content with respect to its users’ needs and demands, but it is not always possible to control the quality of posts.

Facebook Threats

Violence in media turns out to be a serious issue for consideration today. There are many examples of how online users are exposed to violent behaviors and follow the same steps in real life. For example, Minar and Naher (2018) discussed violence that was originated from Facebook in 2016, when a post about Islam led to an attack on the Hindus and destroyed more than 150 homes. Gansner (2017) explained Facebook Live videos as one of the potential sources of gang violence and serious crimes.

It was investigated and proved that teens who find it interesting and even obligatory to like their peers’ pictures on Facebook are likely to develop various traits that are associated with violence (Gansner, 2017). Facebook users depend on this social platform because of different reasons, and the parties who are interested in violence promotion can rely on people’s satisfaction with the services. Sun and Wang (2016) indicate that Facebook allows users the possibility of accepting advertisements “in a non-force manner” (p. 287). It means that poorly aware young people are exposed to a number of unknown threats that could provoke violence.

Framing in Facebook Posts

Today, many theories for understanding mass media communication are introduced. The emergence of unsafe or even dangerous pages on Facebook is hard to control even by the best-prepared experts due to such concepts as confidentiality, anonymity, and user freedoms. However, several methods to analyze people’s activities online exist, and a framing approach developed by Entman at the beginning of the 1990s is one of them (Guenther et al., 2020).

This theory describes what people think about news and online posts within a familiar context on the basis of four main points, the communicator, the message, the receiver, and the culture (Guenther et al., 2020). According to a framing approach, people find it normal to base their choices on what they find online. Therefore, it is theoretically appropriate to expect violent behaviors from people who read, watch, and respond to violent posts.

Media Analyzation

Taking into consideration the offered background, qualitative research about the promotion of violence among young people who use Facebook content can be developed. To analyze the chosen media content (Facebook posts), it is necessary to identify the main data collection method. Today, it is not easy to find the required content online. Therefore, the investigation of the Facebook media platform is the first step. Such keywords as “suicide”, “murder”, “killing, and “abuse” are used for a search to identify 20 violent posts (videos, messages, or music). In addition to the presence of the defined terms in the post, inclusive criteria should be the age of users (between 15 and 25 years) and their gender (both males and females).

The analysis of comments under each post will help to identify the attitudes toward the offered behaviors. Qualitative content analysis is a research method where the interpretation of the content is developed from the subjective point of view. A directed approach will be used in this case study because of the necessity to apply framing theory to the concept of violence throughout Facebook and use the already available findings on this topic. The next step in media analysis will be the identification and definition of variables for a coding procedure.

The classification of cases will show if violent Facebook posts provoke violence or other attitudes like (disgust, regret, disappointment, or happiness among young users. The researcher should read and study the selected communication artifacts and use an automatic search for the words used for coding. In general, it is expected to gather a variety of opinions about violent posts and compare the comments to understand if this media content is a potential source of violence for society.

References

Ali, A., Iqbal, A., & Iqbal, K. (2016). Effects of social media on youth: A case study in the university of Sargohda. Advanced Research, 4(11), 369-372. Web.

Gansner, M. E. (2017). “The Internet made me do it” – Social media and potential for violence in adolescents. Psychiatric Times, 34(9). Web.

Guenther, L., Ruhrmann, G., Bischoff, J., Penzel, T., & Weber, A. (2020). Strategic framing and social media engagement: Analyzing memes posted by the German Identitarian Movement on Facebook. Social Media+ Society, 6(1), 1-13. Web.

Hanson, R. E. (2017). Mass communication: Living in a media world (6^th ed.). SAGE.

Lunstrum, E. (2017). Feed them to the lions: Conservation violence goes online. Geoforum, 79, 134-143. Web.

Minar, M. R., & Naher, J. (2018). Violence originated from Facebook: A case study in Banladesh. Web.

Peterson, J., & Densley, J. (2017). Cyber violence: What do we know and where do we go from here?Aggression and Violent Behavior, 34, 193-200. Web.

Sun, J., & Wang, H. (2016). Research on the negative influence of mobile social network: A case study of Facebook. International Journal of Hybrid Information Technology, 9(2), 285-298. Web.

Zheltukhina, M. R., Klushina, N. I., Ponomarenko, E. B., Vasilkova, N. N., & Dzyubenko, A. I. (2017). Modern media influence: Mass culture-mass consciousness-mass communication. XLinguae Journal, 10(4), 96-105. Web.

Introduction

Dear Mr. Zuckerberg,

I am writing to inform you of potential issues with regard to Facebook’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) performance. The issues in question were revealed with the help of Future-Fit Foundation’s Health Check methodology. With this innovative approach, it is possible to assess a company’s compliance with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations in a holistic and actionable way. It measures a company’s CSR performance against Break-Even Goals (BEGs), defined as the bare minimum that every business must do to ensure sustainable development in all crucial areas of society. The findings attained through this method indicate that while Facebook has achieved impressive results through its environmental initiatives, its performance with regards to social and regulatory factors has been more uneven.

Background and Rationale

CSR refers to corporate policies aimed at improving society and the environment. This concept closely relates to the pursuit of sustainability, which requires controlling the ecological and social impacts of human activities to enable development that would remain sustainable over the long run. No business can operate in a vacuum, so it is in a company’s long-term self-interest to ensure the prosperity and stability of the society it operates in. Environmental sustainability forms a particularly important area of concern, as ecological deterioration caused by climate change can have catastrophic implications for societies and businesses if not checked through responsible practices. In more immediate terms, failing to account for social and environmental impacts can lead to severe reputational and regulatory damage.

While the concepts of CSR and sustainability have gained widespread acceptance in the business world, their implementation in practice remains lacking and haphazard. It is tempting for many businesses to treat those ideals as primarily a matter of PR. Even when a company makes a serious effort to help society or the environment in some areas, its actions can be misaligned with the impacts of its primary business activities. For example, a company’s efforts to support local communities would not do much to check the harm caused by its operational pollution, which might eventually outweigh its positive influence.

The Future-Fit Foundation’s Health Check offers a holistic methodology for identifying the harmful effects of a company. Having done that, it becomes possible to suggest a systematic course of action that would ensure sustainable development for the company and society in general. With this methodology, Facebook can ensure that its resources are assigned to the right areas for long-term success, rather than allowing problematic impacts to accumulate and undermine its CSR efforts. Given its importance as the world’s leading social media company, a rational CSR strategy could also prove critical for efforts to create a healthy and stable world.

Methodology

The Health Check methodology revolves around the Future-Fit Benchmark. This tool measures a company’s business activities and CSR practices against the United Nations’ SDGs. It identifies 23 Break-Even Goals (the minimum that every company must do to ensure overall sustainability) and 24 Positive Pursuits (additional efforts that can help achieve sustainability). Each of the BEGs contributes to several of the 17 SDGs. By focusing on the BEGs first, a company can ensure that its CSR priorities are aligned with its most critical impacts.

This report draws from a detailed assessment of Facebook’s current progress towards the BEGs. First, the level of attention that the company must pay to each BEG was established. This determination was based on the amount of effort required to reach the goal and the negative impact that failing to do so may have on the business and society. Next, the company’s current commitments in this area were measured against the requirements of the BEG. Those two steps made it possible to decide whether the company was currently on course to reach the BEG or whether a minor, significant, or critical adjustment was necessary. Additionally, an ethical SWOT analysis has been employed to help identify internal and external factors that may help or hinder Facebook’s efforts to improve its CSR performance.

Two main groups of publicly available online sources were used to carry out this assessment. The first group included the content of company web pages and official documents such as policies and reports. Those sources constituted what Facebook said about itself, though what it did not say was just as valuable for determining its actual level of commitment to specific goals. This category included the Responsible Business Alliance Code of Conduct, to which Facebook adheres (Responsible Business Alliance, 2018). The second group was comprised of news articles and media posts, which provided further information on Facebook’s activities and how they are perceived from the outside. One article concerned Reliance, which Facebook has recently invested in, illustrating possible issues with regards to BEG 23: Financial Assets (Venkataramakrishnan, 2019). Finally, a scholarly article regarding the health effects of Facebook use was included to shed light on BEG 17: Product Harm (Allcott et al., 2020). Together, those sources were used to form an overview of Facebook’s progress towards BEGs.

Findings

The first notable finding yielded by this research is that Facebook does not present information about its CSR performance in a consolidated way. The company does not publish regular CSR or sustainability reports, nor does it address this topic in its annual report (Facebook, 2019a). Instead, it offers reports on topics such as sustainability and diversity through separate web pages that are linked on the Investor Relations page (Facebook, 2019c). This approach hints at the absence of a holistic sustainability strategy.

Figure 1: Break-Even Goals, created by the author

As can be seen from Figure 1, Facebook’s environmental sustainability efforts are a strong point in its CSR performance. Its data centers, like the one shown in Figure 2, are designed to be maximally eco-friendly. The company is on track towards its goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 75% and procuring renewable energy to cover 100% of its operations in 2020 (Facebook, 2020a, para. 1). Although the facilities continue to rely on fossil fuel-powered grids, this remains a significant accomplishment (Spector, 2018). Facebook’s water stewardship policy manifests in highly efficient water use and support for restoration projects (Lee and Rowe, 2020). The company is similarly mindful of other types of waste.

Facebook embraces cooperation with local communities on economic and environmental issues, but its overall social impact is uneven. While Facebook has a conflict mineral policy, it has not issued a new report on the subject in 2019 (Facebook, 2018a). Its recent investment in Reliance, an Indian company that many accuse of dishonest business practices, may lead to ethical complications (Ellis, 2020; Venkataramakrishnan, 2019). Despite long-standing commitments to diversity in employment, progress in this area has been disappointing, suggesting discrimination (Facebook, 2019b; Gravier, 2020). While the company remains a popular employer, which is helped by measures like offering contractors a living wage (Rana and Panchadar, 2019), some have complained about a stressful and non-responsive workplace (Zetlin, 2019). While those are relatively minor issues, they may escalate if not settled promptly.

A larger problem is the mental and emotional harm that the social media platform does to its users through addiction and distressing content. Though forced to acknowledge those scientifically attested effects (Allcott et al., 2020), the company’s response to this problem has so far consisted of limited adjustments to its algorithms and policies (Polish, 2019; Facebook, 2018b). Facebook has proven unable to prevent the theft and misuse of large amounts of user data (Coldewey, 2018). It has come under criticism for those failures and inadequate efforts at transparency (MacKinnon, 2018). Combined with the use of the platform for political manipulation and continued, though reduced, use of tax avoidance schemes, those issues have soured Facebook’s relationships with many national governments (Brown, 2018; Eadicicco, 2019; White, 2020). The company’s intensified lobbying efforts against digital regulations undercut its promises to improve in those areas (Facebook, 2020b; Molla, 2019). To sum up, the gaps in Facebook’s CSR strategy have contributed to a deteriorating reputation and risks of regulatory damage.

Figure 3: Ethical SWOT Analysis, created by the author

Figure 3 shows the main factors influencing Facebook’s ability to improve its CSR performance. The strengths reflect existing commitments that help move the company towards making necessary adjustments. Those include prominent sustainability efforts, support of SDGs through the recently launched Project17 (Levine, 2020), and acceptance of ethical and sustainable guidelines. Its weaknesses amount to a lack of systematic dedication to change. Facebook’s efforts to improve have been haphazard, which may reflect institutional resistance to change. Due to its social media dominance, Facebook is in an ideal position to support international sustainability efforts and lead the way on industry issues such as misinformation and privacy. However, recent scandals have damaged its reputation and relationships, hampering such efforts. Social media’s vulnerability to bad actors poses a more fundamental obstacle.

Recommendations

The findings show that despite having noteworthy CSR accomplishments in some areas, especially with regards to the environment and local communities, Facebook faces systemic issues that stem directly from its business strategy. As Coldewey (2018) argues in his TechCrunch article, Facebook has been consistently putting profits, which come from selling data, over the interests of its users. As negative social impacts accumulate, they threaten to outweigh the benefits of what may be called Facebook’s Positive Pursuits. Facebook has already begun to suffer from reputational and regulatory damage, and this trend seems likely to continue.

Facebook’s environmental policies, which are time-bound, measurable, and systematic, offer a blueprint for how the company can improve its overall CSR performance. To begin with, it must put together an integrated strategy to work towards all of the BEGs, quantifying its negative impacts and working out specific policies to remedy them. This strategy and its results need to be presented transparently through a comprehensive CSR report. Doing so would have the added benefit of addressing Facebook’s transparency issues and allowing it to win back the public’s trust. For the same reason, Facebook should review its current practices and mechanisms for handling employee and customer concerns, and adjust them to be more accessible, responsive, and effective. Finally, it should examine its business strategy and establish new ethical guidelines to meet the BEGs on taxation, lobbying, transparency, and investment. All of those actions should be undertaken as quickly as possible in 2020, in order to keep smaller problems from escalating and allow the company to focus on long-term CSR endeavors.

Having reassessed its priorities and formulated a new strategy in 2020, the company should implement the changes demanded by that strategy over the next two years. Much of this will amount to a cultural and institutional adaptation that would be difficult to quantify. It should include more honest and open cooperation with employees, customers, and governments, directly addressing their concerns rather than deflecting them through opacity and lobbying. The money spent on lobbying governments against digital regulations (see Figure 4 for the US lobbying spend) can be redirected towards promoting sustainable projects. One particularly urgent intervention should involve abstaining from tax avoidance schemes and paying the required local taxes, modifying the budget accordingly. New investments, partnerships, and projects can still go forward, but the updated ethical guidelines must inform them at every step.

The most critical and difficult area of improvement for Facebook involves reducing the harm caused by its social media platform. This harm includes damage to the mental and emotional wellbeing of its users, data theft, and misinformation, which can damage other sustainability efforts. While those hazards are innate to the product, Facebook can and should control them by allocating more funds to sustained research and development efforts aimed at improving the platform. Research directions should include better data security measures and algorithms for identifying and tagging or removing harmful content. Additionally, the platform should be redesigned with user health in mind, reducing its addiction factor. Further studies of the platform’s effects on its users could help quantify improvements. Those efforts should begin in 2020 but will need to continue indefinitely.

No one breakthrough could remove all of Facebook’s negative impacts, but steady improvements in all areas of concern are possible. The main risks stem from the strategy not bringing sufficient improvements quickly enough. In particular, it is impossible to predict exactly when research and development efforts would bear fruit. Further scandals could undo the company’s efforts to improve its reputation and trigger regulatory retaliation. However, those risks exist already, and the only way to reduce them is to deal with the underlying issues.

Conclusions

The findings in this report show that while Facebook has achieved impressive results with regards to environmental sustainability, it has proven unable to control its negative social impacts. Those impacts include the harm caused by its products, poor business ethics shown through insufficient transparency, and a dubious commitment to cooperating with authorities. Although this report tried to provide a full overview of Facebook’s impacts, its ability to do so was limited by a lack of access to the company’s internal information. Hardware development, a secondary area of activity for the company, proved difficult to assess in detail and may require additional scrutiny. Despite those limitations, the overall picture clearly indicates the necessity for change. As an industry leader, Facebook needs to adopt a holistic CSR strategy that would ensure its long-term success and assist global sustainability efforts.

References

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Facebook can be considered a suitable example of a discourse community because this social media gathers millions of people throughout the world who share values, assumptions, and ways of communication. Its unique feature is that it unites people who are users of the same social media platform. Thus, the selected discourse community has a few peculiarities, including rules, specific language, types of interaction, and contribution to society.

Since Facebook is a legal body, it is not a surprise that it has specific rules that govern users’ behaviors. This statement refers to the fact that community members cannot distribute nudity, knowingly false statements, “all threats, and calls to violence” (Haselton par 5). With this, the community shares specific language, including ‘followers,’ ‘likes,’ and ‘posts’ (Kim and Vorobel 278). This information demonstrates that the community deals with pertinent phenomena. The terms also imply how members can interact with one another. For example, an individual can post something, while others can respond to it by leaving likes or writing a message. Now, this social media is widespread, denoting that the people outside the community are familiar with it, assuming that this community represents a vast part of society. Simultaneously, one cannot state that any specific music, food, or art is associated with the community because it grasps all the manifestations of pop culture. Thus, the community represents a significant part of society, allowing people to disclose information and share their opinions.

In conclusion, Facebook is an example of a discourse community since social media users have shared goals, means of communication, and lexical units. All the members abide by the same rules and distribute general cultural achievements. This information demonstrates that even those individuals who are not members of the given community are well familiar with its unique principles. It denotes that the Facebook discourse community is an integral part of modern society.

References

Haselton, Tom. “Here’s Facebook’s Once-Secret List of Content that Can Get You Banned.”CNBC, 2018. Web.

Kim, Deoksoon, and Oksana Vorobel. “Discourse Communities: From Origins to Social Media.” Discourse and Education. Encyclopedia of Language and Education, 3rd ed., edited by Stanton Wortham et al., Springer, 2017, pp. 267-281.

The issue of security and privacy is one of the most pressing in the digital environment and the media. Understanding the legal mechanisms concerning security allows one to develop critical thinking and opportunities in the legal field if any rights have been violated. Common Sense Media and UNESCO promote the development and education of people in media literacy from various professions, including politics, education, and the media, where determining the veracity of information is a crucial skill. This knowledge can protect against cyberattacks, information leaks due to the user’s fault, and other crimes in the online environment. UNESCO and the Center for News Literacy seek to expand their reach by looking beyond media literacy projects to include peers, events in schools, and creating an authentic environment for concrete practice. Such a diversified activity is explained by the highly negative consequences of the lack of media literacy in various social strata, which collectively affect society.

Facebook, led by Mark Zuckerberg, is considered an example. Security is fundamental in this kind of resource, as it contains much confidential information in vast amounts per population. Newcomers to the site and older people often do not have the appropriate level of media literacy that would allow them to be calm about their data. As a result, exceptional social companies are required, which will increase knowledge in the field of online security through various activities. The consequences of Facebook hacks are often discussed in the media and range from the optimistic that the data will not give criminals an advantage to the highly pessimistic about identity theft. In addition, the problem is compounded by the fact that, due to the lack of alternatives and the focus on incidents, the media often highlight Facebook’s low social responsibility concerning leaks. Users who express their opinion often deny agreeing with the company’s current policy regarding security issues, but at the national level in the media, the corresponding reaction is observed only in the United States. As a result, the reaction of mainstream media consumers to the security incident and the Facebook cases that followed it is primarily an anti-tech giant’s point of view with no notable country-specific differences.