Social media is the most common technological trend of today. Its usage has been overwhelming across different sectors of the economy. This platform has gained entry in sectors like education, health, security, and business (Lepi, 2014). There exist varied social media platforms through which people can interact.
Some of the common sites include Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, Flickr, and Pinterest. Different firms use social media to make their services and products known to the public. The marketing department is at the forefront of utilizing social media in attracting customers and retaining the ones it has already acquired.
The Business Perspective
From a business perspective, social media platforms are good environments for businesses to meet new partners in the process of advertising their products and services. This has been possible with the high rate at which businesses have been taking their services and products online in order to expand their market presence.
In addition, the platform has reduced the cost of acquiring information about products that most businesses deal in given the comparably low cost of accessing the internet to making physical visits, as well as the possibility of accessing the sites from any location (Lepi, 2014). Twitter as a social network platform has been useful in keeping people updated on incidences that occur. Clearly, social media help one to know the existence of products and services from organizations at a cheaper cost than actual visits to corporate premises.
Educational Point of View
Markedly, before getting into classrooms, students have to go through the admission process. Social media, therefore, has been a significant tool in the educational system of the 21st century. Facebook as another example has three key categories of accounts: profiles, groups, and pages. At the same time, social media has helped educational institutions to communicate effectively to students. An example is evident in Professor Michael Menchaca of the University of Hawaii.
He instructs his learners to create 15-seconds videos on the popular site Instagram to ease familiarisation among themselves (Friedman, 2014). Besides, Professor Menchaca encourages the use of Google Hangouts and Twitter for sharing of classroom materials and discussing classroom projects. From this case example, it is clear that social media has brought numerous progress in the online learning system. Students are able to connect easily with their parents and the community, as well as develop professionally as elaborated in this case.
Social Media at Cape Breton University, Canada
Learning institutions like Cape Breton University (CBU) can use the site to promote significant events, announce its opening and closure dates, and provide vital information in order to influence new students to study different programs in the institution. In creating different Facebook pages, the institution intends to capture the interests of all students, as well as those in the Basket Ball Team GO, Capers. Social media has enhanced the creation of awareness among key stakeholders at the CBU in Canada.
In addition, the institution has given procedures to follow when delivering messages through different platforms. The sender has to define his/her goals clearly and directly. In the second stage, the sender has to identify the audience to whom the message is targeting. Lastly, there is the creation of a content strategy.
This stage is vital as it helps the sender to create important information to pass to the targeted group. In using the CBUs social media pages on Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook, students have to be respectful by using polite languages. Additionally, the students have to be careful not to share their personal information and any other information they consider private.
At the same time, the institution invites parents and students around the Island to an evening event so that they can develop strong connections with the institution (CBU Welcomes Future Students for University 101, 2012). During the event, parents and students can interact with all faculties in the institution. Other key areas include acquainting parents with the institutions admission procedures, student life, and campus language.
References
CBU Welcomes Future Students for University 101. (2012). Web
Friedman, J. (2014). Social Media Gains Momentum in Online Education. Web.
Lepi, K. (2014). How To Use Social Media In Education (Part 2 of 2). Web.
While thinking about the possible topics for this assignment, I happened to find a number of comical cartoon strips that caught my attention. I chose to evaluate a piece by M. Wuerker that touches on the issues of print media and traditional news outlets in the modern age. The trend displayed by the author is relevant to our current society with the ever-rising popularity of the internet and social media. This piece seems important to me, as it highlights the present risk of losing physical media sources.
Main body
In this essay, I will try to show how this image effectively utilizes text, shape, and color to convey and promote its messages. The number of problems raised and discussed by the public each day is immeasurable, so to reach the vastest possible audience the message must be short, memorable, and well-presented. The image in question is successful at making the reader question their behavior, as well as in raising awareness of the decay of journalism.
The first criterion for evaluating this image is its relevancy. The messages of this piece become more apparent as technology advances, with each passing year. In the modern day, the use of smartphones and computers has seen a significant rise, especially in big, developed cities. With the increase in popularity came the invention of news websites and social media, which have quickly garnered mainstream success and popularity. While it takes a large amount of effort and money to write, review, and print a real newspaper, the same cannot be said about the digital one, as it does not require paper or ink. With the quick availability of many online news sites and their cheaper production cost, the online media outlets rapidly start to replace the traditional ones, posing a real threat to the news industry.
My second criterion deals with the clarity and effectiveness of the message. This comic places the blame for the decline of print press on the viewers who are too ignorant and absorbed into their phones to notice their involvement with the issue. The piece demonstrates that by depicting people as deformed caricatures, with giant phone screens in their hands, bringing the viewers attention to the core component of the image. The image is also strongly supported by text, which in the form of irony lets the reader know that most people unknowingly contribute to the death of real journalism. The use of color is also important to note, as it brings the pieces of the picture into a unified narrative. The people in the foreground are brightly colored and serve as the center of attention for the viewer, while the buildings in the background are grayish-blue, highlighting their abandonment by the public and restating the point of the piece.
Conclusion
I would also like to emphasize the use of pathos in the delivery of the message and its impact. The picture is designed to evoke a sense of shame and self-reflection through its depiction of people as phone-obsessed zombies and is primarily aimed at forming an emotional bond with the viewer. It reinforces these feelings by the clever use of a thought bubble, where the audience can see the satirized behavior exemplified by a single person. This cartoon has the goal of changing peoples perspective by making them feel guilty and aware of their actions possible impact.
Corporate leaders are desperate to know the future of social media in five years time. They need to know in order to benefit from the power of social media when it comes to enhancing communication capabilities, and the ability to accumulate data through user-generated information.
This concept includes the following: 1) social networking; 2) social bookmarking; 3) blogs; 4) discussion forums; 5) wikis; 6) photo-sharing; and 7) video-sharing sites (Meiselwitz, 2014). Early adopters of social media made a great deal of profit when they leveraged the power of social media platforms. However, those who came late to the party learned their lessons the hard way. The following is a discussion of a possible pathway to innovation when it comes to social media platforms.
A Major Tool for Political Change
In 2014 demonstrators in various parts of the world went out to the streets and expressed their frustrations. They protested the corruption that was prevalent in the their respective political and economic systems. Demonstrators from Egypt to New Delhi came together even in the absence of a formal organization. A traditional organization is usually required for a movement of that magnitude.
However, there was no political organizer, and there was no financier with deep pockets who was able to inspire them to leave the comfort of their homes. The same thing can be said of the demonstrations that were made in other regions, such as those that grabbed headlines from Madrid to Manhattan. There were different issues raised. Nevertheless, there was a common denominator for the different movements around the world. The spontaneous gathering of young people to express their frustrations against the status quo was made possible through the power of social media.
Protesters in Cairo were able to forced Hosni Mubarak, Egypts strongman for several decades, to step down (OConnor, 2012). The main weapon used did not contain any type of military ordinance. The protesters utilized the power of social media to embolden and unite ordinary Egyptians. In the past, this type of political upheaval was facilitated by newspapers and radio broadcasts. However, in the case of Egypt, information regarding the rationale of the mass gatherings were facilitated through the use social media platforms like Facebook and YouTube.
Businessmen all over the world continue to rely on conventional modes of delivering advertising content. It is still common to find companies spending advertising money on news programs. However, the perceived power of social media to bypass conventional modes of communication in order to reach millions of people will definitely change the marketing landscape of the future (Manrai, 2014). In the next five years, news companies are going to invest more money in integrating social medial platforms within its current digital technology frameworks.
From Virtual Communities to Real-Life Communities
In the present time, social media is a popular tool when it comes to the creation of online community. However, the future will reveal the extended application of social media platforms. As a result, people are not only using Facebook and Twitter in order to meet in a virtual environment. The said social media platforms will be utilized to meet people face-to-face in order to develop tangible projects. Five years from now, Facebook and Twitter will become a major component of public service (Downey, 2012). Community leaders are going to use social media not only as a means to communicate, but also to monitor existing projects.
Technological advancements will play a key role. Nevertheless, people are going to meet in person because of social media applications that will encourage greater collaboration. For example, clinical advocacy is the byproduct of the collaborative efforts of different stakeholders within the community.
One of its main purpose is to enhance the health care delivery system of medical institutions. People are going to congregate in a real-world setting in order to discuss the challenges that affect their respective communities. They will work together to find solutions to common problems. They will be encouraged to do so because social media tools enable them to track their progress and their individual contributions.
Greater Accessibility
Consider the popular forms of social media: 1) social networking; 2) blogs; 3) discussion forums; 4) photo-sharing; and 4) video-sharing sites. It can be argued that older people are having a hard time using the aforementioned social media platforms. One possible explanation is the inadvertent limitations posed by technology. Thus, the elderly are having a hard time using social media.
They experienced difficulty when it comes to understanding the necessary steps needed in order to communicate, upload pictures, and upload videos. The elderly spent their teenage lives without access to computers. Therefore, it was a steep learning curve for them when it comes to acquiring the necessary skills needed to enjoy the benefits of social media. In the next five years there will be greater accessibility because of advancements in technology. A major innovation is the ability to resize pages with ease.
Once again, technological advancements will play a key role. However, multinational companies will find greater incentive in the infusion of investments into social media tools. Corporate leaders will realize that an aging population requires special consideration when it comes to accessing websites and portable devices.
Greater Integration to Marketing Strategy and Interaction with Customer
Multinational companies created websites that have social media features embedded into them. For example, there are websites that have links to blogs. However, not all companies are invested in social media tools. In the next five years, more companies are going to invest in marketing strategies that incorporates the power of social media. In the near future, corporate leaders will have a greater understanding with regards to practical applications of data generated by social media. They will know how to use the data to drive sales and increase customer engagement (Meiselwitz, 2014).
Greater interactions will lead to the development of better products. Corporate leaders will invest in strategies that will allow their respective companies to orchestrate a collective creative effort (Dennhardt, 2014). Companies will allot resources in the development of social media tools that will allow customers to provide instant feedback when it comes to the design aspect of a particular product.
Conclusion
In five years time, the social media landscape will look different because of significant changes made regarding greater accessibility and enhanced participation of consumers. Technological advancements is one of the main reasons for the changes. Nevertheless, corporate leaders are compelled to invest in new technologies as the impact of social media tools becomes clear to them.
As a result, social media platforms will play a major role in community development. Users of Facebook and Twitter will go beyond the creation of online communities. Many of them will meet each other face-to-face in order to create tangible projects to enhance the delivery of certain services. There is greater incentive to collaborate because of the feedback mechanism inherent in social media platforms.
References
Dennhardt, S. (2014). User-generated content and its impact on branding. New York: Springer.
Downey, E. (2012). Public service, governance and web 2.0 technologies. PA: IGI Global.
Manrai, L. (2014). The Routledge companion to the future of marketing. New York: Routledge.
Meiselwitz, G. (2014). Social computing and social media. New York: Springer.
OConnor, R. (2012). Friends, followers and the future. CA: City Lights Books.
Many people rely on social media applications for their daily communication and entertainment needs today. Some of the most popular international social media applications include Facebook, Google+, Instagram, and Twitter, and they are used by billions of users from all over the world. One country that has prohibited the use of these popular sites within its boundaries is China. In an effort by the government to exert greater control over the internet, these popular international social media sites have been banned.
The Chinese government has made use of sophisticated internet censoring technologies that enable it to disrupt services from the international social media applications. This internet censorship has had a negative effect on the Chinese who are denied the chance to enjoy the various benefits of social networking. The people in China feel inconvenienced and isolated because of their inability to use popular international social media services.
The Chinese people are greatly inconvenienced by the blocking since it prevents them from enjoying the social benefits users of international social media applications typically enjoy. The major reason why social media services have become very popular over the past decade is because of the many communication benefits they provide to the users. People are able to share media content and engage with each other easily regardless of their geographical separation.
Social media applications such as Facebook play a major role in event organization by enabling people to inform others of upcoming events with relative ease. People are also able to keep in touch with the help of these applications. Due to the social media restrictions, the Chinese are prevented from staying in touch with the rest of the world. Social media services have become an important means of sharing news over the last decade.
Through applications such as Twitter and Facebook, people are able to report on events in their location. These user generated news reports are an important source of information for many people. By blocking the social media services in China, the government makes it impossible for its citizens to stay tuned to the rest of the world. Jacobs reports that this is especially frustrating for individuals who have special interest in the events happening at various regions and journalists operating in China (2).
The blocking activities by the Chinese government effectively prevent citizens from utilizing international social media applications for economic functions. Social media plays a role in helping businesses advertise their products and expand their markets. Businesses are able to present customized advertisements to users based on their social media habits.
In addition to this, a company can improve its visibility in the marketplace through social media. Li-Chuan reveals that international social networking sites provide a channel for establishing a brand-consumer relationship (821). The social media platform can be used for growing brands and ensuring the success of businesses. A report by Bloomberg indicates that sites such as Facebook help local companies expand in the international market (2).
Research and development is also hampered as the ability of the Chinese to engage in scientific progress is curtailed by government blocking. Social networking media promote innovation by making it possible for people to easily collaborate on projects. The global scientific community has made use of social media to research and collaborate with each other on important projects. Jacobs observes that Chinese scientists are unable to communicate with their peers due to the blocking of services such as Facebook and Gmail (2).
I have personally witnessed the inconvenience that blocking international social media causes. I have friends from different countries including China. Social media plays a major role in maintaining relationships with people who live far away from me. Applications such as Facebook and instagram ensure that friends are able to stay connected by providing an easy way for sharing mail, photos and videos. Due to the aggressive internet censoring by the Chinese authorities, I am unable to keep in touch with my friends in China.
The Chinese government uses firewalls that are configured to prevent access to social media services such as Facebook, twitter, instagram and flickr while in China. Due to this government interference, I cannot maintain contact with my friends from the country. This has a negative impact on our connection as we are unable to exchange information on subjects that interest us or easily keep in touch.
This paper set out to argue that the Chinese people feel inconvenienced and isolated due to the blocking of international social media by their government. The blocking is carried out primarily to ensure that the activities of the Chinese online can be monitored by the government and political dissent discouraged.
The paper has shown that while the sophisticated internet blocking technology enables the government to effectively monitor and have great control of the information available to its citizens, it greatly disadvantages the ordinary citizen. The Chinese government should therefore reconsider its blocking policies in order to ensure that its citizens can enjoy the many benefits of social media.
Works Cited
Bloomberg News. Facebook says China consumers want service. The Daily Herald. 2014. Web.
The article being reviewed is Negotiating Privacy Concerns and Social Capital Needs in a Social Media Environment by Elliso, Vitak, Steinfield, Gray, and Lampe (2011). It focuses on the concept of balancing privacy concerns that arise when personal information is shared on social media with the positive benefits of social capital such as exchange of information or social approval that requires sharing personal details.
Social networks have revolutionized the context of virtual geographies, creating an online space that allows for personal connections, interactions, and formation of whole cultural trends and practices that transcend to the physical world, but are no longer bound by rules of other communicative properties to contribute to formation and maintenance of social ties. The primary argument is that individuals are able to use strategies such as friending behaviors, privacy settings, and managing disclosures to control the audiences which are able to see private information on ones profile and being able to mitigate certain risks.
Summary
The intention of the authors for this article is to investigate a new research approach and theme to the overall sociological research on social networking sites. According to their discourse, early research has focused on the privacy pitfalls of social networking sites (SNSs) such as Facebook due to technical properties and suggested that users were inadvertently disclosing information that may lead to negative consequences. Despite these, further research suggested a number of social capital benefits that came as a benefit of social networking, and the motivations of use alongside pure statistics of users continued to grow.
This article directly focuses on an area not addressed by scholarly research which is the relationship between privacy and social capital, since disclosure of information and lowering of privacy barriers are required to communicate with a wider network to build social capital, but the process can reveal personal information that the user may not want to be shared with a large audience. Social capital can only be formed with dynamic interactions, but alongside a number of technical privacy concerns, users must also consider their audiences and balance what is viewed by a variety of audiences ranging from close friends to work colleagues.
Therefore, individuals are forced to make decisions on the balance of social capital and privacy. It is reasonable to assume that practices such as friending only close offline friends or maintaining a barebone profile while reading others content will not ensure good social capital. Research indicates that users, particularly the core base of young adults engage in a variety of practices to maintain that balance.
First, selective friending is used controlling audiences that may be undesirable to view ones posted content. Second, censoring disclosure of information and content, limiting information to mundane topics. Third, the use of privacy settings such as regulating profile accessibility or whether posts are viewed by friends only or mutual friends that are not on ones list. Self-efficacy plays a significant role in encouraging social capital through disclosures. The authors argue that understanding this balance between privacy and social capital is important, since on a practical scale it can be applied.
Those with understanding of the concept and proper technical skills are able to change privacy settings to ensure adequate privacy and post disclosures of information that will grant them social capital among those they have selectively friended, bringing positive outcomes in both aspects. The degree to which users employ the described strategies determine the ability to minimize privacy risks and gain social capital in their overall Facebook network (Ellison et al., 2011).
Evaluation
The concept of the social capital that the authors of this article explore is extremely relevant in the context of social media. According to Baym and Boyd (2012), social media has transformed the nature of public life through technology. Social media establishes virtual geography and spaces which blurs numerous boundaries for presence and absence, control, space, and private or public communication. Media and the public have historically been intertwining concepts, but spread across geographic barriers, and media has always been used to create public identities (i.e. grassroots movements).
However, social media as a technology did not necessarily change the concept, but rather the scale at which media became an instrument at the service of users for their own creative and instrumental objectives. Social media contributed to the rise of socially mediated publicness online which is shaped by the technical architecture and features of the platforms but also social contexts, practices, and identities which contributes to what Ellison et al. (2011) define as social capital.
However, Baym and Boyd, view privacy in this context a bit differently. They recognize that public and private information create certain tension, once private is publicly available through social mediation, the nature of the content and its privacy cannot be undone. Social media heightens the possibility of public engagement than would commonly be normal in an unmediated environment.
Nevertheless, content online is obscure and numerous, with people overloaded with information and having to be selective about what they consume. In a socially mediated environment, people have to consider identifying information not only for themselves, but others, engaging in self-censoring and cautionary approach, focusing on the lowest common denominator even if they prefer to make it visible themselves. (Baym & Boyd, 2011).
In the contexts of social apps, privacy is key such as revealing location, which is an immediate permission that many apps request under the premise of location-based services. Meanwhile, privacy settings of social platforms like Facebook have deterred many from consistently using the social network for sharing personal information. Users instead migrated to more intimate communication sources such as Snapchat and WhatsApp which have encryption and offer a variety of features for privacy and protection (Morris & Murray, 2018).
The benefits with the accruing of social capital on social networks has led to a surge of personal data uploaded, shared, and stored. While many users openly voice privacy concerns regarding these platforms, the information disclosing behavior often does not align with the behavior. Hallam and Zanella (2017) identify this as the privacy paradox, a gap between behavior and concern. Using the construal level theory perspective, the paradox is explained.
An event that potentially violates an individuals privacy such as a privacy breach is a distant psychological experience that ultimately provides little weight to daily choices. Meanwhile, social capital benefits reaped from activities are concrete and provide immediate gratification. Social rewards predict and directly affect online behavior through near-future intentions, while privacy concerns only have indirect impacts if any at all.
Conclusion
Social media behavior implies balancing social capital benefits that require sharing of personal information and privacy concerns of online platforms that anyone can access. The reviewed article describes these concepts and provides evidence that users tend to use strategies of selective friending, privacy settings, and censoring published content. This largely agrees with other research on the topic which suggests that there is a privacy paradox in this balance and users can also use other platforms with greater privacy or engage in greater censoring of their disclosed private information.
References
Baym, N. K., & Boyd, D. (2012). Socially mediated publicness: An introduction. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 56(3), 320329. Web.
Ellison, N. B., Vitak, J., Steinfield, C., Gray, R., & Lampe, C. (2011). Negotiating privacy concerns and social capital needs in a social media environment. In S. Trepte & L. Reinecke (Eds.), Privacy online: Perspectives on privacy and self-disclosure in the social web (pp. 19-32). Heidelberg, Berlin: SpringerVerlag.
Hallam, C., & Zanella, G. (2017). Online self-disclosure: The privacy paradox explained as a temporally discounted balance between concerns and rewards. Computers in Human Behavior, 68, 217227. Web.
Morris, J. W. & S. Murray (Eds.). (2018). Appified. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.
With the advent of new information technologies and their further use on a global level, a range of obstacles that used to hamper the process of communication among not only the representatives of different nations but also the citizens of the same state, have been removed, time and space being the key ones. With the help of the Internet and IT, people are capable of contacting each other within seconds and reach even the remote corners of the Earth.
The spur of the communication process, however, has also triggered an increase in political and social proactiveness of the state citizens, leading to a rise in peoples awareness. As a result, a range of techniques for manipulating peoples opinions on the Internet has emerged.
Although the virtual world may seem to have a relatively small effect on the real-life outcomes, the manipulation that occurs within the social media environment affects the state and its citizens aversively on social, economic, and political levels, thus, posing a threat of an unavoidable and untimely demise for the state in question.
When it comes to defining the key people, who attempt at shaping online users opinions about a certain event, phenomenon, person, etc., the members of the government appear to be the key suspects. The reasons behind the deduction that leads to blaming the government are rather basic.
Having a very impressive control over media and being interested in altering peoples vision of certain political, economic, and financial issues, conflicts, the government has the power to filter the information that emerges online. The recent initiative of the Pentagon is a graphic example of the above-mentioned phenomenon:
Indeed, the Pentagon publicly announced years ago that it was considering using black propaganda in other words, knowing lies. CENTCOM announced in 2008 that a team of employees would be [engaging] bloggers who are posting inaccurate or untrue information, as well as bloggers who are posting incomplete information. (Global Research, 2011, para. 15)
The military service of the state is another institution, which may possibly be suspected in controlling the social media and filtering the information that is uploaded on the corresponding sites. The goals of the military services, however, can be viewed as far more obvious and direct.
The actions of the military service are traditionally restricted to propaganda and the analysis of the locations, of the possible sources of unrest: The discovery that the US military is developing false online personalities known to users of social media as sock puppets could also encourage other governments, private companies, and non-government organizations to do the same (Jarvis, 2011, para. 4).
While the examples of the political forces controlling the Internet and streaming online communication, the desired direction are quite rare. The military experiments in the designated area are relatively less covert.
For instance, the recent study of the Defense Advanced Research projects Agency (DARPA) called Social Media in Strategic Communications (SMISC) was designed to help the military play the social media propaganda game itself (Global Research, 2011, para. 2). Therefore, the role that the military services play in social media mostly concerns establishing a specific opinion regarding the subject matter discussed and foisting this opinion on the users either in a subtle or in a more obvious manner.
An overview of the existing social networks will show that Facebook and especially Twitter have become the staple for the environment, which serves as the testing area for exercising the authorities power over the opinions of online users.
For instance, the above-mentioned study, the ethical implications of which were questioned and which results delivered rather peculiar information concerning the gullibility of social network users, was carried out in Facebook and Twitter, two largest social networks not only in the United States but also worldwide. However, apart from the specified corporate giants, other minor social networks can be affected by the influence of the state authorities in their endeavors of taking power over the civilians opinion.
Traditionally, two large groups for the methods of shaping peoples opinions online are used, i.e., the influence or disruption of information and technological disruption.
The tools for carrying out the so-called disruption of information are surprisingly numerous. Traditionally, two methods of manipulating users online behavior and opinions are adopted. As a rule, injections of false material with the help of YouTube video hosting services via Twitter, Facebook, and other social networking sites, and the straightforward manipulation of the social discourse online with the help of social sciences (Bobba et al., 2011) are utilized as the key means of manipulating peoples opinion online.
The array of methods, with the help of which the process of implementing the disruption of social attitudes occurs, is strikingly versatile. For instance, a number of means for discrediting a specific target, starting from a person and up to a major corporation and even foreign states authorities, exists in the array of higher governments and owners. Among these, leakage of confidential information and its further sharing among the members of a specific social media deserves to be named the most popular tool.
Technical disruption is comparatively more complicated to carry out, yet it still has a pernicious effect on minor users and major organizations, as well as specific governments and authorities. Each falls under the category of false flag operations, which are usually defined as an incident that is designed to deceive people into thinking it was actually carried out by someone else (Giambruno, 2014, p. 13).
The above-mentioned methods are obnoxious in their transparency, yet admittedly efficient for luring people into believing what the corresponding authorities want them to believe. While the consequences of the above-mentioned actions may be quite diverse, they still cause the equivocal effects that plant the seed of the doubt in peoples minds and, thus, lead to the development of a variety of conspiracy theories.
Apart from false flag operations, though, authorities and organizations also put such tools as infiltration operations, ruse operations, set-piece operations, false rescue operations, disruption operations and sting operations to practice in order to direct peoples thinking the way that is considered desirable at the given point in time.
While the aforementioned actions have minor differences, each of them has the purpose of discrediting the opponent and their opinion, thus, posing their own one as the only possible viewpoint to be adopted, which cannot be denied under any circumstances (Keller, 2014, para. 5).
Despite the fact that the negative effects of the above-mentioned control of social media by state authorities and private organizations might seem obvious, the unceasing control of social networks and the process of channeling online discussions into the area that the aforementioned organizations and people consider safe, is justified often by a range of people: The Chinese government has adopted a very similar language of cyber-security to justify its Internet control structures and procedures (MacKinnon, 2011, p. 44).
It is obvious that the Chinese government realizes the necessity to provide its citizens with the right to privacy as proclaimed in the Due Process Clause (Due process clause, 1868), yet the need to retain its control over the population dictates the state authorities to monitor the online activities of the users on a regular basis.
In addition, these actions being covert for the most part, online users rarely analyze the implications of the control of their online conversations; therefore, underestimating the implications of social network dissent. Herein the need to spell the key effects of social media control out emerges.
Filtering the information that online users are introduced to leads to the phenomenon known as emotional cognition deserves to be listed among the key problems. Presupposing that emotional states are transferred to others via emotional contagion, leading people to experience the same emotions without their awareness (Cramer, Guillory, & Hancock, 2013, p. 8788), emotional cognition is especially dangerous, as it affects peoples ability to view facts objectively and, instead, forces them to be emotional towards a specific issue.
Since people tend to make logical mistakes when their actions are fuelled by their emotions, the specified effect is especially efficient once the need to bestow a specific opinion on people appears (Bono & Ilies, 2011).
The emotional control, which the manipulators through social networks exercise on the unsuspecting users, in turn, also has a drastic effect on not only the individuals in question but also on the state in general. For instance, when introduced to misrepresented information and spreading it across the Internet, people may trigger the development of insecurity in the residents of the state, whose authorities capacities are questioned.
As a result, a drastic change in the moods before the elections and, therefore, a rapid change of the political course of the state after the elections can be expected (Simpser, 2013). More to the point, some active social network users may take the misrepresented information and the subsequent call for a certain political action.
While in most cases, the latter boils down to voicing protests and holding rallies, when taken to their logical extremes, political actions may result in a revolt and the subsequent political and economic crisis within the state (Zhuo, Wellman & Yu, 2011).
Another threat, which the users of social media manipulated by the governmental or corporate bodies face, can be described as the scenario entirely opposite to the one provided above. In other words, social media manipulation may lure people into assuming that the political, economic, and/or financial situation within the state is quite passable.
As a result, corruption rates may remain just as high, and the key political conflicts may remain unresolved as long as the online users remain in blissful ignorance of the current social and political issues. Economic deterioration of the state and the following rise in unemployment rates can be viewed as the logical consequences of peoples inactivity and the unwillingness to engage in political actions due to the persuasion of the authoritative online sources (Nooy, Mrvar, & Batagelj, 2013).
It is quite peculiar that the latter two effects, which occur due to network dissent, are diametrically opposite to each other in terms of their effects on users, yet lead to the same consequences as far as the stability within a state is concerned. Whether it is the inaction caused by active persuasion or, on the contrary, active confrontation between Internet users and the current state leaders, it inevitably causes the same effect of economic decay and the inadequacy of the choices made by the parties concerned.
Viewing the situation from the perspective of the state citizens, one should also bring up the fact that social media manipulation may affect peoples votes in a very significant way.
The information that is dosed to online users in forums and social networks is in most cases very biased and unverified; nevertheless, the provision of seemingly legitimate references and graphic pictures as a proof for the data provided serves as a major boost for people to shape their opinion in favor of the person, whom the poster of the initial message supports: The 2012 study based on this data claimed that Facebooks get out and vote messages may have caused an extra 340,000 votes to be cast, and that merely manipulating the message changed those numbers by tens of thousands (Penny, 2014, para. 15).
Affecting the safety of the citizens and, thus, undermining the security of the state, manipulation of social media clearly jeopardizes the stability of a country as an entity. When spread across the state with the help of social media, information affects every user personally, leaving a tangible trace in their psyche; thus, the very basis of the national security is defiled.
However, it would be quite a stretch to claim that states and organizations control the opinions of online users for the sole purpose of political popularity financial gain still plays a major part in the need for altering peoples opinions and distorting the facts. Specifically, the control of markets and the state economy, in general, must be listed among the top reasons for people to support controlled network dissent (Johnson, Kewley & Evans, 2012).
Last, but definitely not least, the fact that social media manipulation triggers a rapid change in the tendencies in a specific society along with the current social moods. As a result of the specified manipulations, further subjugation of the population and the promotion of different social standards, which may conflict with the peoples national identity, convictions, and beliefs, becomes possible.
The Internet Water Army, which was hired to post positive comments for the government or commercial products (Lee, Tamillarasan & Caverlee, 2013, p. 1), is, perhaps, the most graphic example of the above-mentioned phenomenon.
Created by the Chinese government in order to post comments that are supposed to spur Internet debates, the above-mentioned group alters the very fabric of the Chinese society by challenging people to join a discussion and convincing them to accept a certain political or social standpoint in the process (Lee, Tamillarasan & Caverlee, 2013).
In other words, the social implications of networked dissent created by the corresponding agencies lead to the destruction of the national identity and the individual characteristics of the citizens. As a result, the transformation of the latter allows for them being puppeteered by the state authorities. Despite the fact that the effects of the persuasion, which social networks have on their users, might seem minor, the scale, to which social networks alter peoples viewpoint on a variety of conflicts, is truly immense.
It would be wrong to assume that the effects, which social media manipulation has on the people using it, are entirely negative. Quite on the contrary, social media manipulation can be used for getting rather important and useful messages across.
Furthermore, the abuse of the power of social media may be viewed as an attempt to shelter users from the adverse effects of a much greater threat. To be more exact, the manipulation of social media can be incorporated into the set of strategies adopted for the prevention of drug abuse (Cobb, Graham, & Abrams, 2010).
Moreover, recent research has shown that social media manipulation may lead to triggering happy emotions in the audience and, therefore, contributing to the reduction of stress factors (Global Research, 2011). Consequently, the threat of social media users developing psychological disorders, including depression, etc. emerge.
Moreover, the study has shown that the people, who have experienced the influence of positive messages in the social media, are most likely to pass their emotions to other users, therefore, contributing to the overall increase in positive feelings of online users.
However, the aforementioned example is more of an exception from the traditional scenario. Traditionally, controlled communication in social media leads to the promotion of political or social ideas that are looked down at as inadmissible in real-life communication; as a result, the concepts that are viewed as proper by the alleged totalitarian beholders of the state power are implanted into the minds of the people, who participate in the discussion or merely view it in their browser.
Moreover, viewing the aforementioned effect of media manipulation on people as entirely positive would be wrong. Even though the effects of the study allowed for identifying the ways of sustaining a positive atmosphere that enhances communication online, the research mentioned above is still questionable as far as its ethics is concerned.
Seeing that few to none members of the online forums that were used as the source for primary information retrieval were aware of the study taking place, the researchers could not gain informed consent from all those involved. Thus, the ethical framework of the study is very flawed.
Despite having minor positive effects, the control and manipulation of a social network, nevertheless, have a deplorable effect on a range of aspects of both the states operation and the lives of its citizens. Introducing specific ideas to an online form and social network users, the specified phenomenon contributes to shaping peoples identity in the way that the states leaders consider acceptable instead of promoting the concepts of freedom and democracy.
In other words, social networks may become dangerous tools in the hands of the people, who abuse their powers as state authorities. When controlled and turned into a networked dissent, online communication may easily become a tool for brainwashing people into
Since social media manipulation affects the process of the state economy evolution, the fairness of the political choices made by the state authorities, and the identities of the citizens, it must be viewed as a major threat.
Moreover, the negative effects of the so-called networked dissent are admittedly much more numerous than the positive ones. Since the intervention of the state authorities and corporations affects the state on several levels, starting from altering the opinions of individuals to creating the basis for a major political change, it must be prevented at all costs.
Reference List
Bobba, R. B., Rogers, K. M., Wang, Q., Khurana,, H., Nahrstedt, K. & Overbye, T. J. (2011). Katherine M. Rogers, Qiyan Wang, Himanshu Khurana, Klara Nahrstedt and Thomas J. Detecting false data injection attacks on dc state estimation. Proceedings of the First Workshop on Secure Control Systems, 10(6), 19. Web.
Bono, J. E. & Ilies, R. (2011). Charisma, positive emotions and mood contagion. The Leadership Quarterly, 17(4), 317334
Cramer, A. D. I., Guillory, J. E. & Hancock, J. T. (2013). Experimental evidence of massive-scale emotional contagion through social networks. PNAS, 111(24), 87888790.
Johnson, M. A., Kewley, L. & Evans, D. (2012). Developing an effective plan for smart sanctions: A network analysis approach. Washington, DC: United States Military Academy Network Science Center.
Keller, R. (2014). Government infiltrating websites to deny, disrupt, degrade, deceive. Examiner. Web.
MacKinnon, R. (2011). Liberation technology: Chinas networked authoritarianism. Journal of Democracy 22(2), 3246. Web.
Nooy, W. de, Mrvar, A. & Batagelj, V. (2013). Exploratory social network analysis with Pajek (2nd ed.). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Web.
Facebook had to undergo a long and challenging path before accomplishing its current condition. Since its launching in 2004, Facebook faced three primary problems of privacy, competition, and globalization and spreading in different countries worldwide. The problem of privacy accompanied Facebook since its launching. Initially, college students comprised the majority of Facebook users. They shared details of their everyday life via the network including information or photos about parties or drinking alcohol.
In 2005, there was a wave of fear that job seekers, as well as college admission officers, used students profiles to find the most appropriate candidates. In 2006, Facebook introduced News Feed . It commenced the second wave of indignation concerning the privacy. Users did not like the idea of immediate sharing of their posts with others. In 2008, the application Beacon connected users profile data with other 44 sites without their consent.
Such an action led to numerous negatives comments about Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, faced a problem of staying competitive on the early stages of networks development. Thus, MySpace was the primary competitor of Facebook. Friendster and Orkut were other two significant social networks with a substantial number of active users.
Facebook experienced the third problem of the internationalization and globalization. Mark Zuckerberg faced the challenge to spread the social network throughout the world as far as it was already dominant in the United States of America. However, the globalization became rather a challenge and even failed in some countries. The first aspect of the problem was that Facebook had to compete with already existing dominant sites in different countries. Second, such countries as China and Vietnam banned Facebook at all.
Insights and potential decisions
The primary insight from the case study concerning the problem of privacy refers to the fact that Facebook always has taken into consideration the desires of the target audience. For instance, when the dissatisfaction about News Feed arose, Facebook introduced modifications to News Feed and Mini Feed that gave them more control over what would go into feeds and who would be allowed to see them ( Facebook 2012 4).
The insight from the second problem is about the necessity to find all possible variants to stay competitive in the market. Finally, the globalization is essential for the efficient expansion of the social network. Facebook chose the most appropriate decision for the first problem.
It modified the social network to satisfy consumers needs. In the second case, Facebook had to find support from other organization to continue its growth. In the third case, the effective globalization could be achieved with the help of the profound analysis of the new market and choosing the most appropriate strategy for the presentation of the social network.
Potential courses of action
Facebook had to follow users comments concerning privacy. However, the social network managed to alter users perception of privacy gradually by making such features as News Feed or Like button attractive. Mark Zuckerberg found support among such companies as Amazon, Microsoft, and Apple to stay competitive. Then, it was necessary to make Facebook attractive for users.
The introduction of applications and additional features increased the interest rate. Potential actions may include the analysis of users interests and adapting the website towards their preferences. The process of Facebook internationalization is the most challenging. There is no way out in countries that prohibit the usage of Facebook. However, Facebook should find representatives from different states who will work for the creation of the most relevant content for the particular target audience.
It is worth noting that one of the main processes happening in the world is globalization, which affects various sides of human life, including communication and interaction with other people (Kornblum and Julian, p. 411). The development of media channels contributes to the formation of a global information space in which different forms of inequality also persist. In the modern world, the gap between different social groups is widening every year, which leads to more complicated relations and aggravation of conflicts. The Internet is a space that has specific features, and within the framework of this new type of interpersonal communication, the problem of bullying of one person from the side of another arises often. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the issue of social media and bullying and express the authors opinion on the matter.
Discussion
Experts in the field of psychology believe that bullying in social media is a way for individuals to assert their authority in society (Agbasiere, p. 101). The main reason for this is that this method does not require financial expenditures since almost everyone has Internet access. Also, it is difficult to trace the person who was trying to harass another individual on social media. As a result, bullying is being observed frequently in different groups (Gunderson, p. 27). This is especially typical for adolescents, for whom, on the one hand, it is very important to achieve public recognition, and on the other hand, they often do not have enough resources to get that. At present, this issue is becoming increasingly pressing in terms of its effect on the psychological well-being of society.
According to studies, more than 20% of secondary school students become victims of bullying on social media. This phenomenon is most often observed in developed countries, where people have access to the Internet in 90% of cases (Gunderson, p. 42). As a result, almost every fifth of a teenager on the planet is subject to bullying. It is important that bullying is a cross-cultural phenomenon in all human communities, one can find examples of this form of abuse.
Interestingly, bullying in social media can have its advantages as well. In particular, bullying gives a person the opportunity to prove their superiority in physiological terms or in terms of position in society (Yates, p. 23). From a psychological point of view, evidence of excellence in relation to individual physiological benefits has a positive effect on growth and survival in resource-limited settings. Similar applies to individual sexual advantages children prone to bullying, reach puberty earlier and have greater potential in relationships. Bullying also has group advantages it allows getting a certain social status. In the future, this may be translated into physiological, sexual, or another form of dominance.
However, the effects of bullying on social media are often underestimated. This is due to the fact that bullying in a virtual environment does not threaten the physical security of a person directly, so one cannot attribute particular importance to it. Nevertheless, studies confirm that bullying can have serious consequences for all participants (Yates, p. 23). It affects the emotional and psychological well-being of both the victim and the aggressor. Teenagers who have not developed the ability to cope adequately with stress and respond to conflicts are more prone to crime and violence, and bullying on the Internet is a precursor to those.
In addition, there is a definite relationship between bullying on social media and the low self-esteem of individuals. Teenagers who are victims of bullying often have lower self-esteem than their peers who have never encountered this phenomenon. It is impossible to state definitely whether low self-esteem is a consequence of stress associated with bullying or if low self-esteem is one of the reasons for bullying (Gunderson, p. 27). However, adolescents with low self-esteem can use bullying as a means of self-affirmation among peers. Nevertheless, the most important and difficult consequences of this phenomenon are the psychological and emotional outcomes of bullying, which may result in suicide. It is not possible to say unequivocally whether bullying is leading teenagers to suicide, but it can clearly be one of the triggers.
Point of View
The author of this paper believes that social media have certain advantages since they offer ample opportunities for socialization and the establishment and maintenance of contact with individuals and social groups. Moreover, they provide new possibilities for self-expression and allow people to build careers in new areas. However, the negative effects are much more serious than the positive aspects. Bullying leads to anxiety disorders, episodes of depression, a tendency to unhealthy and dangerous behavior (Agbasiere, p. 101). Also, social media form high expectations in people, and they involuntarily compare themselves and others with the image that other users create and maintain online. The discrepancies between the online image and the real one also lead to bullying and the aggravation of psychological problems, especially among younger people with an unstable psyche.
Concluding Points
Thus, it can be concluded that bullying in social media is a frequently observed phenomenon, which can potentially undermine a persons well-being. Despite the fact that it opens up new opportunities for people, social media should be used carefully by younger generations. Moreover, a systematic approach to combating the issue of bullying should be developed so that both the victim and the aggressor receive the same degree of help and attention.
Works Cited
Agbasiere, Venatius. Welcome to the World of Social Media. AuthorHouse, 2018.
The article discusses the current topic of social media use by teachers and the legislation balancing free speech rights and the educational benefits of social media. The authors claim that in the United States, teachers use social media to contact students or parents, improve the curriculum, and develop professionally through interaction with peers (Vasek & Hendricks, 2016). Despite the benefits of social media, it has its drawbacks, as some teachers publish controversial content, and their social networking with students might be considered inappropriate. The following paper will explain the need for responsible social media use and describe the limits of the Pickering decision.
The problems of the irresponsible use of social media and unprofessional teacher-to-student networking require school leaders and legislators to take disciplinary action against educators regardless of their First Amendments right to freedom of speech. Thus, teachers should exercise caution while using social media or networking with students to enjoy the technologys pedagogical benefits without the risks of damaging their careers. The case of Pickering v. Board of Education provided protection for teachers commenting on socially important matters. However, educators should avoid media comments on employment conditions since they will be considered as personal matters that are not covered by First Amendment protection. Moreover, the teachers should ensure that their speech or a social media publication does not interfere with school operations or working relationships between employees and supervisors.
The modern case of Spanierman v. Hughes involved the Pickering balancing test. The teacher used his personal Myspace account to contact students, but the page also had inappropriate content. The school guidance counselor received students complaints and advised Spanierman to use the school email instead of the personal account for communication with students. The school officials refused to renew the contract with Spanierman after he created the identical Myspace page. The case was dismissed as there was no public concern involved, and the content had a negative impact on the educational environment. Therefore, teachers should avoid social media networking with students or topics unrelated to education as inappropriate speeches are not protected by the First Amendment and might lead to lawful employment termination. Additionally, educators should never post personal information and comments about students, parents, or other teachers, as the case of Munroe v. Central Bucks School District shows. Despite the teachers attempt to hide her identity, it was uncovered, and the offensive content of her blog led to her termination. As the blog negatively affected relationships and respect in the school community, the court dismissed the case, so it was not protected by the First Amendment.
The legal case of Pickering v. Board of Education demonstrates how free speech rights protect school teachers. Marvin Pickering was fired by the board of education after expressing his disagreement with their financial decisions in a local newspaper. Pickering appealed to the court in 1968, which resulted in the conclusion that educational goals must be balanced with the teachers free speech rights. The Pickering balancing test, however, created some limits to the freedom of speech, as seen from Connick v. Myers case. Sheila Myers lost the case, as the court decided that her questionnaires did not communicate a matter of public concern.
The cases of Pickering and Connick led to the development of a two-prong test during free speech challenges. The first prong requires teachers to prove that their message addresses a matter of public concern. The second prong demands that a teacher demonstrate how his/her speech interests outweigh the schools efficiency in operations interest (Vasek & Hendricks, 2016, p. 3). Overall, the court decisions limited the freedom of speech, so the educators can rely on the First Amendment only when their speech involves public concern and the schools operations.
Reference
Vasek, M., & Hendricks, R. (2016). Teachers, social media, and free speech. eJournal of Education Policy, 110.
Social media are popular among young people, and the focus on online communities is important for universities to develop online communication between the staff and students. The purpose of this report is to evaluate the Social Media service presented on the Deakin University website and to propose the potential improvements and recommendations. The strengths of the service are in organisation, and the weaknesses are in the volume of the provided information regarding the services goal, purpose, and regarding the social media resources. Potential improvements to the service include the development of the feedback system, provision of the statistics, and the presentation of the detailed information on the service. Recommendations to implement the third improvement are based on stating the goal, distinguishing between the information types, presenting etiquette guidelines, and developing the Q&A session.
Evaluation of Social Media at the Deakin Website
Social media are the part of the young peoples everyday life, and students spend much time communicating online. References and links to social media, where it is possible to find the information about the certain university, are presented on many university websites, including the website developed for Deakin University. Social media serve to support students communication and to provide the platform for sharing information between the students and universitys staff online. Thus, the covering scope of this report is examination of the Social Media service provided on the Deakin University website.
The purpose of this report is to present the information on strengths and weaknesses of the Social Media service and to propose possible improvements. This report aims to research and evaluate the current state and the future direction of the Social Media service and to provide the necessary recommendations to improve the services work. The practical usefulness of this reports findings is in opportunities to implement the recommendations on the services improvement to facilitate the communication between the students and universitys staff and in opportunities to present the researched information directly to the university administration.
Evaluation of the Current Service
The Social Media service presented on the Deakin University website provides students with links to the Deakin University profiles in such social media as Facebook, Twitter, Google+, YouTube, Flickr, Blog, LinkedIn, and iTunes U, and with the information which is shared with the help of social media resources. The service can be discussed as effective in relation to encouraging the communication between current students, enrollees, young people interested in the university, and the staff because of providing links to the universitys communities.
Strengths of the service
The strengths of the service are in presenting the complete list of the universitys profiles which can be found in different social media. These links provide users with the opportunity to find the necessary information quickly. The users needs are also identified and met with the help of doubling the information shared in the social media on the website. Following the link to the profile, the user can see the comments to the post. The user can comment the post after logging in on the social media websites. The other strong feature of the service is the opportunity to access it while becoming interested in the universitys news and events. Thus, the users can respond to their needs to learn more about the universitys events with the help of social media tools. The complete list of social media and the detailed links to the profiles are organised effectively, and they provide users with the opportunity to know what services are available for them (Social Media 2013).
The weaknesses of the service
The weakness of the service which can also be discussed as the issue to be resolved is the lack of the users involvement into developing media contents and collections because students cannot leave comments and feedbacks on the website page. Furthermore, one more key issue related to using the service is the necessity to organise the statistics on using this or that social network in order to monitor the users interest in services. This statistics can also be related to the popularity of the certain posts which are important to be examined. The service is also weak in providing the information on how to use social media in order to improve the communication and which information can be found on many community pages.
Evaluation of Potential Improvements to the Service
The Social Media service presented on the Deakin University website should be improved in relation to providing the information on the services functions and possibilities. Thus, the Social Media service should include the explanation of the services goals and detailed explanations of the opportunities associated with communicating in online communities because different social media are good for various purposes. The list of potential improvements can include
provision of the users with the opportunity to comment on changes related to the website page and leave feedbacks associated directly with the social media work;
provision of the statistics on the popularity of social media among students and staff;
provision of the detailed information on the Social Media services functions and associated opportunities (explanation of the purpose and goal, distinction between types of information, etiquette of online communication).
Conclusion
The proposed improvements are effective to attract more students and staff to using the social media to find and share the information about Deakin University. However, the easiest way to encourage the students and staff to use social media resources is the provision of the additional detailed information on the functions and resources of the social media in order to justify the effectiveness of posting the announcements, commenting on the posts, sharing the information and experience among students and staff. Although social media are actively used today, the additional information on the use of definite resources by the universitys staff is necessary. Thus, the third improvement can be implemented easily, and this improvement can contribute to intensifying the online communication significantly.
Recommendations
To implement the proposed improvement, it is necessary for the services head and designers
to state the Social Media services goal and the purpose of using social media pages related to Deakin University (for instance, it is possible to state that the purpose is in encouraging communication between students and staff);
to provide the explanation for the users on the type and function of different social media and on the character of information which can be found there (for instance, Deakin University relies on Flickr to provide photo reports on the university events);
to present the etiquette guidelines for the users which are developed to meet the principles of online communication;
to provide the information on the social network which is used by different faculties in Deakin University for asking and answering important questions (Q&A session) because today students are inclined to ask questions in different Deakin University Facebook communities.
The Media Release: The Social Media Services at University Websites Can Be Improved
Melbourne, 25 December 2013 Deakin University organised the investigation group to research the Social Media service at the university website in order to conclude about the services effectiveness. The necessary improvements and recommendations to elevate and advance the work of the service were proposed by the researchers.
In their report, the researchers state that the service is effective to encourage and stimulate communication between the university staff and students, and they focus on such strengths of the service as the convenient organisation and accessibility of the main resources. However, some weaknesses in the work of the Social Media service are also found. To improve the overall work of the service, it is proposed to expand the volume of the provided information which is presented on the page.
The researchers conclude that the service can work better with the developed feedback system. Furthermore, open statistics and the detailed information on the services functions and goals should be provided. Referring to the recommendation on providing the additional information about the Social Media service, the researchers propose to formulate and state the services goal and purpose, to distinguish between the presented information types, to provide the necessary etiquette guidelines, and to design the Q&A session in order to improve the services work.
The improvements mentioned in the report on the Social Media service on the Deakin University website are necessary because social media play an important role in the students life, and the implementation of the proposed improvements can stimulate the students interest in the websites resources and enhance their online communication.
