Legal, Policies, and Ethics

“By clicking Accept, you agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.” Does anyone actually read all of the regulations and policies before accepting? Not really. The Guardian actually did a study to find out just how many people in all of Great Britain actually read the fine print; the survey revealed that ONLY 7% of Britons read online terms and conditions when signing up for products and services! That is a pretty small amount of people, especially considering how popular social media is. So, why don’t we read the fine print to make sure we’re not accepting something we don’t agree with? Well…we’re lazy. The Terms and Conditions takes FOREVER to read through and uses words that we don’t really understand. Although, it is super annoying to have to read all of the policies presented by a company, it’s actually really important to at least familiarize yourself with what exactly you are agreeing to.

Snapchat is an extremely popular social networking app, especially among the younger demographic. The reason that the younger generation loves it so much is because of the feature that allows users to take photos that disappear after the receiver has viewed it. This has probably made parents a little more uneasy than other social networking platforms considering they can’t look through their child’s phone to make sure that they aren’t sending anything inappropriate.  

So, why is everyone freaking out about Snapchat lately? Well, Marketwatch explains that Snapchat’s updated privacy policy has claimed the rights to reproduce, modify, and republish photos and save them to Snapchat’s servers, specifically in relation to the ‘Live Story’ feature.  So yeah, all of the people who have sent pictures that definitely don’t want any chance to be resurfaced are freaking out about Snapchat’s violation of their privacy. But hey, Snapchat didn’t technically do anything wrong; all of its users agreed to it.

So, next time one of your apps, products, or services tells you “By clicking Accept, you agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy,” you might want to read into what you are agreeing to.  

Sources: 

http://www.theguardian.com/money/2011/may/11/terms-conditions-small-print-big-problems

https://www.snapchat.com/terms  

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/snapchats-new-scary-privacy-policy-has-left-users-outraged-2015-10-29

Collaborative and Distance Communication Platforms

Today, I’m going to talk about the social media platform that is very near and dear to my heart: Skype. Just for a small explanation, Small Business Chron describes Skype as a “hybrid instant messaging and voice chat application that allows users to connect with one another from any global location with internet access. With over 663 million users, Skype is one of the most popular communication systems in the world.”

Skype is actually extremely helpful for businesses. On the Skype blog, five benefits are listed for companies: (1) Cut the cost of your business calls, (2) Keep track of your expenditures, (3) Reduce your business travel costs, (4) Stay in touch with colleagues, (5) Stay in touch with customers. One of the best benefits that were listed is for businesses to cut the cost of business calls; I’m talking about international businesses. International calls are EXTREMELY expensive; Skype is free and it also gives the opportunity to be face to face instead of just voices on a phone call which increases customer service.   

So why does Skype mean so much to me? Well, it has helped me maintain relationships more than any social media platform ever has. Growing up in the LDS religion, I have had many close people go on missions. A few years ago, missionaries started being able to use Skype. At the time, my closest brother Caden was on a mission in Puebla, Mexico. He was able to Skype me and my family twice a year on Christmas and Mother’s Day. I remember looking forward to being able to finally physically see him, almost like he was in the room with us. Right after he came home, my boyfriend, Austin, left on a mission to Santiago, Chile. Both of us were extremely worried about what the two years of being apart would do to our relationship. But, about every six months we were able to see each other because of Skype. I know that it doesn’t seem like a lot to only see someone you love twice a year, but it is what helped us to maintain our close relationship. Now, Austin is home, and we are planning on getting married this summer.

Sources: 

http://smallbusiness.chron.com/advantages-skype-63207.html

http://blogs.skype.com/2012/05/24/5-real-benefits-of-using-skype/

Location Based Platforms

Why use a location based social media platform? Sounds kinda creepy that other people can see where you are, right? Well when used properly, they can be pretty awesome. My favorite location based platform is FourSquare. Now, I have been dating someone for almost a year now and living in Logan doesn’t give us the most options for our date nights. For the first part of our relationship, we pretty much went to every restaurant in town and wasted a bunch of money on going to the movie theater at least once a week. After a while, we ran out of ideas. One day, I was on Facebook and saw one of my friends had mentioned the FourSquare app. Ever since then, the app has helped us to come up with fun, creative stuff to do wherever we are.

So, just to explain, FourSquare is a social media site that provides a way for you to know of things that you might be interested in around your area. Wikipedia explains it as an app that “takes into account the places a user goes, the things they have told the app that they like, and the other users whose advice they trust, FourSquare provides recommendations of the places to go around a user’s current location.” For an example, when I first got the app, I put that I’m interested in sushi, movies, and fun date nights. The app then gave me a list of places to go, including customer reviews for each place. Pretty cool right? So next time you’re having issues finding something to do with your friends or on a date, try out the FourSquare app and see if you like it!

Location based platforms are not only beneficial for its users, but for businesses. On the GOBABL blog, they claim that there are five benefits that location based platforms give to businesses: (1) It helps to find new customers and expand your audience, (2) Increases brand awareness with less budget, (3) Learn about your audience easily, (4) Get instant customer feedback, and (5) It helps target audiences more effectively. These benefits can significantly help small, less known businesses become visible on the map of their consumers. 

Sources:

https://foursquare.com/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foursquare

http://gobabl.com/blog/5-benefits-of-location-based-social-media-monitoring-for-businesses/

Most Used Platform

Facebook is now worth more than Walmart. No this is not a joke; yes I used a reliable source. On June 23, 2015, CNN reported that Facebook’s market value is nearly $245 billion, while Walmart is worth about $235 billion. Now obviously Walmart and Facebook don’t compete with each other, but it’s a pretty remarkable feat for a social media site that has only been around since 2004 to be worth more than the world’s largest store when it comes to sales. 

Facebook has been a powerhouse in social media innovation for a long time now. With so many social media platforms that have been invented, how has Facebook able to become and maintain the number one most popular platform slot? According to FBZA, “versatile features that cater for a variety of needs for the different categories of users continue to drive traffic to the platform.” So, the answer is plain and simple: Facebook is just different than any other social media. And what does different mean? It means more successful. Companies that are able to differentiate themselves from their competitors always come out on top. When I think of Facebook, I think of multiple social media platforms combined. The main purpose of Instagram is sharing photos; Facebook can do that. The main purpose of Twitter is to update your status, share articles and opinions, and follow news updates; Facebook can do that. Facebook continues to improve and evolve through the years, a strategy that MySpace didn’t realize to do and look where it’s gotten them. FBZA also came to a conclusion that there is a list of factors that social media sites must combine and implement in order to become the world’s biggest: (1) Vision, (2) Financial Investment, (3) Inclusive approach to membership availability, (4) A versatile array of application features, (5) Continuous improvement to guarantee relevance, (6) Media. From the beginning, Facebook has capitalized and evolved itself into applying all of these factors. Although there are rumors and articles saying that Facebook is going to start going downhill here soon, I really don’t see that ever happening. 

Sources:

http://money.cnn.com/2015/06/23/investing/facebook-walmart-market-value/

http://www.fbza.net/2014/10/how-facebook-became-worlds-biggest.html 

Blogging

Blogging. Everyone seems to be doing it right now. I feel like every time I get on Facebook or Instagram, I see at least one post about someone’s blog. So why is it so popular all of a sudden? Well, for people who write personal blogs, there are actually a lot of health benefits, both psychological and physiological. According to Scientific American, there is a high therapeutic value when writing about personal experiences, thoughts, and emotions. Research shows that it actually “improves memory and sleep, boosts immune cell activity, and even speeds healing after surgery.” So, if bloggers truly believe this, why not just keep a journal? Why put everything online for other people to see? I personally believe that bloggers like that other people can comment with their thoughts on experiences, or whatever was put on the blog, so that the blogger can feel a sense of validity. I also think that a lot of bloggers want to help others that have been in similar situations or trials; I almost think of the ‘blogosphere’ as being a support group.

Another huge trend is for businesses to set up blogs. What’s the point of that? On a blog called Wishpond, it gives four reasons for why blogging is so important for businesses: (1) drive traffic to your website, (2) increase your SEO/SERP, (3) position your brand as an industry leader, (4) develop better customer relationships. I believe the fourth reason, developing better customer relationships, is the most important. When a company sets up a blog, they invite the customer to get to know the business (or the product). This builds trust with the consumer because it’s telling them that the company has nothing to hide, since they are welcoming the consumer to explore all of their information. The business is then able to develop a loyal customer base that they definitely wouldn’t be able to do without a blog. 

Sources:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-healthy-type/

http://blog.wishpond.com/post/47804902390/4-reasons-why-blogging-is-important-for-your-business 

Social Media Case Reflection 1

Social media is one of the best innovations of our time, but a lot of people tend to abuse and misunderstand its power. According to Ditch the Label, a self-help organization, 7 out of 10 young people have been victims of cyber bullying and 37% of young people have experienced cyber bullying on a highly frequent basis. So what’s going on? What makes a person feel comfortable with bullying someone else on the internet? The answer is actually pretty obvious: it’s easier. It’s so much simpler to sit behind a computer screen to attack someone than actually doing it to their face. Psychology Today released a great article in which it stated that one of the big reasons bullies are more comfortable on the web is because “online interactions are devoid of emotions.” So, to me, I feel like it gives people a sense of anonymity, which in turn gives them the excuse to almost lose a little bit of their human nature. When you can’t see the emotions of the person you are interacting with, of course it’s going to be a heck of a lot easier to say horrible, inappropriate things to them; it almost feels like you’re not even talking to another person, you’re just typing words.

The specific case that I want to talk about happened pretty recently, just right after New Year’s. A woman went on a rant on Facebook after she felt like she wasn’t given enough attention at a restaurant/bar when she was trying to pay her bill. The reason that she wasn’t given full attention was because a separate older woman had a heart attack, was thought to be dead, and employees were trying to help the situation. Now, what happened with her Facebook jab at the restaurant is the problem with a lot of controversial posts: the woman that went on the rant was both misinformed and had jumped the gun on making a post. She was misinformed because she had somehow thought that the woman who was thought to have been dead was a druggie who had overdosed. She had jumped the gun on making the post because if she had just waited, found out more information about the situation, and cooled down a little bit then probably none of this would have happened. After this woman had made the post, the managing partner of the restaurant gave a response that pretty much told the woman that she was misinformed, cold-hearted, and that her bill didn’t take precedence over a human life. All of these posts then went viral. Since then, this woman has seen some major backlash on many social media sites. Social media users have once again absorbed the mob mentality with this situation, sending her death threats, asking her employers to fire her, even mistakenly attacking someone who happened to have the same name. Yes, what the woman had posted was absolutely despicable and appalling, but that doesn’t give other people the right to publicly persecute her and even try to ruin her personal life. How many of these persecutors have posted something terrible on the internet that they most likely regret? Probably the majority of them since they definitely aren’t afraid to say awful things to this woman, even threaten to kill her. I really respect how the managing partner responded; it may have been harsh (which the woman definitely deserved), but he stood up for what was right in an appropriate manner. The people on both sides of this situation need to learn a lesson from him, instead of thinking they can say whatever they want just because they can.

The internet is an awesome tool with so many positive benefits, but all of this cyber bullying and people thinking they can attack others is both unethical and the internet’s biggest detriment. Once something is put on the internet, you can’t get rid of it nor can you take it back. Social media users desperately need to learn how to use these sites with caution. People need to realize that there is an actual living, emotional person on the receiving end of their bullying and harassment. If you feel uncomfortable saying something to someone face to face, then it also has no place on the web.

Sources: 

http://www.indystar.com/story/life/food/2016/01/04/kilroys-goes-viral-after-response-angry-customer/78252026

http://www.ditchthelabel.org/cyber-bullying-statistics-what-they-tell-us/ 

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/behind-online-behavior/201408/the-psychology-behind-social-media-interactions

http://metro.co.uk/2016/01/08/hairdresser-sacked-after-complaining-new-years-eve-dinner-was-ruined-by-woman-having-heart-attack-5610374/

Social Media Change

Since I am a 22 year old college student, naturally I use social media every single day. If I’m not posting something myself, I’m scrolling through the news feed seeing what others thought was worthy to be put on the internet. As I have reflected on the past when social media wasn’t nearly as prevalent as it is today, I came to a pretty concrete conclusion: social media has significantly altered the way that we communicate in today’s society. Our ability to interact with other people has become so much easier and faster since the start of the social media trend. We are now better able to keep in contact and maintain relationships with people. For instance, most people don’t stay in constant contact with friends who have either moved away or even just moved on to a different stage in life (like me with my high school friends); social media makes it possible to see what’s going on in the lives of people that you care about when they are away from you, which I think is one of the best benefits of social media sites. The change in communication that I find the most interesting is the fact that we now have the opportunity to interact with people that we wouldn’t have been able to meet in our normal, everyday lives.  Millenial CEO wrote a great article describing how at our fingertips, we can communicate with people that we would never have even known existed without social media; someone in Laramie, Wyoming can easily communicate with someone in Melbourne, Australia within seconds. We also have the means to communicate with people that otherwise wouldn’t be able to hear our opinion; for instance, we can tweet a talk show host like Jimmy Fallon on our view of a certain topic or Justin Bieber about his latest concert. Now, whether they would read or listen to what we have to say is a different story. An event that I found particularly interesting happened in 2014 when the riots in Ferguson, Missouri broke out after Michael Brown was shot and killed by a police officer. During this event, many people were shocked when people all the way from Palestine were tweeting to the rioters in Ferguson, using the hashtag Ferguson, about different strategies of protection from tear gas. This proves just how easy and fast the spread of information and communication is via social media. Now, whether you think that social media has effected communication for the better or worse is up to you, but one thing is for sure: communication is not the same.  

Sources: http://millennialceo.com/social-media/social-media-changed-communicate/

http://www.ryot.org/palestinians-tweet-tear-gas-advice-to-ferguson-protesters/786953