Ten faces of the Social phenomenon
Social networking has come out of age. It has evolved over the period of time. Today social networking is a huge business market in itself. Social networking, as the name suggests, helps us to be in touch with people, group & communities across the world. Information is shared, status updated, albums are uploaded & many more networking is executed. It has grown into a big business opportunity & also helps in business development via advertising.
Social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter are soon becoming a household name. Every individual is connected to world via these websites. Various communities have been formed, features added & still it’s evolving. Let’s have a look at 10 faces of this so-called social phenomenon.
1. Connect & Share
We all are busy in our day-to-day schedule. Be it office, business or studies, most of us have little personal time left. In this busy world, we don’t get time to contact or visit our friends & family regularly. All friends, family & relatives cannot be contacted regularly. Social networking provides a simple solution to this. Create an account with any social networking site & start sharing your thoughts, events & updates with your circle of friends. It is as easy now-a-days as it is said. You can be in touch with everybody, about their know-how & other developments.
2. Technical Advances
As Social networking evolved, it has made quite technical advances. It is after much research, innovation & hard-work that social networking has grown as we see it today. We hear about new websites everyday or about new features being added to an existing social site. As this aspect of human interaction has evolved, so have the technical advances involved. We find people, places, communities, advertisements, information, etc on social network sites now. The social networking domain is increasing at a fast pace, with respect to technical aspects as well.
3. Freedom of Ideas
Everybody has his/her own thought process. Social sites provide a single platform for everybody to share their thoughts. Be it about the government, policies, business, friends or just about anything. With its huge user base, the thoughts travel to million of people registered at the site. It doesn’t bound one’s imagination. If you have a thought or an idea, you can always share it across with your friends via social networking. The different public & private access levels ensure that the information you share reaches only the expected audiences. One is as free as himself on a social network,
4. Geography Independent
The best part of social networking phenomenon is its independence from one’s physical location. With Internet reaching the grass root level, social network too has widened its base. If you have an Internet connection, it doesn’t matter where you are located physically. A person in India can connect with people anywhere in world via social networks. The world has further shrunk by the introduction of social networks.
5. Advertising
Advertising aims at spreading certain information to as wide as audience as possible. Advertising can be in any form – written, visual, audio or graphical. As social networks increase their customer base, so is increasing their prospects as potential advertisers. Various firms, small and large businesses, or just individuals are approaching the social side of advertising. On the other hand, advertising contributes the maximum revenue generation medium for a social networking site. So the next time you think of advertising, it may be the case that social media will be the first choice.
6. Careers
As the social phenomenon is spreading, so are the employment opportunities. With such a huge information sharing system, different ideas are being shared across. In the fight of competition, social networks too are turning their heads towards providing various details about the job opportunities available worldwide. For e.g. Facebook has recently introduced its job career feature called Glassdoor, which provides various job opportunities to its users via connecting to others. Careers is one field which is being explored now by the so-called social networks.
7. The Innovation
With such a huge audience & free flow of thoughts & ideas – social networks are paving a way towards Innovation. People discuss, form communities, advertise, and innovate via social networks. These sites too keep innovating new features to be clubbed in their existent frameworks in order to keep ahead of the competition. Various new features are being added regularly to the existent social networks. Innovation is at a all time high with the advent of this social phenomenon.
8. The misuse
Every coin has two sides. As it allows free flow of thoughts, social networks are used by evil groups to spread hatred. As they directly reach the audience, these thoughts have a negative effect on society as a whole. Sometimes they are used as a weapon against any government body, or against some people. Though many sites have security features in place like report as abuse, blocked content, public & private access levels – but still loopholes can be found anywhere. Only Innovation is not enough, it is the right use that makes it a success.
9. Addiction
Today Facebook account has become a status quo. One who doesn’t have a facebook account is thought lower intellectually. It is the favorite pastime for most of the youngsters today. If you don’t have anything to do, instead of pursuing a hobby, check & update your facebook status. People are getting addicted to the social phenomenon. Don’t know what magical power it has, but it bounds you once you are into it. With features such as status update, “Like”, chatting & career opportunities, social networks are hard to resist. People are losing out on outdoor activities like sports & visiting close friends. Instead of focusing their energy in right productive direction, many people are just wasting their time on social networks just because it’s the easiest way to pass time.
10. Human Behavior
Man is a social animal. Anything that strengthens this bond is bound to succeed. Social networks have leveraged this basic human behavior of interaction. We like knowing about others & what others are doing. We are much more interested in other people’s life instead of our own. We like to remain updated about the surroundings, people & thoughts. We feel empowered with our growing awareness that we get by harnessing the features of this social phenomenon. With the evolving social networks, human behavior too is now the focus.
Social networking has its pros & cons. But whatever be the cons, it’s a rapidly spreading phenomenon. New features are evolving, more people are being added & a vast pool of information is shared. Starting with a small idea, it has grown into a full-fledged industry providing employment, generating revenue, driving innovation & sharing thoughts. The future seems to be bright for the so-called “Social Phenomenon”.
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