Extra EnTrY ---> aBouT SociaL MeD!a ..

Many people do not know that social media is also a part of interactive media. They thought that social media is standing alone and not related to any things. Social media refers to interaction among people in which they create, share, and/or exchange information and ideas in virtual communities and networks.

• Refer to Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein define social media as "a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, and that allow the creation and exchange of user-generated content.".
•  Furthermore, social media depends on mobile and web-based technologies to create highly interactive platforms through which individuals and communities share, co-create, discuss, and modify user-generated content. It introduces substantial and pervasive changes to communication between organizations, communities, and individuals.

Types of Social Media

• Social Networks - Services that allow you to connect with other people of similar interests and background.  Usually they consist of a profile, various ways to interact with other users, ability to setup groups, etc. The most popular are Facebook and LinkedIn.

• Bookmarking Sites - Services that allow you to save, organize and manage links to various websites and resources around the internet.  Most allow you to “tag” your links to make them easy to search and share.  The most popular are Delicious and  StumbleUpon.

• Social News
     -   Services that allow people to post various news items or links to outside articles and then allows it’s users to”vote” on the items.  The voting is the core social aspect as the items that get the most votes are displayed the most prominently.  The community decides which news items get seen by more people.  The most popular are Digg and Reddit.

• Media Sharing - Services that allow you to upload and share various media such as pictures and video.  Most services have additional social features such as profiles, commenting, etc.  The most popular are YouTube and Flickr.

• Micro-blogging - Services that focus on short updates that are pushed out to anyone subscribed to receive the updates.  The most popular is Twitter.

• Blog Comments and Forums - Online forums allow members to hold conversations by posting messages.  Blog comments are similar except they are attached to blogs and usually the discussion centers around the topic of the blog post.  There are MANY popular blogs and forums.

Social Media brings Advantages or Disadvantages ??

Advantages of Social Media

• Social media has the power to drive traffic to your website, blog, articles, etc.

• Social media could be the spark you are looking for to attract attention to your site, product or service. It could also be used to further build loyalty and long-term relations with your audience.

• Social media is able to bring people together, especially when promoting global products or cause-related campaigns and ideas since it allows people from the different geographical location to meet at a single point and express their views.

• Social networking offers many benefits. It is now easier than ever to keep in contact with old friends and colleagues. The professional networking site Facebook even allows users to request introductions to business people who are known to their contacts. The potential of this enhanced connectivity is huge; whereas once you would be left sifting through business cards after a networking event, trying to remember details about each person, you can now easily look up a connection’s credentials and business interests on their social media profile. Your profile is designed to function as an online resume, detailing your education, career history (with recommendations from your colleagues), and creative portfolio. The platform encourages users to connect with people working in their organizations, and to endorse their colleagues for the skills they display in their daily work. 

Disadvantages of Social Media

• The wrong online brand strategy could put you at a viral social disadvantage and may even damage your reputation, example, when you make a mistake offline, a few will know but when you make a mistake in front of hundreds or thousands of you online audience, most of them will know!

• Social media can have a negative influence on worker productivity. Employees may waste valuable time using social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter. They can also use social media to attack people reputation!

• When social media is used excessively or in the wrong way, it could have serious detrimental outcomes on both mental and even physical health of individuals.

• The one potential risk of social networking cited most often is that of hacking. Incidents of profiles and accounts being hacked into are commonplace. While this could be restricted to simply playing a practical joke on a friend, it sometimes leads to the more serious misdemeanour of identity theft. This requires a low level of technical skill and is referred to as social engineering. This technique banks upon the psychological aspect of a ‘friend’ connection; the hacker uses common interests, background and professional information (all of which are posted on profiles) to extract sensitive information, like passwords and other details from the targeted individual and use them to create an alternate identity. Just using simple data like date of birth, name and location allows hackers to create fake social security cards, driver’s licenses and ID cards.

           In conclusion, social media is the hottest online trend of the last few years. Not only do social media sites provide a way to keep in contact with friends, but they can also offer opportunities for professional online networking. Social media could be advantageous for your career, but there are also disadvantages to consider. Could the time you spend interacting online be put to better use? Social media has brought to the world a common medium for thoughts, words and expression. However its correct and efficient usage is completely dependent on how it is managed. Being aware of the risks and vulnerabilities that we are exposed to through these media only empowers further to use them in a positive way. It is up to us to make sure that social networking does not turn into social dysfunction. 








Reference : 

http://outthinkgroup.com/tips/the-6-types-of-social-media

http://www.clickz.com/clickz/column/2290890/advantages-of-social-media-and-social-media-automation

http://www.e-guillotine.com/the-pros-of-social-media.php