Topic 4

Topic 4: The friendships we form.

Posted on by Vanessa Li

This is my good friend Twitter. I really like my good friend Twitter. I also really like my other friends of the same social circle, Facebook and Instagram.

But every friend, no matter how good, has a flaw. After commenting on Yi Ming’s and Evan’s post, I realised that good friends have flaws. But they are merely mediums or channels of communication. The information that we pass on to them, they just publish. That is their main job. It’s how we users handle these platforms to improve our lives socially or work related.

I found this video on Youtube (Another good friend of mine) which explains the impact social media is creating, the types of policies they have that is supposedly protecting us and what we can do to prevent any privacy leaks. Although I have to admit, watching such a video on Youtube is a little ironic.

A comment from one viewer, brisslayer reads:

This whole issue is not an issue at all, NONE of us are REQUIRED to be HONEST on ANY social media, nowhere does it say that our names, date of birth, location are required to be REAL and the whole thing is a VIRTUAL experience filled with truth and falsehoods and nobody is qualified to tell the diference. Social media is an entertainment tool nothing more it only has ANY value because we WANT IT SO! SORRY!!!

Although I do disagree with him greatly that social media is merely an entertainment tool. The main discussion point is Ethical Issues and this comment is a great example.

The comment mentioned that social media is a virtual experience and nobody is qualified to tell the difference. From this I can infer that people on the web may not be who they say they are. Hence moving back to my point of users handling social media, It is really how we use social media.

On a side note, if these people are giving incorrect information about themselves, does that mean these companies are selling wrong information to marketing companies..?

Also, I came across this other video which I thought would be interesting.

Topic 4: Social Media & Ethical Issues

Posted on by Vanessa Li

Question: Discuss ONE of the ethical issues raised by educational OR business use of social media that you consider to be particularly significant.

Taken from: Tumblr

With its ability to reach millions of customers at the same time, social media has given the users the ability to make informed purchasing choices through reviews and forums. But it’s rapid rise to popularity has seen marketers scrambling to either keep up or get out. (Brown, 2014)

Taken from: Tumblr
Social Media is like this picture of Ariel. There’s always a dark side to everything nice.

One ethical issue I have against social media is Integrity & Security.

Social media cites are often known to invade the user’s privacy by collecting and storing data. This data can then be sold to advertisers. One example would be Youtube. Whereby the demographics, interest and viewing habits are observed. Advertisers are then able to send out adverts that are based on the viewer’s interest. Hence targeting a very niche or specific audience only. (Youtube.com, 2014)

The Bad Stuff

When I first learned of this, my reaction was…

“ARE YOU STALKING ME??????”

With the prevalence of social media usage now, It almost feel like there is somebody watching you. You have no sense of privacy, a cookie is stalking you.

The last issue I would like to mention is the integrity risk for the company. Employees are the ones who controls what goes on in the social media platforms. What happens if your employee is not honest?

In March 2011, Nestle’s employee had replied rudely to a fan in their official Facebook page. Hence violating Nestle’s business principle of integrity and commitment. “Avoid any conduct that could damage or risk Nestle or its reputation”. (Institute of Business Ethics, 2011)

Needless to say, the backlash received sent Nestle and its crisis management team into a frenzy.

The Good Stuff

The only thing I could appreciate about this issue is behavioral targeting (when information is collected through the individual’s web browsing activities).

Companies spend a little effort to ensure that the messages they want to send out are received by the right people. No longer do I see adverts as spam. Well, actually I still do, but at the very least. I am sometimes interested in what they have to say.

In Conclusion…

Social media can be a double edge sword. It can be detrimental to the company if not properly handled and extreme annoying to customers if considered spam. However if used properly, social media is a great tool because of its ability to select and target the appropriate audience.

References

Brown, T. (2014). The Befitting Brand: Ethical Use of Social Media in Business. [online] Digitalmarketingmagazine.co.uk. Available at: http://digitalmarketingmagazine.co.uk/social-media-marketing/the-befitting-brand-ethical-use-of-social-media-in-business/844 [Accessed 5 Dec. 2014].

Institute of Business Ethics, (2011). The Ethical Challenges of Social Media. [online] Available at: http://www.ibe.org.uk/userassets/briefings/ibe_briefing_22_the_ethical_challenges_of_social_media.pdf [Accessed 5 Dec. 2014].

Youtube.com, (2014). Advertise – YouTube. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/yt/advertise/ [Accessed 5 Dec. 2014].