Introduction to Social Media. Paper Example

In the current world of technological advancement, social media has gained power as one of the essential tools needed in businesses, organizations, and social communication. It is worth noting that social media is more than thirty years old, though its popularity seems to have taken center stage since 2006. Johnston (2010) states that social media has occupied almost all aspects of daily communication via different platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and emails, among others. Social media, on the other hand, plays a vital role in business communication since it helps firms receive immediate customer communication. It permits clients to ask different questions, offer feedback, and provide advice to businesses. Therefore, it is essential to understand the importance of social media, accessibility, and the internet as a continual source of news, and productive uses of social media.

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Importance of Social Media

Kaplan and Haenlein (2010) highlight that business executives and marketing consulting are in recent times, establishing ways to tap into business profitability using social media application. In the same vein, some of the business head choose to ignore the utilities of social media since they do not understand how it works (Kietzmann et al., 2011). Culnan et al. (2010), however, argue that the use of social media in the current world is based on how, Facebook and Twitter among other platforms create the virtual custom of environment where business people can show their products, brands, and services. Thus, despite its increasing popularity, Mckinsey (2011) stresses that social media has not achieved its full potential in the business world since many enterprises have not yet established how it importance fits their line of business operations.

Accessibility and the Internet

Internet accessibility has filled every aspect of the world to the extent that it plays an integral part in how people receive news and entertainment. According to the Nielsen Social Media Report (2011), social media platforms are the most relied on in receiving news from mainstream media and entertainment. Similarly, universities and schools have adopted social media to encourage learning through forum replies and discussions.

I find the use of social media productive in many ways that stretch across most platforms. For example, Twitter is very informative on current news, trends, and activities that are happening both in the local and international grounds. Therefore, social media platforms help me get in touch with families and friends whose geographical positions do not allow us to meet. Also, I have been able to meet many friends who have emerged to be helpful in my life in many ways. I also find some of the discussion on Facebook and twitter educative such as forums for cancer diagnostics, and so on.

Conclusion

Social media holds dominant positions in the current world. It has and will continue revolutionizing our ways of communications and change our world views. However, despite its many advantages, social media has also worsened social vices in different areas of society and even the business world. It has been associated with various challenges such as fraud, cyber-bullying, and a stream of illegal transactions using pseudo accounts. Therefore, if people and businesses want to enjoy the importance of social media, it is essential that they first address these challenges.

References

Culnan, M. J., McHugh, P. J., & Zubillaga, J. I. (2010). How large US companies can use Twitter and other social media to gain business value. MIS Quarterly Executive, 9(4).

Johnston, John (2010) "10 New Stats Showing the Fast Growing Popularity of Social Media." June 16, 2010. http://www.jjprojects.com/2010/06/16/10-new-stats-showing-the-fast-growing popularity-of-social-media/

Kaplan, A. M., & Haenlein, M. (2010). Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of Social Media. Business horizons, 53(1), 59-68.

Kietzmann, J. H., Hermkens, K., McCarthy, I. P., & Silvestre, B. S. (2011). Social media? Get serious! Understanding the functional building blocks of social media. Business horizons, 54(3), 241-251.

Nielsen Social Media Report (2011) "State of the Media: Social Media Report," Q3 2011, http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/social/