Social Media Last week
Posted on 04. Feb, 2010 by Hardeep Kaur Rai in Media, Reviews
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News Stories covering social media space this past week
1) On 24th Jan 2010, DNA Mumbai carried an article by R.Krishna on the topic ’This social networking website helps you meet friends online’. The article talks about the utility and the growing popularity of Foursquare-a location-based networking site in India, starting with Mumbai. The article sums the benefits by quoting a Mumbai user, Shakti Salgaokar, using the Foursquare application on her iPhone, “The moment I start the application, Foursquare pinpoints my location using the GPS on my iPhone. Using my location, it tells me about various places nearby. It also gives me a to-do list recommended by other users. If I were in Dadar TT, it can list places like D Damodar, Pritam da Dhaba, or the Mumbai-Pune bus-stand. For someone new to the city, this can be of real help”. The article then wraps up prophesying Foursquare to be in 2010 what Twitter was in 2009.
Comment- While the site is a rage in the west, particularly the US, in India it is still in its nascent stage. Abroad the site has tied-up with restaurants, gyms and other establishments to offer deals and discounts to users, in India this is yet to happen. However, location-based networking has the potential to become a huge rage in a country like India,
2) On 25th Jan Financial Chronicle ran an article ‘Twitter disables feature on website over security flaw’. The article reported that following a programming flaw and a security warning of user information falling vulnerable to hackers, Twitter disabled users from displaying updates on their websites using flash technology. The article quoted Mike Bailey, senior security analyst with Foreground Security of Orlando, Florida, ‘my analysis of the Twitter site showed that it could have been vulnerable to attacks for more than a year, but that it was impossible to know whether the hackers had exploited the Adobe flaw.’
Comment- Considering the popularity and the huge user base of Twitter, security flaws like these are dangerous with crimes such as identity-theft and spamming posing serious threats. However, it is comforting to know that Twitter took immediate measures to protect its user information.
3) Times of India carried an article on 25th Jan on the topic ‘Thousands of friends online? Brain can handle only 150’ which elaborated on how despite friend lists numbering thousands on social networking sites like Orkut, Facebook, Twitter etc, the human brain is programmed to remember a meager 150only. The article reports, ‘Researchers at Oxford University, led by Robin Dunbar, have developed a theory known as “Dunbar’s number” in the nineties which claimed that the size of our neocortex- the part of the brain used for conscious thought and language — limits us to managing social circles of around 150 friends.’ The research carried out across various social groupings states that people maintain the same inner circle online that they maintain offline.
Comment- To have or aspire to have a big social circle is human nature. We build relationships either for business networking purposes or purely for the sake of social interaction. However, in practical terms it would become difficult to socialize with every person we ‘befriend’. Therefore, we filter down activities to who we meet offline and who online. The above article also makes a case a point at the end, ‘Girls are much better at maintaining relationships just by talking to each other. Boys need to do physical stuff together’. This explains why women are considered relationship-builders.
4) Times of India also carried another story on 26th Jan about ‘Tweeting for change: new platform for activists’ by Mahafreed Irani. The article talks about the evolving role of social networking sites from a chattier platform to steering causes into real lives. Using cases in point, the writer states, ‘Catalysts for change are using Web 2.0 platforms to engage people and spread the word using already existing social networks. Some prefer using technology to initiate the campaign too.’
Comment- Without doubt, social networking sites are an excellent marketing medium that targets the largest user base with quickest response rate.
5) Another story published in The Economic Times and The Financial Chronicle on ‘Before Applying for that job, do recheck your Facebook page’ and ‘Employers use Facebook to scan job-seekers’ elaborated on the growing tendency of employers to check candidate profiles on social networking sites before hiring. Quoting a survey conducted by online job-site CareerBuilder India, the article stated, ‘42% of employers have found content on social networking sites which leads them not to hire prospective candidate’. Poor communication skills, lying about qualifications, bad-mouthing previous employer or colleague or sharing confidential information online were amongst the reasons rated.
Comment- With the world shrinking to the size of a palm, it becomes imperative to be well-aware of one’s online identity on all levels. It is crucial to maintain a dignified profile without any embarrassing or misleading content that may work against one’s chances of securing a job or client.
6) Deccan Chronicle carried an article by Goutam Das titled, ‘Good Job, Well done Mr Tharoor’ on 26th Jan elaborating on the submersion and influence of Twitter in our daily lives and the role of Shashi Tharoor in adding to the Twitter chirp. Goutam states, ‘the time is ripe for another term Tharoorati in recognition of Shashi Tharoor’s contributions to the medium’.
Comment- The influence of Twitter cannot be overlooked. Truly, Twitter allows for a greater interaction for consumers to connect with and attract a brand’s attention to their grievances, businesses with clients and stars with their fans. And Twitter scaled new skies following the coverage Mr Tharoor’s tweets received in the media.
7) For all game-enthusiasts, Financial Chronicle reported good news its 26th Jan edition as ‘Facebook gets five new games’. The writers, Ari Levy and Adam Satariano, report game company Digital Chocolate designing games for Facebook after releasing more than 50 iPhone games for Apple since December 2008. The article quotes Trip Hawkins, Founder, Digital Chocolate as ‘we will have five games available on social networking site Facebook this quarter and five more in the period ending June’ . The first game MMA Pro Fighter has about 145,000 monthly active users and is built upon creating mixed- martial-arts fighter teams for free.
Comment- Facebook as a platform works for the benefit for all. The fact that companies, especially game-firms, are making millions by promoting their games through applications on Facebook establishes Facebook’s marketing power. Users on their end have first-hand access to numerous games while collaborating or competing with countless other people. So Facebook is happy as the most popular marketplace, Gamers are happy they have so many options and the gaming firms are ecstatic their products are bringing in millions.
8 ) In what can only be called a miracle, a man and his daughter were reunited after 48 years throught Facebook. Deccan Hearld posted an article on Jan 27th ‘Facebook reunites man, daughter after 48 years’. The British father-daughter duo was reported to have last met when she was three. By finding her half-sister on Facebook and corresponding with her, daughter Frances finally met her father, Tony Macnouton.
Comment- The power of social networking sites has again been demonstrated. Truly, the real purpose of a social networking site has been proven through this family’s emotional saga. This is one loyal fan-base that Facebook will have won itself for sure.
9) Deccan Chronicle published an article ‘Blocking in a 2.0 universe’ by Deepak Kumar that talked about Facebook’s surprising and unpopular move to block a website-Web 2.0 Suicide Machine and sending a cease and desist notice to another-Seppukoo.com that responded by displaying the notices on their websites. The article states, ‘In a 2.0 world, it should be the consumer’s prerogative to visit or not visit a site, even for the purpose of deleting their profiles there. There is an element of contradiction in the two stands taken by Facebook-while it has advocated baring its user’s information to all; it has closed select gates to users wanting to delete their FB profiles.’
Comment- While Facebook makes the stand that it does not permanently remove a user’s personal information for future re-activation of their account, yet this does little to relieve a user’s uneasiness. With cyber crimes becoming increasingly frequent, it is discomforting to learn that one’s personal information remains stacked in a cache with Facebook, sometimes for many years despite deleting the account. This compromises user privacy since with whom Facebook shares this information and for what purpose is also unknown to the user. Websites such as Web 2.0 Suicide Machine and Seppukoo do not delete your account but merely empty the cache storing your social network account contents. This ensures user information does not get used without their knowledge.
10) Economic Times ran an article ‘Facebook may lock in its net dominance’ that looked at how Facebook has grown to keep user loyalty through its constant new positioning moves. The writer looks at the concept of ‘technological lock-in’ which means ‘the more a society adopts a certain technology, the more unlikely the users are to switch’. The writer further elaborates, ‘Facebook is the new mobile phone by positioning itself to be the user’s online identity through Facebook Connect’.
Comment: Truly, Facebook has become an integral part of our lives. It’s considered the 3rd most populated country (online) and the growing applications and services specially designed for Facebook only proves its authority and high usage. But Facebook is not stopping here. To ensure its position in the top slot, it is constantly redefining its user’s experiences. Thereby, it is not surprising to see it becoming an integral part of one’s identity.
11) Financial Express covered an article by Amit Bhavani on ‘Making Money Online’ on 28th Jan that elaborated on how blogging had come to pay a nice dividend from its initial hobby days. The article states, ‘There has been a continuous 10% growth in the number of blogs and bloggers in India every year, with the majority hailing from the urban community.’ The article continues to talk about the blogging exercise and provides a how-to on blogging.
Comment- Blogging requires an interest in a given field and good writing skills. A blogger can build up loyalty slowly with interesting posts and use search engines to drive traffic. And once the blogger is established and has a good readership, he can earn money by writing reviews, comparing and analyzing products and publishing posts.
12) Asian Age looks at how teenagers view their parents joining Facebook in its article ‘Go on, add your parents as friends’ by Edlyn G. D’Souza. The article looks at how parents have caught on to the Facebook phenomenon and how their children don’t mind being friends with them. However, there are some who are not comfortable with sharing certain information with their parents online and are utilizing the privacy settings on Facebook to conceal the same.
Comment-This depicts how parents and youngsters are using Facebook to build a closer relationship thereby redefining how social interaction was being redefined within a familial set up.
13) Business Line published an article on ‘IT Solution that helps manage mobile digital social life’ on 29th Jan. The article talked about the new offering in the market, DaVinci Social-built to manage multiple mobile digital identities by IMImobile. ‘DaVince Social is part of the DaVinci services and product portfolio that brings together music, social networking, mobile advertising, mobile marketing voice and messaging services.’
Comment- Such a facility will ensure users one stop communications platform and subsequently quicker access to all of their content.
14) Deccan Chronicle ran a story on 29th Jan on web hoaxes and online journalism in their article ‘In the web of deadly rumours’ by Debarun Borthakur. The article covers the recent hoax about Hollywood star Johnny Depp’s untimely death while listing other hoaxes about Tom Hanks, Natalie Portman, Miley Cyrus and Kanye West with many more. On the Indian front, Jyoti Basu was amongst those targeted by online journalism.
Comment- Online Journalism is all about traffic and thus online news portals utilize such gimmicks. What is heartening is that journalism in India does not resort to such tricks, as yet! Whether it will stay so or will become a widely used phenomenon in India remains to be seen.
15) Deccan Chronicle also featured a story on the concept of ‘nearsighted dating’ with its article ‘Photos can be deceptive’ by Tenzin Dechen on 29th Jan. The article defines the new trend of choose a person by looking at their photos on social networking sites such as Facebook , Orkut or Twitter and then meeting them in person on a date. The article quotes, ‘But instead of making the dating process easier, youngsters feel this is worse, because the real deal is almost always a letdown’.
Comment- It is always advisable to first check out a person’s background, their friend circle, links and attitude online rather than deciding to meet someone purely on the basis of their good looks. More often than not, the photos are either photo shopped or highly misleading. More often than not, people project images of what they would like to be rather than their true self.
16) Hindustan Times looks at the concept of online selling and advertising through its article ‘Social Selling Logs in’ on 1st Feb. The article explores how Indian marketers are utilizing social media to woo Indian youth. Under the umbrella of social media, social networking sites, gaming sites and social applications are the channels used. The article states, Social media offers marketers micro-targeting opportunities and the means to engage the user through communities and other applications.’ The article lists big banks, leading travel companies and consumer electronics brands that utilize the power of social media.
Comment- Today’s youth is different from the youth of yester-year and so are the channels used by them. If marketers or brands want to communicate or target the youth and their influencers then they will have to use these very mediums to promote themselves or their product or service.
17) Facebooking, Twittering, Orkuting etc can have some adverse effects ranging from being sacked to being jailed or even getting divorced. Or so says the article ‘Social networking ke side-effects’ by Harsimran Singh featured in Economic Times on 1st Feb. The article informs readers on amendments made by India’s IT Act which now consider ‘status messages and Tweets admissible as electronic evidence and the onus of the posts on these accounts now rests solely on users, say cyber lawyers’. The article states,’ using a private key which in this case is a password is an electronic signature under the IT Act. Internet posts can also amount to defamation when read with the laws on defamation’.
Comment- The increasing adoption of the online world in India is also increasing the problems posed by its misuse. And with the level of ignorance of cyber laws in the country, most of the users are unaware that they are responsible for the information that they put up on the web-site rather than the social networking site. It is better to be safe than sorry and make oneself familiar with the IT Act to avoid any untoward incidents in the future.
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