Mediaboss Marketing

By Kristen Powers

Published July 10, 2012

As college students, we all need technology to function, but some of us crave it. Whenever one of my professors doesnt use Blackboard, students get annoyed because the system makes accessing study materials and grades much easier. Cellphones have gone far beyond making calls and texting. I personally get lost and frustrated without a GPS, and the games and apps on smartphones have given many of us the means to kill time.

Smartphones are so prevalent that providers are reportedly worried about the possibility of a spectrum crunch (the idea that we could run out of airwaves)[http://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/spectrum-crunch] for data signaling because of increased smartphone and Wi-Fi use. Even if that never happens, our fears of a theoretical spectrum crunch reflect how technology use is being taken to the extreme. As a result of our increased consumption of technology, social networking in particular, we have to deal with aspects of our social identities that never have existed before, and it is starting to have an unhealthy effect.

Online networks place a pressure on us to be available at all times. Of all the social networks out there, the one that seems to have nearly universal membership is Facebook. With its more than (901 million users as of March 2012)[http://newsroom.fb.com/content/default.aspx?NewsAreaId=22], Facebook's massive social network is severely distorting how we perceive our relationships with others. Some openly fret about their number of friends on Facebook, which is often in the thousands for more prolific users.

The idea we can maintain a contact network of this size in which people are anything more than a number on a web page is completely implausible. Research has shown (the brain cannot handle more than 100 to 150 meaningful connections)[http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/mar/14/my-bright-idea-robin-dunbar] with other people in one's immediate day-to-day life. Social networking has its purpose, but it is important we keep the purpose of sites like Facebook in context and avoid using it as a replacement for meaningful social interaction. Solely communicating with someone via text can get boring, and a lot of nuanced emotions can get lost when not communicating in person. Because of this, these sites should primarily serve as a sort of Rolodex, not as a social register or replacement for direct interaction.

Another distressing side effect of our increasingly large electronic identities is once you put something online, it exists indefinitely, which could be harmful for younger generations. If every thought I had as a 14-year-old was documented on Twitter, I would be living under a rock from embarrassment.

Whats more, the legacy you leave on the Internet could outlive you, giving others the freedom to manipulate it. At the Coachella Music Festival this year, holograms of the late Tupac Shakur and Nate Dogg appeared onstage. Though this performance helped increase the sale of Tupac's records by nearly 600 percent, some privacy advocates voiced their disapproval, and rapper Waka Flocka Flame complained record companies were (getting paid off a dead man's body.)[http://www.vibe.com/article/v-exclusive-waka-flocka-tupac-hologram-i-hated-it]

Most of us arent particularly worried about being regenerated as a hologram postmortem, but the increasing size of the average persons online presence is making it increasingly difficult for us to control the information we choose to share with people. As society increasingly judges people based on their online identities, this lack of control can be extremely frustrating. Because of the unhealthy effects of online social networking, I suggest we leave our laptops and make an effort to connect more with our friends face-to-face.

See more here:
Log off: social networking is bringing us down

More than 120,000 people in Bahrain have joined social media networks since last year, it has been revealed. There are 340,000 active Facebook users and more than 60,000 people on Twitter, said Social Media Club Bahrain president Ali Sabkar.

According to the latest figures, a total of 247,000 people used Facebook last January and 42,349 were on Twitter in September last year.

Mr Sabkar said the growing numbers were among 43 million Arab Facebook users and 1.3m Twitter accounts.

"People in Bahrain, considering its size and population, are already one of the leading social media users," he said on the sidelines of the Social Media Awards ceremony at the Elite Resort and Spa, Muharraq.

"Social networks' use jumped considerably in Bahrain in the beginning of 2011 and people here have not looked back since.

Mr Sabkar said Bahrain now has 900,000 internet users, out of which 51 per cent were active on social media sites.

"The age of communication and digital relationships between brands, the media and consumers has changed faster and in ways few could have anticipated and Bahrain is at the forefront of this revolution," he added.

"Social media has become a tool with measurable power that truly has a place within almost any kind of business."

He said the awards would encourage users to utilize social media networks for personal and business objectives.

"It is no secret that social media has led to a democratization of media and has paved the way for a new generation of online relationships and conversations," he explained.

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Bahrain Sees Surge in Social Networking

July 9, 2012 (WLS) -- You may remember the online campaign that raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to send a bullied bus monitor on the vacation of her dreams.

Now, an online community is turning all kinds of ideas into reality with the help of complete strangers and some serious money.

Chicagoan Julian Bell is recording his debut album this summer but he needed some help to pay for the project. Rather than more traditional funding options, he turned to the internet.

"It is a little crazy to think that someone who you've never met before and may never meet is offering you to give you some kind of money," Bell said.

"It's an active thing you have to do, get people to donate and participate in it, so that's a good way to get your name out there, you're always asking people, could you please spread the word."

Bell is using a fundraising social network called Kickstarter, a website where people log on and donate money to help fund new ideas.

If the project reaches the fundraising goal the creator gets the money and creates the project, otherwise the donations are returned to the investors.

Northwestern University professor Liz Gerber studies this new type of social networking called crowdfunding. She's even using it to help fund some of her research. She says it's a digital version of passing the hat.

"When people put their money where their mouth is, it's a different indicator of validation then just cool idea man," Gerber said.

"It's been happening actually for years," Gerber said. "The difference here is now we have the internet which facilitates a whole new kind of communication and social media which allows us to constantly be in contact with folks to give them updates about our project and tell them what is going on."

Read more:
Social networking helping to raise funds

July 9, 2012, 6:19 AM PDT

Takeaway: Social networking has had a huge impact on how we communicate and interact but some people refuse to get caught up in the trend. Alan Norton explains why hes one of them.

I have a confession to make. I dont do social networking. Thats not that unusual for someone my age. Just 8% of all Facebook users fall into my age group. Nonetheless, according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, social networking is popular and still growing. While only 8% of adult Internet users used social networking sites in 2005, that number had grown to 65% by 2011. Why then do some people in general and older Internet users in particular avoid social networking services? I can give you 10 reasons why this experienced ancient one doesnt use them.

The recent IPO of Facebook wasnt as successful as its backers wanted. But it was successful bringing to the publics attention Facebooks privacy concerns. I, like many others, dont fully understand how serious those concerns are. It does make for a great excuse though to avoid Facebook altogether. Putting your personal information in the care of others, no matter how diligent their stewardship, increases your risk of that information getting into the hands of third parties.

Our image is, in part, defined by our words. Each of us should ask how much of ourselves we want to give to people we dont even know. Once gone, that private piece of our lives can never be retrieved.

Who actually owns and who controls your intellectual content that you post is not as clear as you might think. Terms vary by social networking service, but typically you give up control of how your content may be used. Which raises the question: If you dont control it, do you really own it? It isnt clear who legally owns your content. The Twitter Terms of Service as of July 4, 2012, clearly states that you own the content you post:

You retain your rights to any Content you submit, post or display on or through the Services.But whats yours is yours you own your Content (and your photos are part of that Content).

According to a New York judge, however, Twitter owns your Tweets. That should at least cause you to pause before posting anything at any site other than your own. I am not a lawyer, but it appears that the legal ownership of your Tweets and other posted content may not be fully determined for years.

Social networking offers an easy way to meet people perhaps too easy. No commitment is required, and you can invest as much or as little of your time as you wish. Social networking services can be a great way to keep people at a distance: Interact only when and where you want with whom you want. That may be great for some people. I prefer more meaningful ways to interact, like face-to-face and over the phone. People value your full attention and time. Social interaction is only as rewarding as you are willing to make it, whether in person or online.

There is that risqu limerick you shared while in high school or those embarrassing statements you made about a former employer that can be found with a simple Web search. Pity the poor job interviewee grilled by an interviewer who did his homework and found your ignorance, or worse, the bad information you posted about a topic for which you are supposed to be an expert. If you must post, practice safe posting. Of course, abstinence means never having to say youre sorry.

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10 reasons why I avoid social networking services

ScienceDaily (July 9, 2012) Social networking websites offer a potentially large amount of personal information to organizations about job applicants. However, organizations that implement online screening practices through sites like Facebook may reduce their attractiveness to applicants and current employees.

Previous studies show up to 65 percent of organizations screen applicants through social networking websites, said Will Stoughton, a doctoral candidate in industrial and organizational psychology at North Carolina State University.

Employers claim they screen social networks to find the best applicants and weed out the bad ones -- and it can be easy to find personal information. They typically look on sites like Facebook or Google for pictures of alcohol or drug-related use and remarks about previous employers or co-workers, Stoughton said.

Organizations have even been known to ask interns who have access to Facebook to send a friend request to an applicant. Past research has demonstrated a 50 percent chance that an individual will accept a stranger's friend request, he said.

Stoughton, along with NCSU coauthors Lori Foster Thompson and Adam Meade, conducted a study on the effects of screening in the workplace and presented their research at the 27th Annual SIOP Conference in San Diego in April.

In the study, 175 students applied for a fictitious temporary job they believed to be real and were later informed they were screened. The student-applicants said they would be less likely to take a job offer after learning they were being screened. They perceived the action to reflect poorly on the organization's fairness, trust and treatment of employees. They also felt their privacy was invaded, Stoughton said.

While organizations may conduct social network screening to find the best applicants, they don't always accomplish the intended goal, the study found. In fact, the social network screening process actually reduced an organization's attractiveness for the applicant and likely the incumbent worker, Stoughton said.

"By doing this, you assume the applicants that organizations end up choosing are more conscientious, but no studies show that these individuals are any better," Stoughton said. "They could actually be losing better applicants."

Current employees could also be impacted. If employees see the organization looking at their social networking site, they might be likely to leave because their perception of the companies' fairness and trust has changed, Stoughton said.

Social network screening isn't new. Stoughton said he began his research in 2007 when social networking was just becoming popular. He said he knew the possibility of electronic monitoring could grow along with networking.

Original post:
Social network screening of employees can make organizations unattractive to applicants