Mediaboss Marketing

Feature Article of Tuesday, 2 July 2013

Columnist: Schandorf, Adu Bright

Social media is a networking environment which is mostly online where individuals register and profile their personal information and photos. Facebook and Twitter are the most popular online social networking media while Whatsapp is a mobile application which does not necessary internet connection. In cognizance of the rate with which our youth are hooking up to social media, there is a need to educate them on its advantages and the disadvantages accordingly. Social media is essential in the sense that, it creates the opportunity to network with other members who share similar interests, dreams and goals for life. Members share different forms of information and communication which may include personal web, blogs and group discussion. I was enthralled when a friend shared some books with me costing an amount of fifty Ghana cedis on the market. With social media, an individual in Berekum can initiate and build strong business partnership in any part of the world without necessary meeting that individual in person. I have had the opportunity to critique the business proposal of people whom I have not met personally. Today, learning from great and worlds most influential people has become very easy. One only needs to just search for these leaders and follow them either on Twitter or Facebook in order to glean from their mine of wisdom. This affords an opportunity to access their articles, daily quotes and even initiate conservation with them. Thus, the greatest form of mentorship is bonus. I personally follow great leaders, advocates, and world entrepreneurs like Bill Gates, President Obama, J D jakes, Noel Jones, Richard Brandson, Kofi Annan, Anas Aremeyea Anas and the likes on twitter who mentor me with their great articles, quotes and blogs. Who are you following on social media or who do you accept as your friend? Most importantly, social media helps to create positive selfimage. There is an opportunity to create a niche of influence and impact by putting your best abilities on your profile and sharing important quotes and information on your page. This goes a long way to portray the kind of reputation you build among your peers, potential employers and the world at large. Indeed, you are what you twitter and you would face what you Facebook in future. The question is what self image are you building on your page? Are you perceived as nave or creative writer or what? Furthermore, social media creates the opportunity to renew old friendship easily. Thus, meeting and maintaining classmates, colleagues and friends is another benefit of social media. Social media such as WhatsApp provides cheaper cost of sending messages and videos as compared to mobile text messaging. Notwithstanding the enormous benefits stated above, there are some dangers that could be associated with social media. Of course, too much of everything is bad. Security is one of the challenges of social media due to the kind of detailed information such as phone numbers, age, residential address, names of family members, daily schedules, social plan and so on that we profile on our walls. Again, Students are getting into trouble with school administrators for incriminating and misappropriating information or pictures on their social networking profile that violates school policies and code of conducts. Of course, no administration monitors individuals social account, however when there is report of compromise on students account, there would be further investigations. It can waste time and subsequently reduce productivity if the user is not disciplined. Maturity demands that one schedules his work time and when he/she will be on social media. There are reports that individuals are being turned down by employers on jobs and even interviews due to the kind of information employers are finding out on peoples social network pages. It is important to note that employers take pictures and information on individuals social account as a true reflection of ones personality. In order for me to use social media efficiently, I define my objective of using social media first. I do not post nor make comments that may tarnish my personality or may raise some questions on my potential employment opportunities. During the vetting of Nana Oye Lither (Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection), she was questioned on some of her articles in the dailies. It was reported on Joy FM on top stories dated 19 June, 2013, that a man was refused a visa because of his posts that sought to tarnish the image of that country. You may be denied a job or leadership position in future because of information on your page.

Schandorf Adu Bright. I quote, write, inspire, initiate and lead. Email: destinymanschandorf@gmail.com

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Facebook can phase you out of life

The people who sold the social networking site Bebo for $850m (570m) have now bought it back for $1m (660,000) and are planning a relaunch.

Founders Michael and Xochi Birch had racked up 40 million users when they sold Bebo to AOL (NYSE: AOL - news) in 2008 but it failed to innovate amid fierce competition from the likes of Facebook (NasdaqGS: FB - news) and Twitter.

AOL revealed in April 2010 it planned to either sell or close down the business, saying then: "Bebo, unfortunately, is a business that has been declining and, as a result, would require significant investment in order to compete in the competitive social networking space."

The site - once the most-visited social network in the UK - fell behind after Facebook opened up its services to users beyond college networks.

When AOL sold Bebo on to Criterion Capital Partners for $10m, disagreements on a revamp combined with the falling membership and it was put up for auction following a chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.

While no details have been released about the pending relaunch, the Birches have confirmed it will be led by their so-called ideas lab, Monkey Inferno.

The team of 21 people, including engineers and designers, have been tasked with breathing new life into the site.

In a statement, Monkey Inferno CEO Shaan Puri said while they arent announcing their plans for Bebo just yet, they do have a message for its users: "Were excited about the ambitious challenge of bringing Bebo back, and couldnt be happier to announce that the product will be back in the hands of the founders.

We know the odds are stacked against us, but we love challenges and the Bebo users deserve better than what they have received the past few years."

More From Sky News

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Bebo Founders Plot Relaunch After $1m Buyback

Also-ran social network Bebo has been bought back by one of its founders for $1 million five years after that same founder, along with his wife, sold Bebo to AOL for $850 million. Sure, the couple made out like bandits, but theres a bigger lesson here: Buying a copycat social network is a terrible idea.

Just ask Rupert Murdoch, whose News Corporation paid $580 million for MySpace after Facebook began to pummel the social network and ended up selling the company for $35 million. Or the venture capitalists who pumped nearly $50 million into Friendster before selling the social networking granddaddy for barely half that.

Unlike MySpace and Friendster, Bebo was never, not for one bright shining moment, ever regarded as a leading network. When AOL paid $850 million for the company in 2008, the heckling started immediately, and it took only two years for the aging internet conglomerate to unload Bebo for $10 million to hedge fund Criterion Capital Partners. Criterion, in turn, sold it back to founder Michael Birch (or more precisely to an incubator Birch owns.)

LinkedIn and Twitter, among others, stand as evidence that specialized social networks can thrive and that people will actively participate on multiple platforms. Facebook, meanwhile, is an example of how a general purpose social network can replace its antecedents if it offers major advantages; Facebook replaced MySpace by offering real identities, cleaner design, and an ecosystem of apps, while MySpace replaced Friendster by being more reliable and offering looser rules.

Bebo offers a counter example: If youre neither specialized nor markedly better, you arent going to amount to much, except perhaps as a tool to exploit big clueless corporate suitors.

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Bebo's $849M Implosion Teaches a Brutal Lesson in Social Networking

Ahmad did not expect to be turned down for the job he applied for at a technology and electronics company. Especially since he successfully passed the first interview and was scheduled for a second interview. The reason for his dismissal turned out to be his personal page on Facebook. Evaluation of potential employees through their accounts on social networking sites is a modern policy that has become a principle for recruitment. It can determine the acceptance or rejection of employees. This has become a major concern among young people in the Arab world. Through the information on social websites, the way a person presents himself on a personal page and his account activities, a company can build a general picture about the characteristics of an individual's personality and inclinations. That can help to determine to what extent he would fit in with the team that he is supposed to work with. Anwar Al-Saidi, director of human resources at a local company, said that those who have voiced their concerns regarding this new policy in recruitment, claim that individuals in the Arab world are still novice when it comes to dealing with social networking sites. They need more awareness and education. Arab companies should only start checking personal pages for the suitability of a potential employee in about ten years from now. While social networking checks may raise concerns with some job-hunters, others would see this as an opportunity to outsmart companies by creating two different personal accounts on social networking sites. One official account for work, and another that allows them to enjoy the privacy they desire. Ahmed, who preferred not to disclose his full name, said that companies that adopt this policy or intend to do so must be aware that dealing with social networking is a personal freedom. He said it was not logic to judge potential employees based on their personal pages. In the western part of the world, according to expert reports, 92 percent of the companies have resorted to this style of employee investigation this year alone. Another 73 percent of companies will explore the accounts of job applicants. Saud Kateb, head of the media department at King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah, believes that social networking sites in general are not the perfect places to research the efficiency of the employee. He does concur that such websites helps to identify the employees in terms of their personalities, their orientations, interests, hobbies, and the extent of their ability to fit in and deal with teamwork. He also pointed out that some companies use these sites to announce their vacancies. This strategy can be effective because of the large number of people that use these sites. He confirmed the power of new media in various aspects of life and said, Social networking sites take on the role of resumes and determine the fate of staff. It is more appropriate for companies to search in specialized sites, which allow their subscribers to upload their resumes in a professional manner, as opposed to popular social networking sites.

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Social networking sites as substitutes for CVs

Also-ran social network Bebo has been bought back by one of its founders for $1 million five years after that same founder, along with his wife, sold Bebo to AOL for $850 million. Sure, the couple made out like bandits, but theres a bigger lesson here: Buying a copycat social network is a terrible idea.

Just ask Rupert Murdoch, whose News Corporation paid $580 million for MySpace after Facebook began to pummel the social network and ended up selling the company for $35 million. Or the venture capitalists who pumped nearly $50 million into Friendster before selling the social networking granddaddy for barely half that.

Unlike MySpace and Friendster, Bebo was never, not for one bright shining moment, ever regarded as a leading network. When AOL paid $850 million for the company in 2008, the heckling started immediately, and it took only two years for the aging internet conglomerate to unload Bebo for $10 million to hedge fund Criterion Capital Partners. Criterion, in turn, sold it back to founder Michael Birch (or more precisely to an incubator Birch owns.)

LinkedIn and Twitter, among others, stand as evidence that specialized social networks can thrive and that people will actively participate on multiple platforms. Facebook, meanwhile, is an example of how a general purpose social network can replace its antecedents if it offers major advantages; Facebook replaced MySpace by offering real identities, cleaner design, and an ecosystem of apps, while MySpace replaced Friendster by being more reliable and offering looser rules.

Bebo offers a counter example: If youre neither specialized nor markedly better, you arent going to amount to much, except perhaps as a tool to exploit big clueless corporate suitors.

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Social | Bebo’s $849M Implosion Teaches a Brutal Lesson in Social Networking