Influence of Social Media
Social media is defined as “computer-mediated tools that allow people or companies to create, share or exchange information, career interests, ideas, pictures and videos in virtual communities and networks” (Buettner, 2016). Social media today comes in so many platforms. The most famous platforms used by billions of people around the world are Facebook, Instagram, SnapChat and others. In the United States, the total time spent by users on the Internet on social media reached 121 billion minutes in 2012 (Nielsen, 2012). Experts talk about three major types of social media: public social networks (Facebook, SnapChat, etc), Social Extranet – where the customers of a firm may be engaged more comprehensively, and the Social Intranet – where employees of a firm convene to discuss official and personal matters (Business Communication Revolution, 2013). An illustration explaining further these three social media types is shown below:
(Business Communication Revolution, 2013).
How Social Media has Impacted the World
Social Media Has Helped Further Education
Social media has been helpful in furthering the cause of education. Older students (high school and college) have been noted to be more engaged in their classes when the use of social media for discussions is encouraged by their teachers and facilitators. This is because communication through a social media platform is viewed differently by both students and teachers. Social media platforms such as Facebook have helped facilitate the student-centered theory of education. In this pedagogical theory, teaching is focused on the needs of the students rather on the needs of all the other participants in the learning process. The teacher’s speeches and discourses are slowly decreased in order to emphasize student work such as student interaction and speeches, thus helping them to develop their own learning styles. The teacher is now the guide and the facilitator, mediating between content and the students. On Facebook, it has been found that students share information and discussions, and repost the information coming from their fellow students. Meaning is constructed by the student, rather than the teacher. The goal of learning in this case is for the student to be able to make his very meaningful constructions of knowledge no matter how much data is available and no matter what the quality of the data is. Facebook has also proven to be an excellent way for teachers to make their self-disclosure, and so the students are somehow motivated to perform well even if the encouragement and coaching is done online. Teachers have been known to create their own class Facebook Groups where the sharing of information takes place. Discussion groups also often unfold in these virtual classrooms where students can discuss freely following simple rules on language and ethics (Boghian, . Thus social media has indeed helped further the cause of education by focusing on student-centered learning, placing emphasis on the needs of the students and increasing engagement in the learning process.
Social Media Has Helped Entrepreneurs
Social media has not only helped entrepreneurs find another channel for doing business, but it has helped them cultivate excellent business relationships as well. This has led to the development of loyalty among the customers of the business and even more patrons as well. Through social media, businesses have been able to reach and use resources that were previously unavailable to them. Businesses have been able to increase their value and create important partnerships with both the customers and suppliers. Today it has become a must for business owners and marketing persons to comprehend how they can use social media as an effective communication, marketing and sales tool and how they can grow their enterprises substantially. Social media helped entrepreneurs first by providing them access to new markets, and by enlarging the scope of their current markets. These firms have been able to reach markets that they never have been able to penetrate without the use of social media (Jangongo and Kinyua, 2013).
Social media has also seen the rise to stardom (and fortune) of social media savvy individuals who have brought their passions to their Facebook page or to their own You Tube channels. As the number of likes on the Facebook page increases, these individuals then sell their passions to thousands or even millions of customers. Liz Meghan, a famous You Tube artist, shows how to put on makeup for different occasions. She now has over 672,000 subscribers, and You Tube pays her in order to place advertisements in her videos (Peterson, 2015). Thus one not only can conquer new markets, but one can create his own wide scope of markets by doing something that he loves and something that he is willing to share with the rest of the world. Social media has created many new enterprises, has strengthened and expanded existing enterprises, and has developed many new ways to sell new products and services.
Personal Point of View
Finally, social media has done much to change the life of the ordinary person with a smartphone or a computer and access to the Internet. It is as if all the human beings on this planet (along with some animals with their own social media accounts) are connected. A person living in Africa can instantly communicate with someone living in Alaska – something that was unheard of for most of the 20th century. One can write his opinions on any subject matter (hopefully subject to a few ethical rules) and state his side of any case. A person, no matter how shy or introverted he may be in person, suddenly has a voice and a say in matters for as long as he can post his opinions on Facebook or on any social media application.
Conclusion
Social media has impacted the lives of so many people around the world today. One major influence can be found in the area of education, where students have become more engaged and participative. Another is in the field of entrepreneurship, where the ways that goods and services are traded online through social media have changed drastically. New markets have opened up for businessmen, and current markets have been expanded as well. Finally, any person now has a voice on social media, and he can take advantage of his right to be heard when he posts something on this media.
References
Boghian, I. Using Facebook in Teaching. In Social Media in Higher Education: Teaching in Web 2.0. Hershey, PA: ICI Global.
Business Communication Revolution. 2013. Three Types of Social Network. Retrieved from: http://communication-revolution.biz/three-types-of-social-network/
Buettner, R. 2016. Getting a Job Via Career-Oriented Social Networking Sites: The Weakness of Ties. Conference Paper, Retrieved from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282149902_Getting_a_Job_via_Career-oriented_Social_Networking_Sites_The_Weakness_of_Ties?channel=doi&linkId=56050bfb08ae5e8e3f312629&showFulltext=true
Jangongo, A. and Kinyua, C. 2013. The Social Media and Entrepreneurship Growth. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 3(10): 213-227.
Nielsen. 2012. State of the Media – The Social Media Report. Retrieved from: http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/reports/2012/state-of-the-media-the-social-media-report-2012.html
Peterson, S. 2015. 15 Inspiring Entrepreneurs Who Built Careers Around Their Passions Through Social Media. Retrieved from: https://blog.bufferapp.com/earn-income-social-media
