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Social media is a double edged sword for sure. With such a powerful weapon the possibilities to interact with others normally out of reach shouldn't be taken lightly. Posts, tweets, comments, et cetera can make or break an individual or business. Many should be reminded that if you wouldn't say it to someone's face than you shouldn't put it online. That being said I loved Shannon Kinney's story about Dell; that kind of customer service (before the customer is too angry and calling to complain) is exactly the thing that sets these social media using companies apart from the rest and catapults them into more sales. A happy customer is almost always coupled with good word of mouth. Although some of what was said in the video is no longer true regarding the different forms of social media regarding privacy, I believe many of the same reports are still generated for use for the business owner to view and further analyze in order to create their best social media connections.

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Business and schools both use social media to see how a person "presents" themselves to others because that persons image reflects back on their business or school if they hired or accepted that person. I don't agree with you that it is a problem though. I actually think it is a good thing. People lie on applications and in their essays. Yes I know that people lie on social media also but it helps point out the truths in their applications and essays also. I just applied to optometry school and I have worked full time and gone to school full time the entire time I have been in college. I have a huge passion for eyes and if you go on my facebook you will see all this is past pictures and posts. A friend of mine that had a better GPA than me is also applying. I was extremely disgusted when she told me that she put that she said she had worked full time and gone to school full time the whole time she has been in school and that she made up a story for her essay about how she fell in love with eyes and optometry, both couldn't be further from the truth. She has never had to pay bills because she still lives at home and her parents pay for her classes. She has only had 2 jobs and both she only worked at for a few months and worked 10-16 hours a week. The only reason she decided to go for optometry is because her parents are making her get her doctorates degree. This type of thing hurts the chances of people like me because my GPA suffered because of my work but I love eyes and the mysteries that still surround our vision. When schools see our applications they would usually pick hers over mine but with social media they can see our pasts jobs and posts we have made from years ago up until today. When they look at hers they will see that she has no interest in the field and that she goes out partying all the time. When they look at mine they will see that I am a hard working student. Not that I don't have a life, but that I do spend most of my time at work or studying. They will see how interested I am in science and eyes. and this gives me the advantage because they want someone who is committed and loves what they do.

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Social Media are more beneficial for small business that needs more advertising. By posting a product or inviting potential clients to visit their blogs or website, they come up with strategy to attract more and more clients. For example, whenever I shop on line, I first look people that have already bought the product on how it works for them. From that information, I decide whether I want to buy or not. However, people who do adverting know who to caught client’s attention and offer discount for the next purchase. That is the positive side that shows social media is beneficial for business. In the other hand, social media can have negative impact if you post things that are inappropriate. Employers look your profit through twister, Facebook or any other social media to see who they offering the post.  It is like that there is not anymore privacy.

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What role should businesses and people play when interacting via social media? Some businesses interact with their customers through social media as though the business is it's own entity, a person itself. Big businesses like Starbucks will act friendly, joking around with users. On one hand, I want businesses to be separate from people and to not try to act like they are people. But on the other hand, it's that kind of friendly customer service that brings in the customers. It allows for customers to feel like they have been heard, and it provides free exposure when users can like or tag a business, big or small. Social media is how I've learned about some smaller businesses that I have come to enjoy, and might not have found out about them otherwise.

Although, some businesses have dealt with the consequences of being too personable with customers. Some businesses such as Starbucks and Applebees have taken a hit from social media backlash, and other businesses like Memories Pizza in Indiana have shut down.

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Social media connections are measured in many ways such as views, likes, comments, followers and friends. Social media gives businesses the chance for free advertising and maximizing sales because it is maximizing "word of mouth". Not only does it help advertise but it also increase social influence and peer pressure. People will buy into something even if they don't like it because it is "trending" on twitter. This can also be a bad thing because people don't always say positive things online about a business. It doesn't matter if what they are saying is true or not, it can destroy a business. On facebook businesses can choice who sees their advertisements on facebook by what other pages they follow or things they like on facebook. I think this is very appropriate because then the adds only show things that interest you. Then you also have businesses that interact with customers on social media, even celebrities are technically "selling themselves" on social media to their fans. People like Stephen Amell and businesses like lootcrate joke around with customers and fans on facebook which makes us like them even more and increases sales.

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Social Media connections are being measured by likes, shares, number of friends, and the amount others are engaged.  These connections are managed to maximize sales by reviewing who has the ability to output the most information to others who are interested.  The concept seems simple however it is essential to create the correct ties and create a “best practice” so that the marketing behind the specific item or idea is well rounded and applies to all the different consumer needs.  One example would be Shannon Kinney’s reference of the car sales company posting only one type of image where they should have been relaying all aspects of their company to increase interest and appeal to the consumer’s needs.  The businesses role should be to draw interest by easy access to important information for many to see.  Appropriate interactions would be responding to inquiries and promoting participation and interest through discounts, surveys, and information that can easily be shared with others.  I think the example Shannon Kinney used involving Dell was a perfect example of an appropriate interaction.  Inappropriate interactions might be ignoring those interested or forcing participation when not wanted.  Personally I become disinterested in an idea or item if I am forced to participate such as the surveys which pop up in order to read a full article in Bangor Daily News Online or when an advertisement posts something to Facebook tagging 482 friends on my behalf.  I believe Rushkoff is practically right in his views.  I think it applies differently to different categories of social media users.  There are the Narcissists, Nagging spouse, Judgmental arguers, the political gurus, The Conspiracy Theorist, The travelers, newbies, teens, Optimistic Hippies, and so on.  I believe it depends on the specific person whether the contact or content is the message.  I don’t think it is as black and white as he makes it seem.  Surely to some people it’s all about the amount of friends however I’m sure some are only there for contact and some for content.  It would be interesting to determine whether certain groups have a correlation to the type of connections they make and how they view their connections.

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Antares,

Well said. I like the way you integrated Shannon Kinney's work into your reflections on social media messaging. I particularly agree with your contentions about the new social media industry in which "connections are managed to maximize sales" and "output the most information to others." Good work.

Best, Prof. Cook

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Man, oh man, don't get me started on appropriate social media "behavior". I feel businesses and individuals should be held accountable for what is said through social media. If you're going to throw something out there on Facebook or Twitter, make sure it's something you would actually say to a customer, co-worker or a friend's face. Social media is an advertising avenue just as a commercial would be for a business. Business interactions on social media should be professional at all times. Like Scorpius said (in not quite the same words), bad interactions can be a downfall to your small business. I had never been a patron of Marcy's Diner. I probably would have considered eating there (due to the positive food reviews) the next time I was in the area. After the outrageous comments made by the owner I know for SURE I will never eat there now.

===

And now you are another means by which that message has been propagated! :)

- Prof. Cook

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I think the role that business should play when interacting with their potential customer base online has two fold pieces. First I think that it is an opportunity for exceptional (Or abysmal) customer service. Businesses need to be cognizant of the fact that one bad interaction on the internet could haunt them for eternity (as the internet never forgets).

Secondly I think that the interactions online give businesses the opportunity to really connect on a personal level with people. Telling them about their history, what brought them into the business, if they have a family business maybe connecting the family piece and having family members interact. All of this drives loyalty with the customer and may just win them the edge over the big box stores.
Rushkoff was right on many parts. The harder the business tries to monetize their online audience, the harder the audience will repel them. It needs to be subtle and it also needs to be very value based. If you want to attract the customers with promotions, then truly make those promotions worth the customer's effort.

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Aquila                                                                                                                                            

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Aquila                                                                                                                                            

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The role that people and business should play when interacting via social media is professional at all time.  More than once we have seen that once something is out there on the great wide web, it is out there for all to see and it cannot be simply erased.  Interactions that I consider to be appropriate are sharing work accomplishments for business and life's great achievements for personal social media.  Inappropriate interactions are times in which one makes a demeaning statement on social media about their current employer or boss for business and when someone post on their personal  social media to engage in an online bashing against another.                                                                              Rushkoff is correct and right on target in many parts of his article "Do Not Sell Your Friends".  "Content was never king, contact is".  What a great statement in the article.  Basically it does not matter what you say, what you share or like it is who sees and reads it,  who are your current connections and what new ones will you gain based on the content of what you post on social media.

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Realistically, everyone has the same rights to using the internet, whether it be for personal use or business use. With something like Facebook, I think it's come a long way with advertising. When I first joined Facebook many years ago, I remember people mainly posting statuses to talk to each other, as well as sharing pictures, and also sharing videos on each other's "wall" to communicate back and forth. There were also a lot of silly fan pages that people could "like". But nowadays, the only real communication happens through Messenger, and sometimes people comment on statuses, but it's not as extensive communication as it was before. My Facebook is filled with a mixture of friends (and what they post), pages I've liked that are mostly businesses (stores I shop at, bands, venues, my bank, tv networks, photography pages etc.), and sponsored posts. With the wide range and amount of people that use Facebook, I can't say that I blame businesses for taking full advantage of advertising. Like you mentioned in the lecture, I have also noticed "this friend and this friend like this business". I think it would be weird to show up on someone's newsfeed for that reason, but if I did like the page, then they have every right to show everyone that I have. I mean, you could go onto my page and find it under my 'likes' anyways. I'm not saying that I like the advertisements, but I also don't pay for Facebook, so they have every right to advertise what they want, especially when I use it out of choice.

As for Rushkoff, I think that they are right on Target. They actually mentioned something in particular that I liked a lot, which is the fact of them having people advertise through their connections without them even realizing it. The example of this is the games on the website. There are games like FarmVille, CandyCrush, or Bubble Witch Saga, where people will need more points or lives to continue playing their game, so they will invite their friends to play to give them the points or lives. And although most people get annoyed by game requests at this point, it is still spreading the word around about the game, and in the end, is getting more people to play the game.

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I use Facebook on a regular basis.  I use it to contact friends from the service and relatives that live a little bit away from me.  I have a minor in business, and if I was a business owner I would find any way possible to interject my product line or services into Facebook.  Facebook is the most used social media outlet that people converse on.  In a capitalistic world, this is the most opportune place to advertise for little or no money.  I have either purchased or investigated and item at either Lowe’s, Home Depot, or Best Buy, and there will be an advertisement on my “news feed” on this item, or one that is similar.  I believe this is an appropriate way to advertise items or services.  When a person is on the Internet, it is not a particularly private place.  In order for it to a more secure or private outlet, it would have to be on an Intranet Network.  There are ways to increase your private settings through Facebook, but there is not a way to make it totally private.  That is a downfall in participating on a public social media outlet. Dorado gives a great example of how even a weekly publication use social media.  It is not just the national big business, but even the small local ones.  One of my friends said it best, “If you don’t want your personal business out there, don’t join Facebook.  And I don’t.”
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Virgo,

How do you compare your earlier contention that Facebook "is the most opportune place to advertise for little or no money" to your later quote of your friend who said "if you don't want your personal business out there, don't join Facebook?" Are we all brands now? Do we share or withhold?

-- Best, Prof. Cook

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I work for a local weekly publication, and I see first hand how local and regional businesses utilize social media. Many small businesses can pay a small fee to Facebook or other social media sources to target a certain population based on an agreed upon parameter. This is a great tool for them because it allows them to target customers they believe they have a good shot at getting for a small fee, where as before they had to pay more to market to a bigger audience. With positive comes negative as well. Your social media page is out there for everyone, and if a customer feels they were mistreated they will let everyone hear about it. A large company I used to work for always said that an angry customer is four times more likely to share an experience then a happy one. Even if a business chooses to pay nothing, social media can still be a great tool. Many social media sources are free, and if you have a good product customers will seek you out, making social media a great tool to contact, and communicate with returning and potential customers.
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Dorado,

That's a really unique perspective you have working in the publishing industry. In social media, unlike print media, you're right that businesses are no longer solely in charge of their brand! This could be seen as a weakness, but it is also a strength. Does it reinforce authenticity or put everyone on their guard? What do you think?

- Prof. Cook

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I think you all make great points about "social media" and both its benefits/uses at a business or professional level and it's downfalls (professionally and personally). While we all LOVE to have access to all this information and ideas at the stroke of a key I personally feel completely overwhelmed and invaded much of the time...which I obviously I brig on myself with every # and like I put out there. The convenience of being able to "shop" for goods and services on the recommendation of your friends is great...and the ease of doing it from your couch in your fuzzy slippers is also...but "selling" my friends or "being sold" has me a bit creeped out now. I think I will be a bit more selective about how I post/tweet/comment and like going forward! Thanks for the insights all!

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Auriga, try sharing a bit more of yourself here. Most of what you write is saying "me too." What else do you have to contribute? Try to be specific in what you write. For instance, what is it specifically that has you "a bit creeped out now" about commodification of internet communication? When you say you will be more selective, in what ways? Filtering out what information? In what circumstances?

- Best, Prof. Cook

This was really just a response to some of the other posts...I did go more in depth in my original post. I will be more selective in just "hitting like" when those "your friend so and so liked us" posts pop up on Facebook! It actually does bug me that just this morning I looked up wireless headphones for my son for Christmas and the next time I opened my Facebook page....well there they were! Along with many of the other recent web searches I had done...I had AGAIN sold myself!!!!

Thank you

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I think Lyra's point about Social Media being a place to rant is entirely true - but I also think that those who are hell bent on sharing their opinion will find a way whether they have a Social Media outlet or not. It is hard to weed through all the advertisements and (often ignorant) rants. While there are measures in place to streamline content on Facebook (hide those whose opinions you don't care to see/ receive "Notifications" on those you do), we are all still bombarded with knowing what our friends like. When I used FB, I would avoid liking a company page (unless they were local) because I knew my facebook friends would be reminded over and over that I like "Discover card" or "Disney". Does this information really help anyone? It was definitely a part of social media I could do without. So much overstimulation!

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Social networks can make or break a business. While we have now heard a lot about the benefits of social networks for both advertising and relaying information, what Rushkoff says is right – you need to get boundaries for personal and business lives, and in your business life you need to keep it professional. The best example I can think of at this minute happened right here in Maine when the owner of Marcy’s Diner yelled at a fussing toddler this past July. This event went into the news, but it also went to social media where the conflict escalated, and gained a lot of followers. On the facebook page itself, she made attacks on the family while defending herself (not to be confused with a fake facebook page made by internet trolls to make a bigger fuss) – all in all, the page lost quite a bit of its followers, and, one can assume, the restaurant lost those patrons as well.

Online social networks should be representative of the owners and always be used with the same manners and professionalism that one would use in the work place – it can win or lose customers.
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Good point, Scorpius! I have decided to keep my professional social media accounts almost entirely professional in content for just that reason -- if my personal life becomes part of my professional communication, that tends to confuse my private and public identities. This is a hard choice to make.

- Prof. Cook

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Libra I agree with you with on all points. The thing I would like to add is sometimes I get feed up with the crossover of business /personal dealings and eventually avoid some connections because of others inability to maintain boundaries. I am quite limited in my own use of social media compared to some. I have found myself changing my use and looking at "old school" way of doing things more favorable in certain situations. For example I was looking at the Home Depot web site for storage and organization systems and when I went to Facebook to check something from a family member all the things I had just viewed on the website were there too and asking me to like the page. I will be shopping in the store rather than online for those items in the future. Social media to me is still a bit frighting at times when it comes to privacy and confidentiality. Two things in healthcare that are top priority. My interest in social media stems from wanting to share helpful information regarding health and similar topics as well as posting positive messages and thoughts. I didn't really want to see the items I was shopping for at Home Depot to show up on Facebook.

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Cassiopeia,

Yowch -- you were "cookied!" That is, the Home Depot website snapped up your information and a third-party advertisement-delivery service has already used it to profile you!

I hear what you're saying about having to make difficult choices about content -- do we include, for instance, happy details about our children, or will that come back to haunt our kids later in life when they're young adults and trying to establish identities of their own?

- Prof. Cook

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I think that social media connections are being measured by the number of website hits, facebook friends and "likes", coupons redeemed, etc. I think that there is nothing wrong with companies advertising their product via social media as long as the content is appropriate for the viewer. From a business perspective, advertising via social media can be a quick and easy way to share information instantly and broadly. From a person or buyer's perspective, if I am not interested in a product, I ignore it. While many people feel that target marketing is encroaching on people's privacy, I feel that it makes sense. The consumer is seeing product that may be of interest and the company is reaching their target customer. I think that any adult content is inappropriate due to the broad ages of consumers and the fact that some children may be posing as adults. I also feel that direct solicitation is not as well received or appropriate as simply putting product in front of someone to view. (For example, spam email vs. sidebar ads). Pop-up ads are not only annoying, but I feel that they are aggressive in nature and I am always quick to close them. As far as the article's reference about selling your friends, I think that all depends on what kind of compensation the original friend is receiving. If they are getting paid to have advertising links on their website, that person's friend has the ability to click on the ad or not. And if a "friend" is posting on behalf of a band, I wouldn't be more inclined to like that band, attend a concert or buy music from that band than if they weren't. If a friend is advertising a product, unless I get a testimonial from them explaining their personal results, I would ignore it as well.

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Personally I think that social media is something that all businesses look at now. They want to know who people are before they hire them and social media is a great snap shot into someone else's life. If someone is using social media and they work for a professional company or school or something along those lines they must uphold a professional social media account. All of us are accountable for our actions and must be mindful of what we are displaying online. Social media to me can be very dangerous and I have seen this become a major problem over the years. Before social media we exchanged our interactions via face to face and phone calls and now everything is changed.

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Carina, you're right there. A number of hiring managers have told me that they regularly check out an applicant's social media presence to vet that candidate before hiring them. Do we all need to watch what we say and watch what we do in perpituity, just in case we might have certain ambitions later in life?

- Prof. Cook

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Businesses nationwide, and even worldwide are using social media to reach out to consumers, and other businesses. It is an excellent way for people to contact large groups of others, without having to put in a great deal of effort. However, once a business starts using social media too often, or too aggressively it is no longer a benneficial piece of business. THere is also the personal factor that can be involved. If someone involved in the business uses the website for innapropriate conversations or even just with motive other than for the business it can be detrimental.

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Kitalpha, what would be your standard for "too agressively" or "too often"? How would you know when that standard has been breeched?

-- Prof. Cook

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Well I can speak from personal experience to the VALUE of social media in business. I am a home based business owner and since starting my second adventure into full time college classes, my businesses have been operated primarily online (specifically Facebook) and quite successfully. Social Media has allowed me to reach and do business with "friends" that I do not see socially (in person) or regularly, allowing me to operate a successful business(es). There is a fine line between what I would consider appropriate and inappropriate with regards to my business and dealing with my "friends" on Facebook. I keep my business related posts to a minimum on my personal page but do invite my friends to follow my business page for more business related info. I try not to be too pushy on my personal page in regards to my business. Social Media has allowed me to "conduct business" in my pj's or while doing classwork...even in the middle of the night, as well as stay in touch with my team and customers all over the country and without taking the time to reach out (call, visit, email) each individually. I have found however that it is easy to "lose the personal connection" when the business is conducted primarily in this way. Overall I think Social Media is a valuable asset to both business and people (consumers) making the connection super simple and quick.

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Auriga,

In a previous life before my work here at UMA, I also ran an internet-based business, but in many ways I was "lucky," because that was before the advent of ubiquitous social media. I never had to make that tricky decision about whether to "monetize" my friends!

- Prof. Cook

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Social media is incredibly important to society now. There are so many reasons to accept and work a business through social media. Social media connects customers to businesses that they otherwise wouldn't reach. IF all business dealings are professional and maintain that level of propriety, I believe there is nothing wrong with using social media. A line can be crossed when a person representing the businesses begins using the avenue for personal reasons. Or when there are inappropriate comments made regarding customers. If you are going to use social media, it must be maintained professionally. The business personnel must always think that they must behave as they would if they were dealing with their target audience live.

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I've noticed a large increase of both general advertisements and "Blake likes Samsung" advertisements on Facebook. I understand businesses of all sizes need to get the word out and what better way than utilizing social media. However, I also feel as though my choices are becoming limited as I add "likes" or comments. Facebbook knows which news sites I'm most likely to visit and comment on, and when I check-in to a specific place/business/event later I see it as "you checked in here three weeks ago, and so did...write a review?" It gets frustrating at times. It seems as though the more we do on social media the fewer choices I'm given to 'like'. The biggest problem with social media from my standpoint is the once saying "everyone has an opinion but I didn't ask for yours" is no longer true. For example, the Starbucks red cup issue is all over Facebook. My question is simple: would the red cup be such a controversy if Facebook, Youtube and other forms of social media were not available for people to rant about? To gain followers? This is when I feel social media has a negative impact. It allows for everyone, despite education level, moral beliefs and values, religious background, etc to share their opinions no matter how damaging they may be to the product, company and/or person, and people "like," comment and follow. Whatever happened to just letting something be? Social media know longer allows for us to simply let it go. Whether or not we want to be involved we are forced into something simply because of who are friends are, where we have commented and what we like. I wonder how advertising is going to change on Facebook once the "dislike" button is added?

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Lyra, you're right -- your choices ARE being restricted as you add "likes" to products and services! Your behaviors are added to a database that then is used to alter what options you see and what offers you receive as a consumer.

The day that the "dislike" button is added, Facebook will be considerably changed. But this choice, too, will be tracked.

- Prof. Cook