Social Media

Social Media - a phrase with many definitions - is frequently used to describe websites and web applications where the majority of content is not created by publishers, but rather by the consumers/subscribers of the social media platform. There are several social media sites and apps out there, and we shall be taking a brief look at the major contenders.

History

Social Media Infographic -
courtesy of Citizen Brando

Many seem to think that social media is a relatively new concept and that social media websites have been around since sites like MySpace and Friendster were launched. However, the truth is far from so. The first network which could be called 'social' was CompuServe, launched in the 1960s. CompuServe was both an ISP and community of online users, which at the time was a novelty. The 70s saw the rise of Bulletin Board Systems or BBS. With these systems, user would use their dial-up modems to dial-in to a BBS server, where they could then download information and share with other users. As Internet use increased and e-mail was more available and standardized, e-mail groups such as Usenet gained popularity with a wide range of topics available for discussion via e-mail lists.

The early 90s saw the rise in user-created websites thanks to free web hosting services such as GeoCities. Throughout this time, AOL (America Online) launched in the U.S. providing Internet access to the masses. In 1996, ICQ was launched being the first major instant messaging network, a core part of modern social networks. The late 90s saw the popularity of user-created content sore thanks to weblogs, now known as blogs. Blogging services such as LiveJournal launched and people soon started realizing that comments on blogs were as popular, if not more popular, than the blog posts themselves.

In 2002, the closest thing to what we now call a social network launched - Friendster. Much like Facebook, Friendster gave each user a profile page and enabled users to share photos and messages between them, as well as chat. Popularity of social networks greatly increased in 2003 with the launch of MySpace and LinkedIN, as well as Hi5. Whilst MySpace and Hi5 were targeted at home users, LinkedIN was targeted at business users where people can share their professional profile away from the 'drab' that is MySpace and Hi5. 2004 saw the launch of the king of social networks - Facebook, as well as other sites like photo-sharing site Flickr, video-sharing site Vimeo and website/news story sharing site Digg. 2005 consolidated the strength of social networking with the launch of vibrant communities like reddit and YouTube. In 2006, novel social networking site Twitter was launched, featuring status updates limited to 140 characters.

In the past couple of years, more and more social networks such as Yammer, Foursquare, Chatroulette and Google+ have led to the web being dominated by these social network experiences.

Social Media in 2012

Social Media Leaders 2012

Social networks have a habit of either never catching on or catching on for a while and then fizzling out. However, some of the biggest players seem like there are here to stay, at least for now. The undisputed king remains Facebook, with an estimated 850 million members and $3.7 billion in revenue. Battling for second place are Twitter with 300 million users (and $145 million revenue) and Tagged with 330 million users, but only $45 million revenue. A fast rising contender is Google+, launched in June 2011 already has 250 million users as of June 2012. LinkedIN remains a popular social network and the no. 1 for a professional social network; it has 150 million subscribers and revenue of $522 million.

With the increasing popularity of mobile devices, new social networks are starting to form. One of which is Foursquare, which is a geocentric social network allowing users to "check-in" to places they are and share their location with friends. Similar on-the-go social networks include Instagram (recently acquired by Facebook), which helps users to share photos they take with their phone as well as adding special (mostly retro) effects.

Another category of social networks gaining popularity are product and special-offer based networks. These include Groupon, which offers deals to consumers from local retailers as well as Pinterest which is an online pinboard of goods and services which the web community finds useful or worth sharing.

For students

Students and the younger generation find social networks an absolute necessity. Most classes now have a Facebook group - something which used to be created on a mailing list, for example Google Groups. The Facebook group contains all the materials needed by the students, and posts from both teachers and students regarding their subject and other topics of interest. Of course, there is less control within Facebook and other social networks over what actually gets posted in the group, however this does not seem to phase users, who prefer the convenience of having the group as part of the same site which they visit several times a day.

For Business

Business and industry is also seeing the importance of having a presence on a social network, just as it is important to have a website. Besides advertising their product using dedicated advertising offered by many social networks, businesses use social networks to build a community of people who like and use their products. Through this, they can spread their message across to potential clients. Businesses frequently run competitions, special offers and promotions through their social network presence which drums-up business.

One of the greatest advantages for advertising on a social network is extremely targeted advertising. Rather than targeting by keyword, business can target by age group, gender, preferences, country, rising key words and much, much more. Resulting in the advert being seen only by people who are actually interested. Several social networks such as Facebook offer a wide variety of payment options, both for businesses wanting to advertise and for in-network payments. For example, businesses can choose to Pay-Per-Advert (PPA) or Pay-Per-Click (PPC). Additionally, networks such as Facebook have implemented a currency - Facebook credits. These can be used by users to purchase items from Facebook, buy virtual goods and much more.

Figure - Coca-Cola Facebook Page

For Gaming

Social networks are also a popular bed for games. Popular games such as Farmville, Mafia Wars and others attract millions of users via in-network adverts. The game also leverages the social network by giving players points/credits/items for sharing the game with others on the network. This makes the game go 'viral' a term used when a game/video/image etc… on a social network gains incredible popularity in a short time.

Figure - Farmville on Facebook

For News

News websites also use social networks. For a long time, news sites have had "share", "like", "+1" and other social buttons on articles which encourage users to share what they are reading on their social network. Recently a new trend is for a user to be able to post a link to what they are reading on a social network. When the link is clicked, the user is directed to a login page before they can view the content, adding to the network of the news website.

For Buying/Selling

Social networks are a great place to buy and sell items thanks to in-network applications such as Facebook marketplace. Users can post items for sale and then share with their friends, who in turn can share with others. This 'viral' effect will mean the product you have for sale is viewed by a potential of thousands of viewers.

Issues

Of course, social network is not a panacea. The major concerns on such networks are those of privacy, particularly where location is concerned. Recently, site pleaserobme.com highlighted the range of telling the general public where you are, by allowing visitors to search for Twitter usernames and then telling the user where the username has last checked in, whether they are on holiday and how long they intend to stay.

Other issues involve those of friend circles. Whereas posting a photo of yourself in a less-than-sober state is fine with your friends, it could be an issue with employers or, worse-still, potential employers. Several court cases have been raised by persons who feel their social network account was unfairly used against them as grounds for being laid off or not given an interview.

Social networks also have a habit of being annoying. Until recently, every like, message and post one would get on Facebook would result in an e-mail being sent to the user's inbox, flooding the user. However, new privacy settings means e-mail received from Facebook is greatly reduced, as the user is expected to visit the site if they want to check their updates.

Steps have also been taken regarding the privacy issue. Networks like Google+ were built from the ground-up with privacy in mind by introducing the concept of "circles", which let a user specify who in their life should be able to see posts. Facebook has implemented a similar features using groups.

Perhaps the greatest problem of social networks is that of them being a time waster. There is not much the networks can do about that - they more time you spend using them the more revenue they make. It comes from the individual to regulate the time the spend online and remember that there is a real world out there full of opportunity.

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