Social Network Sites - Assignment Example

?Introduction: Social network sites (SNSs) like Facebook, Bebo, Cyworld, and My Space have attracted millions and millions of the abusers, many of them have incorporated these social networking sites in their day to day activities. Through the social network sites, people can add other people as acquaintances and send communications, and revise their personal messages, to maintain contacts with all those friends and relatives. Face book is a one of the leading social networking schemes nowadays. This networking scheme assists the consumer in communicating rapidly. Through the social networking site, the users can share their views, their personal opinion regarding a product, their viewpoints on the subject of various existing affairs etc. So, through this site, we get to know the response of the society regarding a particular product. Most of the social network sites, mentioned the location of the user. This will assist in freezing the client response of a product, with the location. Then we obtain the customer response of the product and consequently the consumer behavior towards a product can be framed. “A social networking site can be defined as an online service that is based around the building and reflecting of social relations among individuals with common interests or social ties (Boyd & Ellison, 2007)” (Social Networking Sites; More Harm than Good? 2011). These sites also offer wealthy basis of naturalistic behavioral information. Linkage and profile data from these sites can be assembled either in the course of the use of automated gathering techniques, or in the course of datasets offered directly from the organization, facilitating network investigation, investigators, to explore significant patterns of practice, friending, and various types of other noticeable indicators and ongoing an investigation trend that commence with the examinations of websites and various other blogs. Figure 1. Timeline of the launch dates of many major SNSs and dates when community sites re-launched with SNS features” (Boyd & Ellison n.d., p. 6). All these social networking sites are differ slightly but one of the main feature is that, all of them facilitate the user of the sites to generate a profile in the website to symbolize themselves, and permits users to interact through messages, emails and various types of communication channels in the sites. The popularity and development of these sites over the past 5 years have been huge, as numerous populaces from all over the earth join up to these kinds of social networking phenomenon for diverse reasons. Social networks sites help ease of recognize the theft and helps to bring to light the various privacy issues, in addition to decrease in face to face communication skills and confidence level. As social networking sites turn out to be more popular by the day, the increases of various negative social results inside our humanity is also extremely great. These types of sites also have an enormous negative and harmful impact on our social and mental health, and continue to be so in future too. It is also at the present evident presently that all the sites facilitate all these harms that will adversely affect overall living style and working atmosphere of the people. So it is unquestionably true that all those social networking sites lead human beings to harm than good. Workplace Interference: Social networking sites can have various types of negative impact in the place of work, for employers, workers and future workers. They create interruption, decrease efficiency, cost organizations money, jeopardize the reputation of the organizations, and also cause legal liability. If each worker in a 50-strong labor force spend 30 minutes on various social networking site daily, that would work out to a loss of almost 6,500 hours of output in one year. These sites can also be damaging for potential workers looking for job, as My Space and face book are some of the fantastic resources for organizations as they recommend revealing datas regarding an applicant’s true colors. “Social networking sites have increased the amount of interaction between co-workers, and have changed the way they interact with each other. Employers should be aware that social networking sites can serve as additional opportunities for inappropriate conduct” (Vlsp Changing Lives n.d., p. 1). At present, there are no consistent data concerning the number of SNSs users, although marketing study points out that SNSs are rising in popularity globally. This development has prompted many business establishments to invest money and time in making, buying, advertising, and promoting SNSs. The increase of SNSs shows a shift in the business of online communities. At the same time, as websites devoted to all those communities of attention still exist and flourish. The introduction of SNS characteristics has brought about various innovative organizational structures for online communities, and with it, an effervescent new research circumstance. The importance of social media is increasing with the use of social network sites such as face book, twitter, blogging and web 2.0 etc. “A social networking site can be defined as an online service that is based around the building and reflecting of social relations among individuals with common interests or social ties. The popularity and growth of social networking sites over the past five years have been colossal, as many people from all over the world join up to this social phenomenon for varied reasons” (Social Networking Site Use in Teenagers 2002). Youngsters today embraced social media through the energetic utilization of multiple social network sites. The reason for social media being attractive and social to users is that, users are encouraged to share as much data as possible, with their friends on the site. This developing tendency in the use of social media opens up an opportunity for researches to harness data from this media. Nowadays, there is a thirst from software firms as a whole in the development of social software, as it has enabled people to express themselves collaboratively and freely. This has caused the use of social media applications to steadily increase over the past years, coupled with the number of such applications developed and pushed across the internet. The narrative processes of social network site induces readers to easily share any news articles that they find interesting on their social bookmarks, or to leave remarks on the articles so that others are able to see them. The increase of SNSs signifies a shift in the association of online communities, whereas websites dedicated to societies of interest still survive and prosper, SNSs are chiefly organized around people. Early public online communities for instance public discussion forums and Usenet were prearranged by topics, other than social network sites to prepare personal networks, with the person at the middle of their own community. The opening of SNS features has introduced a new managerial structure for online communities, and with it, a vibrant new research circumstance. It also gives rich sources of naturalistic behavioral information. linkage and profile data from SNSs can be gathered either during the utilization of automated collection methods or through datasets provided straightly from the organization, enabling network analysis researchers to search large-scale model of usage, finding and other visible indicators, and enduring an analysis tendency that have started with the assessment of blogs and other websites. While exceptions exist, the obtainable research states that most SNSs mainly support pre-existing social dealings. Cyberspace means the electronic standard of computer networks, where online communication takes place. Cyber bullying means the bullying through data and communication tools. Cyber bullying is not physical it’s psychological and emotional belongings are destructive for the victim and can frequently lead to depression and suicide. Online bullying is frequently seen as the simple way out. Social Networking sites act as a platform where bullies are able to say things they might not regularly say to someone in person; mystery and less physical nearness act as a wall among the bully and the injured party. Nevertheless, the rumours or words that are shared are still hurtful. Bullies often feel confident online and they are able to contact their losses anytime, day or night, any place and not just in the school yard. Social sites are able to have a negative impact in the office: for managers for workers and future workers. They make distraction, reduce output, affect business money, risk an organization’s status and lawful liability and also disturb those consumers who don’t have their profiles, which can frequently result in unemployment. “According to surveys, 91% of social networking teens say they use these sites to stay in touch with friends they see regularly, 82% use the sites to stay in touch with friends they rarely see in person, 72% use these sites to make plans, and 49% use these sites to make new friends and 17% use social networking sites for flirting” (Social Networking Site Use in Teenagers 2002). Cyber bullying is the use of electronic media, containing email, text messages to bully or harass a person. Bullying can include sending threatening mails, dispersal of vicious rumors, personal attacks and posting embarrassing materials in the form of videos, and photographs. Cyber bullying has various features that create it more appealing in contrast to common bullying; the major one is the bully’s mystery which gives the chances to converse things they may not do to someone in person. An additional issue with cyber bullying is that the bully is not capable to judge the victim’s reaction, as is probable with face-to-face contact. Critically appraise the strengths and weaknesses of semiotics and other related approaches to analyze the visual meanings of texts: This research takes up the matter of using semiotics for online social networking and other related approaches; the major advantage is that, the semiotics in the social networking could substitute the use of web searches. Through the use of semiotics, many of the confusions in the accessing sites are reduced to a greater extent. The potential buyers accessing the sites need not take the time and effort in searching fruitless web sites which are neither productive nor useful. Under such circumstances, it is also necessary that the various semiotics in the social network and in the online medias itself should be thought in terms of developing business through good contacts, constructive use of promotional materials, and also the use of products lines for better all round growth and prosperity. Finally, the study wishes to state that, in a limited way; Face book is useful for customers and promoters of products. It is hoped that in future, through the efforts of Facebook itself, it is possible to gain competitive edge in the industry and bring about better business to the people. There are so many factors in terms of better placement of online social networking and use of technology and networks for better business dealings. It is believed that, only through the efforts of Facebook and continual growth quest, it is possible to gain business benefits. The social networks are in a way of social service that joins citizens by means of friends and others who work, learn and synchronize with them. Facebook is a Social networking site started in February 2004, and is functioned and possessed by Facebook, Inc. People can add others as associates and send communications and revise their individual messages to keep in touch with friends and relatives. In addition, users of Facebook can connect networks managed by companies, schools or institutions. The users can understand the related community by seeing the symbols used. As per the cyber rules the use of the porn symbols or any other vulgar denoting similes are banned and only the accepted ones are expected to be seen. The symbols give much attraction to viewers in accessing the online Medias and the various useful thinks in the sector. “An understanding of media richness theory is useful in examining the impact that different communication media types potentially have on the message. Media richness theory comes primarily from the literature on computer-mediated communications (CMC) and is most often associated with business communication” (Newberry n.d.). According to this theory, the media is able to carry two components of information, they are the data carrying capacity, and the symbol carrying capacity, the symbol usage capacity is the most accepted one and they mean the capability in conveying the message or communication through symbolic methods. The weakness of using the symbols are mainly the representation of funny themes or giving a casual appearance. At times the sites are less noticed by the people who have a professional approach to serious issues. The constant changes in the semiotics are found vague by the people who do not access the sites very commonly; they also find it difficult to cope up with the new texts. The semiotics cannot be accepted by all people as; they may find the use of colors or the representation as an extraordinary one. Analysis: The differentiation was established, as one of the expenses of hiring an empirical move toward, contrasting the ideal theorizing of indirect readers and, experiential interpretation are constantly focusing to variation. As interviewees are possible to converse in equal voices, obvious variations are inevitable. The difficulty for audience research is to decide their significance which differentiate replicate distinctive factor and which value elucidation. The major hypothetical issue faces audience research concern the level of these differences for instance, audience progressively are much fragmented and the readings mainly normative or challenging. Questions regarding audience theory may be assembled into two categories. The primary ask how to do viewers research or, how it can be made better, to make sure that it add up to a little, whether or not we phrase the 'audience theory'. The subsequent one asks why we require a theory of audience or, to put it another way, what theory of audience will add to study in media particularly and more generally. “As Press (1996) notes, 'we in cultural audience studies are at a crossroads...we are quickly reaching the limits of what have over the last twenty years become our comfortable and customary preoccupations' (p.2). The interdisciplinary convergence which proved so productive for audience research has, proved problematic for cultural studies by detracting from the clear focus in which 'audience' was a metaphor for critical, political actors” (Livingstone 1998, p. 8). The study thus produces conclusions that are explicit to a particular context and also agreeable to proportional analysis further than those contexts. This will symbolize research more openly important to fields together with and further than media theory. Reference List Boyd, DM & Ellison, NB n.d. Social Networking Sites: Definition, History, and Scholarship. A History of Social Network Sites. Available at [Accessed on 10 March 2012] Livingstone, S 1998. Relationships Between Media and Audiences: Prospects for Audience Reception Studies. LSE Research. Available at [Accessed on 10 March 2012] Newberry, B n.d. Media Richness, Social Presence and Technology Supported Communication Activities in Education. Technology Enriched Learning. [Online] Available at [Accessed on 10 March 2012] Social Networking Sites; More Harm than Good. 2011. Online Conference on Networks and Communities. [Online] Available at [Accessed on 10 March 2012] Social Networking Site Use in Teenagers. 2002. Virtual Medical Centre. [Online] Available at [Accessed on 10 March 2012] Vlsp Changing Lives. n.d. The Bar Association of San Francisko. [Online] Available at [Accessed on 10 March 2012] Read More