Social media refers to the means of interactions among people in which they create, share, and exchange information and ideas in virtual communities and networks.[1] Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein define social media as "a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, and that allow the creation and exchange ofuser-generated content.[2] Furthermore, social media depend on mobile and web-based technologies to create highly interactive platforms via which individuals and communities share, cocreate, discuss, and modify user-generated content. It introduces substantial and pervasive changes to communication between organizations, communities and individuals.[3]
Social media differentiates from traditional/industrial media in many aspects such as quality,[4] reach, frequency, usability, immediacy and permanence.[5] There are many effects that stem from internet usage. According to Nielsen, internet users continue to spend more time with social media sites than any other type of site. At the same time, the total time spent on social media in the U.S. across PC and mobile devices increased by 37 percent to 121 billion minutes in July 2012 compared to 88 billion minutes in July 2011.[6]
Much of the criticism of social media are about its exclusiveness as most sites do not allow the transfer of information from one to another, disparity of information available, issues with trustworthiness and reliability of information presented, concentration, ownership of media content, and the meaning of interactions created by social media. However, it is also argued that social media has positive effects such as allowing the democratization of the internet [7] while also allowing individuals to advertise themselves and form friendships.[8]
Most people associate social media with positive outcomes, yet this is not always the case. Due to the increase in social media websites, there seems to be a positive correlation between the usage of such media with cyber bullying, online sexual predators and the decrease in face-to-face interactions. Likewise, media seem to be influencing kids' lives in terms of exposing them to images of alcohol, tobacco, and sexual behaviors. [9] This issue is becoming even more prominent as kids are starting to engage with such media sites at younger ages. Instead of giving a kid a toy at the dinner table to keep him quiet, parents are now resorting to IPads and other technological devices that are more advanced. Kids are thus learning how to operate technological devices at ages where they are able to become experts as infants.
There is an increasing trend towards using social media monitoring tools that allow marketers to search, track and analyse conversation on the web about their brand or about topics of interest. This can be useful in PR management and campaign tracking, allowing the user to measure return on investment, competitor-auditing and general public engagement. Tools range from free, basic applications to subscription-based, more in-depth tools.
The honeycomb framework defines how social media services focus on some or all of seven functional building blocks.[3] These building blocks help explain the engagement needs of the social media audience. For instance, LinkedIn users are thought to care mostly about identity, reputation and relationships, whereas YouTube’s primary features are sharing, conversations, groups and reputation. Many companies build their own social containers that attempt to link the seven functional building blocks around their brands. These are private communities that engage people around a more narrow theme, as in around a particular brand, vocation or hobby, rather than social media containers such as Google+ or Facebook and also Twitter. PR departments face significant challenges in dealing with viral negative sentiment directed at organizations or individuals on social media platforms (dubbed "sentimentitis"), which may be a reaction to an announcement or event.[13]
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