Assessment Task 2A, Learning & Communicating Online Swinburne Online

1. SOCIAL MEDIA
A Brief Overview

2. Facebook
What is Facebook: Facebook is an online social networking site. Mark Zuckerberg, a Harvard University student and his college roommates
and fellow Harvard students founded Facebook on February 4 2004 (Wikipedia, 2014). A user must register for the site, then they are able to
make a personal profile add fellow Facebook friends, add photos, create statuses to let everybody know what they’re up to, send public or
private messages as well as looking at and ‘liking’ other people, business’, celebrities, etc. The list is endless.
Who uses Facebook: Initially the website was limited to first Harvard students and then to students at other universities in the Boston area,
the Ivy League and Stanford University. Gradually the site was available for other university students, then high school students gained
access, and finally Facebook became available to anybody who claims to be over 13 years old (Wikipedia, 2014).
The Benefits of Facebook: For a business Facebook is a great way to promote and get themselves out there. People can ‘Like’ your page so
you are able to create a client base over the internet. On Facebook a business is able to showcase their business to not only their friends,
but their friends friends and their friends friends friends. The reach is larger than if you were just sending a group email. You are able to
post status’ or send emails to let people know about stock, sales, or events happening for your business. For an individual Facebook helps
you keep in contact with family or friends no matter how near or far. You are able to share photos, public messages or speak privately with
someone. Individuals are able to search peoples names, this can help you find people you went to school with, childhood friends, or family
members.
The Downside/Dangers of the site: In 2012 Facebook had over 1 billion users. Of this 1 billion approximately 9% of them were fake users
(Wikipedia, 2014). Obviously Facebook being an online network is available 24 hours a day 7 days a week 365 days a year. This means it is
constantly available to young people who can be speaking to anybody at anytime. Facebook does have privacy settings so you can limit
who sees or talks to you however there is only so private a person can be. Facebook does have a 13 year minimum age restriction
(Wikipedia, 2014) however all somebody has to do is lie about their age and they have access to Facebook. There is always the risk that
people may fake identities and prey on younger girls or boys. Cyber bullying is a huge deal these days especially on Facebook.

3. Instagram
What is Instagram: Instagram is social-networking site in the form of photos. It allows you to share photos or videos of pretty much
whatever you want. A person can edit their photo using selected “filters”. You can have a public or private profile, “follow” people and
have people “follow you”. A person is able to caption and “hashtag” a photo and you can comment and like peoples photos. Instagram
also allows you to share your photo on other social networking sites such as Facebook or twitter. Instagram is available on computers
but most commonly used on mobile phones.
Who uses Instagram: Since being launched in 2010 Instagram has attracted a massive audience, with over 100 million active users as
of April 2012 (Wikipedia, 2014). Almost every celebrity imaginable has instagram, as do online shopping sites, fitness gurus, tattoo
enthusiasts, sport stars, TV shows, just to name a few! And of course your everyday citizens, from university students, teenagers,
mothers, fathers and even animals.
The benefits of Instagram: Similar to Facebook Instagram can hold great benefits for a business. It is a great way to get themselves out
there. If I was to like or follow certain business or person all my friends could see that and therefore maybe have a look at that
business too. Also similar to Facebook, Instagram benefits an individual in the way of keeping in touch with friends or family and
showing them what you’re up to.
The downside/dangers of Instagram: Like any social media forum instagram can be a place of cyber bullying. Although a person's
profile may be on private there are ways to gain access to that person’s photo. All photos are public by default, a user must make their
account private (Instagram.com, 2014). An individual does not necessarily need to include their name in their profile so bullying can
be anonymous. Instagram contains some hashtags that aren’t beneficial for anyone, and can even be harmful. They have since
banned all photos that encourage/embrace such concepts as eating disorders, self-harm and suicide (Help.instagram.com, 2014).

4. Twitter
What is twitter- twitter is a social networking site that was created in March 2006, it is now the third most used social site today. It
allows users to create and read short messages that are called ‘tweets’. It also allows you to ‘follow’’ the persons account if you find
their tweets interesting. Now with 500 million tweets a day and 230 million active users’ (Wikipedia, 2014) people turn to twitter to
bring them closer to things they care about, whether it is the news that affects them or even just the business down the block.
Who uses twitter- Though Twitter doesn't specifically state what age you must be to use their services, the law states that you must be
at least 13 years old to use most social networking sites. This law is called the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998
(Ftc.gov, 2014). So really anyone can use the social site, a range of people use twitter, from famous celebrities to everyday people,
even business to get there business out there.
Who benefits from twitter- Business are one of many that benefit from twitter, it lets them share their current information that may be
important, it lets them promote and even advertise, while engaging with their customers, also it allows their customers to ask
questions and respond to them in real time. Celebrities benefit also, by promoting their new song releases, new movies etc., they can
also connect with their fans. It also allows people to get in touch, and stay up to date with their favourite celebrities or online
personalities from YouTube for instance. It allows the user to even attempt to chat to someone really big in the media.
The downside/danger to twitter- The main difference with twitter that separates it from other social networking sites, is that it allows
the user to connect to anyone, and in doing so allows them to message or "mention" them, without any pre approval from the person
the user desires to speak to.

5. LinkedIn
What is LinkedIn: A social networking site, with over 300 million members in over 200 countries. They are a publicly
listed company, founded in 2002 by Reid Hoffman (Linkedin.com, 2014).
Who uses LinkedIn: The site is dedicated to connecting professionals, companies and people from all over the world
with one another.
Who benefits from LinkedIn: 5 business benefits as specified by Brian Hughes include B2B networking, B2C
Networking, being part of the ‘lead generation’, Staffing (both to attract applicants and to seek them out), and perhaps
most importantly, gives customers the chance for feedback and comments, to ideally lead to higher levels of
customer satisfaction (Socialmediatoday.com, 2014).
The downside/danger to the site : Information shared can include who you are, where you work and who you work
with… This can lead to “Spear Phishing”, a targeted, pinpoint attack using the personal, yet public information
available (CNNMoney, 2014)There is also the problem of “Frollegues”, which is the mixing of friends and colleagues,
and can lead to many issues. A representative from LinkedIn recommends keeping personal and professional digital
lives separate, even having two completely separate accounts (Kiss, 2008).

6. YouTube
What is YouTube- Founded in February 2005, YouTube allows billions of people to discover, watch and share
original to created videos. YouTube provides a forum for people to connect, inform, and inspire others across the
globe and acts as a distribution platform for original content creators and advertisers large and small.
Who uses YouTube- There are over one billion unique visitors to YouTube each month, watching over 6 Billion
hours of videos. One hundred hours are uploaded every minute, and according to Nielsen, YouTube reached more
18-35 year olds than any cable network in North America, and yet 80% of all uploads originate from outside the
United States (Youtube.com, 2014).
Benefits of YouTube - It allows for social connections, with people sharing their videos. Many businesses and
organisations will use this platform for viral marketing and advertisements. It has also been used an education
tool, with lectures etc. being posted, as well as “endless” instructional videos (Internetsafetyproject.org, 2014).
Risks to the site - There are many risks involved with a site like this. Although YouTube have a Terms of Service
(Youtube.com, 2014), it is possible for inappropriate materials to slip through, as they do not check the videos
when they are uploaded. Videos of adult content can potentially be seen by persons under 18, as the site can not
verify the age of the person attempting to create an ‘adult content’ account (Internetsafetyproject.org, 2014).

7. Summary
Social media refers to the means of interactions among people in which they create, share, and/or exchange
information and ideas in virtual communities and networks, this makes social media a large part of today’s society.
It has opened up the world to anyone with an internet connection, allowing people to connect with someone on the
other side of the world in a fraction of a second.
Social networks and other online media are great tools for engagement and two-way communication, but given the
nature of this two-way, real-time communication, there is the potential for significant risks associated with
inappropriate use which is a dark side to social media, for example, cyber bullying, ‘trolling’, paedophile etc. There
are predators who take advantage of the anonymity of the world wide web. In the wrong hands Social Media can
be very dangerous.
Social media can really benefit your business when used strategically it can give you direct engagement with many
of your target audiences. Twitter now has grown to 230 million monthly active users, while Facebook has 1.2
billion members. Obviously, for those companies starting out, these channels give access to vast numbers of
people, whether it's to raise awareness, create engagement or drive revenues.

8. References
CNNMoney, (2014). LinkedIn is a hacker's dream tool. [online] Available at: http://money.cnn.com/2012/03/12/technology/linkedin-hackers
[Accessed 18 May. 2014].
Ftc.gov, (2014). Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule ("COPPA") | Federal Trade Commission. [online] Available at:
http://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/rules/rulemaking-regulatory-reform-proceedings/childrens-online-privacy-protection-rule [Accessed 14 May. 2014].
Help.instagram.com, (2014). Community Guidelines | Instagram Help Center. [online] Available at: https://help.instagram.com/477434105621119/
[Accessed 18 May. 2014].
Instagram.com, (2014). FAQ • Instagram. [online] Available at: http://instagram.com/about/faq/ [Accessed 18 May. 2014].
Internetsafetyproject.org, (2014). YouTube | Internet Safety Project Wiki. [online] Available at: http://www.internetsafetyproject.org/wiki/youtube
[Accessed 14 May. 2014].
Kiss, J. (2008). LinkedIn warns social networkers about dangers of 'frolleagues'. [online] the Guardian. Available at:
http://www.theguardian.com/media/2008/aug/14/digitalmedia.socialnetworking [Accessed 12 May. 2014].
Linkedin.com, (2014). About Us | LinkedIn. [online] Available at: http://www.linkedin.com/about-us [Accessed 12 May. 2014].
Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project, (2013). Social Networking Fact Sheet. [online] Available at:
http://www.pewinternet.org/fact-sheets/social-networking-fact-sheet [Accessed 14 May. 2014].
Socialmediatoday.com, (2014). Five Benefits of Using LinkedIn to Grow Your Business and Your Career | Social Media Today. [online] Available at:
http://socialmediatoday.com/node/2041511 [Accessed 12 May. 2014].
Wikipedia, (2014). Facebook. [online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook [Accessed 14 May. 2014].
Wikipedia, (2014). Instagram. [online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instagram [Accessed 18 May. 2014].
Wikipedia, (2014). Twitter. [online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter [Accessed 14 May. 2014].
Youtube.com, (2014). Statistics - YouTube. [online] Available at: http://www.youtube.com/yt/press/statistics.html [Accessed 14 May. 2014].
Youtube.com, (2014). Terms of Service - YouTube. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/static?template=terms [Accessed 18 May. 2014].