Tag Archives: #INF506

INF506 – Reflection: Social Networking and Me

Leave a reply

Why select Social Networking for Information Professionals?

As a practicing Technologies and Information Leader in a school, I elected to complete INF506 with the intent to further develop my knowledge and confidence with for implementing social media platforms to support the school.

For years, I have known that the use of social networks is inevitable for schools and that more people, young and old, are accessing these sites as part of their everyday life as research shows that ninety-nine percent of Australian 15 to 17-year-olds regularly access the Internet for personal use (Australian Bureau of Statistics [ABS], 2014) and 87% use social networking sites (SNS) on a daily basis (A. Mitchell, Patrick, Heywood, Blackman, & Pitts, 2014).

Why is it Relevant?

Social networking remains a highly relevant topic that directly impacts everyday processes and function in my workplace. It made sense that we needed to implement the use of social networking sites into our school.

Previously, when I raised the taboo topic of ‘social media’ with other members of leadership and school staff, I was met with resistance towards implementing such a space for our school. The last time this was attempted it resulted in the online bullying of school staff. Today’s pitfall of technology has enabled a myriad of people to partake in voicing their opinions in a whole new* way…referred to as “Keyboard Warriors” and “flexing their Facebook muscles” (Eitner, 2018) For many years, I accepted this resistance as a gospel answer and not delved any further into introducing social networking into the school.

Professionally Moving and Changing –

Through completing the INF506 course content, it became evident to me that the “platform society” … refers to a profound dispute about private gain versus public benefit in a society where most interactions are carried now out via the Internet. (Van Dijck, Poell & De Waal, 2018)

INF506 has assisted to develop my knowledge and confidence in order to form a 2 tiered approach where social media is concerned for our school. This will include Student Education and School Based implementation.

I presented an implementation plan to the principal for the proposed Facebook page which was completed as the Social Community Project Report. Consideration of potential issues were addressed in the report, inclusive of an implementation plan and considerations for risk mitigation.

Through leadership, a shared vision and by providing technical and pedagogical support to staff, I have been able to revisit the idea of the use of a Facebook page, as schools can now rely on improvements made by traditional social media companies to reduce risk and improve functionality and services (e.g., Facebook, Chowdry 2018) The principal and leadership team have since approved the implementation of this space and it has become a responsibility for the Digital Technologies Team.

INF506 course materials and other articles, has demonstrated that there is a pressing need for the development of curriculum content around social networking safety and online etiquette. Explicitly teaching the management of individual social media presence is imperative for our students along with educating staff around this topic. I entered this course with the intent to implement a social media page, however my beliefs have further developed to consider students in order to equip them with the tools to successfully navigate the online networking world.

Teaching Individual Users to Consider Their Digital Shadow

 

Impactful Learning for a Digital Professional – Challenges & Opportunities

The learning from INF506 has made a direct impact toward the opportunity for the implementation of a Facebook page for the school. Studies have found that teachers having an ‘openness to change’ are more likely to experiment and integrate digital practices (Baylor & Richie, 2002). This notion coupled with the timing of the implementation of the ‘Remote Learning Program’ due to Covid-19 has allowed me to overcome one of the largest challenges of staff resistance which has provided a stumbling block in the past.

When introducing a social media page and a new website at the school during this time, I was met with resistance around personal privacy and the effect that such a space would have on an individual’s personal life and workload.  I was able to address this through the preparation and research I had conducted during the development of the Social Community Project Report. A culture of change means that teachers can work towards change and feel they are able to experiment with new tools, approaches and teaching strategies without punishment (Little, 1982).

Through careful planning, consideration for reducing risks, clear communication and developing trust, I was able to assist staff to see the potential and opportunities for our school to enter the social networking world.

Rathore, S. (2017)

In closing, taking the time to investigate Social Networking for organisations has definitely been a timely and relevant topic of learning for my professional life, I feel confident to navigate the complexities of social networking implementation. Despite the overwhelming content and considerations, I am a believer that social media, if used correctly, can enhance businesses, organisations and my own personal life.

825 words

References

Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2016). 8146.0—Household use of information technology, Australia, 2014-15. Retrieved from http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/8146.0

Baylor, A. L., & Ritchie, D. (2002). What factors facilitate teacher skill, teacher moral, and perceived student learning in technology-using classrooms? Computers & Education, 39, 395–414. doi:10.1016/S0360-1315(02)00075-1

Chowdry, A., (2018). Facebook launches ads in marketplace. Retrieved from  https://tinyurl.com/y8kf5g4t.

Eitner, J (2018) Keyboard Warriors and Social Media Muscles in Schools Retrieved from https://www.bamradionetwork.com/keyboard-warriors-and-social-media-muscles-in-schools/

Little, J. W. (1982). Norms of collegiality and experimentation: Workplace conditions of school success. American Educational Research Journal, 19(3), 325–340. doi:10.3102/00028312019003325

Me and My Shadow: Take Control of Your Data https://myshadow.org/ accessed 27th May 2020

Mitchell, A., Patrick, K., Heywood, W., Blackman, P., Pitts, M. (2014). National survey of Australian secondary students and sexual health 2013. Retrieved from https://yeah-org-au.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/31631-ARCSHS_NSASSSH_FINAL-A-3.pdf

Monks, H., Barnes, A., Cross, D., & McKee, H. (2019). A qualitative exploration of electronic image sharing among young people: Navigating the issues of conformity, trust, intention, and reputation. Health Education & Behavior, 46(2_suppl), 106S-113S. doi:10.1177/1090198119873921

Rathore, S. (2017, August 22). 7 Key steps in creating an effective social media marketing strategy. [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.socialmediatoday.com/social-business/7-key-steps-creating-effective-social-media-marketing-strategy

Xu, W., & Saxton, G. D. (2018). Does stakeholder engagement pay off on social media? A social capital perspective. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 48(1), 28-49. doi:10.1177/0899764018791267

Van Dijck, J. (2018). Introduction. In J. Van Dijck (Ed.), The Platform Society.  Retrieved from Oxford Scholarship Online.

INF506 – Evaluation: Thinking About Social Media

Leave a reply

Social Media in the professional environment is a valuable and viable option as networking companies continue to develop the features and capabilities of their product. ‘Social media as we know it today is different than even a year ago (let alone a decade ago), and social media a year from now will likely be different than now’ (Appel et. Al 2020) the use of such spaces must be carefully considered in the education space.

Social media in organisations increases opportunities for businesses and individuals to reach audiences far beyond physical means, it allows consumers to feel connected to like minded individuals without even needing to leave the comfort of our own homes. If that is the case, then why isn’t everyone using social media? Research shows that the use of these programs have been increasingly scrutinized, raising issues such as unbalanced representations of viewpoints, audience fragmentation, and the dominance of commercial interests (Bruns & Highfield, 2016).

For many, using and accessing social media is a minefield of potentials, opportunities and risks with research stating that ‘non-profits are increasingly turning to social media as a new frontier for strategic public engagement.’ (Campbell, Lambright, & Wells, 2014). It is however important to consider the user when considering social networking in the context of education environments.

Questions raised when considering introducing social media to education environments include;

  • Whose responsibility is it to introduce young users to social media?
  • Should it be used by organisations for communication and marketing?
  • Is social media good for you?

Lampe C, TEDxUofM – Is Social Media Good For You?

Dawn of Web 2.0

The development of Web 2.0 changed the potential and opportunities for businesses and consumers, Web 2.0. means that internet applications allow sharing and collaboration opportunities to people and help them to express themselves online (Lipika 2016). This was a gamechanger as communication could now be almost immediate, it is two way and with improved mobile technologies social networking is extremely accessible. Existing research has found audiences respond particularly well to more frequent organisational messages that include multiple forms of visual, textual, and vocal cues (Ramanadhan, Mendez, Rao, & Viswanath, 2013).

Social Networking Tools and Platforms

Today, there is a social networking tool or platform for every purpose, and with the speed in which this space moves and develops, if it has not yet been designed has is most probably already been conceptualised and  soon to be released. Networking tools such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram provide cost effective and time efficient platforms that reach target audiences. Businesses can use social media as a “listening post” to gain critical knowledge of their community (Lovejoy, Waters, & Saxton, 2012).

With increased exposure to social media, the role of Social Media policies for educational organisations has become necessary in order to mitigate risks associated for users and organisations and to prevent the misuse of private information and images. Implementation plans, risk assessments and privacy permissions must be implemented in order to protect all stakeholders.

For schools, social media is a topic that provides many challenges for educators where young people are actively engaged in online platforms, with over 50% of the world population being under 30 years of age (Monks et. al 2019), educators must face the challenge of upskilling our young people to be safe online in order to avoid negative online experiences. Research demonstrates that image sharing has also become a key means by which young people engage in sexuality behaviours…and engaging in sexually explicit interactions (Cooper, Quayle, Jonsson, & Svedin, 2016).

Despite the challenges and issues raised by social networking, there are many benefits and opportunities that arise from the connected, digital world. For example, Social Media allows individuals to offer products or services “directly” without having to rely on “offline” intermediaries. (Van Dijck, Poell & De Waal, 2018) and for individuals it provides the ability to foster a “community” that is built less on geographic boundaries than on a sense of belonging (Phillips et al., 2016).

New in the Toolbox – Future Plans

It is exciting that social networking companies have been developing, moving and growing in order to meet consumer demand and needs. Social media now represents a new medium for stakeholder relationship building, offering a relatively low-cost option for interactive two-way communication with large and geographically dispersed audiences (Campbell et al., 2014) Armed with consolidated understanding, a clear implementation plan and staff support, we can now move forward into a networked 2.0 digital world.

Implementation of explicit teaching for appropriate social media use and safe online image sharing is an important component of the digital curriculum for educators, as through online image sharing, young people can establish and maintain friendships, remain in contact with family members, and seek social support (Lenhart, Smith, & Anderson, 2015). The challenge for digital professionals now is to filter through all the available programs and platforms in order to find the most relevant tools for my organisation needs.

Word Count – 824

References

Appel, G., Grewal, L., Hadi, R., & Stephen, A. T. (2020). The future of social media in marketing. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 48(1), 79-95. Doi:10.1007/s11747-019-00695-1

Bruns, A., Highfield, T. (2016). Is Habermas on Twitter? Social media and the public sphere. In Bruns, A., Enli, G., Skogerbo, E., Larsson, A., Christensen, C. (Eds.), The Routledge companion to social media and politics (pp. 56-72). Abingdon, UK: Routledge.

Campbell, D., Lambright, K., Wells, C. (2014). Looking for friends, fans, and followers? Social media use in public and nonprofit human services. Public Administration Review, 74, 655-663.

Cooper, K., Quayle, E., Jonsson, L., Svedin, C. G. (2016). Adolescents and self-taken sexual images: A review of the literature. Computers in Human Behavior, 55, 706-716. Doi:10.1016/j.chb.2015.10.003

Facebook www.facebook.com

Instagram www.instagram.com

Lampe C, TEDxUofM Is social media good for you? Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=po01VlNvCcQ

Lenhart, A., Smith, A., Anderson, M. (2015). Teens, technology and romantic relationships. Pew Research Center, 1-77. Doi:10.1016/j.chb.2015.07.016

Monks, H., Barnes, A., Cross, D., & McKee, H. (2019). A qualitative exploration of electronic image sharing among young people: Navigating the issues of conformity, trust, intention, and reputation. Health Education & Behavior, 46(2_suppl), 106S-113S. doi:10.1177/1090198119873921

Phillips, S., Bird, I., Carlton, L., Rose, L. (2016). Knowledge as leadership, belonging as community: How Canadian community foundations are using vital signs for social change. The Foundation Review, 8, Article 8. Retrieved from http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/tfr/vol8/iss3/8

Ramanadhan, S., Mendez, S. R., Rao, M., Viswanath, K. (2013). Social media use by community-based organizations conducting health promotion: A content analysis. BMC Public Health, 13, Article 1129.

Twitter www.twitter.com

Van Dijck, J. (2018). Introduction. In J. Van Dijck (Ed.), The Platform Society.  Retrieved from Oxford Scholarship Online.

Xu, W., & Saxton, G. D. (2018). Does stakeholder engagement pay off on social media? A social capital perspective. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 48(1), 28-49. doi:10.1177/0899764018791267

INF506 – OLJ Task 18: Thoughts For The Future

1 Reply

What is the potential for the future of an organisation you are familiar with?

Globally, the total number of social media users is estimated to grow to 3.29 billion users in 2022, which will be 42.3% of the world’s population (eMarketer 2018). With the understanding that social media is always shifting and changing. ‘Social media as we know it today is different than even a year ago (let alone a decade ago), and social media a year from now will likely be different than now’ (Appel et. Al 2020)

With such a transient and ever changing digital environment it is now evident that our parents and students ‘consumers’  live in a world in which social media intersects with most aspects of their lives … in domains such as travel (e.g., TripAdvisor), work (e.g., LinkedIn), food (e.g., Yelp), music (e.g., Spotify), and more.

Schools, therefore, can now look towards implementing and actively using social media platforms in order to compliment and market themselves. They can promote and share learning and school celebrations. As enrolments become a competitive space, schools can now rely on improvements made by traditional social media companies to reduce risk and improve functionality and services (e.g., Facebook’s marketplace, Chowdry 2018; WeChat’s payment system, Cheng 2017). These bidirectional trends suggest that the modern-day consumer is living in an increasingly “omni-social” world.

If an ‘omni-social’ existence is imminent, it makes sense for schools to target this space as it is where the people are.

What impact might the future have on us as information professionals?

As information professionals in the education sector, it is imperative that we ensure that we actively seek professional learning and keep up to date with the relevant possibilities of social media platforms. New and existing platforms are ever changing and improving and may directly impact our workloads and change what was once impossible into exciting possibilities, for example, Trusov et al. (2009) and Stephen and Galak (2012) demonstrated that certain kinds of social interactions can now happen on social media (e.g., “refer a friend” features and discussions in online communities) can positively affect important marketing outcomes such as new customer acquisition and sales. These changes can directly affect workload and outcomes.

Information professional educators need to actively teach students the skills to manage their social media presence and how to utilise this fluid platform to enhance different aspects of their lives. If this is not explicitly taught and addressed, we will leave the youth of today to embark into the digital world without the necessary tools to safely navigate these platforms. Evidence has shown that consumers are deleting their social media presence, where research has shown that nearly 40% of digitally connected individuals admitted to deleting at least one social media account due to fears of their personal data being mishandled (Edelman 2018). With effective teaching, risks can be minimised for each individual.

Adaptability and ability to collect data to inform

We can also work with improved technologies that assist information technology professionals to manage large groups and safely manage and use data collection. A recent review on the future of customer relationship management, Haenlein (2017) describes “invisible CRM” as future systems that will make customer engagement simple and accessible for customers. This will have a direct impact on time taken to communicate with clients, share marketing and gather analytical data. With reduced time spent of these areas, information professionals can direct focus to more creative outlets and efficient practices.

References

Appel, G., Grewal, L., Hadi, R., & Stephen, A. T. (2020). The future of social media in marketing. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 48(1), 79-95. doi:10.1007/s11747-019-00695-1

Cheng, E. (2017). China is living the future of mobile pay right now. Retrieved from https://tinyurl.com/y8hm6vlo.

Chowdry, A., (2018). Facebook launches ads in marketplace. Retrieved from https://tinyurl.com/y8kf5g4t.

Edelman, K. (2018). Trust Barometer Brands Social Media. Retrieved from https://tinyurl.com/ycrm23gf.

Haenlein, M. (2017). How to date your clients in the 21st century: Challenges in managing customer relationships in today’s world. Business Horizons, 60, 577–586.

Melanie (2018) The Future of Social Media Marketing & AWG Social Media Program. AWG Sales Services. Retrieved from https://awgsalesservices.com/2018/09/20/the-future-of-social-media-marketing-awg-social-media-program/

Packham, A (2019). The Future of Social Media in Marketing The Drum Retrieved from https://www.thedrum.com/industryinsights/2019/05/14/the-future-social-media-marketing

Stephen, A. T., & Galak, J. (2012). The effects of traditional and social earned media on sales: A study of a microlending marketplace. Journal of Marketing Research, 49(5), 624–639.

The Digital Transformation https://youtu.be/6k_G_h41ZaQ

Trusov, M., Bucklin, R. E., & Pauwels, T. (2009). Effects of word-of mouth versus traditional marketing: Findings from an internet social networking site. Journal of Marketing, 73(5), 90–102.

INF506 – OLJ Task 13: Information Trends

Leave a reply

 

The School Organisation Perspective

These changing social behaviours can directly impact on the need for, and development of, information policies in organisations in order to address these behaviours. It is not about the if the online world reaches students, more to the point it’s the how schools can prepare for managing their impacts and consider how to strategically expose students in a scaffolded and protected environment.

As stated in the Social media research ethical and privacy guidelines. Organisations and schools need to be particularly careful about the collection of data, how it is shared and published, with specific consideration for our young students.

For schools, sage journals published a journal article on the Qualitative Exploration of Electronic Image Sharing Among Young People which discusses and navigates the issues that adolescents face around Conformity, Trust, Intention and Reputation. Young people today are far more exposed to potential risks and exposure online including cyberbullying, image sharing and sexting, all problems that have not been issues prior to the social networking world.

The education for this begins for schools at a much earlier stage where children as young as 5 have exposure to digital platforms and social media. Some are even younger where platforms such as Facebook now have messenger for kids as an example. It is schools and adults that must keep our young people safe online.

Some considerations for schools:

  • Organisations such as primary schools can minimise the level of negative impacts within their student community through providing education for parents and families.
  • A current eSmart program for students to address trending digital social issues should be in place for students of all ages and relevant to their development and current online exposures.
  • The student privacy and parent consent must be sought before sharing of any images or names on the internet. When schools do so, this must be completed considering the privacies and safety of the student.
  • Appropriate policies should be in place to guide the school in order to keep all stakeholders safe online.

Some policies that I have devised for the primary school I work at include:

These considerations help institutions ensure that risk mitigation is considered and in place. Despite the potential risk to students, it is important for a school to actively teach appropriate online etiquette and therefore equip our young people with the tools to successfully navigate their way through the ever changing online world that we now live in.

References

George Washington University Libraries. (2018). Social media research ethical and privacy guidelines. Retrieved from https://gwu-libraries.github.io/sfm-ui/resources/social_media_research_ethical_and_privacy_guidelines.pdf

Monks, H., Barnes, A., Cross, D., & McKee, H. (2019). A qualitative exploration of electronic image sharing among young people:Navigating the issues of conformity, trust, intention, and reputation. Health Education & Behavior, 46(2_suppl), 106S-113S. doi:10.1177/1090198119873921

The Digital Transformation https://youtu.be/6k_G_h41ZaQ

 

INF506 – OLJ Task 9: Mobile Exploration

1 Reply

The Impact of Mobile Technologies

Mobile technology has grown and developed exponentially over the past 20 years to a stage now where everything that you could possibly need is accessible at your fingertips, anywhere in the world and at any time. The ability to gain access in such a simple, user friendly and convenient manner also means that people can now work and play all from a single device. Gone are the days where individuals separated their digital work and life balance.

In direct response to the capabilities of mobile phones, web developers have made mobile and tablet friendly sites and apps, therefore allowing organisations to integrate seamlessly across the devices and therefore ensuring readily available access to their social media platforms.

Exploring Mobile Functionality

Mobile Experience

 Facebook eBay

Firefly Learning

Mobile Positives
  • User interface easy to navigate
  • Encourages communication with friends and has new features such as FB Rooms for group chats
  • Story feature located at the top of the page so that it is easy to see what your friends and pages you are following have been up to
  • Ability to manage more than one account and page through single sign in options on the phone
  • Easy ability to like, comment and send messages to each person who posts
  • FB mobile resizes to compliment the mobile experience. In many ways it is more user friendly through the mobile app than through the full website
  • Ability to integrate emojis and gifs easily
  • Suggests public figures to follow
  • Mobile alerts for any messages or activity on FB can be turned on/off as user determines
  • Good integration between other apps such as Instagram
  • Listing for recently viewed and currently watched items at the top of the ebay mobile app, allowing for easy access
  • Camera integration to allow for easy upload of images to sell
  • Simple search engine to find items for sale
  • Feedback and messaging capabilities to connect you directly with the seller/buyer
  • Purchase memory, allowing easy re-purchasing for repeat items
  • Auction and bidding site and capabilities
  • Reviews and recommendations easy to see and navigate
  • Integrated mobile alerts for messages and activity
  • Provides different apps for parents and students
  • Replicates the web version of the Firefly LMS
  • Images and videos come across from the website to the mobile app seamlessly
  • Ability to edit and manipulate the site with administrator privileges
  • Ability to message users and send alerts from mobile phone
  • Carries embedded documents such as pdf, Word Docs, You Tube videos and Power Point presentations and can be opened in the mobile app
  • Integrated mobile alerts for messages and announcements

Areas for Improvement
  • Less advertisements throughout videos
  • Increased ability to mute messages and alerts during certain hours of the day
  • Clearer ability to compare items based on user reviews or ratings
  • Improved navigation for contacting a seller or buyer
  • Navigating the pages is clunky and not user intuitive
  • The app does not seem to adjust from the web version to the mobile version seamlessly and therefore there are a lot of clicks to get to where you want to go
  • The app could be improved by changing the layout of lists of pages to be mobile friendly
  • Adjusting of pages to fit the mobile screen would enhance user experience

References

INF506 – OLJ Task 4: Twitter feeds

1 Reply

Twitter is a social media platform that I have yet to find a viable use for, in my everyday life. With so many platforms to choose from and each one varying to attract a specific market, I find myself needing to justify the need to actively engage in Twitter and to find a reason for its use.

Through completing my Master of Education through Charles Sturt University, I have been required to create a Twitter account which allows for me to Tweet, follow others and experiment with the world of hashtags and handles.

Overall, my interest in Twitter is to determine the target audience for this platform. I feel that socially, networking platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok are where my friends are, however the world of Twitter is very much a space more for professionals, businesses and organisations.

Comparing Social Media Presence on Twitter  

 

@ACAReduau

3280 Tweets since 2013

@UNESCO

26,600 Tweets since 2009

Included Content
  • Images
  • Video Content
  • Curriculum Updates/Topic Specific
  • Education Celebrations
  • Images
  • Video Content
  • Statements invoking thought and personal opinions
  • Relevant hashtags
  • Suggestions for who to follow

Tweet Topics Trending
  • Home Learning programs
  • Parent Support for home learning
  • Congratulating educators/awards
  • Professional Learning Opportunities
  • Digital Education
  • Indigenous Curriculum
  • Curriculum Resources
  • Global issues
  • Museums
  • Performing Arts,
  • Journalism
  • Covid-19, truth, medical support
  • Environmental issues
  • Our rights for factual information
  • International Culture
  • Women’s rights
  • Education
  • Technology

Target Audience

 

 ACARA brings together people with a similar profession or interests around education and curriculum development and delivery.

Being the governing body who develops curriculum for learning, this Twitter page seems to be a sharing platform to keep followers up to date with curriculum changes, resources, and celebrations.

The ACARA Twitter page is a niche space for people with specific Education interests.

 The UNESCO Twitter page seems to appeal to an audience that has a particular interest in freedom of speech and human rights. It encourages its viewers to think about a topic that they have shared and for people to formulate an opinion and take a stance of support through liking and re-tweeting their tweets.

The page feels very strong in their views and it encourages other like-minded people to join their voice.

Are the Tweets successful?

 ACARA has a Twitter following of 22,500 people, most of whom would be associated in some way with Australian curriculum and assessment development and delivery.

This is the largest platform I have come across of connected educators.

The comment engagement is very low with most Tweets having 1 or 2 comments. Likes are averaging under 20 per post and re-tweets around 1-2.

 With 3.2 million followers, UNESCO definitely has a large following on Twitter. However, most of their posts ranges between 40-60 likes and 10-50 retweets. This is with 1500 views or more.

There is a low comment engagement on posts with most of the last 20 posts only having less than 5 comments. This indicates that the viewers and followers are there, however not many of these people are engaging and retweeting.

More recently, the most engagement from Tweets from UNESCO come from the Covid -19 pandemic topic.

The Twitter analytic tools within the program also provide the useful ability for a user to assess engagement and followings through tweets, re-tweets and hashtags. Twitter provides a space for professionals and semi-professionals to Tweet about a given topic and reach a large amount of people following the same topic/feed.

References:

INF506 – OLJ Task 2: The Influence of Technology on Society

1 Reply

The Influence of Technology on Society:

In 2020, the influence of technology on society, on a global scale, has grown exponentially and therefore has changed world as we once knew it. Currently more than 4.5 billion people use the internet (worldwide) and a staggering 3.8 billion people actively use social media as a communication and collaboration platform. Kemp, S (2020)

With a projected growth of 9% of people (298 million users) in the next year engaging with social media, and with more than half of the world’s population accessing these platforms, it is only sensible that all organisations engage in implementation plans that are regularly reviewed and updated as technology changes. The ability to coexist with technology will ensure longevity for any given organisation.

Organisation Considerations:

Developing technologies over the past 30 years, have pushed organisations and businesses to adapt and grow in order to accommodate this technological change. This combined with resilience has allowed organisations to coexist with technologies and in many cases provided rich enhancements and reduction to disruptions of productivity. For organisations unable to adapt in a timely manner, this has meant the demise of many of these companies.

Adner, R., & Kapoor, R. (2016) refer to this as the ‘War between Ecosystems’ for organisations where they have had to demonstrate the transition between the ‘Old Technology Ecosystem’ to the ‘New Technology Ecosystem’

In many cases, evidence of successful old technology that has grown and adapted to encompass new technology has provided improved use for what was once cutting edge. An example given by Adner, R., & Kapoor, R. (2016) is the design, development and redesign of barcodes which in essence still provides the same product but it has moved throughout the times to improve data sets and ease of use for the user.

In short, for organisations to remain competitive and in front of their target audiences, it is important for them to combine old and new methods of technological function. Organisations who assess the data for maximum customer engagement and usage and make clever and strategic use of available technology will find a balance and learn to exist with technology and use it to their advantage.

References –

Adner, R., & Kapoor, R. (2016). Right tech, wrong time. Harvard Business Review, 94(11), 60-67.

Kemp , S (2020) Digital 2020: 3.8 Billion People Use Social Media https://wearesocial.com/au/blog/2020/01/digital-2020-3-8-billion-people-use-social-media

We are Social https://wearesocial.com/au/

INF506 – OLJ Task 1: Social Media and Society – Journal Article Analysis

1 Reply

  

OLJ task 1 – Social Media and Society – Journal Article Analysis

When embarking on the CSU masters subject – Social Networking for Information Professionals, my reading journey has now delved into the influence that social media has on our current society as we know it. I have never really considered the impact of strategic communication and how the delivery of this has changed over time. Social media and networking has moulded and changed relationships and social and professional engagement and continues to do so.

Whilst listening to the podcast A Conversation with Nancy Baym, a Principal Researcher with Microsoft Research, it led me to consider how communications are always moving and growing, Baym described the shift towards online social platforms as ‘a real site of power renegotiation’. With this she goes on to elaborate that over the last 150 years, media and social networking has moved from the ‘elite’ controlled model, where popular culture entertainment platforms such as radio and television, was directed by a person or a group of people and presented to an audience in the same physical place at the same physical time. The introduction of the world wide web and social media platforms such as MySpace led to a more equitable culture of ‘access to media’. Here was a place where everyone could have a say, join communities, connect and advertise their businesses.

Baym continues to discuss that, as digital technologies have developed into the 21st century, people are finding themselves on social networking platforms either willingly or even at times unknowingly. Social media is affecting our everyday lives and changing the very definition of personal relationships. The example shared by Baym was Myspace. This platform provided the music industry with a fan based energy to connect audiences through social media. With this came marketing for brands, companies and professionals, in a place where a self-brand could be developed and remain lively and engaging for communities with similar interest.

Through social media platforms the music industry has predicted social change and effected crowd/fan engagement and therfore enabled the increase of sales and popularity. Baym also discusses the tensions and divide between the previous tightly controlled media networks to the current day equitable access to media where everyone can post, share and speak. This understandably comes with a myriad of positives and negative aspects.

When discussing the theory research of the constitution of social media Baym discussed;

  • Material Labour – The actual communication
  • Effective Labour – Non-verbal communication
  • Information Labour – The real content of the communication
  • Emotional Labour – Focused on the encounter
  • Relational Labour –  The relationship of the communicator and engager

These concepts I found to be quite interesting and in particular emotional labour which further readings led me to find that it is the ‘professional online engagement can be analysed in terms of ‘emotional labour’ (Hochschild 1983). It explores whether the pleasure that practitioners derive from online work, the freedom it gives them to work remotely and flexibly and the licence it offers to build a personal brand also serves to hide exploitation, legitimize long working hours and reaffirm existing gender roles’

However, with freedom and flexibility for work, I ask the question; How are our responsibilities impacted when considering target audiences, persuasion, engagement, balance between real life and virtual life? Baym discusses that the ethics of these kinds of relationships and labours and the ability to now create systems in order to have viable careers without personal connections, what works and what doesn’t work effectively? These need to be formed along with the consideration of the tensions that it raises, good and bad elements and our choices to engage in them or not.

For many of the issues raised in this podcast, I feel that this has developed many questions in my professional working mind as a Digital Technologies Leading Teacher, the many layers of ‘labour’ that make up social media environments all contribute to the end user experience and can be manipulated for ‘good or evil’. These all need to be considered when engaging in the use of social media and networking, as well as for when selecting and implementing the use of these networks for my own personal and professional purposes.

Finally Baym discusses that with social networks and the use of social media, this comes with cultures and expectations. With this topic being a generative topic and most relevant to digital native citizens, we all can make different and better choices now and shape a whole different world. The question that this raises for me is, Who is responsible for teaching future generations of the importance of appropriate culture, expectations and behaviour when engaging in and using social networking platforms?

References –

Lingel.J (2020) A Conversation with Nancy Baym, Author of Playing to the Crowd

Liz Bridgen (2011) Emotional labour and the pursuit of the personal brand: Public relations practitioners’ use of social media, Journal of Media Practice, 12:1, 61-76, DOI: 10.1386/jmpr.12.1.61_1

Sage Journals Volume 6 Issue 2, April-June 2020

Social Media and Society https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2056305119899008