Communicating Using Social Media Essay

Technology has developed tremendously the past decade, more so than it has in the past, and a variety of businesses are being challenged in this area. People from all over the world are constantly innovating new ideas, brainstorming on how to interact more efficiently, than and as fast as they or it possibly can. In order to do this, individuals must communicate with one another, using resources and updated tools to drive out the competition. Technology has changed business in many ways, but its affect on communication is arguably the most significant (Morley, 2013). Also, the skill to speak plainly and supportive is one of the talents that businesses look for in employees. The use of technology can assist students, companies, and computer gurus with communicating, which will lessen the time it takes. The use of social media in the workplace has elevated concerns about loss of time and productivity. However, our study reveals that at the workplace, social media is being increasingly used by professionals for multitasking and for better time management. (Revathy, 2012) Technology can also have penalties that diminish relationships without the tool as a mediator. There are positive, negative, and gray areas when discussing social networking, social media, and how it has affected businesses or the populace in general. Technology and communication are what make up social networking, which has become a â€Å"norm† for Generation X & Y. The findings came just a few months after the Kaiser Family Foundation reported that Americans between the ages of 8 and 18 spend on average 7 1/2 hours a day using some sort of electronic device, from smart phones to MP3 players to computers — a number that startled many adults, even those who keep their Blackberry’s within arm’s reach during most waking hours..(Stout, 2010) These generations are leading our country globally, internationally, and locally. Because it has been more recent that Smartphone’s and Apple products have flooded the market, there have not been a lot of comprehensive studies done on the impact it is having and I will alleviate on my findings. Social networking can lessen costs, make communication better, and is beginning to assist greatly with marketing departments all over the world. Digital technologies swiftly transform our communication style, the way we purchase and industry interactions in several departments. Compared to older technologies, new technologies have been adopted and implemented more quickly by individuals and businesses. Organizations that use social media are able to reach their consumers promptly, effortlessly, and receive quick responses. The ability to have questions answered immediately allows customer support staff to work faster without irritating the customer. The downside is that employees are less likely to engage in social activities away from their computers (Webster, 2010). While information and communication technologies influence brand loyalty and brand awareness, there is a secure relationship between demanding market-oriented configurations and improving customer loyalty, recognition, and satisfaction. When the influence of social media-focused information & communication technologies on the costs was determined, it was revealed that these technologies reduce administrative costs, supplier/partner costs, internal communication costs, and customer management costs, which in turn positively influences the business performance (Gecti & Dasan, 2013). It is a lot cheaper to do business in a social media environment when regarding promotions, expenses, and revenue made. Marketing, sales, and promotional activities done in social media environments provide businesses an opportunity to act independently of their physical environments (Gecti & Dasan, 2013). This article also spoke of employees having better relationships with one another, being able to conne ct online has helped their line of communication drastically; so their attitudes and work environment has improved as well. It was enlightening to see that these technologies definitely affect brand recognition of the corporation and customer devotion to services and products. Large and small companies seek to form a connection between their customers, products or services; particularly through advertisement and other creative activities. When sudden transfer of information, instant feedback, and broad areas of influence are considered especially in social media environments, businesses execute marketing-focused activities in these environments (Gecti & Dasan, 2013). The latest technologies guide the way; facilitate a new perspective, and guarantee positive and negatives for the nations’ wealth and businesses’. This brings to mind the surfacing of new applications for many telecommunications, companies, and individuals. Social media is exceptionally significant in viral marketing and in the encouragement of new products. Consciousness and successful use of social media has produced ample solutions in these areas and has generated a novel line of work for the information technology industry. As information travels faster and faster and more reliably, barriers of distance disappear, and businesses are realizing how easy it is to outsource jobs overseas (Mcgrath, 2013). There are additional positions being implemented daily into social networking and the people that are already in place in this segment are constantly growing. Someone is responsible for collecting the responses made by consumers and interpreting them so that they can pr omote â€Å"liked† items. By using Face Book and Twitter, generally you can determine whether a product is going places or not. Comments, news, or shares about products or companies in social networks, blogs, and news sites so on are constantly monitored through specially developed software to collect information and to provide instant response. In this way, businesses have a chance to store and manage the unstructured information (Kietzman, 2011). Traditionally, consumers used the Internet to simply expend content: they read it, they watched it, and they used it to buy products and services. Increasingly, however, consumers are utilizing platforms—such as content sharing sites, blogs, social networking, and wikis—to create, modify, share, and discuss Internet content. This represents the social media phenomenon, which can now significantly impact a firm’s reputation, sales, and even survival. Yet, many executives eschew or ignore this form of media because they don’t understand what it is, the various forms it can take, and how to engage with it and learn (Keitzmann, 2011). As all these positive aspects of social media can and is changing the way we think and buy. The major concern is that is moving so fast that the leaders making huge decisions that can affect our daily lives are reluctant in catching up with the new ways. This hesitance will cause a negative influence on communication in business and technology. Hopefully, eventually these two extremes will coincide and all generations can find a way to join together in moving forward at the same pace. Until then, future leaders of America will have to step up and find innovative ways to implement training in these areas. I believe that the more important thing to remember through all of the â€Å"change† is that we are doing it together and to be open minded to the idea that there may be a more efficient way to do something. Whether it is gain feedback or to simply get a shift covered, technology is changing fast and if he/she does not get on the fast train with the rest of the world, then companies may suffer extraneously. The negative sides to social media and technology in business communications consists of the obvious: misunderstood messages, misinterpreted texts, email, IM, etc., isolation, no actual social life, too public, and simply too difficult to comprehend. It’s worth noting, however, that today only 5 percent of communications occur on social networks. Moreover, almost all digital human interactions can ultimately become â€Å"social,† and jobs involving physical labor and the processing of transactions are giving way, across the globe, to work requiring complex interactions with other people, independent judgment, and the analysis of information. As a result, we believe social technologies are destined to play a much larger role not only in individual interactions but also in how companies are organized and managed. While the adoption of social technologies is growing rapidly, a huge untapped potential for them to create value remains (Bughin, Michael, James, 2012). That statistic was from last year and it was only five percent that companies actually engage in social media. I am positive the numbers have grown significantly, but I am also sure that there is a large percentage that does not want anything to do with this world. Some employers may feel social is inappropriate for the office because its name implies socializing rather than working (Poluck, 2012). There are many different ways that people can misunderstand emails or texts, especially when you cannot see the person. There are a lot of emoticons and symbols used to replace emotions, but without being able to look into someone’s eyes or see their body language, it is almost impossible to tell if they meant what they said the way that you think you should have interpreted it. People could waste valuable time trying to encrypt these messages when they could have picked up the phone. Having a pleasurable conversation with our family, friends or significant others, we lock our eyes to our computer and mobile device screens instead of listening and giving feedback. Technology has its advantages, but we should take a footstep back and grasp what it is doing to our skills, talents, and relationships. The question on researchers’ minds is whether all that texting, instant messaging and online social networking allows children to become more connected and supportive of their friends — or whether the quality of their interactions is being diminished without the intimacy and emotional give and take of regular, extended face-to-face time (Stout, 2010). Our children will be educated in a completely different era than we were, than our parents, and their parents which can be intimidating when you look carefully at how fast all of this happening. Also, another disadvantage that Morley says, â€Å"Instant communication can make it harder for workers to deal with one task at a time when their work is constantly being interrupted by comments and questions that relate to other projects or even personal issues. In fact, some employees must make an effort to turn off communication devices while they work to meet deadlines (Morley). Maybe companies are strategically planning ways to welcome new technologies or implementing training programs so that employees are aware of how to communicate effectively online. In my experience, I have not been in an organization that implemented a training program for communication, let alone a training of how to â€Å"tweet† professionally. If a company already has policies on misconduct, then mostly they could enforce the same rules when applying to social networking in the workplace. I did work for one hotel that took one of its sales persons and gave her the title of coordinator over social engagement. As I was leaving last summer, she was handling all trip advisor comments and applied them to the employees when it was good or bad. If there were good comments on particular employees, she would recognize and reward, which did motivate them. Through my research, I found limitless articles, journals, CDs, books, etc. that offered training on communication individually, group settings, and in the workplace. If I were to choose, I would definitely choose one that focuses on communicating respectively, but that also starts with the basics so that all ages and cultures can catch up to speed. Start with different departments and treat it as any training session, make it fun and interactive. If people are not given the knowledge, we cannot expect them to act any differently. People are representing their companies when they are working and when they are not. If those individuals are â€Å"connected† to people at work and you put your entire personal life online, then you can expect co-workers at your job to know the details of your weekend. Human resource department can also use these open networking sites to look up your page and see if you will be a good candidate or not. Whether it is positive or negative, the use of social media with technology in business communications is happening, regardless who likes it or who is not â€Å"ready† for it. References Bughin, J., Chui, M., & manyika, J. (2012). Capturing business value with social technologies. McKinsey Quarterly (4), 72-80. Geà §ti, F., & Dastan, I. (2013). The impact of social media-focused information & technologies on business performance via mediating mechanisms: An exploratory study on communication and advertising agencies in Turkey. International Journal of Business and Management, 8(7), 106-115. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1357565373?accountid=32521 Jan H. Kietzmann, Kristopher Hermkens, Ian P. McCarthy, Bruno S. Silvestre, Social media? Get serious! Understanding the functional building blocks of social media, Business Horizons, Volume 54, Issue 3, May–June 2011, Pages 241-251, ISSN 0007-6813, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2011.01.005. (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0007681311000061) McGrath, Jane. (2008). How has technology changed the way we conduct business? HowStuffWorks.com. Retrieved from http://money.howstuffworks.com/technology-changed-business.htm Morley, Amanda. (n.d). Effects on Technology in Business Communications. Chron. Demand Media. Retrieved June 16, 2013 from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/effects-technology-business-communications-23045.html Pollack, J. (2009, May 23). ‘Something’s got to change’; social media the internet’s moving too fast for companies to not keep up with it – old traditions, such as memos, don’t work in the age of mass and immediate communication, tech executive says. Telegraph-Journal. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/423358594?accountid=32521 Revathy, L. N. (2012, Mar 26). Business communication shifting to social media. Businessline. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1321923181?accountid=32521 Stout, Hillary. (2010, April 10). Antisocial Networking? New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/02/fashion/02BEST.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 Webster, Shannon. (n.d.). What are the positive and negative effects of using technology to communicate? Chron. Demand Media. Retrieved June 16, 2013 from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/positive-negative-effects-using-technology-communicate-21241.html