Social Media's Impact on Business and Modern Communication

Introduction

Social media continues to be one of the most disruptive technology platforms available today, driven by the rapid scalability of web applications coupled with the social dynamics of immediate sharing of data and experiences. The concepts of social media began with the introduction and widespread adoption of Web 2.0 technologies (O'Reilly, 2006). The foundational elements of these technologies led to the creation of diverse social media platforms including Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and many others. Their impact on personal communication is unprecedented, as is their potential to streamline and revitalize how enterprises communicate and collaborate (Kristien & Heene, 2003). This analysis evaluates the history of social media, its advantages and disadvantages, explores common myths, examines dominant platforms, discusses the impact of social media on daily life, and considers the potential future of these platforms.

History of Social Media

Social media's foundation is predicated on the fundamental concepts of Web 2.0, the aggregated view of online communication and collaboration as defined by O'Reilly and Associates (O'Reilly, 2006). Throughout Silicon Valley, Tim O'Reilly, founder and CEO of O'Reilly and Associates, has met with key architects at Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to advise them on the Web 2.0 framework he initially created. O'Reilly reasoned that creating a foundation enabling greater information and knowledge sharing while retaining user ownership of key aspects of communication could serve as the foundation for social networks (O'Reilly, 2006). The focus of Web 2.0 is on treating the web as a platform, giving users control and flexibility over their own data. The Web 2.0 Meme Map illustrates this aspect of social networks in their nascent stage (Bernoff & Li, 2008). Figure 1 provides an overview of the underlying technology of social media platforms and networks today. Taken together, these attributes enabled Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other social networks to scale and meet the needs of users globally.

Once this foundation was in place, entrepreneurs began building social networks to capitalize on these design objectives. The underlying technology platforms and frameworks rapidly developed to support them. The combination of these networks began to create a disruptively innovative foundation for blogging platforms, mashups of web services (Gaytan, 2013), and intensive peer-to-peer networking technologies that could scale, including YikYak, Twitter, and others (Okazaki & Taylor, 2013). Alongside these developments, mainstream social media emerged, with the first social networking sites including MySpace and Friendster (Bernoff & Li, 2008). Wikis also became more prevalent as online consumers of content began to become producers and contributors (Bernoff & Li, 2008). Figure 2 provides an analysis of the nascent forms of social media and networks that eventually led to the proliferation of platforms today.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Social Media

The advantages of social media are extensive yet must be balanced with its weaknesses and risks. Social media has made it exceptionally easy for advertisers to reach potential customers quickly and at relatively low cost (Okazaki & Taylor, 2013). Advertising fuels the growth of Facebook, transforming what had been a small social network limited to Ivy League colleges into a global foundation changing how people and groups communicate. A second advantage of social media is how rapidly it can enable disaster relief (Kirac & Milburn, 2013). Social media and networks are also used extensively for managing online education and learning systems (Gaytan, 2013). Enterprises use social media to create competitive advantage through greater communication and collaboration across their diverse locations and operations (Kristien & Heene, 2003).

However, social networks have many significant disadvantages and risks. Most prevalent is the extent of online bullying and continual peer pressure to conform. The risks of suicide are greatest when social media is used to humiliate and isolate someone from their peers (Sentse et al., 2014). There is also the risk of electronic fraud and theft of personal data, including identity theft (Bernoff & Li, 2008). The risks of social media becoming an addiction are well documented and cause concern across all age groups (Litwiller & Brausch, 2013).

Major Social Media Platforms

There are numerous social media websites today, with the most popular being Facebook.com, Twitter.com, and LinkedIn.com. The continual evolution of new social media websites will continue to drive entirely new business models (Bernoff & Li, 2008). Pinterest, Google Plus, Instagram, and Snapchat are social networks predicated on video content and image sharing. These are all outgrowths of the design precepts defined in Web 2.0 (O'Reilly, 2006).