Social networking
The emergence of Social Media has changed how we as individuals interact with each other. People can reach out and connect to others like never before. We are able to communicate over long distances with people we know or never met before. In a sense, we are always connected to one another and are constantly able to keep one another updated on our life. This same principle can be applied to companies on social media as well. Companies can use social media to better connect with their audience and listen to their voices and opinions. should a customer have a complaint, the company can reach out to them via social media to remedy the problem. Another example is that Companies can use social media to quickly make a response to a growing controversy or topic they notice. A prime example is Youtube rapid response on twitter covering issues that arise on their platform regarding ads showing up on inappropriate videos or inappropriate content on their youtube for kids. With Rapid response of social media they can perform damage control and keep the public updated much faster. The company can also treat their accounts as a online personality representing the company. A perfect example is Wendy's on Twitter. They have engagements with their audience that feels more like a natural conversation in a relaxing environment, rather than one that feels stiff and automated.
However, with benefits there are downsides. With the constant connection, their is always a chance for someone to misuse social media for their own greedy purposes. one example are online scams. As shown in NBC2 Investigators: Multi-million dollar scam being used on Facebook, Their are a lot of issues with scams on facebook. It has become a multi billion dollar industry with no end in sight. These scams target innocent individuals who thought they scored great deals. They end up losing money and getting nothing in return. Sad to say these scams have no end in sight. With Facebook platform becoming larger every minute, tracking and monitoring these crimes only become harder. Sure a automated system checking for these posts will help, but that goes to show to how large and complex the process is, that we can't even keep track anymore. This leads to my next point, privacy concerns. In the article Facebook Privacy Is So Confusing Even the Zuckerberg Family Photo Isn't Private, Rebecca Greenfield explains how confusing and troubling privacy on Facebook is. The settings on facebook to make your social life private can be so hard to reach, that it make it seem if you were even meant to keep any of it hidden. Something that was meant to be private can be out their in the world for everyone to see, and there's nothing you can do. Personal data can be leaked. While in this case Facebook issue was a confusing setting, who is to say that the next issue won't be an exploit that causes a data breach? Both issues have clear solutions, but getting there is complex.
For one, with technology evolving and growing everyday, these issues can be patched easily. But with more solutions come more problems. One example is the content filter for facebook. sure they can make a system that can auto detect sam post, but the post will evolve to work around these new filters and will still be around. Privacy is going to become a huge issue later on, as multiple data breaches can show that no company ( not even Facebook) is infallible. No matter how well built their system is, there will alway be a way to crack it open again. this will then drive the need to build even better protections, and new ways to destroy these protections. With all the data these social media companies have, any breach could be devastating. I see that in the future of the digital age, it will become an arms race. This race will be to see who can build the best protection or the best breacher of that protection.
Sources
https://www.nbc-2.com/story/38062070/nbc2-investigators-multi-million-dollar-scam-being-used-on-facebook
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/12/facebook-privacy-so-confusing-even-zuckerberg-family-photo-isnt-private/320164/
However, with benefits there are downsides. With the constant connection, their is always a chance for someone to misuse social media for their own greedy purposes. one example are online scams. As shown in NBC2 Investigators: Multi-million dollar scam being used on Facebook, Their are a lot of issues with scams on facebook. It has become a multi billion dollar industry with no end in sight. These scams target innocent individuals who thought they scored great deals. They end up losing money and getting nothing in return. Sad to say these scams have no end in sight. With Facebook platform becoming larger every minute, tracking and monitoring these crimes only become harder. Sure a automated system checking for these posts will help, but that goes to show to how large and complex the process is, that we can't even keep track anymore. This leads to my next point, privacy concerns. In the article Facebook Privacy Is So Confusing Even the Zuckerberg Family Photo Isn't Private, Rebecca Greenfield explains how confusing and troubling privacy on Facebook is. The settings on facebook to make your social life private can be so hard to reach, that it make it seem if you were even meant to keep any of it hidden. Something that was meant to be private can be out their in the world for everyone to see, and there's nothing you can do. Personal data can be leaked. While in this case Facebook issue was a confusing setting, who is to say that the next issue won't be an exploit that causes a data breach? Both issues have clear solutions, but getting there is complex.
For one, with technology evolving and growing everyday, these issues can be patched easily. But with more solutions come more problems. One example is the content filter for facebook. sure they can make a system that can auto detect sam post, but the post will evolve to work around these new filters and will still be around. Privacy is going to become a huge issue later on, as multiple data breaches can show that no company ( not even Facebook) is infallible. No matter how well built their system is, there will alway be a way to crack it open again. this will then drive the need to build even better protections, and new ways to destroy these protections. With all the data these social media companies have, any breach could be devastating. I see that in the future of the digital age, it will become an arms race. This race will be to see who can build the best protection or the best breacher of that protection.
Sources
https://www.nbc-2.com/story/38062070/nbc2-investigators-multi-million-dollar-scam-being-used-on-facebook
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/12/facebook-privacy-so-confusing-even-zuckerberg-family-photo-isnt-private/320164/
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