Social networks are an informal
gathering of a group to exchange information and develop professional or social
contacts. But these networks have moved
from job fairs, trade shows and happy hours to LinkedIn, eBay and Facebook. Social networking sites are readily available
and now that eCommerce is a practical and seemingly stress free way of
shopping, a lot of these sites are used to make online purchases and to advertise
job opportunities or products to customers.
Social networking platforms help self-employed small business owners
reach the masses without spending large amounts of money on outside firms. One business can use multiple platforms to
connect to its audience/customers.
Business owner Dave Klonke explains that his business focuses “mainly on
Instagram because of the visual nature of promo products”, they have a business
page on Facebook which he “calls a good storytelling platform” and “they use
LinkedIn to generate leads” (Lavenduski).
All of these platforms are a free way to promote a business as well as
generate sales.
Although these platforms have helped
promote small business, there are many challenges associated with doing business
through social media. On Facebook,
organic reaches to consumers is made difficult because the new algorithms “favor
interactions between individuals rather than businesses” and this cause “posts
by friends [to] take precedent over posts by businesses on user’s news feeds”
(Lavenduski). Another challenge is found
in the implementation of social media positions by bigger companies. Small businesses don’t have the money to
invest in such a position. Apart from promoting
businesses, social networking can also be used as a tool for recruiters hunting
for job candidates. The most popular of
these sites is LinkedIn. It has a “network
of 8 million professionals spread across the world and users include executives
from all of the Fortune 500 companies” (Langfitt). LinkedIn markets both the employees and the
employers.
Although social networking is very
beneficial to a lot of people, it has its draw backs. Not only can people use social networking
sites to scam people out of thousands of dollars, people also use these sites
to create a false reality. They mask
their true selves with filters and posts of images that create an unrealistic
expectation of life. People are also
looking to scam and rip other people off. Social networking sites that advertise goods
for sale and administer sale transactions are highly susceptible to fraud. Scammers are able to generate fake invoices
to lure unsuspecting customers through the guise of “safety” and “security”. In response to these fraudulent transactions,
eBay wrote, “Criminals often exploit well-known brands like eBay to attract
consumers and the lure them onto fake websites and into fraudulent transactions”
(Polansky). EBay encourages customers to
exercise caution but as social networking sites are available to any and every
one, it is really difficult to stay away from fraudsters.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHello Melody Atumah,
ReplyDeleteI agree that though social networking has many benefits it also has its drawbacks and downside. For example, you stated that scams and fraud do occur on sites like Facebook and eBay. Also as you mentioned it truly is hard to stop especially when someone thinks they are getting a good deal but as the old proverb says “If it's too good to be true, then it probably is” because not everything that looks like a deal is actually how it sounds or seems. However, because most people don’t do any research from fear that they might be losing out (the same as the fear of missing out or FOMO), they jump into the chance of the so-called deals without verifying what is being presented in front of them, only to get burnt and losing their money. In the article, ‘NBC2 Investigators: Multi-million dollar scam being used on Facebook’ by Rachel Polansky (2018), she had quoted Carrie Kerskie an identity theft expert, who said that "Criminals like to go where there is an expectation of trust, and they know when they're using marketplace or garage sales groups, people assume it's their neighbors who they're buying from or selling to," (para. 3). This has led both Facebook Marketplace and closed Facebook groups to become a breeding ground for scammers (para. 2). Since while people are searching for deals in a local or neighborhood garage sale group, they might think they are talking with neighbors, but in actuality, they could be chatting with criminals (Polansky, 2018, para 2). Other types of social networking sites aren’t immune to this either such as dating sites or apps, and social networking platforms like craigslist, twitter, or Instagram and as you cited eBay too. However, Polansky (2018), had quoted both eBay and Facebook spokespersons responses to this social networking crisis where they also shared tips on how to spot and avoid getting scammed and she also offered additional tips for spotting scams and fraud. However, Facebook had explained that they also have a dedicated team and automated systems to help detect and block scams and fraud because they have a strong incentive to aggressively prevent scammers from damaging the company’s reputation and with their abuse-fighting team they have built and constantly update a combination of automated and manual systems that help them catch suspicious activity at various points of interaction on the site and when they do catch spam, scams and fraud they work hard to counter and prevent it from affecting their users (Polansky, 2018, para 12- 16). Additionally, a spokesperson for eBay had also stated that over the last three years, they have received nearly 27,000 complaints related to fraudulent online car sales, costing their customers and victims more than $54 million (Polansky, 2018, Para. 10).
Moreover, aside from scams and frauds, the darker side of social networking sites has also become a breeding ground for hate and dangerous fringe groups and also online bullying and cyber-harassment where young kids are committing suicide at an alarming rate. Furthermore, fake news and bogus information have spread causing political and social upheavals that are having a negative effect on different groups and communities, especially during elections. Adding to all this that younger adults have also become more antisocial by isolating themselves behind the cellphone, laptop, tablet and other electronic devices screens where they have become increasingly more unsociable and lack starting to social skills.
With all this, what are your thoughts in regards to privacy issues, data breaches, user’s protection and also growing censorship anxieties?
Reference
Polansky, R. (2018, April 27). NBC2 Investigators: Multi-million dollar scam being
used on Facebook. Retrieved September 30, 2019, from https://www.nbc-2.com/story/38062070/nbc2-investigators-multi-million-dollar-scam-being-used-on-facebook.