BY CURTIS THOMPSON Social Networking and the Business
World
Slide 2
Overview What is a Social Network? What are the dangers of
using Social Networks? What benefits are there, and how can
businesses take advantage of them?
Slide 3
Definition A social network service is an online service,
platform, or site that focuses on building and reflecting of social
networks or social relations among people. Many share features such
as user profiles, pictures, blog entries, contacts, comments from
friends and other users, groups, live video streaming, and
discussions in forums.
Slide 4
Popular Sites Facebook Twitter LinkedIn
Slide 5
Facebook Website launched in February 2004 50% of Facebook log
in each day Utilizes user groups, organized by workplace, school,
college, or other characteristics
Slide 6
A Few Statistics About Facebook More than 500 million active
users50% of active users log on to Facebook in any given dayAverage
user has 130 friends People spend over 700 billion minutes per
month on Facebook There are over 900 million objects that people
interact with (pages, groups, events and community pages) Average
user is connected to 80 community pages, groups and events Average
user creates 90 pieces of content each monthMore than 70
translations available on the site There are more than 200 mobile
operators in 60 countries working to deploy and promote Facebook
mobile products People that use Facebook on their mobile devices
are twice as active on Facebook non-mobile users. There are more
than 200 million active users currently accessing Facebook through
their mobile devices. Since social plugins launched in April 2010,
an average of 10,000 new websites integrate with Facebook every day
Entrepreneurs and developers from more than 190 countries build
with Facebook Platform About 70% of Facebook users are outside the
United States
Slide 7
Twitter Microblogging service, enabling its users to send and
read messages called tweets Text-based posts of up to 140
characters displayed on the user's profile page Users can send and
receive tweets via the Twitter website, compatible external
applications (phones), or by Short Message Service
Slide 8
LinkedIn Business oriented social network founded in 2002 90
million users Establishes contact networks through Connections
Slide 9
Other Sites YouTube Flickr Myspace Clixtr Foursquare Gowalla
Yelp Various blogs
Slide 10
Slide 11
Issues and Risks of Social Media Lack of IT
InvolvementProductivity Issues FraudPrivacy Violations Individual
VulnerabilitiesSpam MalwareLegal Risks
Slide 12
I.T. Oversight Cisco study found 75% of respondents
corporations used social networks. Less than 1% of respondents
reported direct I.T. involvement The user base has gotten ahead of
the IT departments The drawbacks of social networks arent all being
realized yet Usage hasnt raised concerns about security and
scalability
Slide 13
Individual Vulnerability Negative photos/comments and posts
Phishing and social engineering Accidental information leaks
Slide 14
Spam Spam and Phishing attacks are becoming more prevalent in
social networking. Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter have all been
attacked in recent years.
Slide 15
Malware SN sites are a growing platform for malware and viruses
In the form of spam and phishing attacks on Social Networks
Employees can inadvertently bring malware into company system.
Slide 16
Productivity Overuse at work Addictive and time consuming
Employee use policies Restrictive or Open?
Slide 17
Fraud Identity Theft Impersonation Bryan Rutberg Account was
hacked and one friend lost $1200 due to the scam. Facebook was
unable to respond to Rutbergs request for help.
Slide 18
Privacy Once information is on the internet, it is no longer
private. It is difficult, to impossible, to remove statements in
some platforms. Google will be adding Twitter tweets to their
search results
Slide 19
Legal Risks Copyright Infringement Liability for employee
statements Questionable Collection of Data Regulatory
investigations
Slide 20
Benefits of Social Media RecruitingCustomer Service Increase
ProductivityNews Updates NetworkingCustomer Retention
MarketingAdaptation Boosted Search ListingsKnowledge Sharing
Slide 21
Recruiting College Students Keeping in touch with ex
employees
Slide 22
News Updates Relevant career field news Company events and news
Speed of updates
Slide 23
Networking Inter Office Networking Employee Groups Business
Partners Make customers feel closer to the company
Adaptation Can improve company image Shows company is up to
date Gaining an edge before competition
Slide 26
Managing A Social Networking Policy
Slide 27
Have a plan Well thought out objectives Clear and formal
regulations on use that best fit business needs Maximize potential
and minimize risk
Slide 28
Incorporate IT Develop a strong strategy to implement IT
oversight and participation. Scale and properly integrate social
media with existing business processes to reap maximum
benefits.
Slide 29
Educate Employees Weakest link in security is often untrained
users Create formal usage policies Communicate why policies are
important for the well-being of the organization and its
staff.
Slide 30
Gather Legal Expertise Make sure all of your companys data can
be cost- effectively identified, collected, searched and produced
in a legally defensible way If internal resources that combine
legal and IT experience are unavailable, seek outside
expertise.
Slide 31
Summary Social networks are simply media platforms that link us
together Growing Market Handled Carefully Many potential dangers
associated with SNs Potential for legal misuse Risks of information
leaks and fraud The benefits may outweigh the risks? Potential for
businesses is staggering Must be handled with care Formal use
guidelines are necessary Adapting to this new medium may soon be a
necessity