Pros and Cons of Social Media

Running head: Pros and Cons of Social Media 1

Question Nine

Social Media (such as Twitter, Facebook, blogging, Wiki’s etc.) and Web 2.0 have transformed

the world of communication. There is also much debate as to the impact from their contribution.

Identify three areas of communication studies (e.g. journalism, crisis communication, etc.) where

social media have been or are currently used. In each area, discuss case examples (at least two)

that demonstrate the benefits and pitfalls from their use with respect to effective communication.

Be specific and support all claims with appropriate research from studies, journal articles, and

scholarly texts. In other words, explain your reasons and support your reasons with appropriate

references.

Denise Aguilar

CCOM: 9999_91

October 10, 2011

Pros and Cons of Social Media 2

Abstract

Early communications over the Internet has consisted of emails and instant messaging. Ever

since the inception of social media, how people communicate has never been the same. Even

today, how Millennials communicate is still evolving. Popular sites such as Facebook, Twitter,

Foursquare, and LinkedIn are now the main ways to send messages throughout all aspects of

communications. There will be a point where those who were opposed to social media will have

no choice to embrace it if they want to communicate with the public. Adapting to social media

does have its benefits. Throughout the studies of Advertising, Public relations, and Crisis

Communication, social media is a great tool if used appropriately. In addition, social media has

the potential power to change the political and social landscapes of the world.


Pros and Cons of Social Media

To Be Social or Not To Be Social, That is the Question

Since the 1990’s, social media has changed the nature on how people communicate over

the Internet. The explosion and popularity of social media sites (due to teens) were one of the

quickest evolving developments in technology. In The Relationship between Traditional Mass

Media and ‘‘Social Media’’: Reality Television as a Model for Social Network Site Behavior by

Michael A. Stefanone, Derek Lackaff, and Devan Rosen (2010), they found that Millennials are

the most engaged in social media. “Recent studies indicate that younger people are increasingly

engaged with social technologies. Over half of all Internet-using teens are ‘‘content creators’’

who create websites or blogs, share original media such as photos and videos, or remix content

into new creations” (Stefanone et al., 2010, p.511). Myspace and instant messaging (IM) were a

main player at the time, but now, those mediums are pre-historic compared to what newer social

media sites can do. Besides the average consumer using social media, organizations are also

using social media to engage their audience and attract new ones.

Organizations and businesses should adapt to new technologies to stay competitive. To do

so, they need to be proficient in social media language. For example, social media has more of a

relaxed environment, just like how Millennials prefer to communicate. Organizations cannot

enter that world with extreme formality to reach consumers in social media. These sites are used

to connect people on a personal level. For the organizations resisting informality and are in turn

resisting social media will not succeed with younger generations. They will become the next

generation to contribute to the economy. In Experiencing social media across generations by

Christian Taske and Frances Forde Plude (2011), they mentioned that the rest of the world would


eventually have to join social media sites, such as Facebook, to communicate with their

constituents online (p.39). Resisting social media will not benefit any organization.

Incorporating social media into the communication plans for organizations makes perfect

sense since it is free of charge to use social media. In addition, consumers are online on social

sites at the highest rates comparably to previous years. In The power of social media: legal issues

and best practices for utilities engaging in social media by Carolyn Elefant (2011), she

expressed, “Social media is cheap and multi-dimensional — it supports videos, slide

presentations, and articles — so (companies) can get the most bang for the buck and devise a

variety of approaches best tailored to different types of customers” (p.10). Due to social media

being collaborative and interactive, organizations can have a two-way interaction with their

consumers while being able to target their appropriate demographic.

Social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, along with blogs have enabled ordinary

people to use the web as a platform for their thoughts. The lure of being able to be heard by

millions is what attracts people to have blogs and profiles. Stefanone et al. (2010) found, “Blogs

and other easily accessible communication platforms have likewise enabled a growing number of

Internet users to publish their thoughts, photos, and videos on the Web” (p.509). However, the

blogs that are most successful are often the ones that are able to prove their credibility. For

instance, blogs that are more like diaries usually do not receive as much traffic compared to

those who cover something the public wants to know more about, like mommy bloggers writing

about everything parenthood or food bloggers writing about new recipes and “hot” restaurants in

town. In New Media for Crisis communication: Opportunities for Technical Translation,

Dialogue, and Stakeholder Responses by Keri K. Stephens and Patty Malone (2010) researched,


“Credibility enhancement desires might explain why stakeholders who share information also

tend to use weblinks. By linking a reader to additional information, it demonstrates that there is

support for the statement beyond one person’s view” (as cited in Coombs & Holladay, 2010,

p.392). By incorporating external research, the blogger is not only displaying external knowledge

but also contributing to the social communities by linking to someone else’s work. Therefore, if

organizations want to involve themselves in the platforms, they need to develop the skills to

understand and be proficient in social media so they may communicate effectively with their

constituents. For example, if an organization has multiple profiles on different social media sites

(Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare), there needs to be consistency in their messages to be successful

in those mediums and to display that they are adding to the social community by linking to other

sites and information.

For consumers and organizations, there are social media sites that are more desirable than

others are. For example, sites like MySpace (now MY____) owned by musician/actor Justin

Timberlake and Specific Media, BlackPlanet, live journal, Xanga, KiwiBox, and many others

have not been able to bring in the numbers and popularity compared to Facebook (2004) and

then later Twitter (2006). Even though MySpace is still popular amongst the music and

entertainment scene, Facebook is combating that by currently making a deal with Pandora

(streaming music site using a genome system) to offer music to their customers. In addition,

almost every music artist has an active profile on Facebook; therefore, consumers are still going

to Facebook for their music compared to Myspace. In Perceptions of Corporations on Facebook:

An Analysis of Facebook Social Norms by Dr. Mihaela Vorvoreanu (2009) she concluded,

“There are certain social media such as Twitter [and Facebook] that are perceived as the


desirable, cutting-edge place to be. The positive perceptions associated with the medium often

spill over onto its users. Focus group participants reasoned that many corporations join Facebook

in an attempt to be “cool” and “cutting-edge,” but they did not think this was a successful

strategy and were turned off by corporations “trying too hard to be cool” (p.78). Later in the

paper, Walmart, one of the companies that tried to be “hip” and “cool” is a case study on how the

did not succeed in social media. They are an example of the pitfalls of using social media and not

adapting to the language of norms the social communities.

Throughout the paper, Facebook and Twitter will be the main social media tools

discussed because they are the prominent influencers that are widely used within most

organizations and consumers. These social media are widely used for campaigns, such as

presidential races or to push a cause, product launches, to promote sales for retail stores,

coupons, free items, events, and of course breaking news. The communication fields that will be

focused on are Advertising, Public relations and Crisis communication. Each of these fields

heavily employs the use of social media. The question of whether they use it appropriately and

sufficiently are debatable. To use social media, one has to be an active member on it to attract

followers, friends, or likes. Using it sparingly will not produce the desired results that will result

into a healthier bottom line. In addition, to judge case examples if they used social media in

terms of a pro or a con is also up for debate. Sometimes the perception of a successful or not

successful campaign depends on which side one is viewing it from.

Advertising

The first communication study that will be analyzed is advertising, in terms of usage and

effectiveness. Advertising in social media can be a great tool to promote anything that is


occurring within a company. Specifically, if the target demographic is tech savvy users under the

age of 30, most companies will be able to reach them effectively. For example, Facebook “…

presents direct marketing opportunities for engaging the college-age market. Providing deals and

discounts while creating a sense of exclusivity for Facebook users is a tactic that all students

were enthusiastic about” (Vorvoreanu, 2009, p.80). Proving that when marketing or advertising

effectively, “likes” or “followers” is higher when the targeted demographic are presented with

exactly with what they like. When companies provide their consumers with something they are

interested in, they are also establishing strong relationships with them that will come in handy for

the future, for example, branding and customer loyalty.

As mentioned before, companies need to be mindful of how they communicate in social

media. They need to conform to the culture within the social communities. Agreeingly,

Vorvoreanu (2009) mentioned, “Companies wishing to engage in public relations and marketing

efforts on Facebook have to be mindful of Facebook culture, and their communication with the

public must conform to Facebook social norms” (p.67). Therefore, organizations need to be

socialized and assimilated to social media culture. Fortunately, newer media, such as Facebook

and Twitter, offer organizations the ability to have an engaging dialogue with their constituents.

Currently, the 2011 fall television series employed heavy use of social media to promote

new and succeeding television shows. For example, Glee, The X factor, Terra Nova, Ringer,

Gossip Girl and The New Girl had successful social media campaigns that did translate into high

ratings and substantial followers on Facebook and Twitter. Most of these shows did preview

online and “On Demand” before they aired live on television. Critics were weary of the ratings

being lower when the shows aired live because consumers were able to view the shows earlier,


but if anything, word-of-mouth helped push ratings even further than expected. In Marketing in a

Hyper-Social World: The Tribalization of Business Study and Characteristics of Successful

Online Communities by Edward Moran and Francois Gossieaux (2010) found,

Research indicates that word of mouth spread by members of an online community, for

instance, can create more valuable customers than those attracted through conventional

advertising. Communities can also help increase demand for products, help marketers to

identify key influencers, and provide marketers with insights about customer wants and

needs (p.232).

Advertisers are finding that online communities, such as social media, can spread positive

messages about products, raise awareness, and naturally recruit new “followers”, which are all

great advantages for an organization.

The New Girl

The perfect case example would be Fox Corporation’s new fall 2011 series, The New

Girl, starring singer/actress/ songwriter Zooey Deschanel. The show was heavy in advertising

throughout the entire summer of 2011. Everywhere one looked, there were advertisements in

Facebook Fan pages, Twitter Fan pages, Ms. Deschanel’s personal Facebook and Twitter pages,

on massive digital billboards all over New York City, New York, On Demand, regular

commercials, and everything print (Magazines, Newspapers). In addition, word-of-mouth has

been circulating for months on every imaginable blog possible. For example, Ms. Deschanel

personal blog, her comedy blog/website (www.Hellogiggles.com), entertainment, music,

http://www.Hellogiggles.com/


comedy, news, and fashion blogs as well, has covered the new series throughout the entire

summer. All the hype translated on the premier night as one of the highest ratings for a new

show. Critics thought that by the second episode the ratings subside or reduce, but the show still

kept its high ratings and the likes and followers have increased. According to Blue Fin Labs, The

New Girl ranked number one for two weeks in a row for a new series in social television (Guigli,

2011). Blue Fin Labs is a technology and data base service for marketers and television content

producers. They compare the data between people’s comments on social media and the content

on television. In addition, The New Girl became the first show out of all the new fall series to

receive a full season pick up. Therefore, instead of filming for example, 12 episodes, they will be

able to film for 24 episodes. The push on social media definitely has a correlation with the buzz

and ratings for the show (Lawler, 2011). The New Girl is a great example of how social media

can in fact translate to high viewership on television.

Walmart

On the other hand, social media when not employed efficiently can tarnish an organization

further. Organizations that want to enter the communities of social media need to be mindful of

the unspoken rules on how to communicate in that media. For example, the speech should be

relaxed not business formal and there must be a form of two-way communications.

Organizations that do not allow their constituents to communicate back their opinions, praise, or

frustration will not last long in social media. The entire point of using social media, such as

Facebook and Twitter is to have an audience engagement. Communications from an organization

should not be top-down but on an equal playing field with the freedom to share thoughts and

ideas. Similarly, Vorvoreanu (2009) agreed, “The only accepted communication tone on


Facebook is the personal one, and organizations that are able to engage in personal

communication, such as small business owners, are embraced on Facebook” (p.79). On a side

note, the only known social media platform that has an accepted professional tone is LinkedIn.

LinkedIn is a social networking site for professionals. It is not as casual as Facebook and one has

to know the person to “connect” with them, for example, one had to work with another, or at

least obtain their email to connect with the other.

Walmart’s social profile was not as interactive compared to others. They were trying to

advertise on Facebook and push their own social media site called “The Hub”. This case example

is about what not to do when trying to engage with constituents on social media. Walmart, one of

the large discount department chain stores, decided to start their own social media site called

Tthe Hub”. The purpose of it was to attract teens to talk about the Walmart brand and make

shopping “wish-lists” to share with other users. Therefore, using the influencers on the site to

persuade others to buy Walmart items and think of them as “hip” and “cool”. The problem with

“the hub” is that it was the only social media at the time (2006) asking for parental permission.

The user information of the teen was sent to the parents for them to approve the page. That could

possibly be the sole reason the site did not last. In addition, it also could have been too many

blatant advertisements, and teens were not responding well to that. According to the Bivings

Report, an Internet communications firm in Washington D.C., found that Walmart created

profiles of 90210 (the show) type of teen models to lure new users to create profiles and follow

what they did (Crump, 2008). These profiles were blatantly false and could have aided to the

downfall of the site. Bivings Report reported, “A successful social network needs to provide

freedom for its users and as few in-your-face advertisements as possible.” No other social media


site at the time was asking for parental permission. What they should have done to prevent

underage users on the site, like alcohol beverage websites, they should have asked to enter their

birth year. Obviously, teens could lie about their age but that is out of Walmart’s hands.

Walmart tried their hand at social media a second time on Facebook in 2007, but that too

did not perform well. The point of Facebook is the interaction between consumers and

organizations. “Wal-Mart limited user content. This essentially demeaned the whole point of

creating a Facebook page, and frustrated follows, as it completely lacked interactivity and

became just another place for Wal-Mart to advertise” (SSM, 2011). Walmart knew if they

allowed their users to post comments on the wall, not all comments would be positive. Therefore,

they did not allow posting of comments from users on the wall (Beirut, 2009). Clearly, that did

not go well with Walmart constituents. They should have left the wall posts open for consumers

and created a discussion board for two-way communication. That way, Walmart would be

engaging its consumers for discussion, whether it is positive or negative. In the end, Walmart

should not try to be a Target (another large discount department chain store) with their social

media and stick to engaging consumers the same way they are engaged in their stores.

Public Relations

The second communication study that will be analyzed is Public relations in terms of usage

and effectiveness. The use of social media in public relations has it benefits and pitfalls. Public

relation professionals just like advertising, need to target the right audience to send an effective

message. For example, in politics, public relations are crucial because they are able to construct

the message and strategy to win over public opinion. Analyzing the 2008 and currently, the 2012

Obama presidential race, it is a good case study to evaluate in terms of inclusion of social media


and public relations. Especially, since the combination of the two are a new field. Vorvoreanu

(2009) encountered the same problem, she stated, “Previous research about online public

relations has mostly focused on websites, and there are few, if any, research-based insights about

public relations on social networks” (p.70). However, in future studies, it is almost inevitable to

not study public relations and social media because public relation professionals employ the use

of social media heavily to send messages. Also, relationship building is highly important. To

have contacts when public relations professionals need to pitch a story to the media and

establishing relationships with the public will increase the chances of positive feedback from the

constituents. T.D. Thomilson (2000) in An interpersonal primer with implications for public

relations, he found, “Relationship management drew initially upon interpersonal communication

to identify and define the nature and key attributes of relationships between organizations and

their publics” (as cited in Vorvoreanu, 2009, p.69).

On the other hand, a pitfall of too much social engagement in platforms such as twitter, can

be the downfall of a politician. The case study of former Congressman Anthony Weiner that will

be analyzed, proves that not everything should be online and using social media ineffectively can

come back to haunt you, especially when one is a public personality.

President Obama

President Obama is one of the first American presidential campaigns that used social

media heavily. The young voters at the time were very responsive to campaign because of his

message “Yes We Can”, “Hope”, and the fact that he was employing the use of social media to

connect with his constituents. Clearly, using social media to campaign worked because that year

had the largest young voters turnout. However, social media alone was not the sole reason the


presidential campaign was a success; it was also the message. Social media are tools to push a

message and drive discussion. A highly relevant, cost effective tool can be the deciding factor

between winning and losing when used effectively. In addition, the content from the campaign

that was picked up in traditional media was only pushed into social media to stay longer in the

public’s eyes. In other words, social media is distributor of messages. In Social Media and the

2008 U.S. Presidential Election by Dr. Emily Metzgar, Ph.D. and Albert Maruggi (2009), they

researched, “social media was useful not just for its facility in distributing a campaign message,

but also for its utility in offering a mechanism for ongoing engagement on the part of those

moved by the message” (p.160).Therefore, engaging constituents into conversation about a

message will keep the buzz alive and guarantee better penetration in the media. As a result,

Obama did win the presidency in 2008 and his social media followers were significantly higher

compared to Senator John McCain. The Obama campaign utilized Twitter, Facebook, and

LinkedIn to connect to millions of American voters. By using various of social media venues,

Obama was able to send a consistent message to all of his different constituents. In Obama

campaign increasingly turns to technology by Carla Marinucci (2011) she talked about how

public relations for the 2012 Obama campaign used multiple venues to reach the constituents

more effectively like the 2008 presidential election (Marinucci, 2011). At its core, public

relations should build relationships with audiences and that is exactly what the Obama campaign

did to win over voters through social media.

Anthony Weiner

On the other hand, when social media contains information not related to a campaign but

on personal life, social media can also aggravate a situation. High profile people receive more


scrutiny by the public over what they communicate. People in the limelight need to be careful on

what they say publicly, whether it is on television or online. The publicists of high profile

individuals need to conduct media training, so that they do not say or do anything that will

tarnish their image. However, publicists cannot monitor every single move a client makes,

therefore, if the client has their own personal social media profiles, the content on those sites are

left to the judgment of the client. In the case example of former Congressman Anthony Weiner

and his incessant use of social media, such as twitter, and how one tweet can end a promising

career.

Weiner was known throughout the political scene as cheeky, humorous, and at times

juvenile. Dr. Emily Metzgar, Ph.D. and Albert Maruggi (2009) mentioned, “A person with a very

small piece of information, one that can be communicated in 140 characters (Twitter’s message

limit), can potentially capture a nation” (p.151). Weiner would regularly send inappropriate

messages and photos to women online and then deny them. Unfortunately, one inappropriate

tweet picture of himself in underwear to a Seattle woman finally caught up to him.

The con with social media is that anyone can post their thoughts with limited fear and

retribution. The story began to unfold when a supposedly accidental picture of a man, who

appeared to be Weiner, had taken a picture of him half naked and sent it to Seattle woman

(Zraick & Miga, 2011). Weiner is an active tweeter and user of social media, however, as a

politician, he needs to be careful about what he says online. The lines between his personal life

and work life had been blurred. When that occurs, one tends to forget that they are in the public

eye. For example, in reality television shows, actors are well aware of the cameras following

them 24/7 when they first begin in the business. As time goes by, the actors or reality stars begin


to behave in a more relaxed way indicating that they have forgotten the camera crew are still

following and that their defenses are down.

As a politician, they have more at stake based on their public appearance. They need to

be aware and conscious of their actions. In The Use of Social Media Sites Data by Business

Organizations in Their Relationship with Employees by Marie-Andrée Weiss (2011), she

researched, “this blurring between professional and private life also has the consequence that

employees, having less time off, manage their private lives during working hours, often by using

company-issued devices or computers” (p.19). Because Weiner is a politician, his work hours are

longer and more stressful compared to an average person. Even though the outcome of what

Weiner did was unfortunate for his professional and personal life, what he did online was exactly

what any person or organization should do to attract new followers. Weiner takes the postings

from his followers seriously, for instance, he would take their advice and see how it would fit in

the states plans (Zraick & Miga, 2011). He is engaged with them and is constantly active on

social media, giving his readers new content on a daily basis. In My job sucks: examining

counterinstitutional websites and locations for organizational member voice, dissent, and

resistance, the authors found that on social media sites, people are allowed to publicly express

their opinions without fear of consequences (Gosset & Kilker, 2006, as cited in Coombs &

Holladay, 2010, p. 383). His social media posts ranged from any frustrations he had in the day to

innovative ideas on congressional matters and jokes. His profiles are interactive and when the

scandal broke out about the Seattle woman, Weiner reached over 41,000 followers on twitter.

In the end, publicists or public relation professionals that are trying to sustain or improve

the image of their client needs to realize that by simply creating an online profile for their client


does not mean that followers will come. The substantial content of a message still needs to be

there and then the social media tools can be applied to attract new constituents. Whether social

media is a pro or con solely depends on the nature of content. When the information on social

media is negative or sexual, that would not be taken lightly by the public. However, when the

message is of hope and change, the public would respond positively to that. Especially when

incorporating social media to spread the message, then the youth would also respond well to that.

For the future, it would be almost impossible for any political candidate to engage with

constituents without social media. As the younger generations begin to be decision makers in the

world, they want to be able to catch up with the news and politics with a medium that is used

wildly throughout the generation. Another aspect of public relations that should receive

considerable attention that Vorvoreanu (2009) raised is that “If the emergence of different social

norms around different social media is indeed a trend, the practice of public relations online will

have to include ethnographic approaches and extremely high cultural sensitivity, even when

dealing with the same public” (p.69). Therefore, it will be interesting to see if new innovations in

social media for presidential races will come to fruition.

Crisis Communication

Lastly, The third and final communication study that will be analyzed is Crisis

communication, in terms of, usage and effectiveness. Crisis communication is a textbook

platform to utilize social media because messages could be sent in a quick and short manner.

Especially during times of emergency, those with access to social media can get rapid updates on

the latest coverage. Elefant (2011) mentioned, “Several utilities are already employing social

media for a variety of purposes ranging from crisis communication to customer education to


brand awareness” (p.5). Therefore, as time progresses, these organizations will be proficient in

social media and have a proven strategy to send messages. However, scholars had agreed that

organizations as a whole are still doing a poor job in taking full advantage of what social media

can offer. However, there are some case examples of how organizations do take full advantage of

what social media has to offer. In turn, is it accepted for an organization to abuse its privileges

amongst social media?

Over the past year, the eastern seaboard of the United States survived Hurricane Irene

and the world was able to see the uprising of many Middle Eastern countries through social

media. The extent of social media coverage is debatable that the information either helped or

frightened constituents. When is it enough to cover a story wall-to-wall for weeks? The news

reports on television were copied from social media, therefore, the same message was delivered

to the same constituents multiple times a day. In the end, crisis communication within the realms

of social media is to inform, warn, and solve crises for their constituents.

Hurricane Irene

Hurricane Irene is a great example of the emerging role of social media towards the

public. On August 20th when the storm was officially announced as a hurricane, the media along

with social media had a field day reporting the events of the storm. Normally, the public would

tune in to television to receive the latest updates on a natural disaster; however, this time around

Twitter was the main source of curated messages. People all over the eastern seaboard, used

social media to mention that they were safe and the conditions their town was left in. In addition,

not just regular people were being updated on the hurricane; television news corporations also

took notice on how more people are using social media to retrieve their news. Therefore, they


were distributing their messages from the television and web content onto their social media.

Journalistic work and the quality of content on social media are suddenly seamlessly becoming

one medium. What one may read in the New York Times would find the same information on

social media in a matter of seconds. Who creates the content is the question at hand. Michael A.

Stefanone et al. (2010) similarly found, “the development of social media platforms enables non-

media professionals, or ‘normal people’ to participate in a newly accessible media environment,

not just as an audience member, but also as multimedia producers” (p.510). As a result, today’s

audiences are not simply receivers of messages but they also create and retweet messages.

The East Coast of the United States, especially north of Delaware, is a prime area for

avoiding such natural disasters in extreme form, like hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, droughts,

and, tornados. However, that area is hit hard by blizzards. Due to the nature and rarity of the

hurricane, news and social media alike had a field day covering the storm. The wall-to-wall

coverage of hurricane Irene induced the public into panic. Relating to Crisis communication,

covering an event that has the potential to damage many areas should be careful on how the

message is covered. The media has the power to direct the public thoughts. As long a story is

consistently covered within the media, the public will talk about. Metzgar and Maruggi (2009)

researched, “…the media send signals to the public concerning what it ought to be thinking

about, but that there is also an agenda-setting dynamic within the media itself, driving coverage

in one direction or another” (p.148). Anywhere a person looked, people on social media and the

news were dictating the cautions of Hurricane Irene and the dangers of being outside in that

weather.


In terms of crisis communication, the communicators did their job of warning and

relaying solutions for people who may be hit hard by the hurricane, however, social media may

have taken the event too far by scaring people of the dangers of the hurricane. For example,

rumors were a problem for the Northern East Coast constituents; they would raid stores and

purchase months worth of supplies. In The good and bad of Irene’s social media hurricane by

Stacey Higginbotham (2011) stated, “Just as social media can amplify the good in humanity, it

can also exacerbate the bad.” Beyond that, people also tend to become overwhelmed by

information and confused. Crisis communicators job is to do their best to set those rumors aside.

At the same time, they do still need to stress the damages the hurricane can cause. By covering

an event to the extent of Hurricane Irene, it will come to a point that the public will not take the

news seriously anymore. For example, when Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that

Manhattan needed to be evacuated, reporters were able to find people on the streets ignoring the

warnings from social media, news, and government officials. The role of social of media on

Hurricane Irene is debatable if it were positive or negative. On one hand, social media did save

lives by warning those about the severity of the storm and on the other hand, the wall-to wall-to-

wall coverage almost made a mockery of the Hurricane, therefore, people were not taking the

warnings that seriously. In the end, the use of social media during a crisis is debatable if it is a

benefit or a detriment.

Libya

Another area that was heavily influenced by the use of social media was the Middle East.

It may not be the sole reason, but social media definitely helped expedite the revolt and send a

message of freedom amongst other countries. Since the beginning of 2011, many Middle Eastern


countries began to up rise one by one and over turn their leaders. In the eyes of the leaders,

having their constituents rise up against them is a crisis because they are losing control of the

public. The constituents of each Middle Eastern country were mobilized by the traditional way of

rallying supporters, however, what made the up rising so unique was that more middle-class

educated youth were utilizing social media to rally their cause. Elefant (2011) mentioned that

using social media effectively to organize protests and to mobilize support of their cause is a

substantial platform to use (p.6). In terms of creating an event for people to mobilize for a cause,

the administrator of the social media page can know what are the expected amounts of people

who will show up to the rally and send out the instructions for the protesters at once, therefore,

having a consistent message. Having an inconsistent message is detrimental during times of

crisis.

The protests in Libya relied on social media, such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube in

the early stages to accelerate the social protest. The youth in Libya were perceptive by using

some of the technology that is available to them and difficult for the government to regulate. For

example, in Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube’s role in Middle East uprisings by Thomas Sander

(2011) found, “the government unsuccessfully attempted to squelch new organizing technologies

by largely shutting down the Internet and cell phones.” However, the young Internet savvy

protesters still found ways to document and post online the events that were occurring in their

country.

Social Media is a very powerful tool. That is the reason why many countries in that

region now monitor Internet use and ban certain websites from their public. In Lessons in the

Libyan endgame by Blake Hounshell (2011), she reported that president Hosni Mubarak was


afraid of social media empowering his opponents and exposing his weakness to the world, in

turn, toppling his regime and accelerating Tunisia’s revolution. Social media was the fire behind

the protests. Constituents could openly discuss their emotions and accounts of the revolution

within an online community. The public in Libya was the content creators for the uprising.

Outside journalists were not as easily able to document the events compared to the young

citizens that were mobilizing it. Dr. Emily Metzgar, Ph.D. and Albert Maruggi (2009) noted how

social media, such as Facebook, became the source of information. “As recent incidents

highlighting Twitter’s role in breaking news scenarios have indicated, the connection between

social media and traditional journalists is more than just hypothetical, appearing in surveys of

journalists. The distinction between the two is fast disappearing, morphing instead into a single

information ecosystem” (Metzgar & Maruggi, 2009, p.148). Therefore the job between the

journalists and the public was becoming one. Depending on which viewpoint one takes on the

uprising, for crisis communication, managing the public was not effective because the leader did

not have a sincere, caring apology about how the country has been ruled. As a result, the

constituents took matters into their own hands and overturned their government to show their

disapproval. Just like in an organization, when the CEO cannot manage the reputation of the

company, the CEO will have to be relieved of its duties. The constituents needed to be happy and

feel as if they are included in the society, if not, the majority opinion will take precedent.

Conclusion

In conclusion, social media within all forms of communications has its benefits and

rewards. Information that is available through the news is not solely commanded by corporate

gatekeepers but by the public that has something to say. Authors such as Dr. Emily Metzgar,


Ph.D. and Albert Maruggi (2009) argued that the role of social media guides mass media into

directions that they may have never chosen if it were not for social media users having access to

technology to help circulate their opinions (p.147). Being an active user of social media means

that one has the power to curate messages for many more to see. Passive users are now

empowered to play a larger role as an active user in social media. In the end, the study of social

media and communication is relatively new and more research needs to be conducted to find the

effects of each communication study in relation to social media. As younger generations become

the “brain power” of the nation, the integration of social media will be seamless as it is already

for the personal lives of the youth. Whether the use of social media is negative or positive is no

longer the question because the use of it will be inevitable to avoid, especially in

communications.


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Pros and Cons of Social Media