Blog Social Networking

Social networking has numerous benefits, as well as consequences, to society. These technologies have evolved the way users interact with one another, which has significantly benefited businesses in the corporate world from a marketing perspective. One of the ways social networking sites have benefited businesses is that they help build brand awareness once you begin to engage with a broad audience. Another benefit is the traffic social media platforms help generate. For instance, if a clothing company uses Pinterest, a social networking site to post pins with a clickable link that directs them to their product web page, then that business will generate additional traffic to their website from the social networking sites that directed the Pinterest users. This in turn, assists with generating a higher search engine ranking since the search engine picks up the increased traffic that is leading to the website from the various social networking sites. Another benefit social networking sites has on society is that it is a cost-effective strategy to increase brand exposure, boost sales and increase engagement. Lastly, as mentioned in one of the required readings from class, "Social Media in Plain English," the YouTuber explains how social media can benefit businesses due to their collaborative features of blogging, writing reviews and leaving comments. Thus, while these technologies can be used in many ways and have numerous benefits, I specifically decided to focus on how these social networking sites can positively impact corporate businesses from a marketing perspective.

There are also some slight consequences to these technologies. Social networking sites have worsened the mental health of many users, which might be due to the content users run across on their social networking sites. Some issues include increased depression, poor sleeping habits, dissatisfaction with body image and cyber-bullying as well. All these negatively impact the human body, which is why many say social networking sites should be used to a minimum and usage should be kept under control.

According to one of the required readings from the class site, "Canceling AOL," the guy in the video consistently urges the AOL rep to cancel his account since he doesn't use it anymore. Since technologies have been evolving, many consumers have been shifting their focus and usage towards products that are the latest in or products that consumers actually benefit off of. AOL is an example of a social networking site that failed because other sites overpowered with more interesting features for social net-workers. I personally feel that these current social networking platforms will stay "in" in the future, and something that is more engaging, user-friendly and exciting like TikTok will take over.

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Works Cited: 

Nalts, Cancelling AOL (to Music). www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JYIXzfhel8.

Common Craft. Social Media in Plain English. 28 May 2008, www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpIOClX1jPE.