Unstructure

Social networking is today’s giant concept – the buzzword in our life’s dictionary these days. Without any extra effort made, it has drawn most of us to its sphere of influence. Without any thought, we’ve let it impact our lives or personalities in some way or the other. Before we could know it, we became an active participant. Has it made us made us better or worse off as a society?

The answer is subjective. You will agree that this is not the first of its kind debate when it comes to the impact of any new technology/concept which entered our world. The empowering and disruptive impact of mobile phones is much discussed. While 70% of the world population believe mobile phone has made lying/cheating more common, still it is so universally diffused that the use is unaffected by any constraint of income, occupation, gender, and age. Same is the case of social networking platforms. There are multitudes of negative influencing factors -yet it is so universally diffused. The reason in all such cases is common. In my view, it is convenience – especially from social networking perspective. You live far from your family and friends – it’s a convenient way to stay connected. You want to show off your luxuries, your new look, your frequent world tours, your new house pictures – it’s convenient. You want to organize political activities or find jobs – it’s convenient. You want to have half an hour’s entertaining break in between your busy work day – it’s convenient. You want to initiate a business discussion with like- minded people who are geographically distributed – it’s convenient. You want to exchange best practices with unknown people – it’s convenient. You want to let the world read your thoughts – it’s convenient. You want it ALL at a time of your convenience – its most convenient.

But convenience is not always welcome or needed – It is disappointing to read through survey results reflecting that youngsters waste so much time to aggregate ‘friends’ they don’t even know – and feel extremely glad to disclose information they shouldn’t, all in an attempt to build their ‘Social Net-Worth’. There have been cases reported of extreme depression because someone’s ‘Social Net-Worth’ was low (that there was no one to write to her). Researchers have also suggested that with every hour a student spends on Facebook, his GPA sinks proportionately. But I believe it’s not the technology which is to blame – it’s the user which defines the purpose to which the technology is used. Hence there are many positive examples too – you now are connected to a world of diverse perspectives and in-depth information. It is also very surprising and inspiring to know how some groups could not just start some positive social campaigns around education, politics, women welfare and child rescue, but could also make a larger impact through it. Companies have used it to make a positive media relations impact. It’s a new marketing channel to build and strengthen your brand. I’ve also heard that younger people are getting involved in causes bigger than the world – that they might otherwise have not experienced. So why not welcome it.

Given the strong privacy policies, safety features, and customizable usage – the impact is surely subjective. You will be positively influenced if you are a positive person. Your personal and professional life is something in your control – it’s up to you what you want to make out of it, it’s up to you how you want to structure or unstructure it.

In the era of Non-Digital Communication, individual’s had limited choices to showcase & impress their persona to others, be it personal or professional.

The communication was primarily done through word of mouth & networking & was limited to one to one interaction. Not every one had the liberty to interact with a larger audience in a single interaction. Neither could an individual get an opportunity easily to interact with thought leaders.

Therefore non-digital era was an era of strong networking with great communication that was the privilege of select few.

The emergence of Digital Communication & Social Media has changed it all.

What is Social Media?

Social Media= Communication+Technology

Social Media follows the age old principals of communication. These are

• The purpose of communication is to facilitate understanding
• Communication involves shared meaning
• You need to know your audience
• Present information in several ways
• Use multiple communication techniques
• Communication can be one-to-one or one-to-many.

When you add technology to these principals of communication, the end resultant is Social Media.

What has Social Media changed for an Individual?

Social Media has affected the way an Individual communicates.

Social Media has given individual’s a platform to share their thoughts, their knowledge, their identity not only with people you know but with a larger audience across geographical boundaries.  It has integrated your personal persona across various streams. It has given you an opportunity to showcase yourself in a single window. Social Media has become an individual’s life stream.  From what the individual does to likes or dislikes, to his or her interests, your thought process, Social Media allows you to share this with the world.

Social Media has given you a platform to contribute to the process of collective thinking. Users with diverse backgrounds and facets to their personality are contributing to the process of collecting thinking on the social media. The process of collective thinking is allowing each of us to leverage each other’s knowledge & strength.

Social Media has given you the platform to be informed real time about what is happening where. Yes Social Media has made it real time. You are able to access information real time even before it is broadcasted or printed in the next day’s newspaper. You are able to know about a social announcement from your friend as and when it happens.

There are supporters to both side, the ones who believe that Social Media has for ever changed the way we communicate and then there are the others who see this as another marketing & communication trend. Each set of supporters has its own set of data to support. But one thing is for sure. For the time being Social Media is impacting the way we communicate.

These three forms of social interaction – personal, organisational, and consumer/civic –correspond to a thematic structure which we believe helps to identify the different ways in which social networking at the Web 2.0 phenomenon impacts us all. This framework is called “ISP” – identity, status, and power.

The reason we parsed the framework out in this way is that social interaction is largely concerned with questions related to our personal identity, our place within organisational structures is determined by notions of status, and our behaviour as consumers and citizens are dominated by issues related to power.

In the example of social media and power, many people in the corporate world feel threatened because they have been in gatekeeper positions controlling information. They don’t like open communication. But harnessing the benefits of ‘collective intelligence’ can, when managed well, boost morale, increase productivity, stimulate innovation, and even enhance financial performance. In fact, there is an excellent ‘ROI’ (return on investment) case to be made for Web 2.0 tools if they are leveraged intelligently. In spite of all this, however, we still often see a powerful resistance within organisations because people with entrenched power are feeling threatened.

On the other side, an example of how social networking may be liberating us all at present comes from the financial crisis. Suddenly, a lot of people are anxious about their career situations – and they are rushing onto social networking sites such as LinkedIn to reinvigorate their social capital. LinkedIn has reported soaring membership levels since the economic downturn. In the ‘old days,’ people ‘activated’ their network to job search by making calls and taking people out to lunch. Now, even recruiters and headhunters are actively using Web 2.0 platforms such as Facebook and LinkedIn. This is the impact of the “strength of weak ties” which social networking and the Web 2.0 phenomenon embodies.

With these examples in mind, how would you say that social networking is impacting and transforming your professional, civic and/or private life?