Communities and Social Media

Social media platform has improved the communication and connection of online communities

13 thoughts on “Social media platform has improved the communication and connection of online communities

  1. Hi Elaine!
    It’s amazing to how the evolution of the web 2.0 has affected social media platforms. Thank you for an interesting read.

    Your paper is heavily reliant on the positives of social media, I think you could’ve counter argued some of your arguments to give your paper more than 1 perspective. With that being said, I agree that social media has allowed businesses to flourish as well as the educational side due to the features provided, especially during Covid.

    I enjoyed reading the business-aspect of social media and how that has allowed businesses to reach a wider client base as social media eliminates location boundaries. A large majority of business owners have used social media to further promote their businesses and this has resulted in an increase in engagement. I’ve seen many fitness influencers on Instagram and YouTube use their platforms to promote and advertise their brand or their ‘fitness app’ and I think this is a very strategic method of advertising as they are able to reach not only their followings but those who happen to stumble upon their content as well.

    I like how you’ve included how features such as ‘live-streaming’ has had a positive impact on the educational system as universities and schools are able to engage with their students through the live feature. This allows them to stay connected and feel as though they are still part of the community despite the distance.

    It’s amazing to see how far social media has come through technological advancements and how that has impacted us all. However, there are a lot of negatives to social media and its influence on its users as well such as – portraying an ‘inaunthentic self’ on social media, cyberbullying and hate comments, catfishing and the list goes on.

    1. Hi Saranya,

      Thanks for your response.

      While social media platforms have been widely used by the online communities to communicate and stay connected, I do not deny that there are negative impacts as well. The main focus of my paper is to showcase how social media have improved the communication and connection of online communities and do not focus on other aspects of social media such as the negative effects.

      Best regards,
      Elaine

  2. Hello,
    Your paper paints a very one-sided argument that social media is a good thing for collective society. Social media’s popularity is not surprising given that humans have a desire for communal connection and interaction with groups of people – given that we are a communal species. But you do not seem to address the negative consequences of social media such as the maintenance of inauthentic relationships, the rewarding of false self-promotion, the phenomenon of echo chambers, the distribution of fake news and misinformation, and the ever-blurring of our private lives into the public sphere.

    In your paper you state that social media has improved communication and connection of online communities. Do you mean since web 1.0? Communication of online communities have improved with the inception of web 2.0 by allowing users to interact with online communities through a diverse range of nodes. These nodes all allow users to comment and interact with each other in real time – and is not necessarily reliant on social media. Any news website has the ability for commenting and sharing opinions. Forum sites such as reddit, 4chan, kiwi farms all have the ability for communication of select online communities. I disagree and say that social media platforms are not the reason why communication has improved, but instead argue that it is because of web 2.0 that allow such platforms to exist at all.

    Maintaining networks over an online medium has improved with the inception of social media. Enabling online networks of pre-established connections to be built and maintained by an individual. Networks, however, are inherently unique to each person, there for to stipulate that everyone benefits from the presence of social media platforms is to speculate the intentions of everyone’s internet usage. I also overwhelmingly disagree with the dissertation that people are not able to survive without social media platforms. I for one do not have social media and am yet able to maintain connection with my real-life friends, access news and other types of information and stay a part of my desired community connections through other means than social media platforms.

    Marwick (2013), stipulates that every piece of information provided to social media platforms is used to make inferences about our own and other people’s identity. The way which users interact and group with other users to the reaction of certain information can be used as a form of online expression. Modern day self-representation is influenced by the expected perception of an audience. Marwick also explains that these expressions can be restricted because users who have a vast audience don’t always want to display some specific type of information. This can argue that the way users display themselves online is personally constructed with a subjectivity and representation of how we expect a certain audience will interpret this content, and therefore limits our own representation through a homogenised sense of self. In that case, could it be assumed that communication of one’s own identity is limited by the boundaries created by social media?

    Thanks

    -Alastair.

    Marwick, A. (2013). Online Identity. Companion to New Media Dynamics. pp. 355-364.
    Retrieved from: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/curtin/reader.action?docID=3422436

    1. Hi Alastair,

      Thanks for your response.

      While social media platforms have been widely used by the online communities to communicate and stay connected, I do not deny that there are negative impacts as well. The main focus of my paper is to showcase how social media have improved the communication and connection of online communities and do not focus on other aspects of social media such as the negative effects.

      Best regards,
      Elaine

  3. Hi Elaine,

    Good to see your paper in the conference and your interactions with the people who have commented on it. Make sure to use it in your own comments to drive even more discussions here.

    I thought I’d leave a small question as well: How do you see the future of communication via social media and the formation of communities after the pandemic? Do you see it going back to how it was before, or do you think that the pandemic will drive our communication and our communities to take place online more than before?

    1. Hi Dr Chris,

      I think you have asked a good question. Thank you.

      I see good future for communication via social media after the pandemic. The pandemic could be a contributing factor that further increases the usage of social media by the communities to stay connected due to restricted movement or travel currently. At the same time, it is an opportunity for the communities to experience for themselves how easy and useful social media is as a communication platform. In fact, some communities were really amazed to see how organisations can operate virtually and also how schools and universities can be run virtually. Thanks to social media platforms. I foresee there will be even wider use of social media platforms for communication by the communities post pandemic.

      Best regards,
      Elaine

  4. Hi Sierra,

    Thank you for your response.

    I think it will be good if a business can focus on more than one social media platform for marketing as it can reach out to a wider audience. In marketing, it is always beneficial to cast our net wider so that we can connect with more potential customers. In fact, most of the businesses nowadays are using several social media platforms. A dispersed approach is definitely more effective.

    I agree with you that we are able to connect with a business or brand better when they take an interactive approach to social media such as live video feeds rather than static text posts. I believe there will be more brands hosting live events more frequently. This is the right track for them if they want to reach out and stay connected with the wider communities especially the younger generation.

    Thanks and best regards,
    Elaine

  5. Hi Elaine

    I really enjoyed your paper and agree with several statements, I agree I sometimes feel I need social media in life and without it would feel incredibly loss. I also am heavily involved online due to the fact that my job as a Social Media Coordinator means I have to be online most of the day, checking out what is happening both from our customers and competitors.

    As mentioned by Sierra Haigh above I liked how you included the business aspects of Facebook & Instagram as I myself use these quite frequently for my clients.

    Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed your paper!

    Thank you for sharing

    Georgia Wiley 🙂

    1. Hi Georgia,

      Thank you for taking the time to read my conference paper.

      It looks like you are a heavy user of social media and a good example of business people using social media platform to stay connected not only with the customers but also the competitors. That clearly shows how widely social media are being used in business.

      Thank you for sharing your experience on the usage of social media in doing your business.

      Best regards,
      Elaine

  6. Hi Elaine,

    This was an interesting read!

    I was particularly interested in the business-related elements of your paper, as well as the use of Facebook and Instagram live as a marketing tool for universities. You mention that businesses who are active on social media reach a greater audience and therefore build a larger client base. You also mention that using live video feeds on social media gives universities a broader reach also. I was wondering what your thoughts were on whether a business should focus on one social media platform for marketing to create a deeper connection with audiences, or whether a dispersed approach is more effective?

    I’ve always found that I’m able to connect with a business or brand better when they take an interactive approach to social media, such as live video feeds, than static text posts. Do you think we’re likely to see brands hosting live events more frequently, instead of textual threads that might not necessarily capture the brand’s culture and ‘vibe’?

    Look forward to hearing your thoughts!

    Kind regards,
    Sierra

    1. Hi Sierra,

      Thank you for your response.

      I think it will be good if a business can focus on more than one social media platform for marketing as it can reach out to a wider audience. In marketing, it is always beneficial to cast our net wider so that we can connect with more potential customers. In fact most of the business nowadays are using several social media platforms. A dispersed approach is definitely more effective.

      I agree with you that we are able to connect with a business or brand better when they take an interactive approach to social media such as live video feeds rather than static text posts. I believe there will be more brands hosting live events more frequently. This is the right track for them if they want to reach out and stay connected with the wider communities especially the younger generation.

      Thanks and best regards,
      Elaine

    2. Hi Sierra,

      Thank you for your response.

      I think it will be good if a business can focus on more than one social media platform for marketing as it can reach out to a wider audience. In marketing, it is always beneficial to cast our net wider so that we can connect with more potential customers. In fact, most of the businesses nowadays are using several social media platforms. A dispersed approach is definitely more effective.

      I agree with you that we are able to connect with a business or brand better when they take an interactive approach to social media such as live video feeds rather than static text posts. I believe there will be more brands hosting live events more frequently. This is the right track for them if they want to reach out and stay connected with the wider communities especially the younger generation.

      Thank you.

      Best regards,
      Elaine

      1. Hi Elaine,

        Thanks for getting back to me!

        Do you think there is any downfall to taking a dispersed approach to social media? In my own research on online communities, I found that many such communities require frequent supervision and prompts in order for community members to remain engaged. With some platforms more used than others, lesser-known or less-used platforms may not take priority in the eyes of a potential social media manager. However, the smaller community on those platforms are, arguably, more likely to be more engaged, simply because individuals have a higher chance to stand out and start a discussion, or even make suggestions to a business. Is there a way to ensure that a company’s engagement with various social media platforms is proportionate with the demand from its various communities on each platform?

        You note that live virtual events are the “right track” for businesses and brands to connect with the younger generation. However, many young users may not choose to engage with brands and businesses, simply because they do not fall into the entertainment sphere that social media typically provides for these users. If virtual events are a way to retain engagement with this audience, in your opinion, what is the best way for a brand or business to catch the attention of younger users to begin with?

        Looking forward to hearing from you!

        Kind regards,
        Sierra

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