How Do Social Media Platforms Differ

Social media as a whole encompasses a large variety of different sites and platforms. Facebook and Twitter are the most ubiquitous platforms, and are commonly the first sites that come to mind when “social media” is mentioned. But under the umbrella term of social media are many more unique and purposeful sites that keep the wheel turning. For the purposes of this post, I’ll be looking at Instagram and Snapchat as two alternative social media sites that are extremely relevant in their own right.

Instagram is a photo and video-sharing app at its core. The main utility it offers users is the ability to upload their own pictures and video, and view uploaded content from other users they follow. In addition to posting and viewing the content, users can “like,” write comments and “tag” other users. Recently Instagram added an additional feature: the ability to directly message photo and video to particular users. These simple functions are the essence of Instagram.

Upon logging into Instagram, users are placed directly in front of their “timeline,” which is a simple scrolling screen with the content of each user they follow. Newer posts appear at the top of the feed, and all posts are tagged with the users handle, a timestamp, and sometimes a caption. The interface is very clean and user-friendly, making it easy to quickly scroll a timeline. Five tabs at the bottom of the screen control navigation throughout the app. The first tab from the left is the timeline tab. Next to it is the “Explore” tab, which allows users to search for particular hashtags and users as well as view photo and video from people they don’t follow. The Explore tab is extremely useful for finding new, appealing content, and can be refreshed with a simple tap of the arrow at the top right of the screen. The middle tab is the photo tab, which is where users go to take original pictures and video or upload content from other sources. When taking a picture or video, users are given a wide variety of filters to choose from, allowing them to play around with the aesthetics of their content. There are also simple editing functions like cropping, brightness editing, and contrast alteration. The fourth tab functions as a notifications tab, letting users know of any activity related to their account, as well as activities of their following. Finally, the rightmost tab brings users to their own profile page, which features their username at the top, the number of posts, followers and following, and a grid displaying their content. Users can post a short description or profile, but that’s about it in terms of profile customization.

Snapchat is also a photo and video sharing app, but with a few caveats. On Snapchat, all content is sent directly to users; there is no timeline or profile per se.  Additionally, all photo and video on Snapchat are timed - meaning users that receive content can only view it for the number of seconds as determined by the sender. Thus, Snapchats that are sent out are intended to only live for a couple of seconds. Over time users have found ways around this, primarily by “screenshotting” pictures sent to them. Though this defeats the whole purpose of the app, Snapchat responded my notifying anyone who’s photos have been screenshotted. Though screenshotting Snapchats isn’t always a negative thing, many times it leads to risqué or inappropriate content getting leaked. Notifying users when this happens helps to discourage this behavior, although it surely still goes on.

When opening the Snapchat app, users are immediately put in front of the built in camera. The Snapchat camera is the only way to take a photo or video for use in the app. Once a photo is taken, users can then delineate how long it will appear for others, as well as edit the picture by adding text and drawing with their paint-like tool. Aside from this main camera screen are only three other screens. One of these screens, accessed by swiping right on the camera, simply lists any new Snapchats a user has received as well as past Snapchats, although the content can’t be viewed again. By swiping to the left, users can view their friends on the app and search for contacts (via Facebook) to add. The final screen, accessed by swiping left again, lists friends who have added you, contacts you know that also have Snapchat, and another search bar.

Instagram and Snapchat are similar in a lot of ways, though they differ just enough to give users a reason to have both. The biggest similarity, aside from both being photo and video-sharing apps, is the fact that both are primarily mobile. Without a smartphone, you cannot sign up for either app. Instagram allows users to browse pictures and video on the Internet, but the utility of the website is very limited and doesn’t allow for the posting of content.  Similarly, Snapchats can’t be posted via the Internet, and their site only has five tabs: blog, support, jobs, privacy, and terms. Also similar is that both apps allow for the direct messaging of content, though this is the core of Snapchat and just a recently added Instagram feature.

The differences between the apps are mainly in the structure. Instagram is more traditional, in that it allows for a profile, and posts accumulate on a timeline that can be viewed at any time. Snapchat on the other hand survives off of timed content, and completely forgoes the idea of a user profile. Snapchat is a much more “bare bones” operation than Instagram, Snapchat also, as of now, doesn’t have any advertisements in its app, while Instagram recently implemented an ad program in the form of “Sponsored” posts.

All in all, Instagram and Snapchat are both much more limited in scope when compared to Facebook and Twitter. There are many less customization options, and users are bound to a certain array of activities. But I don’t think the limit on possible uses hurts the apps; in fact, I think there is a lot of value in their simplicity.

How Do Organizations Use Social Media?

Social media has become an integral marketing tool for all kinds of companies. As the world becomes more connected, companies have begun to harness the powers of digital to connect with customers, increase brand awareness, generate buzz, and promote themselves in a positive way. Given the wide variety of channels available and the low cost of maintaining a presence, social media marketing and advertising has become easier and more effective than ever. If that weren't enough, social media doubles as the ultimate customer relationship management tool. Having a digital presence has become the norm these days, and the companies that don't have a consistent brand presence across multiple channels are behind the curve.

 In the past I've done work posting on social media accounts for a few different businesses. The driving force behind these posts has always been engaging the consumer and making sure the brand is visible. With the amount of posts the average person scrolls through on a daily basis, it is essential that something goes up every day. Even if it's a trivial, random post, posting itself ensures that the company will be seen. One of the companies I previously worked with was my brother's T-shirt line Business As Usual. Back then I would help out primarily by crafting Facebook posts and filming videos that would be shared on both Facebook and YouTube. My brother and I would create some videos purely for social media promotion, while others would be highlight reels of events and other things. The key for us was to make funny, shareable content that would entertain fans of the company as well as whoever else happened to see the video. If we weren't posting videos or photos, we would put up quotes, ideas, and other thoughts pertaining to core values of the company. While we never ran formal paid ads, we did any and every free thing we could to stay socially relevant to our followers.

I see a lot of the same from companies I follow on Twitter, although the effort and strategy behind social media marketing has undoubtedly increased in recent years. One company I follow that makes great use of social is the National Basketball Association. The NBA maintains extremely active channels on every platform I follow, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, and Vine. The types of post aren't exactly the same for all platforms, but the strategies they employ seem to take advantage of each platform's strengths. For example, Facebook posts tend to contain always contain video or pictures, with a large chunk of posts promoting sponsors and other league initiatives. The highlights and game to game stories are still there, but Facebook takes on a purer advertising tone than other platforms. Twitter on the other hand is used for quicker, real-time updates; generally game scores, instant highlights, and brief promotions for other NBA stuff. The rest are pretty self explanatory: YouTube handles highlights, promotion video, and original productions, Instagram handles pictures and short videos, while Vine is ideal for short, replay-able highlight clips. All in all, the NBA maintains an active, consistent presence across all platforms, which drives maximum engagement with fans like myself.

All in all, social media is has become a marketing staple for most modern companies. They know that consumers are engaged when using social media, and having an active and consistent presence is good for business. Whether posting original content, promoting, or connecting with consumers, social has become a mainstay for in marketing, advertising, and PR departments around the world. 

Is Social Media Good or Bad for Society?

Just like with relationships, I believe social media has a complex effect on society. Depending on how it is used, it can have positive or negative effects on society as a whole. However, weighing the pros versus the cons, I believe that as a whole social media is ultimately beneficial for society, and we're better with it than we would be without it.

The connectivity that social media provides allows us to communicate across the globe more quickly and easily than ever. That alone is enough to make it a beneficial tool for society. News spreads infinitely faster, whether it's trivial or important. This has huge implications for society in a number of respects. In terms of safety, social media makes crisis communication is more thorough and effective, while also giving us better tools to track down criminals. Nowadays, it's much harder for criminals to act without leaving any traces of their behavior on social media (Rupert). Whether they post something incriminating, or someone else posts a witness account, social media makes it much more difficult for the average person to eliminate all evidence pertaining to a crime. That combined with the rapid spread of news makes it easier for law enforcement to keep society safe and secure.

Outside of safety, social media can serve as a strong political tool. Platforms like Twitter can unite people across the country with similar interests and allow them to be heard. The "voice of the people" is often a cliche when it comes to politics, but social media allows each person to truly make a difference and have their opinion heard. The result is a society that is more in sync with the views of the people, which in democratic countries is exactly what politics are supposed to be about.

Social media also affects consumer engagement, which I think is good for society. It gives people the platform to communicate with the people, companies and brands that matter most to them. Similar to the political example, it allows their voice to be heard. This could in turn lead to the people, companies and brands being more in tune with what their fans and/or consumers want. This means not only better communication, but better products as well.

With all those good things happening, how could social media be bad for society? Well for one, the connectivity aspect could lead to the spread of misinformation. Whether it's an inaccurate news story or a straight up lie, the pace at which social media allows news to spread is almost too fast for its own good. Before we can evaluate the validity of some stories, they've already spread to millions of people, which can have huge implications. If you need an example, look no further than the time the stock market declined after the Associated Press Twitter account was hacked and tweeted that President Obama had been injured in an explosion. In an instant, the S&P declined by 0.9%, wiping out $130 billion in stock value (Matthews).

Additionally, social media can be a detriment to society based on privacy issues (Jung). The same force that helps us capture criminals can prevent honest, hardworking people from getting jobs. Any post you put out on the Internet can be found later on, and often times this ends up hurting employees. Whether its a raunchy photo album or an insensitive post, the content we put up on social media is low-hanging fruit that can undermine our merits in the real world. While some might say its better to weed these people out, I believe that most people with this type of content are more or less average people that would otherwise be contributing members of society.

This issue with privacy plays off of another detriment of social media: the made-up personas and false connections that it often fosters. By allowing people to hide behind a screen, social media often brings out negative traits of people, which can in turn influence the behavior of others. It can also lead to inauthentic relationships, which can undermine the relationships we've established in the real world and create conflict.

There's a lot going on with social media right now, but I believe most of it benefits society. Though the pitfalls and absurdities of social media are still alive and well, I think most of what social media has been able to accomplish is good for society as a whole. The global connectivity, speed of communication, and potential for engagement make social media an asset for society going forward.

References:

Jung, Brian. "The Negative Effect of Social Media on Society and Individuals." Small Business. Chron, n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2014. <http://smallbusiness.chron.com/negative-effect-social-media-society-individuals-27617.html>.

Matthews, Christopher. "How Does One Fake Tweet Cause a Stock Market Crash?"Time Business & Money. Time, 24 Apr. 2013. Web. 10 Mar. 2014. <http://business.time.com/2013/04/24/how-does-one-fake-tweet-cause-a-stock-market-crash/>.

Rupert, Samantha. "Social Media's Top 5 Contributions to Society." Social Media Today. N.p., 18 Apr. 2013. Web. 10 Mar. 2014. <http://socialmediatoday.com/slrupert/1393636/social-media-top-5-contributions-society>.

How Are Relationships Affected by Social Media?

In my experience, social media has had a very complex effect on real-life relationships. There are positives and there are negatives, but the overall impact is difficult to quantify and can vary by user. The creation of an online avatar is a double-edged sword. Though it can do some amazing things for relationships, it also serves to undermine a lot of our real-world interactions.

The best thing social media has done for me personally is make it much easier to stay in contact with old friends and acquaintances. Prior to the creation of the Facebook and Twitters of the world, maintaining any sort of relationship with people from the past required a great deal of effort. If you wanted to talk to them and catch up, you'd have to either know their phone number, address or email, and then go out of your way to initiate a conversation. If you didn't know the person well enough to have this information, finding and contacting them would be near impossible. As a result, one's relationship with them would fade, even disappear, as soon as they stopped seeing them. Social media provides a way around that, allowing us to easily maintain contact with these otherwise forgotten people at the click of a button.

Evidently this benefit of social media isn't merely anecdotal. An infographic by Schools.com posted on Mashable purports that 84% of people use social media to stay in touch with faraway friends. Other ways people use social media to maintain relationships are to share good news (62%) and schedule plans (16%) (Laird). Another benefit the Laird article points out is that social media makes it easier to foster new relationships. In their survey, 83% of respondents said social networking helps shy and lonely people make new friends, while 26% said social media is good for facilitating new friendships in general. Though I'm not the type to try and meet new people on the Internet, I think it still serves as an overall benefit of social media.

But aside from all the positive effects social media can have on a relationship, it can definitely inhibit certain aspects of life. Nowadays almost anywhere you go you're bound to see at least a few people with their eyes glued to their phone. Whether it's people at a party that don't want to converse with others, or concert goers that are eager to share their experience, the use of social media has become so ubiquitous that we often miss out on other things happening around us. The same article I referenced earlier notes that 24% of people surveyed have missed important moments in person because they were busy using social media. Even though I myself am very wary of "overusing" social media, every once in a while I catch myself getting sucked in for too long. It's an annoying habit that I think takes away from some of the simple pleasures in life.

There are a couple other areas where I think social media hurts relationships as well. One thing I see all the time is people creating alternate or embellished personas via Twitter or Facebook. Some of the quietest, sweetest people I know have profiles that give off a completely different vibes. An article in Psychology Today supports my observation, noting that social distance and false intimacy are two of the factors leading to these "fake" personas (Formica).

Social distance refers to the idea that happenings on social media carry less weight to us than something in the real world might. We're observing peoples' lives from a faraway, public vantage point; a place where our feelings are less involved. It's almost like seeing someone get shot in a movie versus real life. In both cases you know what's happening, but the person in the movie seems less real to us, and therefore doesn't affect our feelings in the same way. When that's the case, it becomes much easier for users of social media to freely post thoughts without really thinking about what they're saying. It gives them the comfort to step out of their normal lives and into a new online identity. False intimacy on the other hand refers to the connection we might feel by reading a social media feed despite not being involved. Seeing vacation photos from a middle school friend might make me feel like I have a deeper insight into his life, but in reality it's an inauthentic connection with no real intimacy. This could affect how I interact with this person even if our relationship hasn't changed at all in the real world. The two terms sort of run against each other, but both play a role in our creation of false personas.

So although social media can be an excellent tool to connect with old friends, make new ones, share news and make plans, it comes with extra baggage that weighs down the benefits. The distance it provides can drive people to act differently, and sometimes it can take away from precious real life moments. I don't think there's a definitive answer to whether or not social media is good or bad for relationships- but it certainly depends on the motivations of the user.

References:

Formica, Michael. "The False Face of Our Social Media Persona." Psychology Today. N.p., 18 Oct. 2010. Web. 4 Mar. 2014. <http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/enlightened-living/201010/the-false-face-our-social-media-persona>.

Laird, Sam. "Is Social Media Destroying Real-World Relationships?" Mashable. N.p., 14 June 2012. Web. 04 Mar. 2014. <http://mashable.com/2012/06/14/social-media-real-world-infographic/>