Credit: maximumpc.com

Internet rage has come to a totally new level thanks to social media. Comments that are full of obscene language, derogatory terms and all the foul speech you can think of.  If you are a company using social media to get clients and get those sales up, is internet rage good for your company? Here are some things to think about:

It’s more of a protest. When people express their disgust on something posted on your wall, it’s not like they’re just being bad. Usually, they do have valid reasons behind these comments. Social media has therefore become a place people can protest about anything they want without worrying about facing any consequences.  Is this good for your company then? Well, since many people who share the sentiments will ‘like’ or comment in the same manner, you’ll be able to determine if there is need to address their complaints.

It moves to action. Think of it-without social media, how would you know what your customers really feel about your product? How would you know if you have to change  your strategies or something?  You wouldn’t. You’d be in the dark just hoping your doing the right thing and chances are by the time you realize your unpopularity, you would  have had a lot of losses made.  With internet rage though, you get to change course before it’s too late.

What should y0u do about it? Blocking or banning people who tend to post ‘negative’ comments on  your wall really won’t get you anywhere. If you block them on your page, they simply might start a new page focused on ‘bringing you down’! Yep, a thousand ‘angry’ comments is far better and easier to deal with than a thousand ‘pages’. The truth is, internet rage can be used to  your benefit. You can address serious concerns as they come and change  your company’s direction with these comments.

Read more here.

Practically all social media sites now have some button that allows you to express your ‘approval’ or like to whatever is being said or posted. This ‘like’ button may seem to be like a way to seeing who’s popular or for companies to endorse their products but what has happened with this ‘like’ button?

Stereotyping. Let’s say your friend posts some picture and you decide you ‘like’ it. The only other choice if you’ve enable the button that is is ‘dislike’. The fact is you probably have your own personal opinion on the picture, there’s something you like about it. This is where the problem comes in-the like button has ended up stereotyping everything you say.It’s either you like it or not. That viewpoint is really narrow. It makes things too easy.

Deceptive. Getting the most likes has become a ‘popularity’ game many companies play. The fact is that some things can’t be compared! So how can you generalize them into ‘like’?

Here’s another interesting scenario:

In response to people Liking criticism of the Queensland Police Service, the QPS tried to explain how to use the Like button:

“The ‘like’ button is used to show interest in a topic and to help alert other FB friends, or even to ensure you’re informed of updates.

“It does not literally mean that you like something, please refrain from continuing this debate.”

More than 1,200 Facebook users then Liked that comment. Were all those users endorsing the same concept, and how many were being sarcastic?

Something worth thinking about right? How do you know what the person liked about your post? Were they just doing it because they had nothing to comment? Do they sincerely agree with you? Or do they just like the fact that you were able to say that? It’s a mess!

Then there’s something that I’m sure you’ve noticed especially on Facebook. My friend for example posted a status with a photo saying ‘this was the last shot I had with my cam before I heard a crack’. Obviously not good news at all but vioala-people liked it!Why?

Did they sympathize? Did they like the fact that his cam broke?

The ‘like’ button has made people lazy. Instead of really understanding something and expressing their opinion, they just ‘like’ it. Sometimes not even knowing what exactly they liked.

The social media war for your opinion, then, is also a war between institutional control of public assessment on the one hand, and personal freedom of expression on the other.

Source article here.

Posting assignments, announcements and other ‘informative’ stuff on social media sites such as Facebook has become the norm. Teachers seem to have found an easy and effective way to interact with their students. On the students part, they now are able to even ask help in solving problems or pose any questions with their teachers. Is this ‘connection’ right in a moral sense or has some barrier been crossed?

There is no doubt that keeping the lines of communication open will indeed be useful in the classroom and will be a great help in taking care of the academic needs of each student. But there are other problems that have emerged.

As a former Abington educator heads to court following allegations of inappropriate interaction with teenagers on Facebook, school districts that do not have policies governing online social networking are working to complete them as soon as possible.

Schools officials say they want not only to protect students from predators, but also to protect teachers who have good intentions from getting involved in students’ lives in inappropriate ways or ways that create the appearance of impropriety.

The problem comes in drawing the line between what is an acceptable student-teacher relationship and what is inappropriate. Having personal information and photos available to teachers may be the start of the development of improper relationships.

Is prohibiting staff from accepting Facebook friend requests an extreme measure though? It depends on whose side you look at it. For innocent teachers who just want to help their students and students who just want to be helped, it may ‘bad thing’. On the other hand, think about those predators out there, just waiting for another victim and those innocent kids who become their prey-doesn’t your blood boil?!

Their is no other way for school authorities to protect their students and teachers as well.  Though teachers should know better what to do and say on Facebook, it may turn out to be an ‘unnecessary temptation’. Besides, how did they fare when there was no Facebook or Internet for that matter? Maybe, it’s better keep things traditional.

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Facebook has 750 million confirmed users, according to CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Skype has the world’s largest network for online voice and video calling services, so they are teaming up to put the two programs together, allowing Facebook users to dial directly from within their Facebook browser, avoiding having to download and activity separate Skype operating software to make calls.

This is a major PLUS for Facebook. The application is both useful and everybody will be sure to want to try it out as soon as they can. The application is also really easy. All you do is click on a friend and ‘call’ them without even launching Skype!

With the new Google+ released and Myspace under new management, Facebook really shouldn’t ‘sit back and relax’ though it still is the mostly used social media site. Zuckerberg thinks this new application is what Facebook needs to put it on top of all the rest-does he have a point?

Let’s see what Facebook has for now. There’s instant messaging which isn’t so unique. Then there’s the text messaging with no charge. And finally the recent Video and Voice calling which will eventually be functional even when friends are offline. So you would basically be able to call anyone you wish on your Facebook and their phone would ring with your call!

In conclusion, for now, there is no doubt Facebook has got an edge. If it keeps up its innovation and creativity, all other networks may have a hard time catching up.

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