Blog: Social networking

In today’s age, social media is a huge part of our daily lives. I can’t remember the last time I woke up and didn't go on social media sites. Social networking is a great tool for communication. It is used for both personal and professional reasons. We use it to connect with friends, job searches, recruitment, sharing valuable information, sharing professional/personal experiences with others, or if you need to get inspired. There are many reasons for social networking. Everyone has the ability to connect with people from around the world. The advances of technologies and social networking combined gives us many opportunities. For example, if you are seeking a job in another state or country, companies can interview you via video chat. Facebook is a great platform for companies to find their valuable candidates, as well as candidates finding a job. It is interesting because companies are able to collect an extensive amount of data on people based on what they like and comment on. This is able to happen because of algorithms, which saves them time and money. Searching allows advertisers to find potential customers who may like their product and/or service. The benefits of social networking are endless. Users can post, share, and comment on content. This has helped businesses dramatically, because it allows them to get better by taking their audiences comments into consideration. In addition, recruiting has become easier. For example, LinkedIn has made it easier and faster to find candidates. According to “Social Networking Technology Boosts Job Recruiting” many candidates can be found in a short amount of time. As stated previously, this save so much time, which is extremely valuable to companies. Also, according to the article, “Is Myspace Good for Society”, social networking is affecting the labor market. Recruiters who are evaluating young candidates are able to look into the applicants profiles. They are making their decisions based on what they see on their social media accounts. I get where they are coming from because they want to see the kind of people who would be potentially representing their company. This is why people have to watch what they post, because it can have an impact on their careers. In a different direction, there is definitely a dark side. Privacy issues and identity theft is a growing concern that people need to start taking serious. Many people post personal information and do not think about consequences. I never understood how someone can be comfortable putting their entire life on these sites like an open book. Lastly, as for ways these technologies might evolve in the future, I think there will be a social media “buy” button, just as the like button. This could make it easier for customers and saves them a trip to company websites. However, we are getting extremely lazy due to these technologies.