Facebook: take it or leave it !

Last Wednesday can be considered as THE « social media controversy » day: Facebook and Twitter were on the limelight.

Indeed, two students decided to put this subject out and to share their feelings, above all their fears, with us. Emma was one of them. She decided to share with us a BBC article by Tim Weber about social media notably Facebook and Twitter.

The main issue of the article was the connection between social media and firms. In other words, how do these social medias change the way of doing business.

Social medias are a new phenomenon, which has a huge impact on the way of doing business. To a larger extent it can be said that it encompasses the whole society. It is now part and parcel of our everyday lives.

Facebook or twitter can really be good psychological weapons at the disposal of the companies or against them: Emma explained that to us with the example of the campaign against British Airlines, showing that a single blog post can damage a firm picture. And this is major in our societies, in which reputation and image are essential . The business of a firm is more than ever based on its image, in doing so social medias are more than ever dangerous weapons.

All the more so as that some compagnies are used to use them to spy on their employees.

As a result, such a behaviour leads to discrimination and violation of privacy: employers encroach on their employees' private lives.

All the more so as facebook is in cahoot with some compagnies and sells them our informations.

It is now obvious that social medias work in firms' favour.

But these words can be qualified: these new instruments have also a part in the success of many firms. They are tools and precious measuring and observation instruments: For instance, a movie compagny has the opportunity to see if a movie will be successful by counting how many times it is mentioned on twitter. It is a great opportunity to access to people's mind for the first time. Of course, compagnies have to be careful because these data are not definite.

So all these informations lead to a single question: Who get the most advantages on line: customers or firms?

This was one of the main questions that was raised but the class focused on a more global question: Is all this paranoia and debate about social medias really relevant?

Indeed, only one person in our group uses twitter and nobody have a blog. So are the debate that rage on concerning facebook privacy and twitter really consistent?

And do we really need to take to the streets and to criticize so harshly facebook?

It could sound a bit contradictory and hypocritical because we definitely know nowadays what we are signing for when we sign up for Facebook.

I think that these social medias are very alluring and they create a real infatuation. If they can be tools for firms or politicians, these situations are a diversion of social medias' main goal : « connecting and sharing with the people in your life » as the motto of facebook points up.

To me, we should not give in paranoia and inconsistent fear concerning these social medias. Sure we are mired in it but it doesn't mean that we should put all of our lives on line: summer pictures, family picture,party pictures visible by anyone ,and to hasten to put every single moment of our life on line (Cécile is eating pasta, Cécile took a shower, Cécile is really pissed by all these people saying everything they are doing on line!) . I don't think that we are in the pay of facebook or twitter, it is quite the contrary and it is our responsability to strike a compromise between the advantages of these new medias and their drawbacks.