KEY TERMS OF SOCIAL MEDIA: Communication, Community, ICT, Social Relation, Interactivity, Social Shaping, Lurkers and Social Capital
SOCIAL CAPITAL Definition of Social Capital : social capitals (plural noun) the networks of relationships among people who live and work in a particular society, enabling that society to function effectively.
Social capital consists of bonds created between people, by doing this we can create trust. Without bonding and trust we can be at risk of exclusion. With this risk and not having interpersonal skills of trust and bonding this can lead to cyber bullying.
So social media you would think, would perceive a persona of belonging with the ability to connect to others. But sometimes we focus on the belonging too much that ironically the social capital can be vastly reduced.
Small businesses use social capital to overcome the problems of limited resources. One small business that benefits locally from social capital is a West Lothian Dog Walker Business (Mrs Macs Pooches). By posting pictures of the dogs she has out for walks each day, the website achieves ‘likes’ and ‘comments’, people are willing to ‘share’ these pictures which is all free marketing and also free labour for the business. By doing this the company is creating capital.
Follow the link below to read an article that shows both sides to social capital.
“Does social media create or destroy social capital?” - http://blogs.worldbank.org/voices/does-social-media-create-or-destroy-social-capital
The following article is more aimed towards the intranet but the same basis stands for internet and social media. Have a look-
The following article is more aimed towards the intranet but the same basis stands for internet and social media. Have a look-
“Strategies on how to get more people participating on your intranet”
Adding in an example of a local business which uses social capital was a good way of making it a lot clearer of what it involves for a business and what they use it for. Very good and detailed blog which has made it a lot more understandable with how businesses use social capital for marketing purposes.
ReplyDeleteThanks Lauren. Yes my dog walker gave me a perfect example to use. :)
DeleteWell done Sharon this is a very interesting blog, great use of an info graphic and i like the fact that you used an example which makes it easier to understand. very useful links also. Some of your text is very small but i was still able to read it so not to worry.
ReplyDeleteThank you Joe-Lee. Yes Blogger has gave me issues with the font size. I have tried to change it but it simply wont amend.
DeleteVery interesting blog Sharon ! I understand better now what is social capital.. ;) with examples it is very clear ;) Even if I expected enterprises could use this way for the growth of their company I didn't realise that is a clear strategy of a lot of business... Freaky ! VEry good blog, well done ! Bien joué, bravo ;)
ReplyDeleteMerci Christelle! :) Yes it is a clever way for businesses to generate awareness and free labour.
DeleteVery well done Sharon, the links especially helped in describing social capital to me and found them very useful. I really like how you have mentioned a local business as an example.
ReplyDelete