Impact of Social Media on Business

Generally
From “friending” to “phishing,” we have entered a brave new world of technology in the workplace. From disgruntled employees to workplace branding, we have seen companies flourish and fail based on social media.
For better or for worse, clients, customers, and employees are using social media to dig up dirt on their respective organizations. While employers are taking action to fight back, moreover, there are potential ramifications for taking responsive legal action.
Some of the Major Contributing Social Media Websites
There are hundreds of social media sites. There are millions of webpages within sites. There are even data aggregation websites that rank social media sites for business..
Here are examples of how some of the major social media sites have impacted, and continue to impact, the workplace.
Video Advertising. Video advertising, such as YouTube, is a highly effective tool for marketing and branding. In March 2008, on YouTube alone, 78.3 million videos were uploaded, growing at approximately 20 percent every month. Each day, more than 150,000 videos are uploaded. As of July 2008, there were over 5 billion videos viewed on YouTube. Over 75% of the U.S. Internet audience views online videos. This accounts for 558 million hours of online video watching on a monthly basis. YouTube alone has over 258 million registered users, 50% of them visit weekly if not more.Saavy employers have utilized YouTube for their own purposes. For training and educational purposes, videos relating to diversity, social awareness, outside-the-box thinking, and employee engagement have permeated workplace trainings. Appeals to the public and competitions for public solutions to problems have appeared in the social media virtual spheres. Uploaded videos, however, also have contributed to negative press about the workplace. Disengaged employees have used YouTube to disparage their workplace. Unhappy clients and customers, likewise, have posted their displeasure with companies.. Employers face the challenges of "turning around" these situations to recover and rebrand the organization as employee-friendly.
Social Networking Sites. Social Networking sites, such as Facebook and MySpace, have drawn significant attention. Facebook has actively sought to market its business marketability.. There is little doubt, moreover, that Facebook offers advertising and employer branding opportunities. However, Facebook has received criticism for both trying to promote workplace utility, while, at the same time, creating wiki-style pages that function contrary to the interests of business, such as its “Harassed_Slave_At _My_Company” Community Page..
Professional Networking Sites. Professional networking sites, such as LinkedIn, have become a source of virtual business connectivity world-wide. With more than 75 million members, LinkedIn is growing at approximately one member per second.. Issues arise, however, with a variety of matters relating to how employees use LinkedIn. For example, concerns relating to the posting of comments or the request for employment has employers worried that their employees may be advertising elsewhere.
Data Aggregation Websites. Data aggregation websites have created resources for companies to investigate applicants, employees, and even other social media sites.. To this end, organizations such as the Florida Board of Bar Examiners are using social media websites to assess the characters of those applicants seeking to become lawyers.
References

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