Online Social Networks

Rossella Meloni Essay for e-Commerce Module University of Portsmouth May 2010

Introduction
When Information Technology and computing first started to take ground, the stereotype of a computer user was that of an isolated individual sitting behind a screen programming thousands of lines of code. The idea of computing was completely removed from the one of sociability and interpersonal adeptness. Computers were cumbersome and expensive and only the domain of a few. Since then technology has come a long way, evolving exponentially. Networks have sprawled and become faster, the internet has opened up a whole new world of possibilities, mobile networks are virtually taken for granted, computers have become smaller, more powerful and financially accessible and computer jargon has earned official places in dictionaries. Technology and the internet are embedded in everyday life and suddenly it seems almost inconceivable to think that one could live without either. Far from the original stereotype, the modern computer user is a highly connected individual who disposes of a huge array of tools to keep in touch, share information, interact with the rest of the world and actively collaborate to the development of new and innovative solutions while taking an active role in virtual communities. One of the by-products of this incredible and ongoing evolutionary wave is the emergence of social computing and the rise of the ever so popular Online Social Networks (OSNs). OSNs have attracted millions of users worldwide sparking great interest from media, researchers and businesses alike while raising a number of concerns and triggering debates over their real benefit. A huge array of studies, researches and surveys have been carried out and continue to be performed on OSNs. A lot of material is readily available on this subject both online and offline. As this is a vast topic branching into a variety of subjects that would take this document well beyond its scope, this paper does not intend to delve into any specific aspect of OSNs but will provide a brief general overview on OSNs, what they are, some of their benefits and concerns as well as a short analysis on their current status and the general trend as they evolve through time.

What are OSNs?

OSNs are websites that through membership allow individuals to create personalised pages and profiles and to connect with other individuals (known or unknown), set preferences, exchange information, photos, links, music and video files privately or publicly, affiliate themselves with groups and manage their allocated personal online space. Since the materialization of the first structured social networking sites between the end of the 90s and the beginning of the new millennium a number of OSNs have risen and fallen. Nowadays there are a multitude of OSN websites that attract different user typologies depending on the strategy and goals of the site and while all work on the principle of connecting individuals with some common factor(s) some websites specialise and cater for specific groups, interests or serve specific networking purposes (for example linkedin.com is professionally oriented, flickr.com is a photo sharing community and so on). Amongst the most popular OSNs in the UK are FaceBook, MySpace and Bebo (Ofcom, 2008, p. 21) although other OSNs may have a higher user base share in specific areas of the world and a number of smaller specialist OSN sites exist.

Benefits
Online Social Networks are widely used by both businesses and individuals for different purposes and with different levels of participation. From personal experience I find that amongst one of the most notable advantages of OSNs for individuals is the ability to keep in touch with the existing network of friends in a time-effective manner. In an era where people are ever so mobile, and geographical boundaries have become blurred, where many often relocate from their place of origin for professional or personal reasons, and where personal time is severely reduced, OSNs provide a valuable tool for keeping in touch, maintaining and even reinforcing existing social bonds beyond the barriers imposed by traditional offline networking systems. Data on Facebook by Ellison, Steinfield and Lampe (2007, Table 3) suggests that although OSNs are set up to enable both connections with existing offline contacts and to meet new people the desire to stay connected with existing friends or to reconnect with acquaintances are the main driver behind OSNs. Amongst other benefits being part of a network where communication travels fast enhances the ability to find solutions and answers quickly; compared to traditional offline networking where time and spatial constraints impose a limitation to the quantity of personal connections one can maintain, OSNs offer an environment that can extend the scope and benefit of personal connections exponentially enabling individuals to maintain the so called weak ties that may otherwise be lost over time or distance; OSNs enable people to share opinions with like-minded individuals, provide access to emotional support and foster a sense of belonging especially for individuals who may have difficulties in finding connections or fitting in within real-life environments. From a business perspective collaboration and cooperation facilitated by OSNs can also benefit the working environment by leveraging on a communication platform that fosters

knowledge sharing and helps strengthen working relationships. Brandel (2008) provides some examples of how IBM, Deloitte and other companies are experimenting with corporate OSNs behind a firewall. OSNs also enable businesses to actively engage with their customers and get instant feedback while the intelligence generated through and available from online communities offer great opportunities for strategic advertising, market research and marketing; a topic not without its fair share of controversy.

Concerns
With benefits for both individuals and businesses its easy to be overly enthusiastic about OSNs, yet there is also another side of the coin. While one may appreciate the obvious benefits of taking part in online communities a widely discussed and controversial aspect of OSNs is the repercussion on privacy and the security implications brought about by the disclosure of sensitive personal data. It is rather striking to see how much private information users are willingly exposing through OSNs. It seems in fact that although these sites provide the ability to set some level of granular control over privacy settings, few users manage their privacy effectively. The motivations may lay behind a false sense of security encouraged by the lack of physical contact, a web of connections-of-connections based on mutual trust that lulls people into a false sense of intimacy, unawareness or confusion over what exact information is actually being disclosed and to whom or an implicit trust and confidence on OSN service providers and assumptions over default privacy settings. Despite real concerns a high number of people continue to use OSNs. In a study carried out in the UK by (Ofcom, 2008, p.7 & p.51) it appears that while a number of individuals may decide not to join an OSN for different reasons (one being security concerns) only a few of the adopters report negative aspects on the use of OSNs and out of the those listed, privacy and safety do not appear to be the top concern for users. Another study on Facebook by (Tuunainen, Pitknen, & Hovi, 2009, p.14) highlights how even when users are aware of privacy policies and terms of use they do not always understand them entirely and disclose a considerable amount of private information. Although the issue of privacy is highly discussed due to obvious security implications like fraud and ID theft and a profound effect on personal life with sometimes long term repercussions on the professional life too (especially for young or uninformed users) this is not the only concern surrounding OSNs. Often the cons are very much intertwined with the pros: while OSNs represent an ideal platform to support free speech and self expression they also enable effective hate campaigns, cyber bullying and expose individuals and organizations to the risk of uncontrolled negative publicity or defamation; the ease at which multi-media content can be shared opens up the big dilemma over copyright control, liability and ownership of content; the same environment and principles that enable powerful viral marketing also

provide an ideal platform for sophisticated social engineering, spamming and the spread of security threats. The list goes on with issues surrounding sex predation, ethical concerns, safety of children online. Issues that at times are not necessarily specific to OSNs but that are often exacerbated due to the sheer volume and the speed at which information travels through this medium.

Today and the future

Nowadays OSNs have become a regular tool accessed and used by millions of people daily. Statistics suggest that a big chunk of online time is spent on OSNs, a figure that according to The Nilsen Company (2010, para 1) has gone up by 82% from an average of just over 3 hours to 5.5 hours in December 2009 when compared to the same period the previous year. The reason behind the exponential success of OSNs must lie on the fact that they address a common social need to stay connected while providing enough flexibility to address the individual nuances of such a human need; hence they attract a wide range of people who use them for different reasons, in different ways and with different goals. Its clear from stats and trends that whether we endorse them or not OSNs have become an unavoidable aspect of modern life and are having a profound effect on todays society: companies are forced to create OSN policies, evidence collected from OSNs is being used for criminal investigations and law enforcement, recruiters use OSNs to probe for information on potential candidates (Athavaley, 2007, para. 2). As OSNs continue to mature its natural to wonder how they may evolve and what they may lead to. Will they continue to thrive, become a widely accepted online tool or will the bubble eventually bust? Judging by the ongoing trend OSNs are set to stay for a while longer however I believe that the only way they will survive in the long run is if they continue to serve clear functions that fulfil an ongoing gap and a role that cannot be replaced. In this respect I think that their purpose will tend to become more and more specialised. OSNs will continue to evolve encouraged by open source and inspired by the same people who use them; technologies like mobile access will contribute to even greater scope. While users will become more sophisticated and clued up, new laws and regulations should enforce a greater level of control and a certain degree of consumer protection. The business world will continue to be lured by the potential of OSNs however the application of solid strategies and business plans will make the long term difference between winners and losers in an arena currently still dotted with many inexperienced players driven by a sense of urgency and an easy-money attitude too reminiscent of the beginning of the dot-com era.

References Athavaley, A. (2007, September 27). Job references you cant control. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved May 10th, 2010 from http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB119085046508840665.html Brandel, M. (2008, August, 11). The new employee connection: Social networking behind the firewall. Computerworld. Retrieved May, 10th 2010 from http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/322857/The_new_employee_connection_Social _networking_behind_the_firewall Ellison, N. B., Steinfield, C., & Lampe, C. (2007). The benefits of Facebook "friends:" Social capital and college students' use of online social network sites. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 12(4), article 1 Retrieved May 10th 2010 from http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol12/issue4/ellison.html The Nielsen Company (January 22, 2010). Led by Facebook, Twitter, Global Time Spent on Social Media Sites up 82% Year over Year. Retrieved April 23, 2010, from http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/global/led-by-facebook-twitter-global-time-spent-onsocial-media-sites-up-82-year-over-year/ Ofcom (2008). Social Networking A quantitative and qualitative research report into attitudes, behaviours and use. Retrieved April 19, 2010 from the Ofcom website: http://www.ofcom.org.uk/advice/media_literacy/medlitpub/medlitpubrss/socialnetworkin g/report.pdf Tuunainen, V. K., Pitknen., O., Hovi., M. (2009, June 14-17). Users Awareness of Privacy on Online Social Networking sites Case Facebook. Paper presented at the 22nd Bled eConference; eEnablement: Facilitating an Open, Effective and Representative eSociety, Slovenia. Retrieved May 15, 2010 from: http://ecom.fov.unimb.si/proceedings.nsf/0/9b675b5e811394f0c125760000390664/$FILE/1_Tuunainen.pdf

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