Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
4. Time consumption is another main negative issue that has been linked to
the social web. Cyber residents or active online socialites devote substan-
tial time to their participation in online forums and, in the case where this
is not a full-time job, it can be problematic to find equilibrium between
the thrill of being a part of the online social scene and having a parallel
life in the real world. Many tales have been told of jobs lost, marriages
ended, relationships threatened and projects abandoned due to “addiction”
to the social web.
5. In addition to privacy issues, the social web has also been wrought with
problems linked to legal rights of the hosts and moderators of the social
web and consumer rights of the users. For example, several social web-
sites are known to use the content of information exchanges and personal
profiles to target paid advertising messages to social web users. For exam-
ple, the users that actively engage in conversations linked to aviation are
more likely to see advertisements from private jet companies on their pro-
file pages of social websites than those that discuss jewelry. Consumers
are increasingly aware of this indirect manipulation from the owners of
online social platforms who provide access to user information to compa-
nies in exchange for revenues generated from advertisements. Consumer
rights groups have raised concerns on this issue.
The members of social networks are also increasingly under surveil-
lance on another level. Law enforcement agencies and legal authorities are
also using social webs to track offenders such as drug traffickers, gang-
sters, paedophiles and other manners of law breakers. Even companies
currently use the social web for information verification on employees
and candidates seeking employment.
6. Another dark side of the social web is the potential damage it could
cause companies if it happens to be the medium through which competi-
tive information about a company is leaked. Since the social web has the
potential of spreading information like wildfire, any company information
that is unintended to be divulged in the public domain and which happens
to find itself on the social web risks a point of no return.
7. The social web also steals the real-life social life of its most ardent users.
One of the downsides of addiction to websites like Facebook and MySpace
is that friends who spend substantial hours on these networks daily end up
discussing everything online and when they meet in real life, they have
nothing more to say to one another. Talk of reverse advantage effects.
8. The social web could also pose a challenge in managing conflicts
that may arise as a result of the communications and PR plans within
luxury companies. For example, most luxury companies are structured in a
way that separates the online communications service from that of offline,
likewise their budgetary allocations and implementations. In the case of the
social web, which is a relatively new area for several luxury brands, there
is the challenge of understanding how to approach the marketing initiatives
