Accounting

What concepts in this chapter are illustrated in this case?

The concepts of social networking and e-commerce are illustrated in this case.

Social networking sites are a type of online community. Social networking is the practice of expanding the number of one’s business or social contacts by making connections through individuals. Facebook is an example of social networking. The site includes a wide array of tools that allow users to connect and interact with other users, including messaging, groups, photo-sharing, and user-created application. And with Facebook Platform, Facebook environment become more engaging and self-sufficient.

E-commerce is the online exchange of goods, service, and money between firms and between firms and their customers (Information Systems, p125). Facebook is what is known as virtual community, it falls under a more specific kind of virtual community known as a social networking site. Online communities are used by individuals for expanding business or social contacts, and social shopping sites; in which users swap shopping ideas. The case study goes into a detailed analysis of how facebook has become an opportunity for electronic commerce to take place, however the process of allowing this electronic commerce to take place has been hampered due to legal issues concerning the users privacy in these interactions that private companies use to create their advertising. Currently face book is not generating the expected amounts of revenue that it is capable of based upon the beliefs of some, one of those select corporations that does believe it will someday soon be a Mecca of advertising commerce is Microsoft, who bought 1.6% of the facebook company for $246 million. Surely if a corporation like Microsoft is willing to spend an immense amount of money to become a select share holder like that must believe that there is some truth in the predicted success of facebook advertising opportunities.