Social Media

MODULE 3

CASE STUDY - Will social media on the Internet really induce businesses to change in fundamental ways?

Jennifer Clarke

ITM501

Social media on the Internet is inducing change among many businesses. The old fundamentals of businesses are often questioned and the hidden or behind the scenes manner in which businesses once functioned no longer exists. While one might be able to find a renegade company that has managed to escape the scrutiny of social media, it is only a matter of time before the misbehaviors that company exhibit will be made public. As such, businesses are required to change their once malevolent stance of self-righteousness or risk being subject to judgment by the general public.

Through the use of social media, businesses are held responsible for their action because the general public judges businesses in a court of common opinion. This was demonstrated in the case with Dave Carroll and his YouTube post of “United breaks guitars”. Social media provides businesses with an azimuth for checking their professional positioning. Through this business GPS, the general public is the satellite that provides the direction in which the company needs to go. Sometimes the company follows and the issue is resolved quietly. Other times, as was the case with United, the company does not listen, figuring that one person cannot harm its business, and later finds its positioning is picked up by many other satellites which force the business to move towards the publically required position, another situation highlighted by the Silicon Valley American Marketing Association video on the Crisis Plan.

Through Social Media, businesses face a wider range of scrutiny. False advertisements, inferior quality and price inflations will soon be a thing of the past. If a business is to survive, it will have to understand that as a consumer, I stand ready and armed to defend myself with the world of common opinion as my...