How is social media being used in the businesses or organizations (governmental, geo-political, social…)? Pick one case to illustrate your point. Provide details on the type social media, its purpose, how it is used, and ways to extend or improve the particular type of media used.
Social media is being used by businesses to provide another level of customer service to consumers. Case in point: When I moved, I wanted Verizon Fios as a service. After I paid a required deposit, the service was installed but within days I was very dissatisfied and called to cancel. Although I was cancel the shoddy service, they balked at returning my $250 deposit. I spent days on the phone, being transfered from one incompetent customer service representative to another. I even got “disconnected” a few times. When my cal did get answered and escalated, the supervisor told me it would take 150 days to receive a refund of my deposit.
So, I took my case to Twitter. Here’s the actual exchange from Verizon:
As you can see, not only was Verizon responsive, they followed-up with me to resolve my issue.
What makes a social site good? What makes for good interactions? Keep in mind that different sites have different purposes and cultures. Compare two online communities (e.g., Wikipedia vs. Facebook) to illustrate your point.
A good social site has the ability to keep you engaged and wanting to spend time in their community. The interactions on the site should be easy for the user and deliver the content they’re most interested in. According to Wikipedia, “the Wikipedia community is the community of contributors to the online encyclopedia Wikipedia”, while Facebook’s mantra is “connect with friends and the world around you”. Each site has a particular type of community: contributors to the encyclopedia of the internet on Wikipedia and an expanded social circle on Facebook.
