In order to properly map out the pros and cons of social media, an old method has been given a new look: a SWOT, but this time not from an organization or individual, but from the phenomenon of 'social media' itself. In a 4-part series of articles, we present a social media SWOT ~with a twist~, in which we inventory the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of social media. In this last article, attention is paid to the threats that companies, governments, communities and even individuals with a specific strategy can take into account.
Threats
1. Miscommunication
Among other things, information overload, translations, shortenings and incomplete nepal phone number list information, but also too fast communication (carelessness that lacks nuance, lack of compensation for missed non-verbal communication) causes miscommunication, which leads to unjustified conclusions. The speed can lead to (too) fast reactions, which leads to major unjustified discussions that can 'explode'.
2. Digital divide
The ' Digital Divide ' refers to the growing difference between early adopters and late followers in ICT-related innovations. This gap is getting smaller in the Netherlands, but is still considerable worldwide. The cause of this 'gap' lies in facilities, but also in the skills, interest and motivation to make the new possibilities your own. The consequences are potentially greater if the interaction takes place more digitally (think of online voting, financial transactions, booking travel and the transition to e-books ).
3. Chaos
Where classical media are easy to control, no one can control social media and this makes one think of an anarchy. There is no central control in the jungle of social media and with the anthill of people, communication is no longer in the hands of the organization or the government. Sometimes they are organized swarms , but mostly it seems chaos, which makes effective use difficult to predict.
4. No control
Because everyone is empowered by social media and because individuals can unite more easily and influence others, control is at stake. Uniting via social media can have negative and even dangerous consequences, because people with bad intentions also join forces more easily. In addition, (over)empowerment is often underestimated and one message can cause a lot of damage.
5. Abuse
Malicious parties can abuse social media in many ways to enrich themselves. Abuse of social media can violate the terms and conditions of social media providers (such as 'scraping' ), legislation (including privacy and copyright) or unwritten norms and values (including user profiling ). This abuse can concern content, personal data or your social network, and is all the result of transparency, as pleasrobme makes clear. Although attempts are made to minimize abuse through legislation and regulations (and case law ), this threat is only increasing.
6. Sociobesity
The internet plays an increasingly important role in our lives and social media has reinforced this trend. In addition to infobesity, social media adds a social component, which requires being online everywhere and at all times. When the possibilities of social media are pushed to the limit, this is at the expense of efficiency and health .
7. Soap bubble
For many, it is unclear what social media has to offer, and there is a lot of hype and buzz. Before, you were not part of the group as an individual or a company if you did not have a place in Second Life , now you have to be on Facebook and without a Twitter account you do not count. The rapid changes create uncertainties regarding investments in time and money. For example, is Facebook sustainable or ultimately a bubble?
8. Influence
A direct consequence of the empowerment of individuals and the community, and of the decrease in control, is the risk of value destruction. Anyone can send information (correct or incorrect) into the world via social media, without it costing much money or effort (virals, such as slacktivism) . The consequence of this is that damage can be done to (legal) persons and institutions, such as damage to image (Nestlé KitKat case ), boycott ( Telegraaf or BP ), or even the destruction of an organization (fall of DSB ) or government ( revolution in Tunisia ).
This article is the last in the 4-part series Social media SWOT , in which we inventory the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of social media. We invite you to provide additions to these aspects.