UNDERSTANDING SOCIAL MEDIA
FOR BUSINESS
T/505/5399
LEVEL 3
LO1 - Understand the concept of
Social media
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AIM AND PURPOSE OF THE UNIT
Social media for business is a widely expanding
opportunity for organisations to embrace social media
and apply the social technologies to their business to
improve and promote business value. From marketing
and sales to product and service innovation, social media
for business is changing the way people in business
connect and the way organisations compete.
The aim of the unit is to give learners the understanding
of what social media is, the scope and impact it has, how
it is evolving and the opportunities these platforms
provide to businesses when promoting themselves or
utilising consumer information. By reviewing business
practice the learners will be able to identify how to
improve service and customer delivery, raise awareness
of business and products/services and improve market
intelligence to develop a competitive advantage.
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Assessment
Learning Outcome
(LO)
The learner will:
Pass
The assessment criteria
are the pass requirements
for this unit.
The learner can:
Merit
For merit the evidence must
show that, in addition to the
pass criteria, the learner is
able to:
Distinction
For distinction the
evidence must show that,
in addition to the pass
and merit criteria, the
learner is able to:
1 Understand the
concept of social
media
P1
Explain the
range of social
media services
M1
Explain
opportunities
provided by social
media to
individuals
D1
Evaluate risks to
individuals when
using social
media
2 Know social
media for the
business
environment
P2
Describe the
concept of social
media for
business
M2
Describe where
social media has
been successful in
promoting
businesses
D2
Compare and
contrast social
media and social
media for
business
3 Know benefits of
social media for
business to an
organisation
P3
Describe
benefits to an
organisation of
using social
media for
business
M3
Explain how social
media for
business could be
used to improve
business functions
D3
Propose success
criteria for an
identified
business when
introducing social
media for
business
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Assessment
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For P1, learner must explain the range of social media services. This
could be evidenced in the form of a report or presentation with
notes. The learner should fully explore the wide range of social
media services and give examples of these. They should explain the
purpose for the services and may use their examples and their own
familiarity to support this. The evidence should not be restricted to
the services the learner uses but should also include their
understanding and research for other services.
For merit assessment criterion M1 learners must explain the
opportunities provided by social media to individuals. Learners could
evidence this as a report which may be as an extension of P1. They
should identify the changes to social activity that social media has
created in addition to the opportunities it provides to an individual.
For distinction assessment criterion D1 learners must evaluate the
risks to individuals when using social media. This should be in the
form of a report and may extend the evidence from M1 but must
identify a wide range of risks to individuals and how they were
generated by the rapid application of social media.
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Social media is a concept with which many learners will be familiar but
there is a lack of full understanding as to the implications of what it
means and the scope of it. Learners should be encouraged to discuss
the concept of social media and what they believe it to mean. They
should discuss the differing views and try to develop a group list of the
definitions. They should then be encouraged either individually or in
small groups to research using the internet and other sources, what
social media services exist and explore for each identified type of social
media service the organisations that provide these services.
Learners should then be encouraged to share and discuss their findings
with the wider group and the compilation of a group listing for each
style and organisation identified will provide them with a basis for
further exploration later in the learning. It would be a good idea at this
point to identify which of the learners have heard of and use each
service. This will enable further discussion why they do or don’t use
them. This could be followed up with identification of key features of
the services or organisations that have encouraged them or avoided
them. They should extend this discussion and research to identify the
opportunities that social media provides and this will partly have been
identified by their earlier discussions.
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Social media – it is probably the most overused invention ever conceived by geeks since the birth of the
World Wide Web. And even though earlier versions of online communication have flourished since the
earliest days of the internet, nothing compares to the versatility, ease of use, and obtuse factor of social
media.
What is social media - These are websites that are designed to allow people to connect to one another in
a unique way. Users can keep their contacts updated round the clock. Graduating from the primitive
text-form updates, users of modern social media sites can now also upload photos, video clips,
slideshows, and music, information, statuses and any other detail about their lives they like.
Some of the most illustrious examples of social media include Facebook and Twitter. The trend of social
media created something unprecedented in history – an online social community composed of millions of
users around the globe. With social media, you have the power to reach people anywhere on the globe
where there is internet connection and from almost any portable electronic device.
Business and Social Media - And the world of business and commerce is not slow to realise the profit
potential of social media. Business people and investors quickly realised the huge potential that social
media holds. They are particularly interested in the ability of social media sites to reach almost anyone in
terms of advertising, contact and self promotion.
The business world saw social media as a potential and powerful advertisement channel that might rival
the influence of television advertisement. Now, the business world is effectively using social media sites
to advertise their products and services and to gather useful information which they can use for their
marketing strategies.
For instance, the business world can use social media sites to perform a low cost survey campaign and
never has surveying been as cost effective. Moreover, social media sites allow businesses to reach more
people than ever before. But for a social media site to serve its purpose, one must know how to use it
properly. Social media is a double-edged sword. If wielded correctly, it can propel your business
upwards. If used wrongly, the effect can be the opposite.
Task 1 – P1.1 – Using three quantified examples, define and explain what is meant by the term Social Media.
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Assessment
Social Media, like the Internet can be tamed to devices with each different Platform limiting
down what we see, how we see it and what task it performs. Social media linked through
external and internal systems within businesses allows for sharing of information, limiting
down how customers access that affect the way the information is seen and read.
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Internet – The widest medium for social networking and most accessible with the right name
and password. It is also the most untethered version, prone to the abuse and threat. This is
what we are used to when we think of Social Media, our Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Flickr
etc. The location dictates the restrictions and for most internet based media sites there is
little restrictions. As the most publically available medium this means that these sites and
this form is available on a global basis with the removal of privacy laws, Country boundaries.
As the Internet is not restricted to size, speed and capacity, sites such as YouTube, Tumblr
and Flickr are not restricted in the amount of content.
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Intranet – Restricting down the location to an internal network means restricting down the
possibility of abuse. Intranets are purely internal to a system, like a school network drive,
running off a website, controlled by a server, managed by a network administrator. These can
take the form of blogs, wikis, responsive pages where students or staff can share ideas,
work, track progress etc.
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VLE - This is the higher level of restriction on a site. Examples include Moodle and LPPlus.
Within these adaptable sites on an internal system the user can access materials set for them
by the establishment. Online quizzes, blogs and wikis are common as well as pages for
resources, online marking, uploading and downloading of pre-set materials etc.
Task 2 – P1.2 – Using examples, define and explain the Platform hardware for Social Media
interaction and define the advantages and disadvantages of each platform in terms of
availability, security and ease of use.
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For a long time the only available method of accessing social media sites was via a computer.
Apple of PC was the difficult choice each with an issue. Now with Smart Phones, the rise of
Tablets, and the spiralling use of social media sites.
Computer – This is unrestricted in the availability of access to Social media Sites. Additional
software is necessary for certain applications like Twitter and is not as invasive as other
methods like Phone and Tablet. Systems are constructed from these, accounts stored on
these, control methods managed from these but other than sites such as Facebook and
Flickr, the uploaded information tends to be from other media. The biggest benefit is screen
resolution, the default size of a created media site is a computer screen.
Tablet – Almost all social media sites are available on any tablet as long as they are Windows,
Android of IOS based. Each popular site has been adapted for these mediums simply because
of the availability and simplicity of use. Unlike PC’s these come in the form of Apps, reduced
versions of the software that restricts scrolling, limits the number of images on screen at one
time and sometimes cost per usage. Because the screen resolution is better than Phones, the
intrusive nature of media sites on tablets is more pervasive.
Phone – Similar to Tablets, apps on Smartphones were designed specifically for these. There
can be a slight compatibility between OS’s but generally the availability on Phones is almost
as intrusive. Screen sizes and readability is the common issue, but the Apps are geared for
periodic update or forced update because of the availability of network, cost and connection
times.
Task 2 – P1.2 – Using examples, define and explain the accessible hardware for Social Media
interaction and define the advantages and disadvantages of each platform in terms of
availability, security and ease of use.
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Social Networking sites such as Facebook may be one of the first
sites you think of when users consider deepening their digital
experience as either an individual or a business. According to
statistics on AllFacebook – an average user spends just less than
seven hours a month on the site, updating their status, connecting
with friends and family members, liking pictures, and skimming for
news from their favourite brands and businesses. This is more than
any other platform.
Facebook is the first online site that many users visit to start their
day and the last one they click to in the evening before shutting
everything down. What this means to businesses is that Facebook
offers a huge, active potential audience - and huge rewards for any
business that knows how to engage this audience.
As of Sept. 2012, Facebook had more than 1bn active users, If
Facebook was a country, it would be the third-largest in the world,
after China and India.) Those 1bn users include 11m businesses
with Facebook pages, all of which are striving to strengthen
relationships with their communities. Businesses use their pages primarily to:
Share pictures and videos - Show and tell. Highlight events that are happening around
you, with a company, or with products. Give your audience a sneak peek behind the
scenes of your company, and make them feel important. Lisa Lehmann, of Studio
Jewellery, regularly uploads photos of her jewellery - pieces that she’s working on now
and the ones available for immediate shipping.
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Engage with customers - Generate conversation and become more than
the logo. Ask your customers questions, and respond to customers whenever
they ask a question or reply to yours.
Provide news and updates - Facebook can be used as an opportunity to keep
communities “in the know,” share new product launches, company updates, and
related industry or topical news that would be of interest to fans and followers.
Sell products - In addition to sharing news about products, users can take the
extra step to create an e-commerce option for Facebook fans and followers and
sell directly to them from their Facebook page. The National Retail Foundation
found that more than 25% of Facebook users have purchased directly from a
business page, and that number continues to grow with the introduction of
Facebook Gifts, which lets Facebook members buy products for each other by
way of the Facebook site. eBay Stores, Etsy, Shopify, and a variety of other sites
offer apps that can be linked directly to your Facebook page to offer a sales
option. These apps plug directly into business pages so that the shopping
experience for fans is seamless and they don’t have to leave Facebook to buy.
Make community members feel special – Businesses can treat Facebook
communities as members of a special club. Make them the first to know about
company news and product updates. Make them eligible for special contests,
giveaways, and discounts.
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LinkedIn - Every business is built on relationships. Whether it’s relationships with
vendors, customers, employees, or the general public, businesses run and grow based
on the relationships that re formed and cultivate over time. LinkedIn is focused on the
professional relationships that businesses foster in business.
LinkedIn helps businesses first and foremost establish a professional presence online
and build and strengthen the connections they have to other professionals. But its USP
is that LinkedIn offers tools to showcase businesses as well as create a platform to build
a professional community.
LinkedIn doesn’t try to be everything to everyone. Even as Facebook’s popularity
exploded, LinkedIn. Sticking to its guns has made LinkedIn the most powerful
business-oriented social network around. Although LinkedIn can be useful for
business-to-consumer (B2C) marketing, it’s especially useful for business-to-business
(B2B) marketing and social media engagement.
A LinkedIn profile consists of:
A snapshot - This text appears at the top of every profile and includes name, location,
current title, links to websites, and a view of past positions, education, and
recommendations.
Business photo - Although optional, this is highly recommend.
Activity - Publish status updates in the field at the top of the LinkedIn home page.
Updates appear in the activity feed and are one of LinkedIn’s main engagement and
community-building features. Although visible at all times, the activity feed is only
viewable on profiles by others when they are logged into LinkedIn.
Following: This section has links to news and companies the user follows.
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Background - Companies can rearrange any of the Background sections to highlight one over the
other. Background sections include:
◦ Summary: - Craft a professional 30-second business pitch.
◦ Skills and Expertise: - The key skills you add for yourself are displayed here along with
endorsements from others. Once a company approve endorsements, endorsers show up on
their profile with tiny thumbnails of their LinkedIn profile photos next to each skill they’ve
endorsed.
◦ Experience - Like in a traditional résumé, detail your work experience in reverse chronological
order, with the most recent appearing at the top.
◦ Education - List your educational background in reverse chronological order.
◦ Additional Information - This section consists of your Websites, Interests, Groups and
Associations, and Honours and Awards. The more a business add to this section, the more
reasons people find to be in touch and trust them.
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Recommendations: You can display both recommendations from others about your work and
your recommendations of others. See more about engaging through recommendations in “Giving
and receiving recommendations,” later in this chapter.
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Connections: If you opt to make your LinkedIn Connections viewable by others, photos of some
of your Connections appear on your profile with a link to all of them. Because of the emphasis on
professional networking, showing their Connections helps facilitate contacts and introductions.
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Groups: Logos for some of the groups you’ve joined on LinkedIn signify your affiliations and link
directly to the groups where you’re a member. Being a member of a specific group can
encourage connections and interactions based on similar interests.
Task 3 – P1.3 – Using examples, define and explain the business and social functions of Facebook
and LinkedIn stating how businesses could use these social networks to promote themselves.
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Bookmarking sites for link management to websites and resources on the internet i.e.
Delicious - A social bookmarking service is a centralised online service which enables
users to add, edit, and share bookmarks of web pages, like an online favourites site.
Facebook started this way before it became a social networking site. Delicious,
popularised the terms "social bookmarking" and "tagging".
Tagging is a significant feature of social bookmarking systems, enabling users to
organise their bookmarks in flexible ways and develop shared vocabularies.
Unlike file sharing sites, social bookmarking does not save the resources, merely
bookmarks that reference. Descriptions may be added to these bookmarks in the form
of metadata, so users may understand the content of the resource without first needing
to download it for themselves. Such descriptions may be free text comments, votes in
favour of or against its quality or just tags.
In a social bookmarking system, users save links to web pages that they want to
remember and share. These bookmarks are usually public, and can be saved privately,
shared only with specified people or groups, shared only inside certain networks, or
another combination of public and private domains. The allowed people can usually
view these bookmarks chronologically, by category or tags, or via a search engine.
Most social bookmark services encourage users to organise their bookmarks with
informal tags instead of the traditional browser-based system of folders, although
some services feature categories/folders or a combination of folders and tags. As these
services have matured and grown more popular, they have added extra features such as
ratings and comments on bookmarks, the ability to import and export bookmarks from
browsers, emailing bookmarks, web annotation, and groups.
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The popularity of these sites is greater than most people realise, see the ranking table
below:
1 - Twitter - 250,000,000 - Estimated Unique Monthly Visitors
2 - Pinterest - 120,000,000 - Estimated Unique Monthly Visitors
3 - Reddit - 16,000,000 - Estimated Unique Monthly Visitors
4 - StumbleUpon - 15,000,000 - Estimated Unique Monthly Visitors
5 - Delicious - 5,500,000 - Estimated Unique Monthly Visitors
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6 - digg - 4,100,000 - Estimated Unique Monthly Visitors
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7 - FARK - 1,850,000 - Estimated Unique Monthly Visitors
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8 - Slashdot - 1,700,000 - Estimated Unique Monthly Visitors
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Social bookmarking should play a role in any business marketing strategy because it is a
free way to generate traffic. Every time a company adds a bookmark to a page in one of
these sites then can create a backlink, which helps business websites gain more visibility.
Social bookmarking generates traffic in a couple different ways:
◦ Searching and Browsing: When people search the social bookmarking websites they
can find the website very easily. Whether people are just in the social bookmarking
sites simply browsing or searching for something specific, they could easily stumble
upon a business bookmark and click through to their website.
◦ Search Engine Traffic/ Page Rank: Bookmarking pages means companies can link
pages, which results in higher page rank. This means that businesses will get better
rankings in the search results so that people will be able to find their website easier
and faster.
Task 4 – P1.4 – Using examples, define and explain the business and social functions of
Social Bookmarking stating how businesses could use these social links to promote their
business.
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A social news website features user-posted stories that are ranked based on popularity. Users can
comment on these posts which can also be ranked. Since their emergence with the birth of web 2.0,
these sites are used to link many types of information including news, humour, support, and
discussion. Social news relies on crowd sourcing to shape focus in a bottom-up fashion, forming a
type of collective intelligence. Social news sites facilitate democratic participation on the web.
Social news sites pop up all the time. Some of them die out after a brief stay, and a few prosper. In
many ways, it is a catch 22. A social news site doesn't become useful until it gains a solid
community adding and voting on links, but it is difficult to gain a community if the site is not
useful.
The most popular current social news sites are Digg, Propeller (formerly Netscape), Reddit, and
Newsvine. They each have a strong community and a different look and feel. Digg leads the way as
the most popular social news site, but that doesn't mean it is the best
social news site. Both Digg and Reddit are close to 10 years old
Digg is the most popular social news site with a variety of topics. It
has an easy-to-use interface and new users can be up and running in
no time.
Propeller was formerly a part of the Netscape website. It's interface is
a bit more busy than Digg's, but it does have a handy control panel
that will list out related articles while viewing a specific article.
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Reddit is the no-thrills social news site, and also very popular. It is
plain bordering on downright ugly, but it is very easy to use.
Task 5 – P1.5 – Using examples, define and explain the business and
social functions of Social News Sites stating how businesses could use
these social links to promote their business.
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Media and Photo Sharing- i.e. Youtube and Flickr
Online Images –Storing images on websites and accessing other images from
websites has been there since the 1992 when the Internet first went live for a
public audience. But people used Google or Yahoo to find them. Like all
generation progressions we now have websites dedication to nothing but Images.
Online image stores such as Flickr, Shutterstock and Photobucket have cornered
the market in professional usage of images for profit and non profit purposes.
The difference with these is that the user still maintains some rights unlike
Facebook where the rights to images are handed over on subscription.
Why would we do this? Everyone likes their images to be seen, vanity, simple and
useful when a company needs an image for a poster, website or other purpose,
the stock of images varies from the professional Shutterstock to the amateurish,
Flickr. This is like Facebook but more impersonal, opening up the images for
comment, ranking and review. The additional content added by these sites is
what keeps the user coming back. The high resolution images are tracked,
followed on Twitter, stored in categories, previewed, rights are served and held.
This is like a stepping stone for amateur photographers, often linked to their
websites for additional images and contractual hiring.
Instagram – A similar sharing of images site, now more popular than social
network sites and allows the additional feature of editing the images on the site
for other purposes, its USP. It has the same conceptual principle, comment,
tweet, follow, keeping the audience engaged.
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Media and Photo Sharing- i.e. Youtube and Flickr
Online video - It isn’t simply the quickest way to learn “Gangnam Style” (to date,
the most-watched YouTube video of all time, with 1.2 billion views and
counting), to keep up on the latest Les Misérables Flash Mob Wedding video, or
to view quirky cat videos. Video is an opportunity to connect with your audience
on a personal level - to make them laugh, to teach them something new, and to
engage in some very basic, but honest, show and tell.
We aren’t talking about creating a one-time hit video that drives clicks; instead,
we’re talking about motivating a community to keep a business in their video
sights permanently. Reports say that two thirds of the world’s mobile data traffic
will be video by the year 2016.
In 2011, the sixth year of YouTube’s existence, 48 hours of video were uploaded
every minute. By 2012, 72 hours of video made their way onto YouTube every 60
seconds. Why the leap? The brands customers trust hopped in and started to
broadcast. Then other businesses began to share their content as well. YouTube
is now a community-oriented platform and social network.
YouTube works best not for that single amazing viral video, but for the channels
producing an amazing viewing experience for their communities on a regular
basis. Companies want people to watch and to continue watching. Stopping by
your channel is great, but staying for the stories you tell in each of your videos is
the longer-term goal.
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Create regular content. Businesses should update their YouTube Channel
regularly. It’s up to the business whether they post a new video every Monday,
Wednesday, and Friday, or only once a week. However, their audience must know
what to expect from them, and should stick by whatever commitment they decide
to make. A YouTube Channel last updated six months ago might as well not
exist.
Remember that first impressions rule. The first ten seconds of your video are
crucial, as well as your screenshot (the picture visible when your video isn’t
playing). Compel your audience to click Play and then to stay with you. Be funny
and engaging, and give your audience a feel for what to expect. The first
impression is more important than how long your video is.
Know that production value matters. If your audience cannot see you or hear you,
they will click away instantly. It doesn’t matter how compelling your content may
be; you must ensure a certain level of quality. Lighting, sound, the framing of
your shots, a still camera, and even some editing keeps people engaged. Use
YouTube’s video editing tools to edit, make minor adjustments, or add some
special effects to your video. You can trim videos to a specific length, combine
multiple videos, add music from a library of approved songs, or even include
custom special effects (www.youtube.com/editor).
Create playlists. To make it easy for your community to navigate your channel,
group similar content in a YouTube video playlist.
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Use annotations. Annotations are text content that you can lay over your video,
including a link to any page within YouTube and a call to action. Annotations can
prompt your viewers to subscribe to your YouTube Channel, such as your video,
or link to another one of your channels. Keep annotations small and unobtrusive
to offer a small nudge in the right direction.
 Make content meaningful. Your videos should answer a question, solve a
problem, or make people laugh. You want your audience to look out for your
videos and want to see more. Create content that is helpful, interesting, or
intriguing in some way.
 Buy an ad. You have several ways to buy advertising on YouTube, including
Promoted Videos that show up on the right side of a similar video, and inline ads
where your short video “commercial” appears before someone else’s similar
video.
 Tracking and monitoring activity – 2 million hits, add in links and place ads to
boost business. Similarly find a video with as many and pay to link from theirs.
This is how YouTube and companies make contacts and money. Like Google, it is
revenue generating, they promote pay per click and take a share from advertising
revenue.
Task 6 – P1.6 – Using examples, define and explain the business and social
functions of Media Sharing Sites stating how businesses could use these content
sharing sites to promote their business.
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Microblogging is the art of telling people what you think and
making followers interested. A mini blog to the point that hashtag
whatever has become synonymous in everyday slang.
People, except those with super injunctions, love Microblogging
Apps like Twitter and Weibo. On Twitter, businesses engage with
the people they need in order to move forward - and it happens in
real time, 24/7. You tweet via 140 character messages - sharing
thoughts, quotes, inspiration, links and general conversation. This
platform doesn’t break for Christmas or Hanukah, and it doesn’t
stop when you get sick or experience a natural disaster.
Unlike texting it is linked so those following can read the message
anonymously, almost, and reply in 140 characters. One of the
greatest benefits of Twitter is its real-time reach. If an earthquake
strikes Bromley, a flashmob in Ballymena, the xBox supply runs
short in Corby, a beloved celebrity passes away, Microbogging is
the place to find the news first, as shown to the right. The people
who use Twitter are creating a space where they’re reporting what
they see, acting as citizen journalists, engaging with each other,
and creating business connections like never before.
As people can do in traditional conversation, people who follow
you on Twitter can sense when you’re being disingenuous. A quick
look at your Twitter stream indicates whether you’re having
conversations: Do you have any @replies? Or are you simply
repeating your sales messages — broadcasting — and not using an
@ in the hope that someone will “buy” whatever you’re selling?
Scenario
Criteria
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
Assessment
Microblogging is an opportunity for you to find the people who
share a businesses interests and who will want to spread the
message. Microblogging is a give-and-take concept: For every
message you put out there, seek out the nuggets in other
people’s content that you can to pass on to your community.

Sharing what you like to do When you share good content,
people want to follow you and connect with you. It’s human
nature: People simply can’t help being drawn to others who
capture their attention. Sharing can be as simple as letting
people know your business-related interests - technology, the
latest iPhone news, stocks, property tips, or how-to fashion tips.

Or you can use Microblogging in a more personal way, by
tweeting a song, movie, or wine recommendation, by sharing a
recipe, or by letting people see photos from a recent holiday.
The more conversational you are, the more you invite people to
connect with you and to respond. The information you share
should be in line with the image you want to project. Even a
business can benefit from conveying a personal touch.

But there is a dark side to this freedom of information. Click
here, here and here.
Task 7 – P1.7 – Using examples, define and explain the business
and social functions of Microblogging stating how businesses could
use social linking to promote their business.

Scenario
Criteria
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
Assessment
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
Blogs and vlogs - A blog is basically a journal that is published on the Web. The
activity of updating a blog is called "blogging" and the person who keeps a blog is
a "blogger." Blogs are typically updated frequently, if not daily, using software
that allows people with little or no technical background to update and maintain
the blog. A key component of blogs is that they link to other sites and blogs. In
this way, bloggers communicate with one another, establish online communities,
and comment on topics and subject in the news. The community of bloggers, the
blogosphere, is large and growing. This has tempted businesses to try and take
advantage of this new community to reach out through it to potential customers.
Although blogs by their very nature occupy a non-commercial Web space, many
believe that businesses may be able to use blogs to establish a communications
avenue with customers and reach those who influence opinion through popular
blogs.
Through a blog a business can disseminate information about its products and
services, gather opinions from customers and try to mould brand awareness
through interaction with popular blogs. No one will read a blog that is not
interesting, and no software yet devised can guarantee that. The rapid
spontaneous back and forth discourse of the blogosphere is not an easy fit with
the slow, cautious approach favoured by most corporate marketing departments.
Vlogs are the same as blogs but with Video, popularised during the un-necessary
Iraq war when soldiers Video logged their routines to family and friends. This is
more personal than blogging as there is a face to the words.
Scenario
Criteria
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
Assessment
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
Wikis - You need two things when you want to write, the words to say what you are thinking,
and a place to put them. Before wikis, computer writing was all about the words. The
computer could help you type them, spell them, hyphenate them, size them, shape them,
and align them. But when it came to developing your thought, well, you were on your own.
With wikis, you have a place to write. A wiki is a place to write in the same way that a party is
a place to talk. There are thoughts all around you. Some are interesting, some less so. At a
party or on a wiki, a word or two will be your trigger. Ideas start flowing. Talking or writing,
you’re among friends, the stage is set, you say your piece, it fits in, your words trigger the
next thought: conversation.
A wiki is like a party that doesn’t have to stop. It’s a party that doesn’t get crowded because
new rooms appear when needed. It’s a timeless party where you can try each conversation
over and over until you get it right.
Wikis, born in 1995, are used absolutely everywhere for everything imaginable. Wikipedia, an
online encyclopaedia created by using a wiki, is one of the most used reference works on the
planet, the CIA, the NSA, the Defense Department, and others use a wiki to help gather,
share, and analyse information. Google, IBM, Motorola, SAP, Sun, Yahoo!, and tens of
thousands of other companies run important parts of their businesses with wikis. Hundreds
of thousands of families, clubs, schools, and scientists use wikis for every sort of task.
In October 2006, Google purchased JotSpot, a commercially developed wiki, which will be
added to Google’s core offerings of mail, calendar, and shared documents sometime in 2007.
WikiSpaces, wetpaint, Wikidot, Wikia, XWiki, BluWiki, seedwiki, PBwiki, Riters, StikiPad, Central
Desktop, and others offer free, hosted wikis that are ready to use over the Internet.
Companies such as Socialtext and Atlassian offer wikis that can either be installed or hosted.
By far, the largest number of wiki sites are run by open source wiki engines, such as TWiki,
MoinMoin, MediaWiki, and a number of others.
Scenario
Criteria
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
Assessment






How Businesses Use Wikis
Shared repository - Wikis can store, manage, and organise information in a way that
moves vital data off the hard drive and into a shared space. Wikis are as flexible as a
desktop file and folder system, and you can search them by keyword. Wikis can contain
every type of file you have access to.
Reducing “To All” e-mails - Lots of wikis include the ability to create newsfeeds or alerts
that appear whenever a person logs on. By using this mechanism, you can ensure that
people are made aware of important updates without forcing them to actively check a
news page.
Knowledge management – When staff have been using the wiki as a shared e-mail
repository, as a place to put the accounting department’s policy and procedure manuals,
and also as a way to organize and manage projects and contacts, Instead of having to
transfer all the data when a member of staff leaves, the new accounting chief would have
an entire library of information to page through and learn from. The longer a wiki is
used by a company, the more valuable it becomes.
Training - Training goes hand-in-hand with knowledge management. Created training
guides that are used whenever a new employee joins will be available. Because it existed
on the wiki, it was easy to update with new information, such as phone numbers,
policies, and procedures, in this way replacements can work from a wiki that has grown
along with the changes in the company.
Project management - At their root, all wikis are project management spaces. All the
business tools named here used together or in different combinations, make up a
project management toolbox. And unlike project management solutions that you buy off
the shelf, wikis are flexible and open to almost limitless customisation.
Scenario
Criteria
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
Assessment
Intranet - Replacing a corporate intranet with a wiki mostly benefits the IT staff.
Because a wiki is accessed through a Web browser and does not require any
customisation of the user’s desktop, far fewer Help Desk calls are needed. Intranets
are also notoriously prone to crashing, with hiccups that slow a user’s machine to a
crawl. Because wikis use Internet protocols, they are often more stable than officewide networks. Users often confuse the folders on their own desktop with those that
exist on an intranet. This leads to duplicated or conflicting documents when users save
files locally and then make changes. This is much less likely to occur on a wiki because
the content does not sit on the user’s desktop, and it is easier to keep track of updates
and changes in a given document or project area.
 Web publishing - Because wikis are Web based, they do a great job of acting like Web
sites. A wiki can be used as an internal and secure Web for employees to use for
accessing everything from departmental contacts to holiday schedules. And it can also
be used as a way to reach customers on the other side of the firewall. DokuWiki,
TiddlyWiki, and TWiki all have built-in support for publishing Web pages and
syndicated RSS (really simple syndication) feeds.
 User documentation - refers to Web sites that encourage visitors to create text,
images, or sounds for the enjoyment of other visitors. This creates a never-ending
cycle of content. The same principle can be applied to documentation as well. Instead
of having one set of answers, created internally and disseminated to the outside world,
you could have instructions created by the very customers who use your products.
Task 8 – P1.8 – Using examples, define and explain the business and social functions of
Wikis and Blogs stating how businesses could use these tools to promote and support
their business.

Scenario
Criteria
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
Assessment





Gamification is the use of game mechanics and game design techniques
in non-game contexts. Typically gamification applies to non-game
applications and processes, in order to encourage people to adopt them,
or to influence how they are used. Gamification works by making
technology more engaging, by encouraging users to engage in desired
behaviours, by helping to solve problems and not being a distraction, and
by taking advantage of humans' psychological predisposition to engage in
gaming.
The technique can encourage people to perform tasks that they ordinarily
consider boring, such as completing surveys, shopping, filling out tax
forms, or reading web sites. Available data from gamified websites,
applications, and processes indicate potential improvements in areas like
user engagement, data quality, timeliness, or learning.
A good example of this is how the Gov.uk website has adapted over the
years. First it looked like a pages of a thousand links, then a page that
looked like Yahoo, now it is user friendly, polished, has menus, drop
down features and easier to find links along with feedback pages and user
forms. Now it looks more like a Wiki than a dull website.
Similarly in any council office you can find entry machines for information
that feel like iPads, office building with touch screen supports. The
gamification of society is there to make it easier, friendlier and more
intuitive for the next generation of users. Click here and here and here for
information.
Task 9 – P1.9 – Using examples, define and explain the business and
social functions of Gamification stating how businesses could use this
tool to promote and support their business.
Scenario
Criteria
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
Assessment
Being online allows social interaction with other gamers – something PC gamers
have enjoyed for many years. The virtual World offers social communities and
businesses something that is not available offline, direct interaction with
worldwide customers on an ad-hoc, one to one and one to many basis. The rise of
gaming communities like WOW is one thing, 6m users playing at one time,
Starcraft conferences with 40,000 live viewers and COD with 2m online players.
But Virtual Worlds are different, they allow users to interact in real time with other
users, to shop in online shops for offline delivery, to socialise, to go to the
cinema, to talk unrestricted.
 Second Life is an online virtual world developed by Linden Lab to allow Second Life
users to interact with each other through avatars. Avatars can explore the world,
meet other avatars, socialise, participate in individual and group activities, and
create and trade virtual property and services with one another. Second Life is
intended for people aged 16 and over. Trading of virtual commodities for real
money has already taken place. Bands have played there, businesses like IBM hold
meetings there, companies can promote and advertise their goods there.
 Other worlds include Active Words, Blue Mars, Cloud Party, Free Realms and
Onverse. Click here and here to see how businesses use Virtual Worlds for daily
practice.
Task 10– P1.10 – Using examples, define and explain the business and social
functions of Virtual Worlds stating how businesses could use this tool to promote
and support their business.

Scenario
Criteria
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
Assessment
Using what you have learned from the importance of these social media types
and knowing what influence these mediums have on society, produce a report
that identifies how these social media types have influences the way the
customer does business, and specify what opportunities these offer and
provide to individuals.
To do this take all the benefits and influences specified to individual users
through P1.3 to P1.10 and evidence how these social mediums can change
they way we do business, how the user has control, how the user can influence
business processes.
For example, Wikis allow the user to change information, blogs allow the user
to comment and criticise, good businesses listen, better businesses hire
someone to listen.
Click here for Tweeting and here for blogging to see how individuals have
changed the way companies deal with customers.
Task 11– M1.1 – Produce a report that identifies how these social media types
have influences the way the customer does business, and specify what
opportunities these offer and provide to individuals.
Social Networking
Bookmarking
Social news Sites
Media and Photosharing
Microblogging
Blogs and Wikis
Gamification
Virtual Worlds
Scenario
Criteria
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
Assessment
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

We know that the benefits of using social media are profound. Through social networking, many
businesses have grown, and individual users have blossomed many great friendships and found
support when needed. Social media can be a huge blessing. However, at the same time, if you are not
careful with how you use it, social media can be a huge curse. Just like anything in life, there are
benefits as well as risks to using social media. And, just like with anything in life, when it comes to
social media, recognising the risks is the first step in managing them.
Exposure to criticism through consumer forums
Businesses and customers are understandably concerned about critical and anti-social behaviour
online. Recent media coverage of social networking services has tended to focus on the negative
aspects of social media, for example grooming, trolling, slanderous tweeting and scams. Negative
criticism of business practices are an inevitable part of business function, whether it takes place online
or offline. However, over-emphasising these types of activity is not useful in supporting customers to
recognise, manage and improve relationships for companies. Most responsible social networking
services employ people to post-moderate anti-social or negative activity, although it should be noted
that the amount of information published means that services are reliant on users making reports.
Failure to manage expectations
People have expectations. Business customers, for example. Sometimes their expectations of
businesses seem unreasonable. But sometimes business expectations of their customers seem just as
unreasonable. The problem is that these mismatched expectations can lead to misunderstandings,
poorly designed advertisements and often seen as harassment. More seriously, they often lead to
flawed systems, failed projects, and a drain on company resources.
Yet how often do businesses openly acknowledge these differences in expectations and take steps to
better manage them? Expectations are difficult to control and impossible to turn off. You email e-bay
when something is not right but e-bay does not have any goods. You complain about slow delivery
times of Amazon around Christmas but it Christmas. And we complain about Bank Charges and Energy
prices when we chose our own suppliers.
Scenario
Criteria
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
Assessment
Apathy from customers through bombardment

If all a company does on their social media profiles is pitch their business, no one is going to
want anything to do with them. Yes, many businesses have flourished as a result of social
media. However, the reason they were successful was because they developed online
relationships and trust before anything about their businesses came up. Focus on developing
a good online presence and good relationships, then the business.

What would happen if you tweeting every 5 minutes of the day or posted Facebook updates
every hour? You would lose friends and followers very quickly. If all you are doing is clogging
up your friends' feeds then you will immediately develop a reputation as a spammer
regardless of what you are posting. Posting 5-7 times on Facebook throughout the day—and
not all at once—is all a company needs to do. They can post more frequently on Twitter but
not by much.

Social media ‘noise’ is at an all time high, customers will be actively having to filter out this
noise, deciding what they choose to pay attention to. Facebook EdgeRank plays an important
role in determining who actually see’s the content you are posting on Facebook – it is
variously estimated that only 10%-15% of Facebook fans will actually even have your posts
appear in their timeline at all.

A lot of people use social media but Facebook ‘active’ users have been consistently dropping
over the last 9 months. Companies use analytics tools to find out what social media networks
and activities work and actually drive good quality website traffic and assist conversions.
Task 12 – D1.1 – Produce a report that evaluates the risks to individuals when using social media
in terms of Exposure to Criticism, managing Expectations and dealing with Apathy.
Exposure to criticism through
consumer forums
Scenario
Criteria
1
2
3
Failure to manage expectations
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
Apathy from customers through
bombardment
12
13
14
Assessment
Global customs and social conventions
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
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

The increasing sophistication of information technology with its capacity to collect, analyse and
disseminate information on individuals has introduced a sense of urgency to the demand for global
legislation. Furthermore, new developments in medical research and care, telecommunications,
advanced transportation systems and financial transfers have dramatically increased the level of
information generated by each individual. Computers linked together by high speed networks with
advanced processing systems can create comprehensive dossiers on any person without the need for a
single central computer system.
According to opinion polls, concern over privacy violations is now greater than at any time in recent
history. Uniformly, populations throughout the world express fears about encroachment on privacy,
prompting an unprecedented number of nations to pass laws which specifically protect the privacy of
their citizens. Human rights groups are concerned that much of this technology is being exported to
developing countries which lack adequate protections.
It is now accepted that the capacity and speed of information technology is accelerating rapidly. The
extent of the potential and actual privacy invasion increases correspondingly.
Globalisation - removes geographical limitations to the flow of data. The development of the Internet
is perhaps the best known example of a global technology.
Convergence - leading to the elimination of technological barriers between systems. Modern
information systems are increasingly interoperable with other systems, and can mutually exchange
and process different forms of data.
Multimedia - this fuses many forms of transmission and expression of data and images so that
information gathered in a certain form can be easily translated into other forms.
Knowing the Internet and its lack of boundaries is becoming more of a global and social concern.
Twitter is the most popular app in China yet it is banned. Image laws in other countries are null and
void with the inability to restrict sites. And knowing what is right and wrong socially is not always
what is viewed on the screens of other countries.
Scenario
Criteria
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
Assessment
Misinformation
 Misinformation can affect all aspects of life. When eavesdropping on
conversations, one can gather facts that may not always be true or the receiver
my hear the message incorrectly and spread the information to others. On the
internet, one can read facts that may not have been checked or may be erroneous
in its entirety. The reasons why Misinformation may be deliberate:
 Ignorance - Readers and viewers who spread information without knowing the
facts, allows misinformation to continue. Some may not know the facts and
choose to continue to not understand. To stop the spread of misinformation,
users should take the time to find more information and evaluate its truth in
comparison to other ideas.
 Competition - Because news and websites are all working to get the most
viewers, there is a need for speed in getting stories. News companies broadcast
stories 24 hours a day and break the latest news in hopes of getting the most
views. News is also produced at such quick rates that is does not always allow for
fact checking or all of the facts to be given at one time, letting readers or viewers
interpret their own opinions.
 Deliberate choice – Some companies hire what is called a Shill who act on their
behalf on review sites and blogs to influence opinion on behalf of or against a
rival company, planting misinformation. Technically this is illegal but difficult to
prove.
Scenario
Criteria
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
Assessment
Lack of organisational policy

Many users believe that they are writing for a closed group of friends, unaware that the
information they have posted may be publicly available and able to be searched for and read by
a much wider audience. Additionally, it may not occur to people that their public arguments or
“flame wars”, that seemed quite funny at the time may still be around in a few years when they
are applying for a job or trying to get into university, for example. We don't yet know the full
consequences for a generation that has grown up online, or the future implications of new
types of search, for example social searches, which aggregate information from across a range
of social networking sites by your name or email address, or of the development of facialrecognition search software.

How do you know it’s the right time to adopt a policy? Some businesses with low risk are quite
comfortable operating without a specific social media policy. But most organisations are
looking at policies as a way to add structure and harness social media enthusiasm from their
staff and volunteers. Many associations adopt a social media policy prematurely— before
having a social media strategy, in response to an embarrassing incident, or simply because
other organisations are doing so. Generally adopting policies too soon is counterproductive.
For associations to take full advantage of social media, they need to build the capacity to
handle two-way communications with ever-increasing immediacy. Social media policies that
are too restrictive will handcuff your staff and volunteers from ever developing the skills and
processes they need to build.
Task 13 – D1.2 – Produce a report that evaluates the risks to individuals when using social media
in terms of Social Conventions, managing Misinformation and preparing an Organisational Policy.
Global customs and social conventions
Scenario
Criteria
1
2
3
4
5
Misinformation
6
7
8
9
10
Lack of organisational policy
11
12
13
14
Assessment
Legal risk
 Training staff to utilise social media correctly and in an appropriate manner can
be costly, while a risk that is often uppermost in business leaders’ minds is that
of information being posted without being properly checked. The ease of
information posting and dissemination is a benefit, but it increases the likelihood
that some content may be posted (accidentally or deliberately) without being
subject to internal quality control process.
 Organisations that employ social media face several information security legal
issues. These legal risks can be broken down into three broad categories:
◦ Potential liability due to a breach of the organisation's security as the result of
an attack originating through the use of social media
◦ Potential legal risk associated with social engineering and spoofing attacks
against users or "fans" of an organisation's social media presence, persona or
application
◦ Legal consequences of leakage of third party confidential information as a
result of social media use.
But there are other risks legally that business need to face when creating an
online Social Media Presence such as slander, defamation and copyright. With the
growing need for an online media presence for companies, this risk grows with
it.
Scenario
Criteria
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
Assessment
Reputation
 If the business is regarded as innovative, but opts not to use social media, it may
change the perception of key stakeholders, including staff, customers and
suppliers. Without using social media, there is a strong argument that it will
become increasingly more difficult for some businesses to fully engage with all
their stakeholders and that they will also miss opportunities to raise brand
awareness.
 Some stakeholders may resent the use of social media as the means by which you
communicate with them as they see it as depersonalising; i.e. you have chosen to
communicate with them as one of a group rather than on an individual basis.
This ‘blanket’ approach can reduce the level of individual engagement that
recipients feel.
 Similarly If you come across a negative review of a product, companies should
ignore it or deal with the bad press. Even if the person who wrote the critical
review purposely insulted them, just leave it alone. Even if someone libels a
business, never ever respond online since doing so will only further damage their
reputation. Take legal action if you must, but, again, keep it all offline.
 When Sony lost its accounts on PS network, it managed the reputation by taking
the service down and rewarding customers. Good press. When Microsoft argued
with the European Government on Patent rights in Europe and refused to pay, the
negative press, the blogs, forums, wikis and social media was up in arms over it.
Scenario
Criteria
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
Assessment
Lack of user understanding
 Perhaps the biggest risk of social media is the missed opportunity for businesses not
participating or engaging poorly. Social media enables people to collaborate and form
groups and to find information for free. Some associations may have their very survival
at risk if they do not adapt to this changing landscape.
 The social media is designed to encourage engagement within a framework that
provides direction and clarity of purpose. Having a Social Media Policy that addresses
customer wishes and demands is not about regulating Facebook, or Twitter, or any
specific site for that matter, since the tools change too frequently for that type of
policy to be practical. Therefore, these policies should focus less on the “don’ts” and
more on the “do’s” so a businesses employees and customers can share their
enthusiasm for their association in any online space. From here, a company’s social
media core staff can figure out the most effective ways to collaboratively and
strategically engage members in any social space.
 When a customer becomes disenfranchised with a company’s site, with its policies and
its sharing they will move. That is the nature of the Internet. Yahoo is dying because it
failed to understand customer desires, QXL died because eBay listened, MySpace is
dying because Facebook adapted with the times. This is no different than Comet and
Curry’s.
Task 14 – D1.3 – Produce a report that evaluates the risks to individuals when using
social media in terms of Legal Risks, Reputation and Lack of user Understanding.
Legal Risks
Scenario
Criteria
Reputation
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Lack of User Understanding
9
10
11
12
13
14
Assessment
Task 1 – P1.1 – Using three quantified examples, define and explain what is meant
by the term Social Media.
Task 2 – P1.2 – Using examples, define and explain the accessible hardware for
Social Media interaction and define the advantages and disadvantages of each
platform in terms of availability, security and ease of use.
Task 3 – P1.3 – Using examples, define and explain the business and social
functions of Facebook and LinkedIn stating how businesses could use these social
networks to promote themselves.
Task 4 – P1.4 – Using examples, define and explain the business and social
functions of Social Bookmarking stating how businesses could use these social links
to promote their business.
Task 5 – P1.5 – Using examples, define and explain the business and
social functions of Social News Sites stating how businesses could use
these social links to promote their business.
Task 6 – P1.6 – Using examples, define and explain the business and social
functions of Media Sharing Sites stating how businesses could use these content
sharing sites to promote their business.
Task 7 – P1.7 – Using examples, define and explain the business and social
functions of Microblogging stating how businesses could use social linking to
promote their business.
Scenario
Criteria
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
Assessment
Task 8 – P1.8 – Using examples, define and explain the business and social
functions of Wikis and Blogs stating how businesses could use these tools to
promote and support their business.
Task 9 – P1.9 – Using examples, define and explain the business and social
functions of Gamification stating how businesses could use this tool to promote and
support their business.
Task 10– P1.10 – Using examples, define and explain the business and social
functions of Virtual Worlds stating how businesses could use this tool to promote
and support their business.
Task 11– M1.1 – Produce a report that identifies how these social media types have
influences the way the customer does business, and specify what opportunities
these offer and provide to individuals.
Task 12 – D1.1 – Produce a report that evaluates the risks to individuals when using
social media in terms of Exposure to Criticism, managing Expectations and dealing
with Apathy.
Task 13 – D1.2 – Produce a report that evaluates the risks to individuals when using
social media in terms of Social Conventions, managing Misinformation and
preparing an Organisational Policy.
Task 14 – D1.3 – Produce a report that evaluates the risks to individuals when using social
media in terms of Legal Risks, Reputation and Lack of user Understanding.
Scenario
Criteria
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Assessment