After reading the articles from week 6 I decided to look at YouTube and Google+ as two social networking sites that foster diffusion and social influence. This is in terms of how one site can allow better uses for a business to grow on a social media platform. Although, many sources were sceptical of using Google+, because it just started two years and still needs adjustments to foster as a platform for businesses to take advantage of the social niche. An article by Young (2009) explained that ideas for products take time to gain acceptance and through contagion and social influence on different platforms, the success rate heavily depends on social influence, contagion and social learning.
Although YouTube is known for being the largest video sharing site in the world, Susarla, Oh and Tan (2012) recognised the impact social influence has to the success of a video going viral and a video gaining no popularity. Their main points were targeted at the audience and their networking capabilities, and how social influence is hard to recognise on such platforms, due to the vast number of users. One may reflect the likes of another and it is an ongoing cycle.
