Nowadays, almost everyone uses online social networks. Many people present themselves through the use of these networks and stay in touch with their own network of friends, family and acquaintances. Not only individuals, but also companies are using these online social networks for different purposes.
The first article is from Boyd and Ellison (2007): ‘Social network sites: Definition, history, and scholarship.’ This article begins with a definition of social network sites: web-based services that allow individuals to construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system. This article also discusses the history of social network services and survey research that is directly concerned with social network sites. This SNS research focused on impression management and friendship performance, networks and network structure, online/offline connections and privacy issues.
The second article is from Borgatti et al (2009): ‘Network analysis in the social sciences.’ This article reviews the kind of things that social scientists have tried to explain using social network analysis. The potent idea in social sciences is that individuals are embedded in a network of social relations and interactions. Social network theory provides an answer to how autonomous individuals can combine to create enduring, functioning societies. This article organizes and simplifies this body of theory on the basis of various subjects, which are: type of ties, the importance of structure, research questions and theoretical mechanisms.
The third article is from Kaufmann, Li and Heck (2010): ‘Business network-based value creation in electronic commerce.’ This article discusses the circumstances under which value is created in business networks made possible by information technologies. Based on different theories, the article discusses propositions about network formation, demand and stability. In addition, the article discusses multiple case examples of the travel and hospitality industry. These cases function as evidence for the propositions.
The fourth article is from Cheung et al (2011): ‘Online social networks: Why do students use facebook?’ This article explores the factors that cause students to use online social networks (e.g. Facebook). The we-intention, social influence theory, the use and gratifications paradigm and social presence theory are used as theoretical background. The article also discusses five values, which are: purposive value, self-discovery, maintaining interpersonal interconnectivity, social enhancement and entertainment value. The results show that social presence has the strongest impact on the We-Intention to use Facebook. Group norms also have a significant influence on We-Intention to use Facebook. Only maintaining interpersonal interconnectivity, social enhancement and entertainment value are found to be significant.
The mini-cases examples about Best Buy’s CEO Dunn (2010) and Dell written by Strom (2012) show that companies can make good use of online social networks. For instance, they can use it to engage their customers. Dell handles the online social networking better than Best Buy. They even started they own Social Media and Community University to teach their employees about the use of social media.
References:
Borgatti, S.P., Mehra, A., Brass, D.J., and Labianca, G. 2009. Network analysis in the social sciences. Science 323(5916) 892-895.
Boyd, D.M., and Ellison, N.B. 2007. Social network sites: Definition, history, and scholarship. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 13(1) 210–230.
Cheung, C. M., Chiu, P. Y., & Lee, M. K. 2011. Online social networks: Why do students use facebook?. Computers in Human Behavior, 27(4), 1337-1343.
Dunn, B. J. 2010. Best Buy’s CEO on learning to love social media. Harvard Business Review.
Kauffman, R.J., Li, T., and Heck, E. 2010. Business network-based value creation in electronic commerce. International Journal of Electronic Commerce 15(1) 111-142.
Strom, D. 2012. How Dell Trained 9,000 on Social Media. Tom’s IT Pro. (Available at: http://www.tomsitpro.com/articles/social_media_training-dell_SMaC_U-social_media_and_community_university,2-330-3.html)
