LAIZER EDWIN N

BAPRM 42691

IMPACTS OF VIRTUAL COMMUNITIES

A virtual community is a social network of individuals who interact through specific social media, potentially crossing geographical and political boundaries in order to pursue mutual interests or goals. Some of the most pervasive virtual communities are online communities operating under social networking services.

Impacts of virtual communities

On health

Concerns with a virtual community's tendency to promote less socializing include: verbal aggression and inhibitions, promotion of suicide and issues with privacy. However, studies regarding the health effects of these communities did not show any negative effects. There was a high drop-out rate of participants in the study. The health-related effects are not clear because of the lack of thoroughness and the variation in studies done on the subject.

Rather, recent studies have looked into development of health related communities and their impact on those already suffering health issues. These forms of social networks allow for open conversation between individuals who are going through similar experiences, whether themselves or in their family. Such sites have in fact grown in popularity, so much so that now many health care providers are forming groups for their patients, even providing areas where questions may be directed to doctors. These sites prove especially useful when related to rare medical conditions.

On civic participation

New forms of civic engagement and citizenship have emerged from the rise of social networking sites. Networking sites acts as a medium for expression and discourse about issues in specific user communities. Online content sharing sites have made it easy for youth to not only express themselves and their ideas through digital media, but also connect with large networked communities. Within these spaces, young people are pushing the boundaries of traditional forms of engagement such as voting and joining political organizations and creating their own ways to discuss, connect, and act in their communities.

Civic engagement through online volunteering has shown to have a positive effects on personal satisfaction and development. Some 84 percent of online volunteers found that their online volunteering experience had contributed to their personal development and learning^.

On communication

Yochai Benkler, in his book The Wealth of Networks from 2006, suggests that virtual communities would ′come to represent a new form of human communal existence, providing new scope for building a shared experience of human interaction. Although Benkler's prediction was not entirely correct, however, it is clear that communications and social relations are extremely complex within a virtual community. The two main effects that can be seen according to Benkler’s are a thickening of preexisting relations with friends, family and neighbors and the beginnings of the emergence of greater scope for limited-purpose loose relationships Despite being acknowledged as loose relationships, Benkler argues that they remain meaningful.

Previous concerns about the effects of Internet use on community and family fell into two categories: sustained, intimate human relations are critical to well-functioning human beings as a matter of psychological need' and that people with social capital are better off than those who lack it and it leads to better results in terms of political participation However, Benkler argues that unless Internet connections actually displace direct unmediated, human contact, there is no basis to think that using the Internet will lead to a decline in those nourishing connections we need psychologically, or in the useful connections we make socially. Benkler continues to suggest that the nature of an individual changes over time, based on social practices and expectations. There is a shift from individuals who depend on social relations that are locally embedded, unmediated and stable relationships to networked individuals who are more dependent on their own combination of strong and weak ties, cross boundaries and weave their own fluid relationships. Manuel Castells calls this the ′networked society.

SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING IN DIGITAL AGE.

JACKSON ANETH BAPRM 3REG NO 42565

Social Media Marketing In The Digital Age.

Social media marketing has been around a long time, but it has only recently been experiencing an explosion in participation from around the world. It has definitely gone mainstream, and is now even more important as a tool in your digital marketing strategy.

As a result of this participation, it’s getting harder to run a business without paying attention to what’s happening in the social media spher.

 Many businesses are failing to get a grasp of this new marketing and networking medium, as they lose market share to savvy competitors. This is why it is important that as a business owner, you understand how social media works.

As part of your marketing budget, you should allocate an amount for digital marketing. Looking at social media, there are a few points to keep in mind:

Social media is not free. With all the new algorithms Facebook is applying, your posts are presented to a limited number of fans; therefore a post boost is needed. Now looking at Twitter, they have a 100% tweet delivery to fans, but there’s a twist when it comes to advertising.

Based on each account, Twitter individually decides whether or not you are eligible to advertise.You get what you pay for. Simply put, the more you pay, the more exposure you get.Never forget that it is a social network.

Businesses nowadays are using social media in a way that viewers wouldn’t enjoy. Always make sure that you engage with your audience and try to build meaningful relationships.

Now that we have covered the basics of social media, let’s look at how you should manage your presence. There are a few points on what should be done, but based on your own brand, you can decide what works best for you.

Be sure to engage with your audience and have a community manager take care of that. Aside from community management,focus on your content.

By Charles kulwa n reg no 42688

Internal communication

Internal communication is an important internal branding initiative that has to be successfully implemented to ensure brands success. It is the communication within particular company

Successfully internal communication department know that communication is of a crucial importance. Kalla (2005) identified four different domains of internal communication: business communication, management communication, corporate communication and organizational communication. All these terms can be used as one single term- internal communication.

Welch, Jackson (2007) defined internal communication as following: the communications transactions between individuals and/ or groups at various levels and in different areas of specialization that are intended to design and redesign organizations to implement designs, and to co-ordinate day to day activities. But Smidts et al. (2001) interpreted it as employee communication and applied to the considerations regarding employee communication with supervisors and colleagues’.

Internal communication is the communication that exists within a company, between and among employees. It is the communication that exists within a company, between and among employees. It can take many forms, such as face to face casual conversations, formal meetings, phone calls, email, memorandums and internal wikis. Communication within an organization is a key to success. Organization adaptability to external changes relies on efficient communication internally (business training)

Berger (2008) refers to internal communication as employee/organizational communication. Based on the article in the journal of strategic communication management and other internal communication publications, internal communication operates five roles: communicator, educators, change agent, communication consultant an organization strategist (Berger, 2008)

Alignment of the goals of individual employees to organizational goals is seen as an important task for internal communication. Alignment is necessary in order to build a strong organizational culture (Tkalac, Vercic et al 2012). It is not possible to perform managerial activities without using internal communication. Even though internal communication is a separate research field, in many organizations internal communication are located either in the communication or human resources department. The reason for this is that it is not seen as separate department ( Tkalac Vercic et al 2012)

Internal communication incorporates both official and unofficial communication. Official communication constitute memos guidelines, policies, procedures, whereas unofficial communication extends in all directions among line staff members, meaning exchange of ideas, opinion, development of personal relationships and proverbial conversations

Conduit (2001) is identifying main benefits if internal communication – improved productivity, reduced absenteeism, higher quality of services and products, increased level of innovation, fewer strikes and reduced costs

Internal communication should motivate employees and in a result create value for the company. Area like human resources, change management, organization development, marketing and general management, public relations, corporate strategy and corporate human resources and corporate communication are the closest perceived to internal communication.

Writing, speaking, oral presentations, gathering and analyzing data and knowledge from the internet are important skills for internal communication experts.

Also external communication is very important corporate elements. It is crucial for creating brand image and identity. Existing and potential usually have perceptions towards the corporate brand. (Cheng 2010)

TYPES OF VIRTUAL COMMUNITY

CHAMSHAMA DEBORA S.
BAPRM 42540

Types of virtual communities

Internet message boards

Online message board is a forum where people can discuss thoughts or ideas on various topics. Online message centers allow users to choose which thread, or board of discussion, users would like to read or contribute to. A user will start a discussion by making a post on a thread. Other users who choose to respond can follow the discussion by adding their own post to that thread. Anyone can register to participate in an online message board. A message board is unique because people can choose to participate and be a part of the virtual community, even if they choose not to contribute their thoughts and ideas. Registered users can simply view the various threads or contribute if they choose to.

Online chat rooms
The development of online chat rooms allowed people to talk to whoever was online at the same time they were. Most chat room providers are similar and include an input box, a message window, and a participant list. The input box is where users can type their text-based message to be sent to the providing server. The server will then transmit the message to the computers of anyone in the chat room so that it can be displayed in the message window. The message window allows the conversation to be tracked and usually places a time stamp once the message is posted. There is usually a list of the users who are currently in the room, so that people can see who is in their virtual community.

Virtual worlds
Virtual worlds are the most interactive of all virtual community forms. In this type of virtual community, people are connected by living as an avatar in a computer-based world. It is similar to a computer game, however there is no objective for the players. A virtual world simply gives users the opportunity to build and operate a fantasy life in the virtual realm. Characters within the world can talk to one another and have almost the same interactions people would have in reality. For example, characters can socialize with one another and hold intimate relationships online.

Social network services
Social networking services are the most prominent type of virtual community. They are either a website or software platform that focuses on creating and maintaining relationships. Facebook, Twitter, and Myspace are all virtual communities. These websites often allow for people to keep up to date with their friends and acquaintances’ activities without making much of an effort. On Facebook, for example, one can upload photos and videos, chat, make friends, reconnect with old ones, and join groups or causes. All of these functions encourage people to form a community, large or small, on the Internet.

Specialized Information Communities
Participatory Culture plays a large role in online and virtual communities. In Participatory Culture, users feel that their contributions are important and that by contributing, they are forming meaningful connections with other users. The differences between being a producer of content on the website and being a consumer on the website become blurred and overlap.

LAIZER EDWIN N BAPRM 42691

POWER, IDENTITY AND LIFE IN DIGITAL AGE;
 

We are not what we are but what we make of ourselves (Giddens, 1991: 75).Michael Foucault (1991) describes the operation of modern power using Jeremy Bentham’s design of the Panopticon, where people are disciplined into obedience by being tied to a particular space monitor the supervised and in turn, the supervised monitor themselves in what Foucault describes as technologies of the self a set of practices which modify and affect one’s behaviour and thinking (Martin, Gutman & Hutton, 1988). While these techniques have changed over time (e.g. the religious confessional, prisons, schools and the modern office) the operation of power has been materially grounded it was located in space and time and it depended upon mutual engagement between the supervisors and the supervised for the arrangement to work. As Bauman (2000) points out, the strategy is expensive and time-consuming with regards to the material infrastructure and manpower.

The digital age has produced new strategies which are cost effective largely because face-to-face engagement is no longer necessary. Electronic communication can take place at a distance, removing the need for expensive infrastructure and the co presence of supervisors with the supervised. Computer keystrokes can be automatically recorded making surveillance a simple and comprehensive affair. People are free to roam under the gaze of security cameras which store scenes of public and private spaces in centralized systems which can be retrieved at any time. 

Mobile phones permit the location of the user to be ascertained, and credit cards ensure purchases are recorded. There are digital footprints of our every move in modern times. The new set of practices for the operation of power function independently of space and time. Corporate managers operate private and former state-operated institutions from afar in areas which include finance, healthcare, education, transport, employment, communication and public utilities even water supplies come under corporate ownership. These corporate managers can respond by email in seconds and equally they can disappear no longer accessible answerable or responsible. 

These absent managers are members of corporate boards which have a common goal of maximizing profit, accompanied with a lack of responsibility should things collapse. Bauman (2000:11) the end of the era of mutual engagementen the supervisors and the supervised, capital and labour, leaders and their followers, armies at war. The prime technique of power is now escape, slippage, elision and avoidance, the effective rejection of any territorial confinement with its cumbersome corollaries of order building, order maintenance and the responsibility for the consequences of it all as well as of the necessity to bear their costs (Bauman, 2000: 11).The disintegration of social and political networks and institutions tied to territorial borders have given way to transience, fluidity and rapid change in the pursuit of profit. It is the mind-boggling speed of circulation, of recycling, ageing, dumping and replacement which brings profit today not the durability and lasting reliability of the product (Bauman, 2000: 14). Corporate greed, disengagement and lack of responsibility are evident in the financial crisis which unfolded in October 2008, a global economic meltdown left to governments to resolve. The turmoil in the financial markets, described by former US Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan as a ‘once in a century credit tsunami’ took place at an astonishing speed across the world, reflecting the inter connectedness of the financial sectors in the global market and the lack of corporate responsibility Attached to that system.