Facebook privacy scandal, should we be concerned?

One of the recent headlines in the news that really caught my eye was the Facebook privacy scandal, as I myself use Facebook.

The problem was originally pointed out in mid-march when a data mining firm had lifted the Facebook profiles of 10s of millions of Facebook users without their permission, all in an attempt to sway peoples votes on the past US election. This caused an uproar and has led to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg being questoned by congress as well as Facebook’s stock price taking a massive dip, $119 Billion dollars to be exact.

Reading over the article I found on ctvnews, at first glance I didn’t think much of it as most of it was directed towards the US election. But reading further into things, there was a statement about how we should be questioning Facebook’s ability to protect the privacy of its users, and thats what got me thinking. All of the information Ive posted on Facebook over the years I’ve done without thinking twice, one reason being its who I am, but another lingering thought being that only my friends and family would see it. If I knew that the information I had on Facebook would be open to the public, would I have done things the same? Not to say I have posted anything offensive or hurtful on my page, but knowing just anyone could come across something as simple as my place of work or cell phone number, I think I would be more privy to provide that type of information.

Going further into the article, it states Facebook’s number of how many peoples information was actually accessed kept on rising with each passing press conference. First it was 50 million, then it was 87 million, and then they went on to say that they believe that most of its 2.2 billions users have had their public profile information “scraped” at some point.

This got me thinking, is it really worth it to have all different types of information about your everyday life out there on social media for everyone to see? Should we really have all of our personal information so easily accessible? Let me know your thoughts!

 https://bit.ly/2wdG6b9

Was Facebook only the first of many, do you think others like Twitter will be next? #nomorehashtags #whatsnext

 https://bit.ly/2wdG6b9

 

 

 

How Social Media has made an impact on the advancement of technology

Looking over some of the posts made by my classmates, it made me realize just how big an impact social media has had on technology as a whole.

Reading over the post just made by WELLPACKED about how at his grandmothers 94th birthday recipes were exchanged via Pinterest, it really got me thinking.

Technology over the past 10 years has excelled at a pace beyond our wildest dreams. From dial up internet to wifi and hotspots; from massive computer towers to handheld tablets, its safe to say technology has been rapidly advancing right before our eyes. Another huge asset to the advancement of technology, and backed up by this article I came across, is the impact of social media.

In the article I was reading it states that Facebook actually has over 1.1 billion users, a number thats pretty hard to comprehend. With over a billion people using just this one social media platform, its hard to realize just how many people are using all these different platforms on a daily basis. These social media outlets have completely changed the way we connect with each other. Some can see this as a bad thing, as it has cut out the personable side of communicating with others a bit, but the benefits of social media definitely outweigh the down side.

In the beginning stages it was just posting on other peoples pages or commenting on uploaded photos, but now a days it has become so much more. From advertising your small business to having full on conference calls, there is becoming more and more benefits to these platforms each and every day. When FaceTime had come out it was the coolest way to video chat with someone anywhere in the world, but now you can actually video chat with someone via Facebook just by clicking a button in the Facebook Messenger App. This has cut down on all the difficulties of using a different source like Whats App, Skype or even ones you need to purchase like Glide, and added it to your convince at the push of a button on an app you already use.

Photo by Tracy Le Blanc on Pexels.com

The majority of my article has focused on Facebook, as it is the biggest social media platform right now. But with all these other platforms updating to have the latest technology readily available at the push of a button as well, I believe that social media has helped advance technology by having it so easily accessible.

Do you agree that social media is helping in the advancement of technology? Or just helping it be easier to access? Post what you think! https://bit.ly/2MbLt4m

How do you think Twitter has helped with the advancement of technology? Maybe #hashtags ? Let me know your thoughts!  https://bit.ly/2MbLt4m

 

 

Social media used the wrong way

Lightly touching on some of the things we learned in lesson 3, i’ll be discussing how sometimes social media can actually cause more harm then benefit.

Im sure we all have a friend who overshares on their social media pages, from what they got from Starbucks in the morning to checking in from their dinner location accompanied by one to many photos. Then there is the one who posts every little detail about their relationship on social media for all to see, the good and the bad. Or even the one who jumps in to comment on everyones posts with the soul purpose of aggravating them, and keeps pushing their buttons if they respond. Im not sure about you but I’ve actually had to remove friends off my Instagram and unfriend some on Facebook because it was too much to handle.  With all the benefits social media has brought us, there is also a wrong way to use it.

Social media has been an amazing breakthrough for our generation. From keeping connected with friends and family to marketing your small business, the possibility are ultimately endless. But I feel like social media used in the wrong way can take a drastic effect on you personally. All the oversharing on that rocky relationship that didn’t work out, or all those nasty comments you make on someone else’s post, this has people forming opinions of you mearly through your social media presence. Sometimes I feel like we all need to take a step back and really think about what we are sharing or commenting. Even as more and more privacy features are added each day, the information is still shared for all to see.

Oversharing on social media does not only apply to people but business’s as well. I have had numerous pages on Instagram and Facebook that have posted 5-10 times a day, flooding my timeline with their products and services. This is not only makes me a little bothered, but actually pushes me further away from wanting their product with every post they make. It is always a good thing to promote your product or service via social media, but within reason. Attacking me with various posts about what your trying to get my to buy is only going to make me lose interest in it. Finding that one way to grab peoples attention without having to flood their social media pages is what separates the good pages from the bad ones.

My interest was peaked with this topic when I came across this article:

http://go.globe.com.ph/articles/gadgets-and-games/2017/august/8-ways-people-use-social-media-the-wrong-way.html

give it a read if you like, I found it very interesting!

 

Speaking from personal experience on this article, id like to know where you all stand on this. Have you ever had anyone overshare via social media? Do you agree that oversharing at times can be more harmful then beneficial? Has a company ever tried aggressively advertising via your social media accounts?

 

 Is oversharing on Facebook even a concern? Or should you know what your getting into when signing up?

https://bit.ly/2M0itt6

 

 Do some companies go to far with the over the top advertising via social media? #makeitstop #fairgame

https://bit.ly/2M0itt6

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some of the Biggest Benefits to using the Social Media platform for a Small Business

Some of the benefits

As I am in the process of starting my own Social Media pages for my current landscaping company, I plan to look at some of the major benefits in using Social Media for a Small Business.

One of the biggest assets is how easily accessible all the information a client may want, or need, is to get. Your social media pages are up around the clock promoting your business, even when your working or sleeping. In my industry, this makes it so potential clients may browse past jobs I have done via photos and videos and see first hand some of the work. They may even get some ideas for the work they want done right from my Instagram or Facebook pages.

One of the most important things to keep in mind while running a small company is to have excellent customer service. I know from experience when using just a cell phone to contact clients, the voicemails and emails can add up extremely quickly. Using a Facebook or Instagram page, the platforms I will be focusing on, I will be able to contact clients through direct messages at times convenient to me. While ill be out and about working most of the day, this will make messages so much easier to organize and respond to after my workday is done.

This biggest reason I plan to use social media to market my company, which I assume is why most companies use it, is because it is cost free. For a small business in the early stages of development like myself, money is not as readily available as I hope it will be down the line. This is why having a cost free marketing platform is a no brainier in my eyes. I’ll be able to reach a wide range of clients and give them past and present jobs via photo and video for them to consider.

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

While all of these platforms seem like surefire ideas, there is a lot of work to be done to ensure these social media pages are effective. Starting from scratch I will have to build my brand using these different platforms, receiving followers to get feedback and likes on photos will go a long way. I plan on creating these pages over the course of this class and look forward to the benefits and challenges ahead of using social media to promote my business!

 

Looking to contact me for a quote or any questions or concerns you may have? Send me a message via Facebook Messenger!

https://algonquincollegesocialmedia.wordpress.com/2018/07/16/benefits-of-social-media-for-small-businesses-com0011

 

Want to take a look at some of the current and previous jobs I have done? Check out my companies Instagram!

https://algonquincollegesocialmedia.wordpress.com/2018/07/16/benefits-of-social-media-for-small-businesses-com0011