Social Networks are different than social networking sites because on the latter you are not joining to connect with your friends. You might be connected to people you know "in real life" but your message is intended to go beyond your inner circle. Many people or brands use Twitter to broadcast messages that they want shared outside of their friends, the use it to interract with people across the globe, many of whom they do not know. Many people feel a little insecure when they receive a Facebook friend request or a LinkedIn request from someone they've never met, heard of or spoken to. People are much less likely to feel as squeamish when they are followed on Twitter or Tumblr by someone they don't know.
It is my opinion that you use social networks to foster and enhance your relationships whereas you use social networking to expand your connections.
In the service industry both social networks and social networking come in handy. Facebook and LinkedIn allow company followers to have access to exclusive content and feel as thoughthey are an insider. They can comment on stories, photos, discussion etc. and on these sites (specifically Facebook) people who don't know each other get the chance to interract if they have interest in the same brand. Liking a brand or company page on Facebook automatically bring people that don't know each other together on a common ground. And that's how Facebook throws its hat into the social networking game (by going beyond a social network). Twitter on the other hand allows people to connect with the brands and companies that they like but not with each other as easily. This is what makes them different. Twitter and similar sites allow for networking between the customer and the brand. The networking between fans is not as organic.
Why don't people see the difference between social networks and social networking sites? How can Hospitality brands and companies leverage these two different kinds of sites to foster their customer network and increase the conversation between their fans?
Good discussion and very good questions.
ReplyDeleteWhile I am not jumping in here to answer your questions (I leave that to the class), I believe we can build a social network either online and offline. In that case, can we say social networking sites are the online portion of the social network? Are social networks, social networking sites, and social media are three different concepts in some way, yet they are overlapping in another way?
Lauren,
ReplyDeleteYou bring up a very interesting point about the difference between social networks and social networking. Honestly, I have never thought of the two as separate entities until you brought it to our attention that both, while people may think they are the same, actually have two different functions. But, while they may serve as different purposes, for instance Facebook and LinkedIn as social networks and Twitter and Tumblr TO social network, hence they are social networking sites... I think that the two do have the potential to overlap.
Both social networks and social networking sites allow for people to interact with others and hopefully in the end, make new connections or get your brand out there to people in a positive way. I agree completely with your statement that sometimes when you receive a Facebook or LinkedIn request from someone you do not know we are hesitant to accept, but the opposite happens on Twitter. Personally, my Facebook is personal so I keep it in my inner circle, but for LinkedIn I am guilty to not accepting people I do not know... But really isn't that the point? To expand our inner circle to those outside that can potentially help us? I think that we in the Hospitality Industry can utilize these social networks better by taking the initiative to actually social network with others and not just "looking" like we are. Since our industry is based upon intangible products and services it is crucial to social network and get your brand out through these sites.
Perhaps, social networking sites like Twitter and Tumblr can help to establish our social networks to be bigger and stronger. I believe we have to learn how to correctly use social networking sites to ensure that our social networks are what we want them to be. We have to learn to weed out those who are not relevant to our social network and bring those in who are. Overall, I like your take on how the two are different because I think it is very easy to mush the two together without even realizing it. I know now, I will establish a difference between the two, but I understand how both can overlap and potentially help one another out.
In my opinion there is not a huge difference of the usage between Facebook and Twitter. You are right by saying that Facebook and LinkedIn in the past have more personal connections and people you are familiar with offline. That has been changing though especially with Facebook. Facebook now has groups, apps, pages, lists and other things that are making it much more “online friendships”. For example if I post on the New York Giants page and millions of other people are posting things there too I am not developing an offline friendship that Facebook was meant for. The thing that makes Twitter so amazing is that it’s much easier to get personal feedback from an account owner, even if you do not know them. The line that has been established between a social network and a social networking site has become a lot more blurred recently.
ReplyDeleteLauren,
ReplyDeleteYou pointed out a very interesting fact that most would never have realized, likewise myself. Many people use Facebook and LinkedIn as social networks in which they connect with their friends and other people in their circles, whether from work or school. Yet they use sites like Twitter and Tumblr as social networking sites in which they connect with those they don’t know in order to develop a larger network of followers. I feel that LinkedIn and Facebook are more professionally based while Twitter and Tumblr are socially and entertainment based websites. People tend not to see the difference between social networks and social networking sites because at some point they intertwine amongst users. Many people use social networks as a social networking site and vice versa. It can be beneficial to utilize both for similar reasons.
Hospitality brands and companies can utilize these two different kinds of site to increase their customer network through the creation of fan pages or groups on social networks, which will actually increase the conversation between fans who share similar interests. Integrating social networking sites on social networks will make customers aware of the various social media outlets that companies use; broadening brand recognition and thus expanding the customer network.
Lauren,
ReplyDeleteYour discussion today helped clear up some information that I was not so clear on before. The creation of the Internet has helped many people enhance their careers, education, and quality of life. The Internet is a search engine available for users to answer any possible question they may have. Without it, there would be many questions left unanswered. As the Internet continues to expand, the divide between social classes will expand, leading to greater risks. Facebook and LinkedIn are the two most used social media websites. They are constantly changing to what the "creators" of these websites believe is best, but they never ask the users of the website what they actually want. For older generations, it takes more time to learn how to use these social media websites. By the time they actually learn how to use it, it changes to something more complicated. You said that, "it is my opinion that you use social networks to foster and enhance your relationships whereas you use social networking to expand your connections." But do you think that if these websites keep on becoming more technologically advanced that the older generations will be able to keep up, or will they be unwilling to do so?
I think you have an interesting point. I never thought there is a difference between social networks and social networking. According to your definition, I use Facebook for social network, Twitter and LinkedIn for social networking.
ReplyDeleteI think one reason people don’t see the difference is because they are not frequent users. I use Facebook more often than other sites. Twitter and LinkedIn are new to me, so I don’t have many interactions. As a result, I haven’t seen any impact of using Twitter and LinkedIn in my life yet.
As a hospitality brand or a company, I better know who are the people like me or follow me. It is easier for restaurants to utilize Social Media because they can add photos and descriptions of new items and ask for customers’ opinion. For lodging, it will be more challenging because customers probably visit once a while. It is in their nature that they only follow the news when they plan to visit. Overall, I think it is always good to have something new to talk about.
auren,
ReplyDeleteI found your blog post to be extremely interesting. I never really thought about how you explain each social network. I underdstand that alot of people do not see the difference between it all is because maybe they are not as into it. Such as, they do no constantly use each one and have a full understanding of what it is all about. With that, i found you point about the use of social networks to foster and enhance your relationships as compared to when you use social networking to expand your connections.
From my personal expirience i completely agree with your theory that social networks help your relationship and social networking helps to expand your connections. From my understanding, most people use social media such as twitter and linkedin to help themselves find a potential job or to communicate with companies who are seeking employees. Given that, the term social networking has more to do with networking yourself as well as finding connections for the future. All in all i felt as though your blog was extremely informative and brought up many good points that i had never considered previous to my reading.
A fascinating discussion is worth comment.
ReplyDeleteI do think that you need to publish more on this issue, it may not be a taboo matter but generally
people don't talk about these issues. To the next! Cheers!! check city
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