The Power of Social Computing..

[This was originally written for my Evidence Based Management Course at UCT]

 

In this new and exciting, fast faced age of Social Computing, many new ways in which to run effective businesses have emerged as well as individuals roles in the worlds economy changing dramatically, as the power can now be seen to be in the hands of the users rather than the large corporations. Thus individual’s effectiveness in work and studies in this age of information abundance and attention scarcity have changed drastically.

 

In the past companies used top-down management business structures in which to do business, as these were seen as most efficient and effective, marketing in the “traditional” manner, using media’s such as radio, television and print, however with the expansion and the shear number of users of the World Wide Web, Web 2.0 quickly developed in which information sharing and collaboration between all users is used. The implications of Web 2.0 are far reaching, the world has become a much smaller place, connecting people of similar interests in a matter of seconds and allowing millions access to information that was once only shared between a few, thus empowering the masses.

 

Individuals have not sat by idly; they have taken notice of the power of the Web, allowing them to sell their products and services to people all over the world who they would have previously been unable to reach. In terms of blogs, people have been able to spread their ideas as well as review products and thus people who would have never even heard of something are now able to read about it not only from the totally biased opinion of the company actually selling the product or service, but from people who themselves have actually used it.

 

The internet however can make its extremely hard for individual’s businesses to do well, as because although it is now easy to upload new information which is available for millions to read, there are millions of others also putting up information at the same time and thus being able to grab and keep attention, Attention has becomes a scarcity. Businesses have therefore had to change their marketing approach as although they now have access to many more customers than previously ever thought possible, they now have much more competition and thus getting Attention has become the number one priority in order to succeed in business in this time of Social Computing. Businesses have begun using a lot of different online services such as RSS, Facebook, WordPress Blogs, and in creating personalised Ning’s all in hope of gaining- Attention, and whilst this can enhance a businesses effectiveness, this will only be possible if it is able to stay current and changing constantly to keep up with the every changing market demand.

 

However at the same time it can completely detract from their effectiveness as people want more and more and at the same time now have a variety of product lines that is just unimaginably wide and thus the Social Computing with all of its abundance of information it is so much harder for people, unless the product or service is already so well known and respected, for people to actually find a new product, as well so many little businesses have begun to spring up, many of which are not actually viable as they can only cope with a few orders.

 

The Web 2.0 however has many amazing sites such as Amazon.com and Ebay.com which allows people to buy products online, and they are able to purchase almost anything imaginable, from a variety of suppliers who sell through the same network creating one easy and accessible site to use, and making them two of the most profitable websites.

 

In terms of individuals, Social Computing has also helped extensively in terms of things like Skype, where calls can be made for free as long as you have an internet connection, thus connecting people all over the world cheaply, easily and allowing fast and easy access, in terms of businesses making boardroom calls and signing deals. Social Networking Sites such as Facebook, and Myspace however have become increasingly distracting as people are constantly logging on to check for new updates and thus if people are doing this whilst in the work place it will seriously hamper their productivity.

 

In terms of studying, the Internet has been able to provide information to the masses that was previous reserved for a select few, or was extremely difficult to get. However now there is an absolute abundance of information out there which although can be seen as helpful and democratic to allow everyone to view and use others work. Having it all online, it also makes it extremely difficult to do a simple search as hundreds of website come up. This abundance of information means that we now have to sit and waste precious time shifting through information that may or may not actually have an relevance to the subject, just because a few key words matched, whilst in the past an encyclopedia or a book on the subject would have been sufficient.

 

The use of the internet is great in terms of the fact that although there is so much information, if used correctly it is an incredible resource, with the ability to research subjects and find information in matters of seconds that would have otherwise taken along time to find. The fact that it is also centralized and that search engines such as Google exist, and use the genius PageRank makes it easy to find information that you are looking for, but at the same time can produces results which are completely irrelevant. Another problem is that anyone can “publish” their work and thus information should be treated with caution and sources checked if when studying you actually want to use information that you have found. An advantage of using the net is also that because there is so much information you are most likely to find many different peoples opinion on the same subject and thus you are able to come up with your own opinion, and try and be as unbiased as possible when doing so.

 

Websites in the Web 2.0 such as Wikipedia which follow the long tradition of collectivism, where the collective thought is greater than one individual’s point of view. The site allows anyone to contribute information on any subjects thus creating the world’s first interactive and totally free encyclopedia. This means that anyone with an opinion on a subject whether “right or wrong” can post their views. This can be dangerous if people use sites such as this for research. If taken at face value it is extremely helpful in getting a general overview of a subject but it should never be used alone, once you know about the subject it is easier to do more extensive searches, and use work that is referenced to authors who have published work on the matter, and whose work is highly regarded. So for finding a basic overview and for school projects it can be an extremely useful and powerful tool for the online generation, however people who are doing in-depth research need to use all information carefully and cross reference it extensively. It could be helpful to them as much of the work they would be writing up about would be new/current and would not yet be published in encyclopedias such as Britannica, but the relevant information can be instantly found on the web which is incredibly useful.

 

With Social Computing, in terms of attention scarcity in studying can be the fact that many people whose work is published on the net can now be used by millions of people, many of who will not reference it and thus the true authors will not get credit for their ideas.

 

Social Computing in the past decades has definitely had an enormous impact on the way in which people work and study as information is now readily available, in abundance, whilst Attention is becoming increasingly scarce, and is becoming even more so as more and more information becomes readily available at the click of a button. The way in which in people live their lives, is changing at a frighteningly fast pace with many of the decisions they now make in their everyday are in some way or another impacted by these easy connections that can be now be made through “cheap devices, modular content, and shared computing resources”, with people no longer looking at, and taking cues from “institutional sources like corporations, media outlets, religions, and political bodies” but now instead taking them from themselves, or from people who share similar views as themselves, and thus in order for businesses to say in the loop they are now having to drastically change the way in which they market themselves. In the long run Social Computing impact is almost certainly going to be positive as it liberates people, allowing them access to all information, helping them to connect with people who have similar tastes as well as giving them the power of choice, and forcing companies to become more efficient and client and service orientated if they want to survive in this ever evolving market.