Social Networking AND combat camera

1. Social Networking AND combat camera An exploration of the benefits, challenges and platforms on which social networking occurs

2. Social Networking:a definition • A social networking site can be defined as: a web-based service that allows 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 is typically done to share information with other users such as: daily activities, discussions on topics of shared interests, images and information about events.

3. Social Networking in a professional setting • Many companies have embraced social networking as yet another tool for effective research and communication. • Employers now often search social networking sites before hiring employees. • Some companies offer internal social networking tools to aid collaboration within the business. • Workers in general have come to use social networking systems in ways that tend to blend work life and social life.

4. Social Networking vs. social media • Social Media are tools for sharing and discussing information. • YouTube and Flickr are examples of Social Media. • Social Media is concerned with information or file sharing. • Social Networking is the use of communities of interest to connect to others. • Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are examples of Social Networking. • Social Networking leverages Social Media to bring people together.

5. Types of social media • There are various types of Social Media that exist for specific purposes. Among them are: • File Sharing • Image Sharing • Video Sharing • Information Sharing • These can be used in Social Networking to bring groups of like-minded individuals together.

6. Social Media:File Sharing • File Sharing is a general category of Social Media. It includes any service which enables users to publicly or privately store and share files amongst one another. • Typically, social networking platforms such as Facebook incorporate some degree of file sharing. • Specific File Sharing services include:

7. Social Media:Image Sharing • Image Sharing includes any service which focuses specifically on the sharing of photography, paintings, or other works of digital art. • Typically, these will be more social than simple File Sharing sites in that they will encourage users to comment on images and may include the ability for users to build a collection of favorite images from various sources.

8. Social Media:Video Sharing • Video Sharing is another specialized Social Media platform. Typically, these services will attempt to keep users plugged into their platform. • For instance, YouTube, though it lets users embed their videos into other websites, retains its own branding and is never more than a click away. • Newer services will allow users to stream live video over the web.

9. Social Media:Information Sharing • Information Sharing is a very broad category of social media. These sites are often borderline Social Networking sites in their own right. However, there remain unique differences. • Blogs, for example, are typically the sharing of information from a small group of people to a large group. Though in many cases, users can comment and discuss blog posts, communication is largely one-way on these sites. • This also encompasses link sharing, a small but significant social media category.

10. Social Networking • Social Networking brings all or many of these social media tools together in one place, to bring a group of likeminded people together to discuss, share, and connect. • Examples of popular Social Networking sites are: twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and MySpace.

11. The Benefits of Social Networking There are multiple answers to this from a business perspective. For now, we will look at the benefits of joining and maintaining an official presence on existing social networks.

12. Building relationships • When you use Social Networking platforms, you are able to build or enhance personal relationships with the people you serve. • You can help your community out with their queries and doubts and thus build a relationship of trust where the person considers you an expert.

13. Greater REach • When you develop a page on a social networking site, you are setting yourself up to connect with everyone else who has signed up on that service. • So if you sign up on a service with millions of members, you are instantly able to connect with that many new people.

14. Other major benefits • Increased awareness of the organization • Greater favorable perceptions of the brand or organization • Ability to monitor conversations about the organization • Better understanding of others’ perceptions of the organization • Identification of positive and negative comments • Identification of new product or service opportunities • Ability to measure the frequency of the discussion about the organization

15. Social Networking challenges In an environment like the USMC, Social Networking can raise a variety of security and public image-related risks. Any foray into social networking should take these things into account:

16. "If you're going to use these technologies, you have to have the sober awareness about the upsides and the downsides… • Companies and people are much more likely to detect the upside early and the downsides late." • - Michael Rappa, technology management professor at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, N.C.

17. The #1 Rule for Social Networking • Don’t post anything online that you don’t want to last forever. • This broad rule is general to any online space but is all the more true on platforms where everything is automatically cached, and can be easily re-quoted, misrepresented and copied. • Once something is put onto the internet, especially onto a social networking site, it is effectively permanent.

18. Privacy leaks • While it may seem evident to you, not every employee knows where to draw the line between what's appropriate to post on a social networking site and what's not. • If you are going to encourage staff to use these sites for business purposes, then you must put guidelines in place about how they should behave on the web when representing your organization.

19. Viruses/Malware • Social Networking sites like Facebook and Twitter are excellent “breeding ground” for viruses. • Twitter has been the target of malicious code insertions into links. • Facebook has many malevolent programs which may masquerade as games, social utilities, or addons which may install viruses, spyware or other malware. • 57% of users report they have been spammed via social networking sites in 2010, a rise of 70.6% from 2009* • 36% reveal they have been sent malware via social networking sites in 2010, a rise of 69.8% from 2009* * Content provided by SOPHOS

20. Online reputation • A social site provides information on what your company is doing and offers a platform to generate spiteful negative comments that could hurt the reputation of your organization. • It is imperative that all staff who contribute to an official social networking platform communicate in

21. Time • Proper management of social networking platforms can intentionally or unintentionally become a huge time-sink for employees.

22. The blurring line • There is a “blurring line” between personal and professional communications and preferences thanks to social networking. • Thanks to the interconnected web of profiles, just as much care should be taken with the personal social networking profiles of staff as with an official profile. • What would the impact be on your social community if the moderator of your professional social networking site posted pornographic images to their personal profile?

23. Account hacking • As with any online account, it is possible for users to gain unauthorized access to administrative portions of social networking accounts. • In the context of sites such as Facebook, the primary dangers are: • Content deletion • Posting of inappropriate content • Using your online reputation to distribute links to malicious sites

24. Combating Social Network Perils

25. How to Combat Social Networking Perils • Educate your workforce about online risks - make sure all employees are aware of the impact that their actions could have on the corporate network • Consider filtering access to certain social networking sites at specific times - this can be easily set by user groups or time periods for example • Check the information that your organization and staff share online - if sensitive business data is being shared, evaluate the situation and act as appropriate * Sophos

26. How to Combat Social Networking Perils • Review your Web 2.0 security settings regularly - users should only be sharing work-related information with trusted parties • Ensure that you have a solution in place that can proactively scan all websites for malware, spam and phishing content * Sophos online

27. Best Practices General guidelines for conducting professional Social Networking

28. Present your best face • Networking is often about first impressions, and first impressions are often about presentation. Similar to how you would conduct yourself at face-to-face events polish how you speak and generally present yourself to impress others with your professionalism and charisma. • Be professional • Be sincere • Concentrate on the Positives

29. Don’t bombard, INteract • If you approach business networking solely as an opportunity to talk about yourself and your business, you'll bore people. Make networking more enjoyable by strategically limiting how much (and how repetitively) you talk and by increasing your chances to listen to and interact with the business networking group.

30. Focus on the individuals • Participation in online communities and social media should be focused on the individuals, not your organization. • For example, it is OK to have group blogs for a company as long as posts are tied to individuals (real people), but you wouldn’t want to have a blog where every post is authored by “company name” or “admin”. • People work at companies, but the real connections and networks happen between individuals. Show a little personality and little bit of who you are from a personal standpoint.

31. Building A platform Some considerations for building a unique social platform within an organization

32. Why build your own social network? • You don't have to build a social network that is as large as MySpace or Facebook. Personal or individual social networks are usually much smaller and much more geared towards a special niche audience. • For example, many rock stars, movie stars, and sports stars now have their own social networks where people that are fans can connect with one another and get special updates and other exclusive information from the star. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/1266125

33. Platforms To Build Your Social Network