SIMULAZIONE ESAME 13/04
Social networks
Business applications
Social networks connect people at low cost; this can be beneficial for entrepreneurs and small businesses
looking to expand their contact base. These networks often act as a customer relationship management tool
for companies selling products and services. Companies can also use social networks for advertising in the
form of banners and text ads. Since businesses operate globally, social networks can make it easier to keep
in touch with contacts around the world.
Medical applications
Social networks are beginning to be adopted by healthcare professionals as a means to manage institutional
knowledge, disseminate peer to peer knowledge and to highlight individual physicians and institutions. The
advantage of using a dedicated medical social networking site is that all the members are screened against
the state licensing board list of practitioners. The role of social networks is especially of interest to
pharmaceutical companies who spend approximately "32 percent of their marketing dollars" attempting to
influence the opinion leaders of social networks.
Languages, nationalities and academia
Various social networking sites have sprung up catering to different languages and countries. The popular
site Facebook has been cloned for various countries and languages and some specializing in connecting
students and faculty.
Social networks for social good
Several websites are beginning to tap into the power of the social networking model for social good. Such
models may be highly successful for connecting otherwise fragmented industries and small organizations
without the resources to reach a broader audience with interested and passionate users. Users benefit by
interacting with a like-minded community and finding a channel for their energy and giving.
Business model
Few social networks currently charge money for membership. In part, this may be because social networking
is a relatively new service, and the value of using them has not been firmly established in customers' minds.
Companies such as MySpace and Facebook sell online advertising on their site. Hence, they are seeking
large memberships, and charging for membership would be counter productive. Some believe that
the deeper information that the sites have on each user will allow much better targeted advertising than any
other site can currently provide. Sites are also seeking other ways to make money, such as by creating an
online marketplace or by selling professional information and social connections to businesses.
Privacy issues
On large social networking services, there have been growing concerns about users giving out too much
personal information and the threat of sexual predators. Users of these services need to be aware of data
theft or viruses. However, large services, such as MySpace, often work with law enforcement to try to
prevent such incidents. In addition, there is a perceived privacy threat in relation to placing too much
personal information in the hands of large corporations or governmental bodies, allowing a profile to be
produced on an individual's behavior on which decisions, detrimental to an individual, may be taken.
Investigations
Social network services are increasingly being used in legal and criminal investigations. Information posted
on sites such as MySpace and Facebook, has been used by police, probation, and university officials to
prosecute users of said sites. In some situations, content posted on MySpace has been used in court.
1 According to the text, social networks .......
are being used by businesses for marketing.
are about friendships.
can damage business reputations.
advertise on business web sites.
2 Why do advertisers like social nework sites?
Detailed information on each user allows targeted ads.
They are cost-effective to advertise on.
