Sharing Aspect of Social Media

This article will look at the sharing aspect of social media and what it means/has done to the culture in the United States. For me, there are two different types of sharing on social media. One: the exchange between the “poster” or author of the blog/tweet/post and anyone who may comment on that blog/tweet/post. The sharing aspect here has to do with the sharing of ideas (communication) between the participants. The second has to do with the content the author is posting. The sharing is anything they decide to post, whether they are sharing parts of their day/life or sharing something that is important to them like an article/cause/video/etc.

For me, the first concept is not a new one; people communicating and exchanging ideas. This concept is still an important one and it will be discussed a little bit later when talking about co-created online content. To a certain extent, the second type of sharing is also not completely new (people could write letters to their friends sharing aspects of their day), but the idea of sharing these thoughts with the world (and to the extent some people share) is a new idea brought about by social media.

For the purpose of this article, the second type of sharing will be the focus. Humans have always wanted to connect with one another, and social media has given them a new medium in which to do this. The ease of communication has given way to what Jari Multisilta and Marcelo Milrad have dubbed “life publishing” (1). With the available mobile technology available today, users can share their experiences from anywhere that has network access (Multisilta, 2). This sharing could be in the form of a picture, a video, a post or a combination of those elements and uploaded to any number of social media websites. These shared experiences can be uploaded instantaneously by the user, in real time as the event is happening.

Social media has created a hybridized creation that is a combination of the user/author and the audience. Messages are no longer created solely by the author/owner; messages can be contributed to by other users on the medium, whether they are “friends” with the author or not. Other users can “write statements and post pictures on each other’s profiles, essentially co-creating self-presentation” of the author (DeAndrea, 510). Often, particularly on Facebook, “friends” are not intimately familiar with each other (DeAndrea, 525).

The cultural significance of the occurrence of co-creating could be the perception others have about the owners’ content on their social media pages, whether it was written by the owner or not. Will viewers perceive that all content on the page is the owners’ is reflective of their views or will there be a separation of owner generated material and material generated by others? DeAndrea’s study on this matter seems to indicate that if viewers of a social media site think the owner has full control of the page and updates it frequently, then they are responsible for all content on the page, favorable or not, because they have the ability to delete unwanted co-created content (524). This study brings to light some of the possible implications social media could have on relationships people have with others, whether they know them personally or not.

On a different note, moving away from interpersonal communications, marketers are beginning to understand the benefits of the sharing culture on social media sites. Modiv Media launched Modiv Social, which allows users to share coupons with their friends via Facebook. Not only are the retailer’s coupons being distributed and shoppers are being rewarded for their behavior with savings, Motiv Media is able to gather data about the sharers. Who are they and why are they influential in their social group? (Modiv Media). As all social media users know, this company is not the only one to post coupons on social media sites with the ability of sharing.

As a cultural phenomenon, the concept of sharing is changing the way people talk to each other on social media. Facebook has added a “share” button so certain posts can be shared very easily. With the frequency social media users update with new pictures and posts about their personal lives, it seems as though “personal lives” are diminishing in importance to these users. Getting the approval from peers and strangers would seem to be more important an endeavor than keeping what was once personal to yourself. Where can we go from here?

Sources

• DeAndrea, David. Participatory Social Media and the Evolution of Online Behavior. Human Communication Research, 38 (2012) 510-528. Web. 30 October 2012.
• "Modiv Media Launches Mobile-Social Coupon Sharing Feature." Professional Services Close - Up (2012)ABI/INFORM Complete. Web. 4 December 2012.
• Multisilta, Jari & Marcelo Milrad. “Sharing Experiences with Social Mobile Media”. Proceedings of the 11th international Conference on Human-Computer interaction with Mobile Devices and Services (2009). Web. 4 December 2012.