Social Media

 Social Media:            

The clock ticks, its 4:30pm on a wet Tuesday evening in Vienna. I just finished discussing with representatives from Mckinsey, and Deutsche bank on how to boost investor confidence and sustain competitive advantage in organisations. I got into a taxi heading for the airport to catch my flight back to London, and started reading the Financial Times online. While in transit I checked into the plane, selected my seat and downloaded an e-boarding pass. I also made changes to dinner reservations in London, and responded to emails that needed quick attention.  

At the airport waiting to board, I posted messages on Twitter, checked Linkedin, and responded to comments on Facebook. I’m sitting on the flight listening to the cabin crew give instructions, and then the message came “Please turn off all personal electronic devices, including laptops and cell phones. Smoking is prohibited for the duration of the flight. Thank you for choosing this airline”. At that moment it seemed like the time stopped, everything stopped moving, no smartphones or tablets, no internet, facebook, pinterest, instagram or twitter, it was a moment of silence, then we took off.

From newspapers and magazines, to TV, and the internet, social media has changed the ways we think, consume, and communicate. Organisations also haven’t been left out, as they seek to take adapt and take advantage of the new social media revolution. Caroline Firstbrook and Robert Wollan of Accenture called social media the “genuine game changer” for business, while Chris Barry et al. of Bain & Company recommends that organisations should put social media to work in order to gain real value, whereas Roxane Divol et al. of Mckinsey teaches organisations on how to harness social media to drive sales, profitability and brand loyalty. Researchers like Prahalad and Ramaswamy, fargo and Lusch, highlights that consumers have become more empowered, and the empowerment would result in value co-creation with organisation, which would help promote competitive advantage. However, others like Zwick, Bonsu and Damordy argue that the consumers are being exploited and have been put to work only for the benefit of organisations.    

Examples of multiple social media platforms 

As the plane landed in London, we all came back to life, switching on our smart phones, receiving updates and message prompts, listening to voice mails and making calls. Then came the questions: Can we truly harness the power of social media? Who are the winners and losers? How do we innovate to ensure survival for the future?