A PROJECT REPORT ON A Perceptional Analysis On

Banning Of Social Networking Websites At Work

Submitted to

OSMANIA UNVERSITY
For The partial fulfillment of B.com (Honours) Degree Course (2009-2012)

By

Vibhore Goel (Roll No. : 110009407136) INDIAN INSTITUE OF MANAGEMENT AND COMMERCE
Adj. to Telephone Bhavan, Khairtabad. Hyderabad 500 004.

DECLARATION
I, Vibhore Goel, student of Indian Institute Of Management and Commerce (Khairtabad), Hyderabad, affiliated to Osmania University pursuing B.COM HONOURS hereby declare that the project work entitled A Perceptional Analysis On Banning Of

Social Networking Websites At Work submitted to Indian Institute Of Management and

Commerce is a record of an original work done by me under the guidance of my supervisor, Mr. A.V. Ayyapu Reddy, Faculty Member of IIMC.

Vibhore Goel [1100-09-407-136]

CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that Vibhore Goel, bearing Hall Ticket No. 1100-09-407-136 has satisfactorily completed the project work on A Perceptional Analysis On Banning Of

Social Networking Websites At Work under the guidance of Mr. A.V. Ayyapu Reddy,
project supervisor in partial fulfillment of B.COM HONOURS course during 2011-2012 as prescribed by OSMANIA UNIVERSITY, Hyderabad.

Project supervisor

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to express my deep sense of gratitude to all those who have assisted and guided me in the completion of my project work and helped me achieve the objectives of the study. I would like to thank all the respondents of the survey who have given their valuable time to answer the questionnaire. I am also thankful to our college principle, Mr. K. Raghuveer, and vice principle, Mr. A.V. Ayyapu Reddy who is also my project supervisor, for guiding me throughout the study and helping me in successfully completing the project. I also thank our college librarian, Mrs. S. Geeta who has assisted me in finding valuable information whenever necessary.

INDEX Unit No. 1 2 Topic

Introduction To Social Networking Objectives And Methodology Facebook And Twitter Profile And Social Networking At Work Analysis Of Perception Towards Social Networking Conclusions And Suggestions

Page No. 1 13

17

32

54

Bibliography Annexure

UNIT 1

INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL NETWORKING

Contents: Social Networking Meaning History Social Impact and Interaction Typical Structure of the websites Emerging trends in social networking Application Domains Issues Market share of Social Networking Websites

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SOCIAL NETWORKING
A social networking service is an online service, platform, or site that focuses on building and reflecting of social networks or social relations among people, who, for example, share interests and/or activities. A social network service consists of a representation of each user (often a profile), his/her social links, and a variety of additional services. Most social network services are web-based and provide means for users to interact over the Internet, such as e-mail and instant messaging. Online community services are sometimes considered as a social network service, though in a broader sense, social network service usually means an individual-centered service whereas online community services are group-centered. Social networking sites allow users to share ideas, activities, events, and interests within their individual networks. The main types of social networking services are those that contain category places (such as former school year or classmates), means to connect with friends (usually with self-description pages), and a recommendation system linked to trust. Popular methods now combine many of these, with Facebook, Google+ and Twitter widely used worldwide.

History
The potential for computer networking to facilitate new forms of computer-mediated social interaction was suggested early on. Efforts to support social networks via computer-mediated communication were made in many early online services, including Usenet, ARPANET, LISTSERV, and bulletin board services (BBS). Many prototypical features of social networking sites were also present in online services such as America Online, Prodigy, and CompuServe. Early social networking on the World Wide Web began in the form of generalized online communities such as Theglobe.com (1995), Geocities (1994) and Tripod.com (1995). Many of these early communities focused on bringing people together to interact with each other through chat rooms, and encouraged users to share personal information and ideas via personal web pages by
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providing easy-to-use publishing tools and free or inexpensive web space. Some communities - such as Classmates.com - took a different approach by simply having people link to each other via email addresses. In the late 1990s, user profiles became a central feature of social networking sites, allowing users to compile lists of "friends" and search for other users with similar interests. New social networking methods were developed by the end of the 1990s, and many sites began to develop more advanced features for users to find and manage friends. This newer generation of social networking sites began to flourish with the emergence of SixDegrees.com in 1997, followed by Makeoutclub in 2000, Friendster in 2002, and soon became part of the Internet mainstream. Friendster was followed by MySpace and LinkedIn a year later, and, finally, Bebo. Attesting to the rapid increase in social networking sites' popularity, by 2005, it was reported that MySpace was getting more page views than Google. Facebook, launched in 2004, has since become the largest social networking site in the world.

Social Impact
Web-based social networking services make it possible to connect people who share interests and activities across political, economic, and geographic borders. Through email and instant messaging, online communities are created where a gift economy and reciprocal altruism are encouraged through cooperation. Information is particularly suited to gift economy, as information is a non-rival good and can be gifted at practically no cost. Facebook and other social networking tools is increasingly the object of scholarly research. Scholars in many fields have begun to investigate the impact of socialnetworking sites, investigating how such sites may play into issues of identity, privacy, social capital, youth culture, and education.

Social Interaction
Put simply, social networking is a way for one person to meet up with other people on the Net. That's not all though. Some people use social networking sites for meeting new
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friends on the Net. Other's use it to find old friends. Then there are those who use it to find people who have the same problems or interests they have, this is called niche networking. Following this trend is the emerging trend of people meeting online to meet offline. More and more relationships and friendships are being formed online and then carried to an offline/in person setting. Social networking sites play a vital role in this area as well, being able to meet someone as a "friend" and see what common interests you share and how they have built up their friend base and "likes" you can truly see a more whole picture of the person you are talking with and most sites are free instead of being pay based which allows younger people with stricter budgets to enjoy some of the same features.

Typical structure of these websites

Basics
Social networking sites share some conventional features. Most often, individual users are encouraged to create profiles containing much information about them. Users can often upload pictures of themselves to their profiles, post blog entries for others to read, search for other users with similar interests, and compile and share lists of contacts. In addition, user profiles often have a section dedicated to comments from friends and other users. To protect user privacy, social networks usually have controls that allow users to choose who can view their profile, contact them, add them to their list of contacts, and so on.

Additional features
Some social networks have additional features, such as the ability to create groups that share common interests or affiliations, upload or stream live videos, and hold discussions in forums.Lately, mobile social networking has become popular. In most mobile communities, mobile phone users can now create their own profiles, make friends, participate in chat rooms, create chat rooms, hold private conversations, share photos and videos, and share blogs by using their mobile phone. One of the most popular wireless services for social networking in North America is Facebook Mobile.
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Emerging trends in social networking

As the increase in popularity of social networking is on a constant rise, new uses for the technology are constantly being observed. At the forefront of emerging trends in social networking sites is the concept of "real-time web" and "location-based." Real-time allows users to contribute content, which is then broadcast as it is being uploaded - the concept is analogous to live radio and television broadcasts. Twitter set the trend for "real-time" services, wherein users can broadcast to the world what they are doing, or what is on their minds within a 140-character limit. Facebook followed suit with their "Live Feed" where users' activities are streamed as soon as it happens. While Twitter focuses on words, Clixtr, another real-time service, focuses on group photo sharing wherein users can update their photo streams with photos while at an event. Companies have begun to merge business technologies and solutions, such as cloud computing, with social networking concepts. Instead of connecting individuals based on social interest, companies are developing interactive communities that connect individuals based on shared business needs or experiences. Many provide specialized networking tools and applications that can be accessed via their websites, such as LinkedIn. Others companies, such as Monster.com, have been steadily developing a more "socialized" feel to their career center sites to harness some of the power of social networking sites. These more business related sites have their own nomenclature for the most part but the most common naming conventions are "Vocational Networking Sites" or "Vocational Media Networks", with the former more closely tied to individual networking relationships based on social networking principles. Foursquare gained popularity as it allowed for users to "check-in" to places that they are frequenting at that moment. Gowalla is another such service that functions in much the same way that Foursquare does, leveraging the GPS in phones to create a locationbased user experience. Clixtr, though in the real-time space, is also a location-based social networking site, since events created by users are automatically geotagged, and

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users can view events occurring nearby through the Clixtr iPhone app. Recently, Yelp announced its entrance into the location-based social networking space through checkins with their mobile app; whether or not this becomes detrimental to Foursquare or Gowalla is yet to be seen, as it is still considered a new space in the Internet technology industry.

Social networks and science

One other use that is being discussed is the use of social networks in the science communities. Julia Porter Liebeskind et al. have published a study on how new biotechnology firms are using social networking sites to share exchanges in scientific knowledge. They state in their study that by sharing information and knowledge with one another, they are able to "increase both their learning and their flexibility in ways that would not be possible within a self-contained hierarchical organization." Social networking is allowing scientific groups to expand their knowledge base and share ideas, and without these new means of communicating their theories might become "isolated and irrelevant".

Social networks and education

Social networks are also being used by teachers and students as a communication tool. Because many students are already using a wide-range of social networking sites, teachers have begun to familiarize themselves with this trend and are now using it to their advantage. Teachers and professors are doing everything from creating chat-room forums and groups to extend classroom discussion to posting assignments, tests and quizzes, to assisting with homework outside of the classroom setting. Social networks are also being used to foster teacher-parent communication. These sites make it possible and more convenient for parents to ask questions and voice concerns without having to meet face-to-face. The advent of social networking platforms may also be impacting the way(s) in which learners engage with technology in general. The use of online social networks by libraries is also an increasingly prevalent and growing tool that is being used to communicate with more potential library users, as well as extending the services provided by individual libraries.
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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. Their business model is based upon large membership count, and charging for membership would be counterproductive. 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. Social networks operate under an autonomous business model, in which a social network's members serve dual roles as both the suppliers and the consumers of content. This is in contrast to a traditional business model, where the suppliers and consumers are distinct agents. Revenue is typically gained in the autonomous business model via advertisements, but subscription-based revenue is possible when membership and content levels are sufficiently high.

Application domains
Government applications
Social networking is more recently being used by various government agencies. Social networking tools serve as a quick and easy way for the government to get the opinion of the public and to keep the public updated on their activity. The Centers for Disease Control demonstrated the importance of vaccinations on the popular children's site Whyville and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has a virtual island on Second Life where people can explore underground caves or explore the effects of global warming. Likewise, NASA has taken advantage of a few social networking tools, including Twitter and Flickr.

Business applications
The use of social networking services in an enterprise context presents the potential of having a major impact on the world of business and work.
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Social networks connect people at low cost; this can be beneficial for entrepreneurs and small businesses looking to expand their contact bases. 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. Applications for social networking sites have extended toward businesses and brands are creating their own, high functioning sites, a sector known as brand networking. It is the idea a brand can build its consumer relationship by connecting their consumers to the brand image on a platform that provides them relative content, elements of participation, and a ranking or score system. Brand networking is a new way to capitalize on social trends as a marketing tool.

Social and political applications

Social networking sites have recently showed a value in social and political movements. In the Egyptian revolution, Facebook and Twitter both played a pivotal role in keeping people connected to the revolt. Egyptian activist have credited social networking sites with providing a platform for planning protest and sharing news from Tahrir Square in real time. By presenting a platform for thousands of people to instantaneously share videos of mainly events featuring brutality, social networking proves to be a vital tool in revolutions.

Educational applications
The National School Boards Association reports that almost 60 percent of students who use social networking talk about education topics online, and more than 50 percent talk specifically about schoolwork. Yet the vast majority of school districts have stringent rules against nearly all forms of social networking during the school day even though students and parents report few problem behaviors online.

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Social networks focused on supporting relationships between teachers and their students are now used for learning, educator professional development, and content sharing. Ning for teachers, TermWiki, Learn Central, TeachStreet and other sites are being built to foster relationships that include educational blogs, eportfolios, formal and ad hoc communities, as well as communication such as chats, discussion threads, and synchronous forums. These sites also have content sharing and rating features.

Issues
Effecting the productivity of employees
The use of social networking sites has become very easy in todays world of growing technology. Anyone can access his or her profile with just an operating system and internet connectivity. Employees at work often get tempted to use these websites. They use social media extensively while working at office. It is argued that it decreases their productivity and efficiency and thus decreases the companys profits. Another perspective is that using such sites relieves the employees stress and helps the business in many other ways. The main issue arising in many parts of the world is whether social media be banned at workplace or not.

Privacy
Privacy concerns with social networking services have been raised growing concerns amongst users on the dangers of giving out too much personal information and the threat of sexual predators. Users of these services also need to be aware of data theft or viruses. However, large services, such as MySpace and Netlog, 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. Furthermore, there is an issue over the control of datainformation that was altered or removed by the user may in fact be retained and/or passed to third parties. This danger

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was highlighted when the controversial social networking site Quechup harvested e-mail addresses from users' e-mail accounts for use in a spamming operation. Privacy on social networking sites can be undermined by many factors. For example, users may disclose personal information, sites may not take adequate steps to protect user privacy, and third parties frequently use information posted on social networks for a variety of purposes. "For the Net generation, social networking sites have become the preferred forum for social interactions, from posturing and role playing to simply sounding off. However, because such forums are relatively easy to access, posted content can be reviewed by anyone with an interest in the users' personal information".

Access to information
Many social networking services, such as Facebook, provide the user with a choice of who can view their profile. This prevents unauthorized user(s) from accessing their information. Parents who want to access their child's MySpace or Facebook account have become a big problem for teenagers who do not want their profile seen by their parents. By making their profile private, teens can select who may see their page, allowing only people added as "friends" to view their profile and preventing unwanted viewing of the profile by parents. Most teens are constantly trying to create a structural barrier between their private life and their parents. To edit information on a certain social networking service account, the social networking sites require you to login or provide a password. This prevents unauthorized user(s) from adding, changing, or removing personal information, pictures, and/or other data.

Potential for misuse

The relative freedom afforded by social networking services has caused concern regarding the potential of its misuse by individual patrons. In October 2006, a fake Myspace profile created in the name of Josh Evans by Lori Janine Drew led to the suicide of Megan Meier. The event incited global concern regarding the use of social networking services for bullying purposes.

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At the same time, genuine use of social networking services has been treated with suspicion on the ground of the services' misuse. In September 2008, the profile of Australian Facebook user Elmo Keep was banned by the site's administrators on the grounds that it violated the site's terms of use. Keep is one of several users of Facebook who were banned from the site on the presumption that their names aren't real, as they bear resemblance the names of characters like Sesame Street's Elmo.

Interpersonal communication
Interpersonal communication has been a growing issue as more and more people have turned to social networking as a means of communication. "Benniger (1987) describes how mass media has gradually replaced interpersonal communication as a socializing force. Further, social networking sites have become popular sites for youth culture to explore them, relationships, and share cultural artifacts". Many teens and social networking users may be harming their interpersonal communication by using sites such as Facebook and MySpace. Stated by Baroness Greenfield, an Oxford University Neuroscientist, "My fear is that these technologies are infantilizing the brain into the state of small children who are attracted by buzzing noises and bright lights, who have a small attention span and who live for the moment." The convenience that social network sites give users to communicate with one another can also damage their interpersonal communication.

Psychological effects of social networking

As social networking sites have raised in popularity over the past years, people have been spending an excessive amount of time on the Internet in general and social networking sites in specific. This has led researchers to debate the establishment of Internet addiction as an actual clinical disorder. Social networking can also affect the extent to which a person feels lonely. In a Newsweek article, Johannah Cornblatt explains Social-networking sites like Facebook and MySpace may provide people with a false sense of connection that ultimately increases loneliness in people who feel alone.

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Market share
According to ComScore, up to end of November 2011:

WORLDWIDE

UNIQUE VISITORS (000) 792,999 167,903 94,823 66756 61,037 255,539 1,438,877

Percentage

Facebook Twitter Linkedln Google Plus MySpace Others Total

55.1% 11.7% 6.6% 4.6% 4.2% 17.8% 100%

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UNIT 2

OBJECTIVES AND METHODOLOGY

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Objectives To
elicit the consumer perception towards internet and social networking websites.

To know the most used social networking service. To analyze the data obtained and come to a consensus whether people would
like to ban use of social networking sites in office premises or not.

Methodology
Data should be analyzed and presented in a simple and proper manner such that people are able to understand it easily. Data analysis goes through various stages of data collection, sorting, analyzing, interpreting and presenting it. Data analysis has different approaches by different people. The first step is to collect the data from various sources that are available. This data is raw and unorganized. The next step is to sort the data so that analyzing it becomes easy. Sorting is done according to the purpose. Analysis is done on this data using various tools. Tables and graphs are made to present this data. Observations are carried out and interpretations are made according to the data collected. The final step is to present the data in a structural manner so that people are able to understand it quickly and easily. First a table is created according to the data collected. It is followed a graphical representation in the form of columns and bars. Lastly, a meaningful interpretation is made which is based on the data. This is the organized and meaningful data. The presentation of data should look attractive so that people feel interested to look at the data and use it.

Sample of the survey

A sample of 100 people has been selected for the purpose of carrying out the survey. Their views about social networking were taken irrespective of whether they use the sites or not. The sample was randomly selected.
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Method of data collection

There was a twofold method of collecting the data for this project. Primary data- A questionnaire method was used to collect primary data. A total of 21 questions were part of the questionnaire which were asked to find out about the different the perspectives of different people towards social networking. This data was systematically presented in the form of tables, charts and bar graphs and then interpretation was made accordingly. Secondary data- Secondary data was collected from various sources such as newspapers, internet, magazines, journals and various other books. This data is used to focus on the problem in detail and contains various facts relating to the topic.

Period of study
The period of study was spread across 3 to 4 weeks. A survey was conducted to collect primary data and secondary data was collected through other sources.

Implications of the study

There have been various implications of the study. This study was useful in finding out how much time people spend on internet and how much time is allocated to social networking. The project was useful in finding out the most used and most popular social networking website among people which was Facebook. This study helped to know whether people use these sites while work or study and whether they knew its pros and cons. This project helped in creating awareness about the advantages and disadvantages of using social media in office. Finally, it helped to elicit the consumer perception towards social networking websites.

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Limitations of the study

The sample size was limited to a number of 100 people only. Since the sample size was small, the study may or may not have reflected the accurate characteristics of the general public. It was assumed that all the respondents who were part of the study knew about the social networking sites. The survey was taken up for a limited period of 3 to 4 weeks. Thus, it does not present the changes in the attitude of the people which occur over a period of time. A major limitation of any survey is that we cannot generalize the data to all the people. Different people have different thinking and thus every aspect of each individual could not be covered under the study. Another study with a much larger sample and spread across a long period of time could more efficiently bring out whether people would like to ban social networking while working or not. Further research could widen the frame of reference by drawing on larger samples
nationally and internationally and addressing users of different ages and demographic profiles. Further investigation into this model could clarify and confirm its importance in business and industry.

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UNIT 3

Profile of Facebook and Twitter Advantages and disadvantages of using Social Networking Websites at work

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Profile
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. As of February 2012, Facebook has more than 845 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as friends, and exchange messages, including automatic notifications when they update their profile. Additionally, users may join common-interest user groups, organized by workplace, school or college, or other characteristics, and categorize their friends into lists such as "People From Work" or "Close Friends". The name of the service stems from the colloquial name for the book given to students at the start of the academic year by some university administrations in the United States to help students get to know each other. Facebook allows any users who declare themselves to be at least 13 years old to become registered users of the site. Facebook was founded by Mark Zuckerberg with his college roommates and fellow students Eduardo Saverin, Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes. The Web site's membership was initially limited by the founders to Harvard students, but was expanded to other colleges in the Boston area, the Ivy League, and Stanford University. It gradually added support for students at various other universities before opening to high school students, and eventually to anyone aged 13 and over. However, based on ConsumersReports.org in May 2011, there are 7.5 million children under 13 with accounts, violating the site's terms of service. A January 2009 Compete.com study ranked Facebook as the most used social networking service by worldwide monthly active users. Entertainment Weekly included the site on its end-of-the-decade "best-of" list, saying, "How on earth did we stalk our
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exes, remember our co-workers' birthdays, bug our friends, and play a rousing game of Scrabulous before Facebook?" Quantcast estimates Facebook has 138.9 million monthly unique U.S. visitors in May 2011. According to Social Media Today, in April 2010 an estimated 41.6% of the U.S. population had a Facebook account. Nevertheless, Facebook's market growth started to stall in some regions, with the site losing 7 million active users in the United States and Canada in May 2011. Facebook filed for an initial public offering on February 1, 2012.

History
Mark Zuckerberg wrote Facemash, the predecessor to Facebook, on October 28, 2003, while attending Harvard as a sophomore. According to The Harvard Crimson, the site was comparable to Hot or Not, and "used photos compiled from the online facebooks of nine houses, placing two next to each other at a time and asking users to choose the 'hotter' person". To accomplish this, Zuckerberg hacked into the protected areas of Harvard's computer network and copied the houses' private dormitory ID images. Harvard at that time did not have a student "facebook" (a directory with photos and basic information). Facemash attracted 450 visitors and 22,000 photo-views in its first four hours online. The site was quickly forwarded to several campus group list-servers, but was shut down a few days later by the Harvard administration. Zuckerberg was charged by the administration with breach of security, violating copyrights, and violating individual privacy, and faced expulsion. Ultimately, however, the charges were dropped. Zuckerberg expanded on this initial project that semester by creating a social study tool ahead of an art history final, by uploading 500 Augustan images to a Web site, with one image per page along with a comment section. He opened the site up to his classmates, and people started sharing their notes. The following semester, Zuckerberg began writing code for a new Web site in January 2004. He was inspired, he said, by an editorial in The Harvard Crimson about the

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Facemash incident. On February 4, 2004, Zuckerberg launched "Thefacebook", originally located at thefacebook.com. Membership was initially restricted to students of Harvard College, and within the first month, more than half the undergraduate population at Harvard was registered on the service. Eduardo Saverin (business aspects), Dustin Moskovitz (programmer), Andrew McCollum (graphic artist), and Chris Hughes soon joined Zuckerberg to help promote the Web site. In March 2004, Facebook expanded to Stanford, Columbia, and Yale. It soon opened to the other Ivy League schools, Boston University, New York University, MIT, and gradually most universities in Canada and the United States. Facebook was incorporated in mid-2004, and the entrepreneur Sean Parker, who had been informally advising Zuckerberg, became the company's president. In June 2004, Facebook moved its base of operations to Palo Alto, California. The company dropped The from its name after purchasing the domain name facebook.com in 2005 for $200,000. Facebook expanded membership eligibility to employees of several companies, including Apple Inc. and Microsoft. Facebook was then opened on September 26, 2006, to everyone of age 13 and older with a valid email address.

Ownership
The ownership percentages of the company are as follows. Mark Zuckerberg: 28.4%, Accel Partners: 10%, Digital Sky Technologies: 10%, Dustin Moskovitz: 6%, Eduardo Saverin: 5%, Sean Parker: 4%, Peter Thiel: 3%, Greylock Partners and Meritech Capital Partners: between 1

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Source: Wikipedia to 2% each, Microsoft: 1.3%, Li Ka-shing: 0.75%, the Interpublic Group: less than 0.5%. A small group of current and former employees and celebrities own less than 1% each, including Matt Cohler, Jeff Rothschild, Adam D'Angelo, Chris Hughes, and Owen Van Natta, while Reid Hoffman and Mark Pincus have sizable holdings of the company. The remaining 30% or so are owned by employees, an undisclosed number of celebrities, and outside investors. Adam D'Angelo, chief technology officer and friend of Zuckerberg, resigned in May 2008. Reports claimed that he and Zuckerberg began quarreling, and that he was no longer interested in partial ownership of the company.

Revenue
Most of Facebook's revenue comes from advertising. Microsoft is Facebook's exclusive partner for serving banner advertising, and therefore Facebook serves only advertisements that exist in Microsoft's advertisement inventory.

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Facebook generally has a lower clickthrough rate (CTR) for advertisements than most major Web sites. According to BusinessWeek.com, banner advertisements on Facebook have generally received one-fifth the number of clicks compared to those on the Web as a whole, although specific comparisons can reveal a much larger disparity. For example, while Google users click on the first advertisement for search results an average of 8% of the time (80,000 clicks for every one million searches), Facebook's users click on advertisements an average of 0.04% of the time (400 clicks for every one million pages).

Source: Wikipedia

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Profile
Twitter is an online social networking service and micro blogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, known as "tweets". It was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July. The service rapidly gained worldwide popularity, with over 300 million users as of 2011, generating over 300 million tweets and handling over 1.6 billion search queries per day. It has been described as "the SMS of the Internet." Twitter Inc. is based in San Francisco, with additional servers and offices in New York City.

Creation
Twitter's origins lie in a "daylong brainstorming session" held by board members of the podcasting company Odeo. Dorsey introduced the idea of an individual using an SMS service to communicate with a small group. The original project code name for the service was twttr, an idea that Williams later ascribed to Noah Glass, inspired by Flickr and the five-character length of American SMS short codes. The developers initially considered "10958" as a short code, but later changed it to "40404" for "ease of use and memorability." Work on the project started on March 21, 2006, when Dorsey published the first Twitter message at 9:50 PM Pacific Standard Time (PST): "just setting up my twttr".

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"...we came across the word 'twitter', and it was just perfect. The definition was 'a short burst of inconsequential information,' and 'chirps from birds'. And that's exactly what the product was." Jack Dorsey The first Twitter prototype was used as an internal service for Odeo employees and the full version was introduced publicly on July 15, 2006. In October 2006, Biz Stone, Evan Williams, Dorsey, and other members of Odeo formed Obvious Corporation and acquired Odeo and all of its assets including Odeo.com and Twitter.com from the investors and shareholders. Williams fired Glass who was silent about his part in Twitter's startup until 2011. Twitter spun off into its own company in April 2007.

Leadership
As chief executive officer, Dorsey saw the startup through two rounds of capital funding by the venture capitalists who backed the company. On October 16, 2008, Williams took over the role of CEO, and Dorsey became chairman of the board.[28] On October 4, 2010, Williams announced that he was stepping down as CEO. Dick Costolo, formerly Twitter's chief operating officer, became CEO. According to a Twitter blog, dated October 4, 2010, Williams was to stay with the company and "be completely focused on product strategy." According to The New York Times, "Mr. Dorsey and Mr. Costolo forged a close relationship" when Williams was away. According to PC Magazine, Williams was "no longer involved in the day-to-day goings on at the company". He is focused on developing a new startup, but he became a member of Twitter's board of directors, and promised to "help in any way I can". Stone is still with Twitter but is working with AOL as an "advisor on volunteer efforts and philanthropy".

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Dorsey rejoined Twitter in March 2011, as executive chairman focusing on product development. His time is split with Square (where he is CEO), whose offices are within walking distance of Twitter's in San Francisco. In September 2011, Board Members and investors Fred Wilson and Bijan Sabet resigned from Twitter's Board of Directors.

Funding
Twitter raised over US$57 million from venture capitalist growth funding, although exact numbers are not publicly disclosed. Twitter's first A round of funding was for an undisclosed amount that is rumored to have been between $1 million and $5 million. Its second B round of funding in 2008 was for $22 million and its third C round of funding in 2009 was for $35 million from Institutional Venture Partners and Benchmark Capital along with an undisclosed amount from other investors including Union Square Ventures, Spark Capital and Insight Venture Partners. Twitter is backed by Union Square Ventures, Digital Garage, Spark Capital, and Bezos Expeditions. In May 2008, The Industry Standard remarked that Twitter's long-term viability is limited by a lack of revenue. Twitter board member Todd Chaffee forecast that the company could profit from e-commerce, noting that users may want to buy items directly from Twitter since it already provides product recommendations and promotions. The company raised $200 million in new venture capital in December 2010, at a valuation of approximately $3.7 billion. In March 2011, 35,000 Twitter shares sold for $34.50 each on Sharespost, an implied valuation of $7.8 billion. In August, 2010 Twitter announced a "significant" investment lead by Digital Sky Technology that, at $800 million, was reported to be the largest venture round in history.

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Use Of Social Networking Websites At Work

Social networks have become the lifeline of communication for many a working person across the world. They are the platform that people share with friends and family to catch up on what is happening in each others life. People have little time to actually connect in the real world that makes social networks especially important. Should social networks be banned at the workplace is a rather serious and volatile discussion. It is a question that is being discussed in many management and HR meetings even as you are reading this. Policies are probably being drawn up to be included in gigantic employee manuals but this is something that should be handled with careful consideration, and forethought. It is easy for a business to ban social networks from the workplace but, should they do this without considering the advantages that the experience of being on the sites brings to the company. Social networking is slowly taking over the Internet. People are using these sites to do more than just connect to friends and those who have the same interests, they are now being used to establish business contacts and maintain these business relationships. But, with all the information that people display on their social networking site, such as pictures that show them having a night out with friends, people are wondering do social networking sites have a place in the business world? This is an excellent question that many company heads are now asking themselves and weighing the pros and cons of the issue, as well as having the rest of the world weigh in on this decision To Ban or Not to Ban According to a report from Robert Half Technology, a whopping 54% of U.S. companies say that they have banned workers from using social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and MySpace while on the job. The study, released today, also found that 19% of companies allow social networking use only for business purposes, while 16% allow limited personal use. Some of the reasons typically given by employers for wanting to ban social networks at the workplace are as follows:

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Exposure of companys computers and network to virus and spyware. Loss in productivity affecting the bottom line. Affect on available bandwidth to the business. Legal Liability Leaking of corporate information.

Only 10% of the 1,400 CIOs interviewed said that their companies allow employees full access to social networks during work hours. "Using social networking sites may divert employees' attention away from more pressing priorities, so it's understandable that some companies limit access," said Dave Willmer, executive director of Robert Half Technology and a Computerworld columnist, in a statement. "For some professions, however, these sites can be leveraged as effective business tools, which may be why about one in five companies allow their use for work-related purposes." A study released last summer concluded that social networking use could hurt the bottom line. Nucleus Research, an IT research firm, reported in July that employee productivity drops 1.5% at companies that allow full access to Facebook in the workplace. That survey of 237 corporate employees also showed that 77% of workers who have a Facebook account use it during work hours. Nucleus said that the survey found that "some" employees use the social networking site for as much as two hours a day at work And of those using Facebook at work, 87% said they had no clear business reason for accessing the network. Interestingly a large number of businesses use social networks to recruit employees. Then it seems strange that they want to ban the same sites where they found their employees. Social networks offer an efficient and effective mode of communication that cannot be negated and simply banning the sites would be like throwing the baby away with the bath water.
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According to an AT&T a study on social networking technologies, access to social networking sites at the workplace actually increases employee productivity and efficiency. Employees feel that access to a wide and rich source of information on social networks often provided them solutions to problems and also inspired them creatively. AT &Ts white paper on this subject also showed that 74% of European employers stated the following benefits to allowing access to social networks at the workplace:

Access to information and solution to problems. A medium of sharing knowledge and information between employees, suppliers and customers.

Basis for better team building and internal structure in the workplace.

Advantages
Its very easy to jump to the conclusion that social networking is damaging to productivity, but there are benefits. Ask yourself if the morale boost for your staff and potential for free marketing to their friends is something your business can afford to miss. 1. Theres a morale boost: When considering whether social networking sites should be used in a business, consider the morale that it gives workers. They can have a laugh or two during the day that can loosen up the rest of their day so that they are ready to work. 2. Free marketing to friends: Those workers who acknowledge that they work for that particular company are able to give the business free marketing to all their friends. When they comment that they had a great day at work, this makes the business more appealing to those that are looking for a great business to work for. In addition, when someone has a problem with a certain case that they are working on, they can reach out with their network and gain other peoples perspective. This can help bring a whole

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wider view of thinking that would otherwise be cut off if social networking was not allowed. 3. You can never completely block social networks: Blocking social networking from occurring at work really does not work properly. With all the electronics that are available that allow instant access to these sites, the business is really only kidding themselves. You may block it on the computer, but otherwise, you have done nothing. If people want to find a way around the block they will, and all the hard earned money that you spent on putting these blocks in place are useless and a complete waste of funds that could have been used for something much more helpful. 4. Form relationships with customers: Social media networking sites can help for your employees to stay connected to customers to form a lasting relationship, which is something that every business strives for. 5. Builds credibility: You can build trust with customers if you can connect with them on both personal and professional level. Using social networking sites is all about sharing information, not only your own information but other peoples information that you think can be useful for others as well. The more your customers know about you, the better. Despite having to do a bit of work, it definitely pays off as you can be tapped for an offer if someone catches wind of your products or services. As long as you dont pursue them too aggressively, you will do well here. 6. Building a strong brand and knowing your competition: Another huge advantage of social networking is that you can relatively quickly build a brand for your business. This is good news for people who are marketing online or thinking about a cheap and effective marketing strategy. Your marketing message will spread all around the web in a short time virtually for free. From a marketing perspective, one of the biggest advantages of social networking is that you can spy on your competition. All you need to do is follow them on the biggest social sites and you will have a good picture of what they are doing. This makes it easier for you to come up with a market plan and find your own niche.

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Disadvantages
There are many reasons why bosses have banned social networking in their business. But are they enough to convince you to block Facebook and Twitter et al in your office? 1. Time Consuming: For starters, people are obsessed with these social networks. They feel a need to let everyone know what they are doing during all times of the day, including the work day. This means that more and more employees are accessing the social network while they should be focusing on work for their boss. Therefore, in order to make sure that people remain on task, social networking has been banned If this is not your kind of thing that it would just be a waste of time for you. The key to social networking is that it is supposed to be fun, whether you are just doing it for kicks or clicking around for business purposes. That should be reasonable enough for anyone, but there are those people who don't see the point. For them, it can be a disadvantage. 2. Increased susceptibility to attack: Using these social network sites at work can increase the chances of the computer being targeted for an attack. For example, many of the scams out there that involve social network sites obtain personal data from the computer in which the site is being accessed. If this were to happen at a business, they risk the chance of having confidential client information released. So for safety, these sites should be blocked from the business world. 3. Affecting the productivity of employees: The use of social networking sites has become very easy in todays world of growing technology. Anyone can access his or her profile with just an operating system and internet connectivity. Employees at work often get tempted to use these websites. They use social media extensively while working at office. It is argued that it decreases their productivity and efficiency and thus decreases the companys profits. Another perspective is that using such sites relieves the employees stress and helps the business in many other ways. The main issue arising in many parts of the world is whether social media be banned at workplace or not.

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4. Greater scope for dissent in the workplace: Allowing social network sites to be used in the workplace can lead to arguments among employees as they fight over ridiculous aspects such as who are friends with whom. This can only decrease the productivity and the morale in the workplace. In addition, it can lead to more arguments that turn into a he said, she said sort of problem that does not help productivity in the least and can cause even more problems at work. 5. Access to information and misuse: Many social networking services, such as Facebook, provide the user with a choice of who can view their profile. This prevents unauthorized user(s) from accessing their information. Parents who want to access their child's MySpace or Facebook account have become a big problem for teenagers who do not want their profile seen by their parents. By making their profile private, teens can select who may see their page, allowing only people added as "friends" to view their profile and preventing unwanted viewing of the profile by parents. To edit information on a certain social networking service account, the social networking sites require you to login or provide a password. This prevents unauthorized user(s) from adding, changing, or removing personal information, pictures, and/or other data. What Next? Clearly the use of social networks is important to employees and plays a crucial role in their lives and should not be banned at the workplace completely. What is important is to specify how such use may be permissible in the workplace. Employee-employer communications are essential to clarify issues such as how much time may be spent online and that company information should not be revealed, knowingly or unknowingly. Some experts suggest that having a company presence on social networks, in the form of a group, help bind employees and strengthen the corporate team. It is interesting to note that over 40,000 MySpace groups and 4,000 Facebook groups are either company or employee based. So the discussion goes on. What is your take on this subject?

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UNIT 4

ANALYSIS OF CONSUMER PERCEPTION TOWARDS SOCIAL NETWORKING

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Table 1: Age of respondents

(N=100)
Particulars 0 15 yrs 15 30 yrs 30 45 yrs 45 and above Total Frequency 2 92 2 3 100 Percentage 2 92 2 3 100

100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Age 0-15 yrs 15-30 yrs 30-45 yrs Above 45 yrs

The age of respondents of the survey is shown in this table. The respondents who were surveyed were mostly aged between 15 and 30 years with 92 %. People with less than 15 years of age were only 2. People with age between 30 and 45 years were also 2 and there were 3 people whose age was above 45 years.

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Table 2: Occupation of respondents

(N=100)
Particulars Employee Student Businessperson Frequency 4 90 6 Percentage 4 90 6

Total

100

100

100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Occupation Employee Student Businessperson Other

The above table presents the occupation of the people surveyed. The highest number of respondents were students with 90. There were 4 people who were working as employees and 6 people who were running a business. Thus, it can be concluded that the respondents who were surveyed consisted mostly of the youth.

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Table 3: Time spent on internet everyday

(N=100)
Particulars 0 2 hrs 2 4 hrs More than 4 hrs Total Frequency 83 15 2 100 Percentage 83 15 2 100

100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Time Spent On Internet Everyday 0-2 hrs 2-4 hrs More than 4 hrs

This table shows the average time spent by people every day. Most of the people said they use internet between 0 and 2 hours (83%). 15% of the people use it for more than 2 hours but less than 4 hours and only 2 out of 100 use it for more than 4 hours. It can be clearly seen that many people prefer to use internet for not more than 2 hours per day. With the internet connection becoming easily available and cheaper by the day, there are some people who have started using it for longer periods.

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Table 4: Use of social networking websites

(N=100)
Particulars Yes No Total Frequency 95 5 100 Percentage 95 5 100

100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Use Social Networking Sites Yes No

This table shows how many of the people surveyed use social networking sites. A majority of them said they use social networking sites on a regular basis. 95% of the people do social networking while only 5% stay away from it. This shows the popularity of social networking sites. Anyone can join these sites and use it without any payment. They provide a place for networking, playing games and act as a stress buster. Thus, it is no surprise that most of the people are getting addicted to social networking.

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Table 5: Time spent on social networks everyday

(N=100)
Particulars Less than 1 hour 1 3 hrs More than 3 hrs Total Frequency 70 19 11 100 Percentage 70 19 11 100

100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Time Spent On Social Networks Everyday Less than 1 hour 1-3 hrs More than 3 hrs

It is also important to know how much time people spend on social networking sites. 70% of the people use it for less than an hour. 19 people said they use it for more than 1 hour but less than 3 hours and 11 people said they use it for more than 3 hours. A lot of people do not spend too much time on these websites but some people who are addicted use it extensively. With the mushrooming popularity of such sites, we can expect that there could be more people in the future who start using it for more time.

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Table 6: Use of internet for (N=100)

Particulars Using social networks Surfing for information Both Total Frequency 20 18 62 100 Percentage 20 18 62 100

100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Use Of Internet Using social networks Surfing for information Both

This table shows what people usually do while they are online i.e. the reason for using internet. Some people use it only for social networking while some use it only to search the information they need. But most of the people are interested in both, social networks and information related websites. Though the majority of people are using it for both the purposes, it can be seen that 1 out of every 5 individuals is only interested in social networking which is a bad sign.

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Table 7: Most used social networking website

(N=100)
Particulars Facebook Twitter Myspace Orkut Google+ Total Frequency 82 8 1 3 6 100 Percentage 82 8 1 3 6 100

100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Most Popular Social Networking Website Facebook Twitter Myspace Orkut Google+

The most popular social networking website was Facebook. Facebook totally outnumbered all other social networks with an astonishing 82% of the people. Facebooks popularity has immensely increased in the past couple of years. Twitter was the second most popular social networking website with 8% while Myspace, Orkut and Google+ had even less number of users.

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Table 8: Reason for use of social networking websites

(N=100)
Particulars Takes stress away Networking Playing games Total 100 Frequency 20 65 15 Percentage 20 65 15 100

70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Reason For Use Of Social Networking Takes stress away Networking Playing games

A question arises as to why people use social networking sites so often. A majority of people are using them for networking i.e. connecting with old and new friends and sharing their day to day stories. Some of the people said they use them for relieving the stress when they are tired and some people use it for playing games.

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Table 9: Use of social media at work or study

(N=100)
Particulars Yes No Frequency 37 63 Percentage 37 63

Total

100

100

70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Use Of Social Media At Work Or Study Yes No

This is one of the most important things to know as far as the topic is concerned whether people use social networking sites while working and studying or not. 63% of the respondents do not use such sites while working or studying. But around 37 people said they use social media while working or studying which is fairly a large number.

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Table 10: Aware of the pros and cons of social media at work
(N=100)
Particulars Yes No Total Frequency 72 28 100 Percentage 72 28 100

80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Aware Of Pros And Cons Of Using Social media at work Yes No

This bar graph depicts whether the people are aware of the advantages and disadvantages of using social media at work or not. 72% of the people said they know about the benefits and harms of using social networks while working and the rest said they are not aware them. It can be seen that a majority of people know about the pros and cons of using social media at work.

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Table 11: Social networking at work decreases productivity of people

(N=100)
Particulars Yes No Maybe Total Frequency 16 8 76 100 Percentage 16 8 76 100

80 70 60 Yes 50 40 30 20 10 0 Social Networking Decreases Productivity At Work No Maybe

This pie graph shows whether the people think social networking decreases the productivity and efficiency of employees or not. 16 out of 100 said yes, using these sites distracts the concentration of employees and affects their efficiency while 8 said they dont think it will affect the efficiency of employees. 76% of the people are not sure whether it will affect the employees efficiency or not. Thus, many people do not if it will affect the employees and there should be more awareness about it.

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Table 12: Aware that foreign companies have banned these sites at work
(N=100)
Particulars Yes No Total Frequency 50 50 100 Percentage 50 50 100

50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Aware That Foreign Companies Have Banned These Sites Yes No

There are some foreign companies that have banned social networking websites in their office because of efficiency concerns. This table shows whether the respondents surveyed are aware of this fact or not. The number of people in both the categories is equal. There are 50 people who said they are aware of this fact and 50 said they are not aware it.

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Table 13: Indian companies should also consider banning these sites in office
(N=100)
Particulars Yes No Total Frequency 73 27 100 Percentage 73 27 100

80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Indian Companies Should Also Consider Banning These Sites Yes No

This graph shows if people think Indian companies should also consider banning social networking sites or not. 73% said yes and 23% said no. Thus, after seeing some foreign companies ban these websites in office, Indian companies can also think of banning these sites if they think it affects the productivity of employees.

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Table 14: Main reason for banning social media at work

(N=100)
Particulars Frequency Distraction from work 78 Affecting productivity and profits of company 10 Possible loss of corporate information 12 Total 100 Percentage 78 10 12 100

80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Reason For Banning Social Media At Work Distraction from work Affecting productivity and profits of company Possible loss of corporate information

This pie graph shows how using social networks at office by their employees can harm a company. The major affect what people think is that it causes distraction from work and employees are not able concentrate on their work. Some people feel it may affect the total production and profits of a company and some feel it may cause possible loss of their corporate information.

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Table 15: Practical efficiency of ban

(N=100)
Particulars Yes, itd work effectively May not work always No, wouldnt work effectively Total Frequency 20 68 12 100 Percentage 20 68 12 100

70 60 50 Yes, it'd work effectively 40 30 20 10 0 Practical Efficiency Of Ban May not work always No, wouldn't work effectively

Practical efficiency of ban means whether the ban would be able to control their employees from using such sites. 20% of people feel it would work whereas 12 % feel it would not work and the employees will be able to log in by using their phone or any other gadget. But a majority of people (68%) are not sure if it would work or not.

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Table 16: Social media helps and has important place in business
(N=100)
Particulars Yes No Total Frequency 71 29 100 Percentage 71 29 100

80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Social Media Helps And Has Important Place In Business Yes No

This table is made to find out if social networking has an important role to play in business and can help it. 71% of the people said yes, they can help the business while 29% of the people felt it cannot. It can be clearly seen that most of the people feel these websites are useful and can help the business.

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Table 17: Social media would help the company by

(N=100)
Particulars Engaging with customers Strengthening client relationship Gathering information Morale boost for staff Free marketing to friends Total Frequency 20 22 25 13 20 100 Percentage 20 22 25 13 20 100

25 Engaging with customers 20 Strengthening client relationship 15 Gathering information Morale boost for employees Free marketing to friends

10

0 Social Media Would Help The Company By

It is important to know how social networks can help the business. All options have got very close competition among themselves. People feel these websites can help a business to engage with customers, strengthen client relationship, gather information, boost the morale of employees and by free marketing to friends. Gathering information has a slight edge over others.

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Table 18: Instead of total ban, it is better to have a specific time for their use
(N=100)
Particulars Yes No Total Frequency 86 14 100 Percentage 86 14 100

90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Should There Be A Specific Time For Their Use Yes No

Instead of a total ban or total freedom, we can have an option of allotting a specific time for using social media, say, during lunch time. 84% are in favour of it while 14% are not. A majority of people support this idea and thus it can be a good option for some companies.

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Table 19: Banning social media would adversely affect the business
(N=100)
Particulars Yes No Total Frequency 56 44 100 Percentage 56 44 100

60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Banning Social Media Would Adversely Affect The Business Yes No

This table shows whether banning social media would adversely affect the business. 56 out of 100 people said yes, it can adversely affect the business while 44 said it would not. There is not much difference between the two and thus it is difficult to say whether they would adversely affect the business or not.

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Table 20: Separate department to guide and monitor their use

(N=100)
Particulars Yes No Total Frequency 48 52 100 Percentage 48 52 100

50

40 Yes 30 No

20

10 Separate Department To Guide And Monitor Their Use

Another option for the companies is to have a separate department which can guide, monitor and control the use of social networking websites by the employees in their office. 48% of the respondents are in favour of it while 52% are against it. It can be seen that approximately half of the people support this idea and half of them do not support it.

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Table 21: Your opinion on banning social networking at work

(N=100)
Particulars Yes No Total Frequency 47 53 100 Percentage 47 53 100

50

40 Yes 30 No

20

10 Your Opinion On Ban

Considering all the data and information, the respondents were to choose any one option from whether they would like to ban social networking websites at work or not. 47% of the people said yes, they would like to ban social media at office and 53% of the people are against it. Thus, most of the people are not in favour of banning social networking websites at work.

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UNIT 5

CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

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Conclusions
The main conclusion that can be drawn from the study is that a majority of people are not in favour of banning social networking websites in office. A majority of people do not spend more than two hours on internet. With internet connection now available on mobile phones, some people use it more frequently. Social networking websites are very popular among people and nearly all the respondents use them regularly. Most of the people do not spend more than one hour per day on these sites. Some people use it for two to three hours now that they can log in to their respective social networks using mobile phones and other gadgets. People usually spend their time on internet for both social networking and obtaining information they need from internet. Facebook is the most popular and most used social networking website. Social networks are mainly used for networking i.e. connecting and sharing information with people. Most of the people do not use social media while working or studying. A lot of people know about the advantages and disadvantages of using social media at work. People are not sure whether using social networking sites would decrease the efficiency of employees. Exactly half of the respondents were aware that some foreign companies have banned social networking sites at work. Half of them did not know about it. There is a general thinking that Indian companies should also consider banning social media in office premises. Distraction from work and losing concentration is the main problem of social networking while working. If there is a ban, employees can circumvent the rule and use social networks by logging in using their phone or any other device. Social media helps and has an important place in business.

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 Social media helps a company by engaging with customers, strengthening client relationship, gathering information, boosting the morale of employees and free marketing to friends. Instead of a total ban, it is better to give a specific time for the use of these sites. Some people believe that banning social networking sites from work could adversely affect the business. A separate department to guide and monitor the use of social networking sites is not needed in all the cases.

Suggestions
Organizations should avoid banning social media while working. They should only try to discourage the excessive use of these sites which can affect their work. Companies should place trust in their employees and in return the employees should try to give their best efforts in the well-being of the business. Organizations can benefit from social networking websites if they use it properly. They can connect with new customers and keep in touch with the old ones using social networking by contacting them regularly. Strengthening of client relationship is also possible. Gathering of information becomes easy for a company when they see customers reactions on various products and services. The morale of employees will be lifted if they are allowed to relieve their stress on social networking websites. A company can do free marketing to the friends of people who are connected through social networking. If workers interact with one another on social networks while in the office, this could spur ideas for future networking opportunities that aim to facilitate communication and increase productivity. Social Networking sites have opened a whole way for people to express, interact and release stress.

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 Rather than blocking sites, the management should encourage their employees to interact, express their views on such sites and yet be loyal to their deadline and works. The management should interact with their employees regarding the advantages and disadvantages of using social networking websites at work so that they know how it can affect or improve their work.

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Bibliography
Books

Name of the book

Author

Year of Publication July 2008

Publisher

Enterprise: How Social Software Will Change The Future Of Work The Future Of Internet And How To Stop It Dynamics Of Entrepreneurial Development And Management Social Media Marketing: An Hour a Day

Niall Cook Jonathan Zittrain

Gower Publishing Yale University Press Himalaya Publishing House John Wiley & Sons

April 2008

Vasant Deasi

2002

Dave Evans, Susan Bratton

October 2008

Newspapers
The Hindu Deccan Chronicle The Times Of India

Websites
Wikipedia Socialsmarty Facebook Computerworld Debatewise

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ANNEXURE
QUESTIONAIRE Should social networking sites be banned during working hours?
1. Age (a) Less than 15 years above 45 years (b) 15-30 years (c) 30-45 years (d)

2. Occupation (a) Employee (b) Student (c) Businessperson

3. How much time do you spend on Internet every day? (a) 0-2 hours (b) 2-4 hours (c) More than 4 hours

4. Do you use social networking websites? (a) Yes (b) No

5. How much time do you spend on social networking? (a) Less than an hour 6. While on Internet (a) You only use social media (b) Surf other sites for information (c) Both (b) 1-3 hours (c) more than 3 hours

7. Which of the following social networking sites do you use more often? (a) Facebook (d) Orkut (b) Twitter (e) Google+ (c) Myspace (f) Other:

8. Whats the main reason for your use of social networking sites? (a) Takes stress away (b) Networking (c) Playing Games (d) Other:

9. Do you use social networking sites while at work (or study) ? (a) Yes (b) No
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10. Do you the pros and cons of using social media at work? (a) Yes (b) No

11. Do you think using social networks while working decreases the productivity or efficiency of people? (a) Yes (b) No

12. Are you aware of the fact that many foreign companies have banned social networking sites at workplace for concerns of efficiency? (a) Yes (b) No

13. Do you think Indian Companies should also consider banning such sites at workplace? (a) Yes (b) No

14. According to you, what would be the main reason for banning social media at work? (a) Distraction from work company (c) Possible loss of corporate information (d) Other : (b) Affecting productivity and profits of

15. Does banning such sites at workplace practically work? (a) Yes, itd work effectively (b) May not work always

(c) No, people would be able to circumvent by using other means of logging in

16. It is said that social media helps the organization and they have an important place in business. Do you agree? (a) Yes (b) No

17. How do you think social media would help the company?
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(a) Engaging with customers (c) Gathering information friends

(b) Strengthening client relationship (d) Morale boost for staff (e) Free marketing to

18. Instead of a total ban or total freedom, is it better to provide a specific time (eg. during lunch) for use of social networks? (a) Yes (b) No

19. Banning social media would adversely affect the business in some cases? (a) Yes (b) No

20. Should organizations have a separate department to guide and monitor the employees to use social networking sites? (a) Yes (b) No

21. To make a conclusion, would you go with the option of banning social media at work? (a) Yes (b) No

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