Professional Ethics

Chapter 9
WHAT IS A SOCIAL NETWORKING WEBSITE?
• A social networking Web site creates an online community of Internet
users that enables members to break down the barriers of time,
distance, and cultural differences. Social networking Web sites allow
people to interact with others online by sharing opinions, insights,
information, interests, and experiences. Members of an online social
network may use the site to interact with friends, family members,
and colleagues—people they already know—but they may also make
use of the site to develop new personal and professional
relationships.
• With over 2 billion Internet users worldwide, there is an endless
range of interests represented online, and a correspondingly wide
range of social networking Web sites catering to those interests.
Thousands of social networking Web sites exist. Table 9-1 lists some
of the most popular ones, based on the number of unique visitors per
month.
BUSINESS APPLICATIONS OF ONLINE
SOCIAL NETWORKING
• Although social networking Web sites are primarily used for
nonbusiness purposes, a number of forward-thinking organizations
are employing this technology to advertise, assess job candidates,
and sell products and services. An increasing number of business
oriented social networking sites are designed to encourage and
support relationships with consumers, clients, potential employees,
suppliers, and business partners around the world.
Social Network Advertising
• Social network advertising involves the use of social networks to communicate
and promote the benefits of products and services. Advertisers were quick to
recognize the potential of social networking as another channel for promoting
products and services. It is estimated that 89 percent of advertisers use free tools
such as Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest to promote their products. Additionally, 75
percent of advertisers use paid media such as ads on Facebook or sponsored blog
content.
• Social network advertising has become big business. Global social media
advertising is expected to reach nearly $12 billion by 2014, with about half of that
being spent in North America. The effectiveness of social network advertising
varies by country. For example, Chinese users are three times more likely than
Americans to make a purchasing decision based on what they see on a social
network or in a blog, and a high percentage of Brazilians rely heavily on the use
social media to identify new products and find special discounts.
• Two significant advantages of social network advertising over more
traditional advertising media (e.g., radio, TV, and newspapers) are:
• (1) advertisers can create an opportunity to generate a conversation with
viewers of the ad, and
• (2) ads can be targeted to reach people with the desired demographic
characteristics.
• The two primary objectives of social media advertisers are raising
brand awareness and driving traffic to a Web site to increase product
sales. Organizations may employ one or more social network
advertising strategies, several of which are detailed in the following
sections.
Direct Advertising
• Direct advertising involves placing banner ads on a social networking
Web site. An ad can be displayed to every visitor to the Web site, or,
by using the information in user profiles, an ad can be directed
toward those members who would likely find the product most
appealing.
• Thus, an ad for a new magazine on mountain biking could be directed
to individuals on a social networking Web site who are male, who are
18 to 35 years old, and who express an interest in mountain biking.
Others on the social networking Web site would not see the ad.
Advertising Using an Individual’s Network of
Friends
• Companies can use social networking Web sites to advertise to an
individual’s network of contacts. When you sign on to your favorite social
networking Web site, you might see a message saying, “Jared [your friend]
just went to see Hangover IV—awesome, he says!” This can be an
extremely persuasive message, as people frequently make decisions to do
something or purchase something based on input from their close group of
friends.
• This might be a spontaneous message sent by Jared, or Jared might be
getting paid by an online promotion firm to send messages about certain
products. Or Jared might have simply “liked” the movie on Facebook, and
his name is now being used in an endorsement for the movie. There are
many ethical issues with this approach, as some people consider this to be
exploiting an individual’s personal relationships for the financial benefit of
a company.
Indirect Advertising Through Groups
• Innovative companies are also making use of a marketing technique
by creating groups on social networking Web sites that interested
users can join by becoming “fans.”
• These groups can quickly grow in terms of numbers of fans to become
a marketing tool for a company looking to market contests, promote
new products, or simply increase brand awareness. Often, though,
the fans gained in this manner do not remain loyal and are simply
interested in earning discounts or special promotions.
• Coca-Cola has over 67 million Facebook likes, 3 million YouTube video
content views, 204,000 LinkedIn followers, and 63,000 Twitter
followers. Surprisingly, Coca- Cola executives admit that it is hard to
find a direct link between online buzz (social chatter) and short-term
sales.
• However, the company strongly believes that social media is an
essential component of its overall marketing program
Company-Owned Social Networking Web Site
• A variation on the above approach is for a company to form its own
social networking Web site. For example, Dell created its own social
networking Web site, IdeaStorm, in February 2007 as a means for its
millions of customers in more than 100 countries to talk about what
new products, services, or improvements they would like to see Dell
develop.
• As of June 2013, the IdeaStorm community has suggested 19,075
ideas and posted 98,024 comments; Dell has implemented 537
customer-submitted ideas
Viral Marketing
• Viral marketing encourages individuals to pass along a marketing message
to others, thus creating the potential for exponential growth in the
message’s exposure and influence as one person tells two people, each of
those two people tell two or three more people, and so on. The goal of a
viral marketing campaign is to create a buzz about a product or idea that
spreads wide and fast.
• A successful viral marketing campaign requires little effort on the part of
the advertiser; however, the success of such campaigns can be very difficult
to predict. Hotmail created what is recognized by many as one of the most
successful viral marketing campaigns ever when it first launched its service
in 1996. Every email sent by a Hotmail user contained a short message at
the end of the email that promoted Hotmail’s free email service.
The Use of Social Networks in the Hiring
Process
• A 2012 survey found that 92 percent of respondents either use or plan to use
some form of social media—such as Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter—in their
recruiting.24 In addition, employers can and do look at the social networking
profiles of job candidates when making hiring decisions. In an effort to thoroughly
screen job applicants, some organizations ask for a candidate’s username and
password so they can log in as the candidate to Facebook or other social media
networks.
• Of course, logging in as the candidate enables the interviewer to see everything
posted to or about the candidate including details of their private user profiles.
This practice is more common in the hiring of people for law enforcement
positions, such as police officers or 911 dispatchers, so that the interviewer can
check for possible gang affiliations or any photos or discussion of illegal or
questionable activity. For a candidate desperate for a job, there is tremendous
pressure to provide their logon information if requested.
• Job candidates should review their presence on social networking
sites and remove photos and postings that reveal them in a
potentially negative light.
• Many job seekers delete their Facebook or MySpace account
altogether because they know employers check such sites. Jobseekers
must realize that pictures and words posted online, once intended for
friends only, can reach a much larger audience and can have an
impact on their job search.
The Use of Social Media to Improve Customer
Service
• In the past, companies relied heavily on their market research and
customer service organizations to provide them with insights into what
customers think about their products and services. Many consumer goods
companies put toll-free 800 phone numbers on their products so that
consumers could call in and speak with trained customer service reps to
share their comments and complaints.
• Increasingly, consumers are using social networks to share their
experiences, both good and bad, with others. And the old adage “A happy
customer tells a few people, an unhappy customer tells everyone” has
never been more true. A 2012 study found that 46 percent of Internet
users had used social networks to express their frustration with poor
products or services.
• Jet Blue has a customer service group that monitors Twitter on a 247
basis and responds immediately to tweets about operational
problems. For example, social media monitors will call gate agents to
suggest more information be announced if a customer tweets about a
lack of information regarding a flight delay.
• In 2009, GM formed a new customer service center, including five
U.S. call centers that communicate with over 25,000 dealers and
customers each day. The team also searches social media Web sites
such as Facebook and Twitter looking for negative comments about
the firm and its products and offering solutions to problems when
possible.
Social Shopping Web Sites
• Social shopping Web sites combine two highly popular online
activities—shopping and social networking. Social shopping Web site
members can typically build their own pages to collect information
and photos about items in which they are interested. The social
shopping Web site Stuffpit has implemented a reward system for
members, in which they are paid a commission each time another
shopper acts on their recommendation to purchase a specific item.
• Most social shopping Web sites generate revenue through retailer
advertising. Some also earn money by sharing with retailers data
about their members’ likes and dislikes.
SOCIAL NETWORKING ETHICAL ISSUES
• When you have a community of tens of millions of users, not
everyone is going to be a good “neighbor” and abide by the rules of
the community.
• Many will stretch or exceed the bounds of generally accepted
behavior. Some common ethical issues that arise for members of
social networking Web sites are cyberbullying, cyberstalking,
encounters with sexual predators, and the uploading of inappropriate
material.
Cyberbullying
• Cyberbullying is the harassment, torment, humiliation, or threatening
of one minor by another minor or group of minors via the Internet or
cell phone. Based on a formal survey of 15,000 middle and high
school children, it is estimated that as many as 25 percent of
teenagers have experienced cyberbullying in their lifetime.
There are numerous forms of cyberbullying, including the following:
• Sending mean-spirited or threatening messages to the victim
• Sending thousands of text messages to the victim’s cell phone and running up a
huge cell phone bill
• Impersonating the victim and sending inappropriate messages to others
• Stealing the victim’s password and modifying his or her profile to include racist,
homophobic, sexual, or other inappropriate data that offends others or attracts
the attention of undesirable people
• Posting mean, personal, or false information about the victim in the cyberbully’s
blog or on a social networking page
• Creating a Web site or social networking profile whose purpose is to humiliate or
threaten the victim
• Taking inappropriate photos of the victim and either posting them online or
sending them to others via cell phone
• Setting up an Internet poll to elicit responses to embarrassing questions, such as
“Who’s the biggest geek in Miss Adams’s homeroom?” and “Who is the biggest
loser in the senior class?”
• Sending inappropriate messages while playing interactive games that enable
participants to communicate with one another
Cyberstalking
• Cyberstalking is threatening behavior or unwanted advances directed at an adult
using the Internet or other forms of online and electronic communications; it is
the adult version of cyberbullying. Online stalking can be a serious problem for
victims, terrifying them and causing mental anguish. It is not unusual for
cyberstalking to escalate into abusive or excessive phone calls, threatening or
obscene mail, trespassing, vandalism, physical stalking, and even physical assault.
• In April 2013, a man was charged in federal court with cyberstalking 15 women in
three different cities for several months. He told the women he had nude photos
of them and that he would send them to their family and friends unless they sent
him more naked photos of themselves. And a former teacher was subjected to
harassment and cyberstalking for over two years after he broke up with his
girlfriend. The woman hacked into his email account and sent messages to his
entire contact list posing as him and lying about how he had sex with underage
students. She also posted nude photos of him on several Web sites.
Encounters with Sexual Predators
• Some social networking Web sites have been criticized for not doing
enough to protect minors from encounters with sexual predators.
MySpace spent two years purging potential problem members from
its site, including 90,000 registered sex offenders banned from the
site in early 2009.47 (As of January 2012, there were approximately
747,400 registered sex offenders in the United States.)
• According to Connecticut’s then-Attorney General Richard
Blumenthal, “convicted sex offenders mixing with children on
MySpace ... Is absolutely appalling and totally unacceptable.” During
his time in office, Blumenthal worked with other officials to push
social networking Web sites to adopt stronger safety measures.
Uploading of Inappropriate Material
• Most social networking Web sites have policies against uploading
videos depicting violence or obscenity. Facebook, MySpace, and most
other social networking Web sites have terms of use agreements, a
privacy policy, or a content code of conduct that summarizes key legal
aspects regarding use of the Web site.
• Typically, the terms state that the Web site has the right to delete
material and terminate user accounts that violate the site’s policies.
The policies set specific limits on content that is sexually explicit,
defamatory, hateful, or violent, or that promotes illegal activity
ONLINE VIRTUAL WORLDS
• An online virtual world is a shared multimedia, computer-generated
environment in which users, represented by avatars, can act,
communicate, create, retain ownership of what they create, and
exchange assets, including currency, with each other. An avatar (see
Figure 9-2) is a character in the form or a human, animal, or mythical
creature.
• One type of online virtual world, a massively multiplayer online game
(MMOG), is a multiplayer video game capable of supporting hundreds
and even thousands of concurrent players. The games are accessible
via the Internet, with players using personal computers; game
consoles such as Xbox 360, Wii, and PlayStation 3; and even
smartphones.
• Massive multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG) is a
subcategory of MMOG that provides a huge online world in which
players take on the role of a character and control that character’s
action. Characters can interact with one another to compete in online
games and challenges that unfold according to the online world’s
rules and storyline. Happy Farm, Minecraft, and World of Warcraft are
popular MMOGs.
Crime in Virtual Worlds
• It seems the freedom and anonymity afforded avatars in a virtual
world encourages some individuals to unleash their darker side. Thus,
virtual worlds raise many interesting questions regarding what is a
criminal act and whether law enforcement—real or virtual— should
get involved in acts that occur in virtual worlds
• Some virtual activities are clear violations of real world law and need
to be reported to law enforcement authorities—for example, avatars
trafficking in actual drugs or stolen credit cards. Other virtual
activities, such as online muggings and sex crimes, can cause real life
anguish for the human owners of the avatars involved but generally
do not rise to the level of a real life crime.
• Although most virtual worlds have rules against offensive behavior in
public, such as using racial slurs or performing overtly sexual actions,
consenting adults can travel to private areas and engage in all sorts of
socially unacceptable behavior.
Educational and Business Uses of Virtual
Worlds
• Virtual online worlds are also being used for education and business
purposes. The New Media Consortium (NMC) is an international
consortium of hundreds of colleges, universities, museums, and research
centers exploring the use of new media and technologies to improve
teaching, learning, and creative expression. Members of NMC can conduct
classes and meetings from within a growing number of virtual learning
worlds.
• They can also build custom virtual learning worlds, simulations, and
learning games. The virtual reality experience provides participants with a
real sense of being there when attending a virtual class or conference.
Experienced designers can develop virtual classes that immerse and engage
students in the same way that today’s video games grab and keep the
attention of players.
• Second Life Work Microsites enable businesses and government
agencies to use Second Life for virtual meetings, events, training, and
simulations to stimulate innovation while minimizing the cost and
environmental impact of travel. Second Life Education Microsites are
designed for educators who want to offer virtual education options to
augment their traditional curriculum.
• Germany’s TUV NORD Group is an international provider of
technology security solutions—including certification and testing—
with 8,500 employees in over 70 countries. The firm began using
Second Life in 2007 to recruit, conduct meetings, and hold game
based education.