The ubiquity of social media has had a profound effect on the way we communicate and is of significant importance to society and business. Social media tools have helped break down geographical barriers that once restricted communication and have led to an explosion of e-participation, virtual presence, and online communities. Professional benefits of social media include sharing of information, publicity, and giving and receiving support and advice. Consumers have become increasingly empowered to exert an influence on brands through online communities and businesses are able to acquire rapid feedback and garner insight into individual preferences without observer effects. Social media tools also enable citizens to share advice and information with their local community, from promoting events to searching for lost pets.
The radical transformation of the world that has been enabled by social media presents a fascinating environment for academics from all backgrounds. Given the high volume of valuable datasets available through social media applications, automated techniques and systems are emerging that can analyse the ‘big data’ generated. Analytics help businesses to ensure their social media activities are adding value and helping to accomplish business goals. Analysis of social media content can also help to safeguard society from organized crime but such uses remain a delicate issue.
With seemingly endless benefits it is easy to overlook the disadvantages of social media, which are an increasingly important consideration as social media platforms continue to proliferate. Social media has facilitated a loss of ownership and control of content as private, public and institutional domains increasingly overlap. There is a need for careful balancing of professionalism and freedom of speech, to ensure that posts do not cause offence or harm reputations. Other drawbacks include time pressure, plagiarism, misrepresentation, addiction, and negative psychological consequences. While providing a means to protect public safety, social media also provides a means of threatening it and enabling new forms of cyber-crime.
This conference aims to bring together a variety of disciplines and a community for the advancement of knowledge regarding the adoption, use, impact, and potential of social media. To achieve this goal, we invite researchers and practitioners to present their ideas and findings to the 15th IFIP Conference on e-Business, e-Services, and e-Society to be held at Swansea University, UK in 2016. Theoretical and empirical papers employing quantitative, qualitative, and/or critical methods are welcomed.
Mark Carrigan 