Despite still being in its infancy, cloud computing has had a dramatic impact on social networking, and, ultimately, the business world. Not only has this technological emergence affected individuals and the way they communicate – and, thus, culture – but it has also affected technological markets, which are now facing pressure to respond to the rapidly changing and growing world of cloud computing. Open source software developments, which have been underway since the early 1980s, essentially provide the platform for which cloud computing infrastructure is developed. Open source software and cloud computing, however, are not interchangeable terms, and in the overlap between the worlds of business, technological advancement, and consumers, there is much debate about the direction(s) the two concepts should be headed toward, especially when it comes to copyrights.
Open source software is distinct from cloud computing in that the software and source codes are of public domain, meaning that the software can be altered, accessed or distributed by any user. Cloud computing is more generally associated with software that is accessible to the user by a Web-based interface, with all information stored elsewhere, so that the user’s storage and communication are not confined to the user’s computer. Google is one of the most prominent examples of companies who offer cloud computing. Any web-based email, such as Yahoo! or Gmail, is also an example of cloud computing.
Cloud computing produced a large, rapidly growing, and highly competitive social media market. MySpace began the explosion of social media, especially as a business tool. This Los Angeles-based company initially intended on creating a cloud-computed social networking site for musicians and people in the music industry, but within just a few years, all kinds of users were signing on and creating profiles. Since musicians and artists were successfully creating profiles to promote their art and music, other types of businesses emerged with MySpace profiles, adding as many “friends” as possible, and posting bulletins with promotional news and advertisements. MySpace’s popularity with consumers, as a social networking tool, inspired businesses to follow, as they realized this was the new way friends were not simply communicating and sharing photos, but promoting events and ideas. With MySpace, people could stay in touch with more people, without even having to communicate directly.
The social networking movement transformed social behavior even more than email, which had already reduced the quality of communication because of accessibility (gone are the days of the written letter, when careful thought and consideration, as well as penmanship, were required). The instant gratification, convenience, and speed of communication and staying connected increased dramatically in the social sphere. In order to gain the attention of consumers – and to pay attention to consumer behavior as well – businesses have been eager to explore social media marketing, as a way of staying competitive.
Facebook emerged as a major MySpace competitor. Facebook created networks, in which people could easily locate other users by either geography, interests, university alumni group, or any of a number of ways. Facebook, thus, made the possibility of numbers (in “friends”) much greater. Because of MySpace’s popularity, Facebook attracted the attention of marketers quickly. Businesses could send friend requests to entire networks, and thereafter promote events, share news, or just monitor the likes of their “followers.” The culture of communication changed even more with Facebook, as the “status update” allows individuals to communicate with a brief update to everyone simultaneously on his or her friends list, without having to communicate separately with individuals.
Overall, communication has transformed into something more associated with quantity, not quality. Younger and younger demographics have turned on to social media, and marketers now follow the trends of these youngsters more closely. However, because of increasingly large quantities of “friends,” attention has been called to the importance of word-of-mouth, now known online as viral marketing, and this can have just as much negative impact on businesses as it can a positive impact.
Recently, Twitter exploded on the cloud computing scene, creating a form of social media to again respond to user needs – but also the needs of businesses. Twitter takes the focus away from filling out profiles and adding photographs, and, rather, focuses on real-time updates to keep people connected. Major television networks and broadcast companies took advantage of Twitter right away. Twitter allows users to “follow” other users whom they choose, so when any update in status is recorded, it is reflected in real time. Twitter has become an extremely useful tool for businesses as well.
Meanwhile, BitTorrent and Skype are cloud computing services that operate somewhat differently as peer-to-peer sharing, in that they have little to no centralized infrastructure or billing systems at all. Users can share information, files, and software in an open source network that requires no licensing and has no copyright laws.
It’s clear that social media, while it may still be a developing paradigm, has already revolutionized the way people communicate, stay in touch and express themselves. It can have the same revolutionary effect on your business, too.
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