Title: Module 4 Introduction
Course: Canvas Practice Course > Section: Module 4 - Social Media in business

Module 4: The Brave New World of Social Media

Introduction

How does social media fit into the operations of a business or corporation? Until recently, many times the answer to this question has been that it doesn't belong at all in our professional world! However, in the past decade the business community has put aside many of its concerns about risk and privacy to embrace services such as Facebook and Twitter for external communications regarding everything from advertising products to marketing services to fund-raising to events announcements. However, unlike other communication devices that clearly separate personal from business use – mail and shipping, print and television advertising, catalog sales – social media operates in a blended environment of public and private use and user. So how does a company exploit the many communication advantages of social media yet protect the privacy of its employees and customers at the same time as it is promoting its business? What expectations can a company have of its employees' use of social media? What new aspects of business ethics must be upheld regarding its use? And what constitutes “best practices” of technical writing for business use of social media?