Social media marketing has become the backbone of many businesses and independent artists in this modern, highly connected era. In fact, for those that need a big following online, it’s not unheard of to buy Facebook fans to build up a presence and bring in more followers. However, when it comes to the massive social network there have been some accusations of foul play over their board of advisors on child protection; namely that all of them come from organizations that Facebook has made donations to.

So What’s the Problem?

For Facebook fans that have been paying attention, the massive social network has put representatives of supposedly independent charities on a panel for deciding its policies regarding child protection. That’s all well and good, but these representatives come from charities that Facebook has donated money to in the past. So that’s where the real issue comes in; it just doesn’t look good.

Has Anything Happened?

There hasn’t been any kind of scandal yet, but the implications that the advisers have been paid by the massive social networking site they’re supposed to be neutral on has raised a lot of hackles. On the one hand, who is to say that these groups would not be able to keep a neutral frame of mind despite having received monetary compensation? On the other hand, history has shown that when a big company pays money to a supposedly neutral body and then tries to distract attention from those payments, as Facebook has done with this issue, that’s led to some very shady dealings and accusations of less than above board ethics.

At the moment there’s just a lot of coughing and head shaking, along with a few denials this way or that over who got paid what and for what reason. However, the company would be best advised to re-order itself and to clear the books so that there’s no question of whose loyalties are lying where. Even if the company went forward and made solid choices regarding the protection of children and minors through use of the social network, Facebook fans would be wondering whether that was the decision that was really best, or if that was just the decision that would lead to the most profits being made? If the goal is to get genuine advice and to make policy decisions that are best for minors’ safety, then the company needs to eliminate even the shadow of a doubt as to how those decisions came about. Otherwise this minor problem could lead to a full blown accusation of corruption going on behind the scenes.

You’re not on FB anymore? Say what? That’s the question I’m asked when I tell people that I deactivated my account two years ago and can’t friend them. They are disbelieving yet curious and even a little offended. But I’ve learned to live without it. While there is no doubt that social networking sites like FB have irrefutable benefits, studies are now indicating that too much social networking is adversely impacting us as well.

Larry D. Rosen, PhD, a professor of psychology at California State University, Dominguez Hills, expounds on the potential detrimental effects of social networking in an American Psychological Association press release:

• — Teens who use FB more often show more narcissistic tendencies while young adults who have a strong Facebook presence show more signs of other psychological disorders, including antisocial behaviors, mania and aggressive tendencies.
• — Daily overuse of media and technology has a negative effect on the health of all children, preteens and teenagers by making them more prone to anxiety, depression, and other psychological disorders, as well as by making them more susceptible to future health problems.
• — FB can be distracting and can negatively impact learning. Studies found that middle school, high school and college students who checked FB at least once during a 15-minute study period achieved lower grades.

But there are some positive affects of social media. Rosen concluded:

• — Young adults who spend more time on FaceBook are better at showing “virtual empathy” to their online friends.
• — Online social networking can help introverted adolescents learn how to socialize behind the safety of various screens, ranging from a two-inch smartphone to a 17-inch laptop.
• — Social networking can provide tools for teaching in compelling ways that engage young students.

Are the positive influences of social media really beneficial though? Do we really want our young adults to learn how to socialize behind a screen instead of face-to-face in real situations? How does “virtual empathy” compare to real empathy and the ability to comfort someone in a time of need? What tools can social networking provide for teaching that can engage young students in the way that hands-on experience can?

Social networking aims to connect us and draw us closer. In many ways, it has. Unfortunately, it has also served to disconnect us from each other and the world. It has changed the way we develop relationships and given us more opportunity to avoid real human interaction, which is what makes life interesting. Staring at a screen that tells me what my “friends” are eating, who’s working out at the gym, and who’s having difficulties in their relationships is not compelling to me. Or interesting. There is a wealth of information that is more engaging and intellectually stimulating for me to digest on my own.

I think we could all agree that, when scrolling through the endless updates on FB, we can experience a range of emotions including anger, frustration and jealousy. And what’s our response to those feelings? We either vent to the people in front of us or we take a passive-aggressive approach and post a generic status aimed at the person annoying us. We post thoughts we would never actually say in a conversation under the safety of our computer screen.

Ending a relationship can get even more complicated with FB. “FB prolongs the period it takes to get over someone, because you have an open window into their life, whether you want to or not,” says Yianni Garcia of New York, a consultant who helps companies use social media. “You see their updates, their pictures and their relationship status.” And starting a relationship can be even more challenging when you find out the cute girl you’ve been talking to really doesn’t exist at all. This has become so prevalent, that MTV now has a series about it called Catfish.

And did you know that, once uploaded, FB owns your photos and videos? According to FB’s Statement of Rights and Responsibilities:

Your Content and Information

You own all of the content and information you post on FB, and you can control how it is shared through your privacy and application settings. In addition:
For content that is covered by intellectual property rights, like photos and videos (IP content), you specifically give us the following permission, subject to your privacy and application settings: you grant us a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, worldwide license to use any IP content that you post on or in connection with FB (IP License). This IP License ends when you delete your IP content or your account unless your content has been shared with others, and they have not deleted it.

When you delete IP content, it is deleted in a manner similar to emptying the recycle bin on a computer. However, you understand that removed content may persist in backup copies for a reasonable period of time (but will not be available to others).

Basically, FB is allowed to use or sell anything that you upload until you delete it (and it’s removed from their backup) or you permanently delete your account. You will have to log in to your account and fill out a form to completely remove your uploads and yourself. While adamant that they don’t share your data, they still reserve the right to do so in the future. I guess I won’t be running for president anytime soon.

While there are other potentially more efficient social media sites like Google+, FB will be sustained for now by our path dependency. Path dependency is when a person or society has invested so much into doing things a certain way that it become increasingly difficult to start over and change significantly. Someone who primarily communicates through phone conversations will continue to do so without embracing new technologies like texting or instant messaging. They may participate in the new technology but will remain with their primary form of communication because they are path dependent.

It takes a huge, coordinated momentum shift for people to alter their paths. It is possible but don’t expect a mass exodus to Google+ anytime soon. And don’t expect FB to change their content rules either. They, too, are path dependent.

Whether cluttering up one’s news feed or opening the door to insightful articles, Facebook’s new mobile app feature seeks to avoid the former, while achieving the latter. Users will either be pleased, or dismayed, to see a new section titled “Recent Articles about” attached to their news feed, generated by data collected from all the pages “liked” by that user.

The articles-related-to algorithm for this new feature determines which articles get in or out. Whether or not it litters the user’s feed with unrelated articles, or carefully separates the internet wheat from the cyberspace chaff, is wholly dependent on how many pages the user has “liked” in the past, including other’s who’ve “liked” that same article. To buy Facebook fans with this feature will require a lot of foresight, planning, and intelligent market analysis to pull off.

This algorithm will likely have similarities to the current feature “Trending Articles,” which lets Facebook fans see stories about their friends are reading or watching. But this is more ambitious: the new “Articles-related-to” pulls from the entire Facebook universe, tying itself closely to user preferences. If user “Likes” article A, then surely they’ll “Like” article B, because everyone else who liked A, liked article B as well. It’s an Amazon-style “Recommended Readings,” but more general, since it focuses on internet articles.

However, to hold its weight, this feature must compete against popular feed aggregating apps like Flipboard, Pulse, and Zite. A challenge in itself, as failing to meet these standards could lead to user apathy at best, or their loathing at worst. Neither are desirable outcomes. Now adding more to plate, Facebook has already made it challenging for itself because it doesn’t like users leaving its page. Unlike, for example, Flipboard, who doesn’t care if you click on an object and read an article at its native location, Facebook doesn’t like open relationships, preferring exclusivity to it alone. This has its advantages, and speculations abound on the possibilities of monetizing certain publishers, collecting payment for directing readers to their respective articles. Emulating a model such as Rockmelt, a so-called “social browser,” could allow it to deliver content from other websites via pop-up windows so the user won’t have to leave the website to read the content on another. Within these pop-up windows are advertisements, and thus, a sustainable income which could grow itself from increasing user “Likes.” That money should keep shareholders satisfied, and the potential money could bring in even more shareholders.

Social media marketing is a method of increasing the online visibility of a business or a website. Sites such as Twitter and Facebook can deliver potential clients to your website by attracting the attention of targeted clients. Proper internet marketing on social media will not only increase your visibility on Twitter and Facebook, but will also attract the exact types of clients that would be interested in your products or services.

Originally, social media was used as an inclusive club to socialize with your friends on the internet. As social media as exploded, the ability to use social media to market your products has exploded as well. Not only do individuals have Facebook and Twitter pages, but so do companies and key executives. They are now able to connect to potential customers as well as existing customers who may be interested in future purchases. This increased connectivity between customers and brands will increase personal identification with your product as well as increase customer loyalty to your products or services. This gives companies the ability to communicate with the existing customer base at an unprecedented level.

It is fairly easy to identify the interests of various individuals on Facebook and Twitter, so it is easy to discover potential customers. The hard part is getting the potential customers to pay attention to your social media pages. Fortunately, there are services that can increase your Twitter follows. Having a large Twitter following is good for any company, but what each company needs is to get existing customers and targeted potential customers to follow your Twitter page. Fortunately, there are services that can increase your Twitter following. Companies such as Intertwitter.com can increase your Twitter following by getting many potential customers to follow your Twitter page. This will increase the online visibility of your company as well as increase the Google page rankings of your original online site.

An increase in social media marketing will increase online visibility of every company that engages is the correct marketing strategy. The increased online visibility will lead to more website visits, a higher Google ranking, and ultimately, more sales. Marketing on social media is a key strategy for every internet savvy company and a highly effective way of strengthening your online presence and increasing your client base.

Since 2009, Facebook members have enjoyed a democratic benefit that is seldom talked about and that could come to an end on Monday, December 10th, 2012. That is the deadline for Facebook members to vote on corporate governance items of the world’s most popular social network. The most important item they are voting on this time is the right to vote, which seems to be going away according to the votes cast and tallied at the Facebook Governance Site.

On the eve of the final day of voting, approximately half a million Facebook members had voted in favor of the latest round of changes to the network’s privacy policy. That may seem like a lot of votes if you do not buy Facebook fans, but not when considering that Facebook has about a billion members around the world. This is not the first time that Facebook has resorted to a democratic system to augment its corporate governance, but this time the amendments to the network’s privacy policy and terms of use include doing away with voting altogether.

Some technology journalists and observers have categorized the move by Facebook as draconian or Machiavellian, claiming that the company knew from prior experience that the likelihood of reaching consensus through member voting was small. A previous round of voting in June of 2012 only managed to attract less than one percent of all Facebook members.

Facebook incorporated voting into its corporate governance system after it experienced public backlash upon making a change to its privacy policy that many people considered Orwellian. At the time, CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated that the network’s plan to make the world a more open and transparent place could only be accomplished with an open governance process. Now that Facebook is on its way to becoming a component of the S&P 500, analysts wondered how long member voting would last without making major shareholders and investors uncomfortable.

The voting mechanism is simple: Members sign in to the network, visit the governance section, read the items to be decided, and decide upon allowing the changes or keeping the status quo. The issues this time around include:

• Replacing the voting system with a new feedback process.

• Sharing of member data with Instagram Followers.

• Allowing the network to change who may send messages to each member.

• Clarification by the network who may be privy to Timeline items hidden from general view.

Unless Facebook receives a flurry of votes in the eleventh hour, this could be the last voting session members get to participate in.