The internet was once seen as a medium that diminished social capital (Kraut et al, 1998). Now it is seen as a way that maintains social contact (Wellman et al, 2001). In the article Opening Closed Regimes, the writers wondered whether Mohammed Bouazizi believed he would play such a role in releasing a wave of protest for democracy in the Arab world. His story of stepping in front of a civic building in Tunisia and setting himself on fire in protest of the government was one of many that were retold on social networking sites in ways that stirred protesters to organise protests and criticise their governments. (Howard et al, 2011). Residents of the Arab nations used social media to help inform Western news teams about events on the ground. Social networking helped put a human face on political power and became a causation of the Arab Spring. Of the online tools, social networking sites have experienced the most prolific growth (Diffley et al, 2011). People spend hours connecting to others on social networks (McGrath, 2010). This evolution of social networking could not escape the corporations’ attentions, which are in constant search for new instruments meant to help them increase their market shares (Chis and Talpos, 2011). Studies by Forrester research show that spending on social networking will increase from $455 million in 2008 to $3.1billion in 2014, a 335% increase (Horovitz, 2009). Based on the above, my paper will focus on how social networking has become an indispensable tool for everyone, especially corporations despite its drawbacks, and the implications it will have, for us as individuals and as business people.
Social networking has enabled the average person’s opinion to become far more important. Evidence suggests that online conversations played a huge role in the revolutions that toppled governments in Egypt and Tunisia (Howard et al, 2011).