Employer has legal responsibility when sexual harassment extends to social media

[caption id="attachment_18834" align="alignleft" width="124"] Facebook[/caption]

Gordon Matilla---Significant torment develops from sexual harassment, an emotionally-charged act. Social media further complicates matters and allows the problem to spread into wider and wider areas, therefore causing more widespread and intense abuse.  In many cases, as it extends the workplace, employers can be liable for some of what happens..

Social media provides new outlets for workplace interactions to occur, some of which can be negative and harmful. As of March 2013, there were more than one billion active Facebook users. Nearly 700 million of these people post at least once daily. With so much interaction, the workplace boundaries have become blurred. It should also be noted that employers can be held liable for some of these problems of sexual harassment..

What is sexual harassment? Generally, if an individual, or a group of people, exhibit unwelcomed sexual behavior towards another, it constitutes sexual harassment. Sexual harassment is not confined to one specific act. But can include a number of behaviors, that include, but are not limited to, the following:

- suggestive behavior
- sexual jokes or questions
- physical contact
- offensive gestures

Sexual harassment does not have to be explicitly sexual in nature. The conduct must simply be directed toward the targeted individual because of his or her gender. Sexual harassment is gender neutral in the sense men can harass women and women can harass men, and members of the same sex can sexually harass one another.


An attorney tells us there are two types of sexual harassment, quid pro quo and hostile work environment. Quid pro quo sexual harassment occurs when an employer demands sexual favors from a subordinate under the threat of job-related consequences, such as job-retention, promotion, or performance reviews. Hostile work environment sexual harassment involves situations where the victim's employer(s) or coworker(s) acts in such a way that the inescapability of their improper conduct makes the victim feel uncomfortable because of his or her sex, thus making the work environment "hostile." This commonly occurs as the result from ongoing physical contact or inappropriate comments.

Social media has expanded the confines of the workplace and home boundaries, so a given employer must realize employees are digitally connected. Therefore an employer can be held responsible if an employee is being harassed by a coworker whether in the office or in the digital world.

Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube allow sexual harassment, as employees have the tools to post offensive words or pictures about one another. They can also be involved in cyber-bullying. An employer has the duty to address this problem when it occurs.

Employers can request information regarding their employees' social media accounts if a sexual harassment claim is made. Employers can't ask for access to social media accounts for employment purposes but does have the right to act wisely in stopping sexual harassment.

Social media platforms foretell the future through examination of worldwide events

Communication device for social media contacts

Editor--Can we tell the future by watching and reading Facebook or Twitter? Some folks believe we can and that in doing so we can create better avenues for dealing with problems by knowing each other, our wants and needs better.  But how does this happen?

Facebook, Twitter and other social media channels tend to record our moves, our likes and dislikes and our online behavior.  Internet research tells us that social media is a tool to help better comprehend and anticipate human behavior.

"It is undeniable that social media (provides) an extremely rich source of information, and it makes sense to exploit that data to make predictions or forecast future trends of offline phenomena," says Daniel Gayo-Avello, who is among the guest editors for the current issue of Internet Research.  "There are also measurable differences in the way that credible and non-credible (social media) messages spread. Special measures can be used to filter out those messages that are not trustworthy."

Gayo-Avello goes on to say that statistical methods combined with social media data can help build predictions models.says the studies also suggest that using statistical methods, in which external (but scarce) data is combined with social media data to build a predictive model, can be a promising approach.

"Up to now, a number of different scenarios-such as (those related to) the economy, politics, health or event detection-have been studied with varied results. For instance, prediction of flu and other epidemic outbreaks seem to be reasonably predictable on the basis of user-generated content," says Gayo-Avello. "Social media can be used to at least predict the present. It can be used as a proxy measure for variables that cannot be measured in real time on a general basis, such as unemployment rates or public opinions on a number of issues."

 Bill Balderaz, president of Fathom Columbus,  notes his company uses social media to predict certain outcomes, including the most recent presidential elections.  They correctly predicted who would win.

"Social media is the largest, fastest and most uninhibited focus group ever created. (The Internet Research studies) demonstrate that knowing how consumers feel is a predictor of how they will behave," says Balderaz, who's confident his firm can accurately predict everything from stock prices to climate change based on social media conversations.

"It's not as hard as you would think," says Balderaz. "We use historical data correlations to predict the future. We analyze social media patterns going back years, then we correlate social media conversations with real events."

So it is possible to predict the future using trends on social media.  So while participants wonder how their personal information and habits are used, perhaps some of it will end up with good intentions, like predicting an epidemic enough in advance that people can get medicines and help in time.

Twitter, Facebook founders changing political, social landscape

[caption id="attachment_4168" align="alignleft" width="300"] Facebook[/caption]

Leanne Jenkins----Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, has formed an alliance with Marco Rubio, Republican Senator from Florida who is often cited as a potential Presidential candidate, in order to reform immigration, as this newest foray into politics offers insight into the power of social media giants in framing political and social issues.

Zuckerberg was reported by Political Moneyline as working extensively with Rubio with his political advocacy group running ads in conservative areas.  The ads encourage voters to support a bipartisan Senate bill on immigration.

What would that bill include and what are the dimensions of immigration reform?  While Rubio has a Hispanic heritage, many of his positions have reflected conservative Republican ideas on what reform might be, many of which are in opposition to former President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama have conceived, especially in the area of a path for citizenship for illegal immigrants.  Rubio's political positions are here, as related by On the Issues:

Immigration is a human issue AND a law & order issue. (Mar 2013)

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  Leave immigration to feds; 50 sets of laws is worse. (Jun 2012)

  
  

  
  


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  English is de facto official language; let's recognize that. (Jun 2012)

  
  

  
  


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  AZ ant-immigrant law demands papers like "police state". (Jun 2012)

  
  

  
  


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  OpEd: Claimed falsely that parents fled Castro in 1959. (Jun 2012)

  
  

  
  


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  Legal status, but not citizenship, to migrant's children. (Jun 2012)

  
  

  
  


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  GOP DREAM Act: visas for going to college or military. (Apr 2012)

  
  

  
  


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  AZ law may unreasonably single out some citizens. (Apr 2010)

  
  

  
  


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  Don't count illegal immigrants in the 2010 census. (Apr 2010)

  
  

  
  


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  Allow children of illegals to pay in-state college tuition. (Mar 2010)

  
  

  
  


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  No amnesty in any form, not even back-of-the-line. (Mar 2010)

  
  

  
  


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  Oppose amnesty in any reform. (Feb 2010)

  
  

  
  


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  Opposes granting amnesty to illegal immigrants. (Sep 2010)

  
  

  
  


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  Supports full implementation of current border security laws. (Sep 2010)

  
  

  
  

While Zuckerberg has expanded his interests into conservative politics, Twitter founder Evan Williams has been creating and expanding social media sites, that initially included his creation of Blogger, which he sold to Google, then Twitter and now a social media site called Medium.  His ventures are aimed at changing the news, especially to encompass the public both as customers and as creators.

Both Williams and Zuckerberg's creations have changed the landscape of communication and help to facilitate change through their ventures.  While Williams politics are not as public as Zuckerberg, he is located in San Francisco, one of the progressive's best known havens.

Puffsky is the intellectual's version of Facebook with no babble or cat pics

[caption id="attachment_17295" align="alignleft" width="259"] Puffsky will be joining this group[/caption]

Gordon Matilla---If you’re a member of Facebook, you are likely use to getting status updates like “I’m going to fix my hair now” or a picture of someone’s cute kitty, but there’s one site that has been launch that won’t allow that and is “the thinking man’s network,” Puffsky.com

The site declares, "The sky's the limit for your intellect and social life."

Los Angeles software developers have put together a network for the intellectuals who are tired of fluffy talk, whether that is the inane updates that mean little to the rank and file or some picture of a pair of a new pair of shoes or someone’s favorite pet.

Here’s what the CEO of Puffsky.com has to say about his social media site and the rules of engagement: “We all love to get social online,” said CEO Calvin Nguyen.  “But these days I find I’m combing through a lot of mindless babble and pointless material to find the stuff that’s important.  Smart people tend to be busy.  They want to see and discuss consequential things happening in the world.  They don’t always want to hear about your new pair of slippers.”

Puffsky is like Facebook and Twitter and encourages spontaneous writing, but it also requires that that writing be linked to news or a current event.  Users can then comment and rate each other’s comments.  Accumulating votes allows users a way to gain testimony to their intellectual skills and other personal abilities

“More thoughtful discussion,” Nguyen said with good humor, “less brain cell death.”

 

New application allows users to send voice messages on social mediasites

[caption id="attachment_4168" align="alignleft" width="300"] Facebook[/caption]

Carol Forsloff - In these days of gotta-haves, the latest application lets folks send prerecorded voice messages to friends.  The application is called UWhisp and interfaces with social media sites.

In these days where many people use applications such as Facebook and Twitter,  some folks like to hear the sound of a friend's voice, so this new application which becomes a widget on the user's browser allows people to record and play messages. It was invented in Spain by four graduate students from the School of Informatics.  According to Gizmag, the application has been available for about three weeks, with both a basic, free version and a paid-for one that has more of the bells and whistles.

Whereas the new devices enable users to communicate, experts remind us that social media itself has its advantages and disadvantages. First, the issue has to do with time, and how much of it the user spends on social media, then tasks and ventures go by the wayside as users join more and more networks and spend more and more time maintaining contact with great numbers of people. In fact, many experts caution about this. So a voice mail system can allow people to send messages personally in a fashion that may reduce the time necessary for interaction. The use of a voice dictation system, also helps.

One of the big disadvantages of social media is its lack of personal, direct contact, face to face, which means that people lose the nuances of body language and other communications. A voice, however, allows for increased personalization of messages that can help bridge the gap between the impersonal and a more direct interaction. Most experts tell us that even the best devices need to be channeled appropriately to the user's time and need, because to be locked in social media as the primary source of social interaction is limiting.

In the meantime, scientists and entrepreneurs continue to find ways of improving communication in social media that will be effective and useful for everyone.

News readers increase but not through Facebook and Twitter

[caption id="attachment_4361" align="alignleft" width="128"] Tablet computers[/caption]

Carol Forsloff - More and more people are reading the news, as  technology expands  Internet reach and reader options throughout the world; but social media is not the top source for news as thought.

The Pew Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism surveys the state of the journalism world, taking a look at what drives traffic and what readers want.

What Pew researchers have found is that sources like Facebook and Twitter may add to traffic, but only nine percent of users get their news recommendations from these social media sites.  Facebook leads Twitter as a source for finding news material.

As devices for reading news material expand, readers continue to turn to traditional news sources for their reading about contemporary events.  This does not mean they do not read just the mainstream press, the big boys like the New York Times.  But the reader is more apt to do a search for material or find those outlets that present news material in which they are most interested.  Traditional media continues to appeal to most news readers.

So what’s the best method of securing website traffic?  Unique, well-written material remains high on the list of SEO experts and others examining the issue of Internet growth and user behavior as the best method of increasing readership.  A forum post summarizes what many technical support staff and website experts tell us:  “Write quality, original content. Ensure that Google can see it and make sense of it. Update regularly.”

Readership is up, across many venues, because of technology.    And despite the concerns that the reading public simply wants the hit-and-miss sensational material, a good many are looking for substantial material that appeals to their interests and that they find unique.

While news organizations worry about losing readership, the problem is less the competition with social media than the actual number of sites that offer news.  Still reading as fundamental is being presented across the platforms of technology, a way to provide more and more people with opportunities to learn.

‘Big Brother’ watching your 'sins' on Facebook, Twitter, social media

[caption id="attachment_4168" align="alignleft" width="300"] Facebook[/caption]

Carol Forsloff - Think that smart remark directed against another individual or business sounds cute on Facebook?  A potential employer might not, as it is now being found prospective employers review social media sites and may not hire you if they find something they don’t like.

Eurocom Worldwide   recently conducted a survey in conjunction with a public relations agency  and found that one in five technology firms report not hiring someone because they didn’t like the candidate’s social media profile.  That’s after learning that more than 40% of these prospective employers check the potential employee’s profile on social media sites such as Facebook.

That Big Brother watching you might be that business owner/manager you had hoped to impress.

As for those who disclose nothing or next to nothing on the page, employers look askance at that too.  Reasonable and necessary privacy settings are one thing but not revealing much at all raises suspicions about what else an individual might be hiding as well.  So it is the proper balance employers seek or that special something they find lacking or disagreeable that can cause an applicant to be rejected from a possible job.

“The 21st century human is learning that every action leaves an indelible digital trail. In the years ahead many of us will be challenged by what we are making public in various social forums today. The fact that one in five applicants disqualify themselves from an interview because of content in the social media sphere is a warning to job seekers and a true indicator of the digital reality we now live in,” warns Mads Christensen, Network Director at Eurocom Worldwide.

The percentage of employers using social media to assess employee and potential employee behavior continues to increase, even as social networking itself increases in the marketplace.  In 2009 CareerBuilder,  a major resource of job information, did a survey of social networking sites and found an increase from twenty-two percent to forty-five percent of employers using these sites for screening.

Posting content , picture or text, about drinking or drugs, bad-mouthing other employers, making discriminatory comments or showing poor communication skills are the red flags noted by potential employers in their rejection of job applicants.

While legal scholars emphasize that companies who use social media for job screening must be especially cautious not to intrude too recklessly in areas of privacy,  Huma Rashid underlines the potential candidate’s responsibilities as well with this:  “And for employees, words of caution don’t seem to resonate but always bear repeating: do not put anything up online that you do not want prospective employees to see.”

Is Food A Human Right?

[caption id="attachment_14167" align="alignleft" width="300"] Vegetarian meal[/caption]

Bob Ewing - The past few days I have been having a dialogue via Twitter. The focus of this discussion is food as a human right. On 10 December 1948 the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the UN General Assembly.

Article 25 of the Declaration says:

• (1) Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.

The 144 character limit, set by Twitter, makes it quite difficult to conduct a coherent discussion of a complex matter. On the surface, food as a human right may seem a simple enough topic; people need food to live, so food must be a right. Before we proceed, it is important to define human rights.

Human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, whatever our nationality, place of residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, language, or any other status. We are all equally entitled to our human rights without discrimination. These rights are all interrelated, interdependent and indivisible.

This seems straightforward enough, human rights are inherent to all human beings, and all, are equally entitled to these rights without discrimination. Okay, however, food is an economic engine that can drive local and regional economies, and as such food is a commodity that is bought and sold in the marketplace. If food was free, who would grow it, and if no one is growing it, what do we eat?

Reread the definition of a human right; the definition does not say that rights are free, that they come without cost. It says they are inherent to all human beings and cannot be denied through discrimination.

However, in countries around the globe, North America as well, people are denied access to food on a daily basis, because they do not have the funds to purchase it in the market place. Is this a structural error, one that can be offset through policy, practice, and procedure? Can food be both a commodity and a right? Have countries failed to take the appropriate actions?

The answer to the first two questions is yes and over the next few weeks I will examine how this can be done and how a sustainable economy can be evolved while doing so. The third question will be addressed at the end of the series.

Both Twitter and Facebook are playing a growing role in my work and will continue to do so as I develop this series.

Why Dad and Mom Need Social Media

A Dad’s Point-of-View, by Bruce Sallan --

[caption id="attachment_10184" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="Bruce Sallan, columnist"][/caption]

I play tennis with an old friend who has a cell-phone that probably came out around the time the first iPod came out. Heck, he doesn’t even know what an iPod is. Or how to text, use Twitter, or how to “like” a Facebook Page. IMHO (in my humble opinion),he is not being the best parent he can be. To be the best parent in these technological times, you must employ Social Media.

My other friend, Steve, resisted texting until I prevailed upon him to learn it,since his two boys were getting to that cell-phone appropriate age. To be a smart parent, you need a smart phone. If you have a smart phone, you need to know how touse it. Steve now maintains regular contact with his boys via texting. Yet he, too,resists all other forms of Social Media (hereafter referred to by the acronym, SM).

The common Urban Myth about Twitter goes something like this:Me: Hey Steve, why aren’t you using Twitter?

Steve: Bruce, I love you man, but I really don’t need to know that you’re at the market, shopping.

That is the common misperception about Twitter. Yes, when it first came on the scene, some people were so jazzed by it that they did declare every little thing that they were doing. Like all new things, Twitter settled into maturity with its present use bearing no resemblance to the above-referenced Urban Myth. I follow and am followed by many thousands of people. My Twitter stream is like the old fashioned stock ticker tape. It is constantly active and moving, yet the number of tweets that resemble this misconception is fractional.

Twitter is used to spread news so much faster than any contemporary means. When Steve Jobs died, I learned about it within minutes of the news via a tweet. And, ironically, at that time I was at a very well known Venture Capitalist firm that was revealing its new SM idea to selected SM mavens, of which I was mistakenly included.

The irony of hearing the sad news about Steve Jobs at that moment was being in an environment where Jobs was viewed as a superstar, an icon, an innovator of generations, and a world changing individual. The further irony for this middle-aged dad was recognizing that I could be the biological dad of just about everyone that was present at this firm.

My personal journey in SM mirrored my tennis buddy and Steve. My initial thoughts were that I didn’t need that stuff. I was fine with my landline telephone, going to Blockbuster and renting VHS cassettes – who needs a DVD player anyway – and otherwise doing the typical parental habit of dissing all that followed everything I learned in high school and college. Ipod? SchmyPod. I had my LPs and cassettes.

Twitter? Me? Heck if I’m going to fritter away my time! Facebook? That weird Mark Puckerbug guy! Phooey.

Something told me I needed to learn SM.  I began my SM journey when I hired a SM consultant to teach me the ropes. Essentially, I hired a tutor. I went back to school. I began truly exercising my brain. Each new device, new web site, new trick I was taught challenged my comfort zones, my expectations, and helped me stop being my parents. I started to get it. I started to understand the value of SM, the value of staying current, and I’m not talking about current events.

With time, I actually eclipsed by own boy’s SM activity and knowledge. They still laugh at my one-thumb typing on my iPhone and my younger son will always offer to do it faster for me. But I’m more active and involved than either of them in SM. We follow each other on Facebook, we send each other photos by text, email, exchange thumb drives, and we text constantly. Their friends follow me on Facebook and some even “like” my A Dad’s Point-of-View Facebook Page.

I have what I call “Virtual Friends” all over the world. A “Virtual Friend” is someone that I’ve met via Twitter, Facebook, or another SM means and I’ve had regular contact with but never met or even spoken with. Some of them blossom into RL (real life) friends and some become great assets for my work and enriching resources for all that I do.

My own #DadChat, a Tweet Chat I host every Thursday evening, has resulted in so many incredible contacts. Plus, and I kid you not, my brain power, memory, and learning skills have come back from the dormant state they were in during the dark days of my divorce and the immediate time after.

This knowledge gives me insight into my sons’ lives that I would not otherwise have.  My tennis buddy tells me his wife does all that stuff. Steve says it can wait. I say they’re both full of ca-ca. The time is now. Learn it now. Don’t play catch up. And, you may find the same joy and pleasure I’ve found via SM.

Social Media has increased my connection with my boys, made me more knowledgeable and aware of their worlds, and brought me untold hours of joy. Get involved with Social Media now. Not only will you enjoy it, learn, and grow but also you’ll completely enhance your desire to be the best dad or mom you can be.

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Bruce Sallan, author of “A Dad’s Point-of-View: We ARE Half the Equation” and radio host of “The Bruce Sallan Show – A Dad’s Point-of-View” gave up a long-term showbiz career to become a stay-at-home-dad. He has dedicated his new career to becoming THE Dad advocate. He carries his mission with not only his book and radio show, but also his column “A Dad’s Point-of-View”, syndicated in over 100 newspapers and websites worldwide, and his dedication to his community on Facebook and Twitter. Join Bruce and his community each Thursday for #DadChat, from 6pm -7pm PST, the Tweet Chat that Bruce hosts.

Facebook, Google, Twitter controlling news, while readers get a fraction

[caption id="attachment_4168" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Facebook"][/caption]

by Carol Forsloff - Social media likely now controls the news and how much you read and whether you read much at all.  If you are one of those that reads mostly Facebook, Twitter and Google entries, and not the article itself, than you miss out on the bulk of the available news and information and are likely to make mistakes of judgment as a result.

News information and features are designed to educate and inform.  Sometimes they don't, but for the most part they do.  The complaint is mostly after we read something we don't agree with.  And some of that disagreement comes from not reading the information in its entirety, but just those snippets cut from social media.  The Internet, according to research, is the source of most news; but how much of it is read vs those commenting on issues about which they have read just a fraction.

The social media bookmarks are there to provide a link for the author to announce the creation of an article.  If the subject is of interest, then the idea should follow the article might be read.  The lead in a story is meant to bring interest, not to tell the whole story.  Even in a traditional news article, the thumbnail sketch at the beginning is the "teaser" with the substantive, and explanatory detail, yet to come.

Some have worried enough about social media bookmarking as the source of news that they are anticipating setting guidelines regarding it.  But the problems prevail, nonetheless.

After writing many articles online, following the advent of the popularity of social media, I have learned more and more people make their comments on Facebook or Twitter, never commenting on the articles themselves.  It is easy for an author, where the readership is tracked either on the entire site or individual articles, to know the location of readership and whether the information was read at all.

Many newswriters complain pageviews are down, yet the number of websites for news is increasing daily.   Part of the reason readership is down, has to do with the fact people just read those snippets.    In fact, it has been found that Facebook gets more than 25% of pageviews.  So more and more of these new sources, like Examiner. com or Metro.com, bring news in a few sentences.  As reading material increases in numbers, the substance within them is gone.

Some will say it doesn't take a lot of words to tell a news story, but many of the world's problems have complications far beyond a few sound bites.  Even local news has many dimensions.  But those who don't read those dimensions make mistakes and wrongfully quote material.  Is it any wonder, that experts find we know less and less with more and more material available for our education?

Next time, before commenting, read the story itself.  The writer cares enough to convey the information.  The reader should care enough to at least the broad outlines of it before giving an opinion.  Otherwise it is like attending a football game on commenting on the players moves only after the scores are posted, without knowing the nuances of the game.

Facebook and Twitter activity adds to reading problems

[caption id="attachment_4422" align="alignleft" width="239" caption="Steven Erikson reading a book"][/caption]


Carol Forsloff - Education Nation tells us reading is no longer fundamental, and that observation is reinforced by social media where people read their news and current events as just the bytes and bits from social media, Facebook and Twitter.

This practice of reading just the entries of article posts on Facebook and Twitter is becoming more and more common, as in keeping track of visitors through a special software, the observation is that the number of upvotes from Facebook, approving or enjoying an article, is significantly more than the actual number of individuals reading the article or visiting the site.

While Facebook and Twitter have the upvote image, like websites these days, the upvotes don't translate into more reading.  What it actually does is feed the lack of reading that educators mourn.

As time becomes less used for reading, what is done with our time.  It turns out that in tracking Facebook interaction, many people spend much of their time interacting on social media.  This also means reading in small bits and bytes, which doesn't aid comprehension or cognitive skills.  In fact, experts say that with the vast information available, our abilities to read, understand what we read, and progress as a culture may in fact be diminishing with this sort of thing.

So the solution, that those in the education nation maintain, is to set aside time for actually reading whole information, stories and material that adds relevancy to what's being said.  To not do so often means a partial message, when it's the whole material that provides the serious message, that is not being read much of the time.

People feel lonely with online relationships replacing face-to-face ones

NEW YORK,
PRN --GHN News-- It's the season of the year when stores have a rush of
sales, while others have focused on unique ways of attracting
customers, but will the old-fashioned cater-to-customer ways become
obsolete as online relationships replace personal ones?

The results of The Harris Poll of 2,258 adults surveyed online between September 1 and 3, 2010 by Harris Interactive.reveals

more and more people are turning to online shopping and reading product
reviews.  Younger people are particularly involved doing this, with
more than 30% shopping online and believe this practice will continue to
grow.

The
art of the sell begins online with over half of online Americans saying
they use online social media to help them make shopping decisions.
They also read product reviews.  Folks seek opinions from friends online
on what the best products to buy or what they would recommend, and even
more telling is the fact people value these opinions.

Over
half of online Americans say that they have had less face-to-face
contact with friends recently (54%) and just under a third say they feel
lonelier now, than they did previously (31%).  More and more people
have distant relationships that don't fix that relationships.  For young
people this is a way of life. Over half of those 18-34 say they now
have less face-to-face contact with friends (56%), compared to fewer
than half of adults 55 and older (49%), and 36% of those 18-34 say they
feel lonelier now, compared to just a quarter of those 55 and older who
agree (26%).

While
the Internet may provide tools and services which can educate
consumers, and help them to get the best products for their money,
there may be something lost in translation through the solitary
experience of communicating and shopping online.  As with many new
developments, time will reveal the best practices for adoption and use,
working to both solve an issue or improve a system, while also providing
users with an enjoyable and beneficial experience.

TABLE 1A LIFE AND RELATIONSHIPS "Thinking about your life and relationships in general, please indicate how strongly you agree or disagree with each of the following statements." Base: All online U.S. adults
	Agree (NET)	Strongly agree	Somewhat agree	Disagree (NET)	Somewhat disagree	Strongly disagree	Not applicable
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Recently, I have had less face-to-face contact with friends.	54	21	33	42	26	16	4
I find I keep in touch with more friends now than in the past.	56	21	35	40	29	11	4
I know what's going on with many of my friends and acquaintances, but I don't interact with them personally or individually.	58	15	43	39	27	12	4
I feel more connected to people now than I did previously.	57	18	39	39	29	10	4
I feel lonelier now than I did previously.	31	11	20	63	29	35	6
Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding

The use of social media and corporate image shows benefits and pitfalls

SAN
DIEGO, CA - PRN - GHN News Editor - Social media in
business development is used throughout the world, bringing
people to interact about various issues and to share information about
products and services, but it has both benefits and pitfalls.

Cesar Zamorano and Jesus Holes explain in the Latino Business Review how companies are evaluating the use of electronic media more and more and how what the benefits and pitfalls are in using it.

But
the review shows that there are risks as well as advantages in social
media.  People need to be careful of how image and issues are presented,
because of the impact of social media and the widespread nature of its
messages, the article maintains.

On
the other hand, the positive end product for business from social media
is this, according to the Huffington Post article of Manish Mehta.  He
writes, "Social media has transformed the large corporation of the
millennium into the Mom and Pop shop of the old days. The emergence of
social media simply makes it more possible to connect directly with

customers every day."