The impact of social media on public relations profession worldwide Research Paper

The impact of social media on public relations profession worldwide - Research Paper Example Public relation main priority is to provide goodwill to induce the public perception towards them (Noor & Hendricks, 2012). It is estimated that the number of individuals using the social media has been increasing over the years and that in the year 2012; the number was 1.43 billion people. Before the advent of social media, usernets were being used as alternatives of social media. They were first invented in the 1979 by Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis. They were used in permitting persons to posts articles for people to read on the internet. Secondly, were the BBSs (Bulleting Board Systems) which were invented in the late seventy century. They allowed users to log in and interact with the other although it had limitations. Thirdly, were the online services which were made the internet more universal to individuals in the United States. Fourthly, was the IRC,ICQ and instant messaging which was developed in the 1989 and allowed for sharing and keeping in touch with others within the societ y. Then there were the earliest forms of social networks which were the dating sites. They were invented when people migrated to the online world. It was then followed by forums which acted as a precursor to the social web. They came with a user friendly interface making it easier for users to use. Six degrees then followed the forums in 1997and it was the first modern social network. It permitted consumers to create profiles and make friends with others in the society. This was then followed by AsianAvenue which was created between 1997 and 2001. They permitted users to create their profiles and add new friends. However, they had few innovations features imbedded in them. Live Journal was the next in line. It was invented in 1999 and allowed users to create static profiles and was build around blogs. Last to mark these developments and usher in the major social advances was world of warcraft. The period that followed this was marked by major advances in social networking and they w ere friendster, Hi5, linkedIn, MySpace, Face book among others. The Users of Social Media There are numerous social media users who register for the different available sites under different names and profiles. The breed of social media personalities varies depending with the reasons on which they join the sites. There are those users known as the ultras who have addiction of checking new feeds dozen times a day. Secondly, the dippers are known to have social media accounts but check their pages irregularly and go for days or weeks without even posting a comment or replying to a post (Straubhaar, LaRose & Davenport, 2012). Thirdly, are the deniers who think that social media do not control their lives, but becomes anxious when they are not able to access the internet. Fourthly, are the virgins who are known to take first cautious steps to the social media. Fifthly, are the Lurkers who are always keen on what others are sharing or saying, but rarely responds to the talks. They normal ly hide in the shadows of cyberspace as they do not want their identity revealed or noticed by those who actively participate in the social media. Sixthly, the peacocks are users of social media who have a high number of followers or fan and are known to actively participate in social media conversation through their re-tweets and likes (Deuze, 2011). Seventhly, are the ranters who