Information cascades in social media
In the article, the author argues that Google Plus offers a better platform for businesses, so the public should considering switching over. The features of Google Plus that make it superior to the likes of Facebook or LinkedIn are the Communities feature and the Hangout feature. The Communities feature connects users with a shared interest, making it optimal for businesses with a targeted demographic. Through Google Plus, businesses can also interact directly with their customers.
Hangouts is another feature of Google Plus that makes it stand out. As a social media tool, it is intended for friends to get together in a video chat. However, as a business tool, it could be the platform for meetings and demonstrations. The demonstrations can even be easily uploaded to Youtube because the two interface seamlessly; Google owns Youtube after all.
The only problem right now with Google Plus is that no one uses it. The author suggests that for Google Plus to take off, its users must do something to differentiate the platform from other social media. If it remains a substitute to Facebook, it will never take off. Therefore, she calls for the users to do something with the stigma surrounding Google Plus. Instead of posting the same things they would to Facebook or Twitter, users should contribute something else in their comments.
In a traditional information cascade, people act according to what they observe of other people’s actions rather than what they believe to be right. If a person sees the majority of people doing something contradictory to what he/she thinks is right, he/she will think that they have access to information that he/she does not. Therefore, that person goes against what he/she initially wanted and opts for what everyone else is doing. This is relevant because people using social media might not even prefer Facebook over Google Plus, but they use it anyway. People have various reasons for using Facebook but not using Google Plus. Most people probably use it because most people already use it. Some people might prefer the layout. Some people might be too lazy to switch. Some people might not even know that Google Plus exists. Regardless, the lack of people on Google Plus is what makes it so unappealing to potential users. If the two platforms had started out at the same time, rather than one having a seven year head start, the two might see similar usage. However, since most people were already on Facebook when Google Plus was introduced, there was not as strong an incentive to begin using Google Plus. That is to say, the effect of information cascades could have been mitigated or even avoided completely. Instead, we have an imbalance of people on social media skewed heavily in Facebook’s favor.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/dorieclark/2013/01/04/why-you-should-be-on-google-plus-even-though-no-one-else-is/