The Driving Force Behind Today’s “Follow” Culture
Direct benefit is the idea that as more people engage in an action, it becomes more beneficial for you to also engage in the action; this is frequently seen in social media. In other words, people will not join a social media site unless they have people of interest who are also joining the same site. Information cascades are also important in perpetuating the popularity of social media websites. Information cascades result when a person/agent engages in an action based on the actions of others, despite possible contradictions to ones own private information. When people hear that their friends and/or family are members of a social network they may become more inclined to also make a profile on that same social networking site. This may be the reason behind why some social media sites may not live up to the expected hype or why we see social media outlets come in waves. For example, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and more recently Instagram and Vine have become popular social media sites while Google+ does not receive the same attention.
Social media sites such as the ones previously listed not only provide individuals with the opportunity to connect with their family, friends and acquaintances, but also gives them the opportunity to follow famous celebrities, socialites, brands, etc. These sites have also become more than a place for the world to connect, individuals have been able to start careers, share ideas and spread campaign messages through the use of social media. For example, in recent years the culture surrounding YouTube has dramatically changed. Singers are being discovered on YouTube and people are beginning careers as YouTubers. This career is not something one applies for though, it takes gaining subscribers and building a following audience before signing onto a manager. As videos gain more views and rise in popularity, that information will influence a view and may convince them to watch a video that they were not previously interested it—an effect of information cascade. This information cascade works similarly with Twitter, Facebook and Instagram—you may not be previously interested in following/friending/liking a particularly agent but the popularity (or lack there of) will influence your ultimate behavior.
As previously stated, social media sites are also a platform for campaigns. For example, when the UN launched their He For She campaign to promote gender equality, it started a hashtag of the same name, #HeForShe, on Twitter and Instagram. Other examples include, the #ALSIceBucketChallenge to raise awareness about Lou Gehrig’s Disease, #NoShaveNovember to raise awareness about cancer, and #direnkahkaha in support of Turkish women for laughing out loud in public. Hashtags like these generate a frenzy where members of social media sites “jump on the bandwagon” per se, and become involved with causes they were not previously aware of. The direct benefits associated with joining a social media site and the information cascade that result within social media are a driving force behind this “follow” culture we are currently living in.
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/talkingtech/story/2012-04-12/hollywood-collective-agency/54233860/1
http://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/2014/09/23/watson-heforshe-campaign-captures-social-media/ymeW6hsKfOs5u4kSutwQOL/story.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/07/31/direnkahkaha-resist-laughter_n_5637699.html
http://www.no-shave.org/#!what/cjg9
http://www.alsa.org/fight-als/ice-bucket-challenge.html