Social Media as marketing, social and entertainment tool Research Paper

Social Media as marketing, social and entertainment tool - Research Paper Example A classic example is the use of Social Media by current United Sates President to reach millions of young voters (Kanter 28).A more recent even though grotesque example of Social Media power has been its use by Islamic radicals in the Middle East to post the beheading of people on social media. The act is ugly but the effect is instant and compelling. Non Profit organizations and their communities exist in the same environment that profit making one’s and politics do. The dilemma is should non profit organizations whose interest is not necessarily profit go the same way. Beth Kanter in her book The Networked Non Profit answers this question. Overcoming Fears The skepticism and concern of Help Worldwide Board and Staff members is quite understandable. However we will soon find out that the advantages of joining Social Media far outweigh the disadvantages. Social Media help to build social capital cheaply (Kanter 34) and keeping in touch with the Social Culture is vital. An example is given of the American Red Cross which lost touch with the public during Hurricane Katrina because it failed to hear criticism about it’s failure to respond quickly since it did not have the capacity to listen (Kanter 41).The organization reacted by creating a Social Media policy that was open and candid thereby embracing a new Social Culture. This signified a Culture shift (Kanter 56) that is required of all non profit organizations since Social media enables organizations to listen to millions in an easy way (Kanter 61). The saying goes that if we don’t change, change will change us.We cannot talk about change without mentioning generational change.