Proceedings of the 12th European Conference on Knowledge ...

Risto Säntti
accepted as <strong>the</strong> medium, and it can disregard criticism owing to <strong>the</strong> power derived from its mass and
volume. Many companies rely for <strong>the</strong>ir social media marketing solely on Facebook. Issues attracting
criticism in this standard-in-practice are constantly changing, but have included <strong>the</strong> rules concerning
privacy, and <strong>the</strong> general clumsiness <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> system. The social media mindset in relation to Facebook
needs to understand who <strong>the</strong> customers <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> company are. According to F-Secure research
director, Mikko Hyppönen, Facebook users understand <strong>the</strong>mselves to be <strong>the</strong> customers, though in
reality <strong>the</strong>y are <strong>the</strong> product. The genuine customers are <strong>the</strong> advertisers (Tuurala 2011). This state <strong>of</strong>
affairs explains certain privacy leaks and <strong>the</strong> limited options to hide personal information. From <strong>the</strong>
perspective <strong>of</strong> only one dominating player position in <strong>the</strong> market Facebook clearly is <strong>the</strong>re. From this
position <strong>the</strong> company is able to influence <strong>the</strong> development <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> social media mindset considerably,
and in <strong>the</strong> meantime prevent alternative solutions that might better fit user needs from entering <strong>the</strong>
field.
3. The social media mindset
The social media mindset is a cultural phenomenon, <strong>the</strong> existence and nature <strong>of</strong> which may go
unnoticed. The reason can be <strong>the</strong> apparent self-evident and ordinary nature <strong>of</strong> it. The mobile phone
has influenced our understanding <strong>of</strong> accessibility in a fundamental way. We no longer expect people
to ever be inaccessible. This reflects one relevant area <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> social media mindset.
In its role as a cultural phenomenon, <strong>the</strong> social media mindset has scarcely been touched upon as a
research topic. Ribiere et al. (2010) have studied how national cultures influence web 2.0 use. The
focus was on H<strong>of</strong>stede’s cultural traits typology and attempted to understand what motivates people
to use web 2.0 technologies. This analysis is a step towards social media mindsets prevailing and
developing through <strong>the</strong> use <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>se tools.
Table 1 below presents some recognizable key features <strong>of</strong> present and anticipated future social
media mindset (modified from Säntti & Säntti 2011). We see reality through <strong>the</strong>se lenses.
Table 1: Features <strong>of</strong> social media mindset
THE FEATURE DESCRIPTION
Incessant accessibility and rules
for contacting
People are constantly accessible via different social media tools. The
social acceptability <strong>of</strong> contact making depends upon <strong>the</strong> time point,
media, situation etc.
Practically everyone is accessible It is possible to make contact with an unlimited number <strong>of</strong> people.
Broad scale <strong>of</strong> friendship forms There exist light and deep forms <strong>of</strong> network relationships, and <strong>the</strong>y
Huge amount <strong>of</strong> potential group
can be short and long term in nature.
It is potentially possible to be a member <strong>of</strong> numerous virtual and <strong>of</strong> a
memberships
limited number <strong>of</strong> physical communities.
Broad amount <strong>of</strong> identities One can have various network identities that differ considerably from
each o<strong>the</strong>r, and <strong>the</strong>y can be close or distant from <strong>the</strong> physical identity.
Presence in virtual and physical Virtual and physical spaces overlap, and it is possible to be present in
spaces
<strong>the</strong> same space in different ways as well as be present in different
spaces simultaneously.
Virtual view reaches everywhere It is possible to see almost anywhere synchronously or
asynchronously.
Multiple overlapping time and Time is multiple and overlapping, same things are being done
activities
simultaneously in different spaces and different things in <strong>the</strong> same
space.
Distant touch It is possible to touch from <strong>the</strong> distance and to be touched by a
program.
Shared body feelings Body feelings can be monitored and shared according to mutual
agreement.
Hive-mind, groupthink Individual and group thinking combine in various forms.
Accessibility and modification <strong>of</strong>
information
Information is broadly accessible and users can modify it.
Limited information control Control over information after release is limited.
Quality <strong>of</strong> information and
Information consists <strong>of</strong> a mixture <strong>of</strong> contrasting viewpoints, and <strong>the</strong>
knowledge
user is responsible for evaluating <strong>the</strong> information quality.
Social media related thinking is considerably different from preceding mindsets. The attitudes in
relation to time, space, knowledge – private and public have changed. The social media mindset is
strongly interwoven with private and pr<strong>of</strong>essional activities. This mindset change is by no means
nearing its end phase, but in continuous evolution.
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