According to Howard’s chapter on Remuneration, remuneration
is the idea that people will become or remain a member of a social network site
if there is a clear benefit for doing so. I definitely agree with this idea.
When I decided to join LinkedIn, I knew I would receive some type of positive return
from making the decision to join. However, I have discovered that some social
media sites do not present some type of value in joining. It is possible that
is why some social media sites and online communities have not been as
successful as others. Many social networking sites are useful to employees when
it comes to deciding who they want to hire. According to CIO Magazine, 1/5 of
employers use certain social networking sites when it comes to hiring employees.
This is easily seen and understandable because of the fact that so many
businesses are involved in online communities; if they have a social media
site, then it is important that a future employee also have one.
Howard explains that the idea of remuneration not only
addresses what people get out of joining an online community; it also takes
into account “what people give back to the community so that communication and
interactions will occur” (57). In order for a social networking site to be successful,
it not only needs to give something back to the people who are using it, it
also needs to create some type of communication and interaction between the
users so that they it can be popular and successful. In order for the people
using the site to help in the remuneration process, it would be helpful for the
social network to focus on the twelve techniques presented by Howard.
Remuneration is key when it comes to social media networks
and building a successful online community. However, according to Howard
remuneration is not the only thing needed to have a successful social
networking site. Functionality and innovative business model are also important.
While functionality and innovative business models are “necessary conditions”,
according to Howard, “remuneration is the only sufficient condition” for continued
success (77).
I think that the last sentence of your post hit it right on the nose. Without a doubt, an quality business model, advertisements, and a budget are key to running a successful social network. However, remuneration is what will ultimately keep the site alive. People need incentive for returning to your site, and need to benefit in some way, whether that's through sheer entertainment or something else valuable to them.
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