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Chapter 8 Social Media Information Systems
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Q8-1 What Is a Social Media Information System (SMIS)?

Social media (SM) is the use of information technology to support the sharing of content among
networks of users. Social media enables people to form communities of practice, or simply com-
munities, which are groups of people related by a common interest. A social media information
system (SMIS) is an information system that supports the sharing of content among networks of
users.
As illustrated in Figure 8-1, social media is a convergence of many disciplines. In this book,
we will focus on the MIS portion of Figure 8-1 by discussing SMIS and how they contribute to
organizational strategy. If you decide to work in the SM field as a professional, you will need some
knowledge of all these disciplines, except possibly computer science.

Three SMIS Roles

Before discussing the components of an SMIS, we need to clarify the roles played by three organi-
zational units:

• Social media providers
• Users
• Communities

Social Media Providers

Social media providers such as Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest
provide platforms that enable the creation of social networks, or social relationships among
people with common interests. The growth of SM over the past few years has been tremendous.
Figure 8-2 shows the size of some well-known SM providers. In terms of the number of active
1
users, several of these sites exceed the total population of the United States. The growth of SM has
generated extraordinary interest from businesses, advertisers, and investors. Social media provid-
ers compete with one another for the attention of users and for the associated advertising dollars.

Users

Users include both individuals and organizations that use SM sites to build social relationships.
More than 73 percent of people with Internet access use SM, and 40 percent of people access
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SM via their mobile phones. Social media providers are attracting, and targeting, certain

Psychology Organization
Theory

Sociology Social Media Marketing

Computer MIS
Figure 8-1 Science
Social Media Is a Convergence of
Disciplines