Spanish
REPORT
Debate about social media and on-line reputation based on ‘Black Mirror’
ESADE Alumni recently held a talk entitled “Black Mirror debate: social media and on-line reputation, based on an analysis of chapter one in the third season of the Black Mirror series. Taking part were marketing and communication director at Nutrexpa, Javier Coromina; technology journalist Gina Tost; co-founder and key account manager of El Tenedor, Alejandro Lorenzo; influencer and founder of The Blogs Family, María José Cayuela (PMD 07 / DEC 04); academic assistant in ESADE’s marketing management department, Franc Carreras; and the managing director of Adara and board member of the ESADE Alumni Digital Business & ICT Club, Sara Pastor (Lic & MBA 05).
In today’s world, a negative digital comment is more important than positive feedback. “Opinions have always had a lot of influence, but now they are now decisive for many businesses because any user can share their experience, said Alejandro Lorenzo. The quality of a product or service used to depend on expert opinions, but now anyone with access to the Internet can voice their own opinion. This is why Lorenzo insisted that “it’s essential to spend time analysing opinions because they provide an opportunity to see what you’re doing well and to try and solve any problems.
“Everything is driven by a product’s star rating, said Coromina, knowing that the reputation of any service is measured by a single click. When an app is downloaded, potential users see how many stars it has, i.e. the level of user satisfaction. “When an app has just 3 out of 5 stars – not a bad rating really – people decide not to download it, added Tost. Users attach a great deal of importance to comments because, according to statistics, readers look at 10 to 15 opinions on average.
Influencers are under pressure too. “We’re constantly being rated, explained María José Cayuela. “In the world of bloggers, depending on how much engagement and impact you have amongst your followers, events charge you to attend or give free invites. We depend on algorithms that force you to interact a lot. It’s a battle between algorithms and people.
The problem, as Carreras said, is that it is not possible to stop being in social media and the market exploits this. “We always give priority to user-friendliness and finance. It’s very difficult to apply the ethical approach that underpins on-line reputation, said Corominas.
Cayuela explained that everything a person does leaves a trace, “so we shouldn’t leave just leave negative comments on social media networks, we should also comment on everything that is satisfactory. It’s important to remember that an on-line reputation is built on the basis of other people’s perceptions.
According to Tost, everything depends on how en masse users use social media. In this respect, digital education is essential to remedy the mistakes made on-line. Cayuela emphasised that for the “Like Generation, i.e. 12 year olds, it is important to be popular in social media. They think that a “like can determine a friendship. Adults, on the other hand, regard any on-line image as a modification of real behaviour. Coromina insisted that “many politicians govern by tweets, and that the situation is similar when the HR departments of companies are recruiting. Many consider what a person is like on social media, but not all this can be trusted. According to Lorenzo, “care must be taken because different social media work in different ways.