User:Kholzer17/sandbox

The pleasant commentaries within a chat room or message board can be limited by a "war of words" fight or "flaming" with the intent to seek out a negative reaction from the reader. Humphreys defines flaming as “the use of hostile language online, including swearing, insults and otherwise offensive language”. Page Text. Flaming by perpetrators within the online community is commonly received by messaging through text and rarely by face to face or video communication. By basing their conversations on text and not taking full accountability as the ‘flamer’, they have a reduced self-awareness of others feelings, emotions and reactions based on the comments that they provide within the virtual community. The reader now has the perception that this ‘flamer’ is difficult, rude and possibly a bully. The flamer may have limited social cues, emotional intelligence to adapt to others reactions and lack of awareness of how they are being perceived. Their personal social norms, may considered disrespectful to the reader that has different social norms, education and experience with what is and is not appropriate within virtual communities.

The individuals that create an environment of flaming and hostility, lead the readers to disengage with the offender and may potentially leave the message board and chat room. By leaving the flaming situation, the reader has reacted calmly with limited misinterpretations. The continual use of flaming within the online community can create a disruptive and negative experience for those involved and can lead to limited involvement and engagement within the original chat room and program.

Holger Kayser, Executive Director at Performance Improvement, EY Consulting, discussed flame war management within social media sites and the positive and negative effects it can have on an organization. The negative impact that flame wars can have on company’s social media sites can lead to reputational damage, drop in stock prices and company assets, increase in liabilities and lawsuits and a decrease in customers, influencers and sponsors.Page text. Based on an assessment of the damage, companies can take years to recover from a flame war that may reflects or oppose their core purpose. Alternatively, Holger Kayser, points out that a flame war can lead to a positive experience for the company. Based on the content that is stated, it could be shared across multiple platforms and increase company recognition, free marketing of brand presence, and increase customers purchases and loyalties. Therefore, that type of marketing from a flame war can lead to higher profits and brand recognition on a broader scale. Each instance of a corporate flame war, based on the damage that may have occurred, Kayser recommends the company to perform a vulnerability analysis, [|SWOT] and Failure mode and effects analysis to guide decision making on how to prepare and react during a flame war. Never less, it is encouraged that when a company utilizes social media they should be prepared of the opportunity that their content could be used in a flame war and should be treated as an emergency.