It seems that social media platforms are being used for other purposes than the original intentions of their creators. That’s right; research is showing that popular social media platforms such a LinkedIn are being used to find a ‘significant’ other rather than a ‘suitable’ employee/business partner.
In the pharmaceutical industry, it’s called off-label use, and it happens when patients realise a drug that’s been approved as a therapy for one condition can also be used to treat another. This is now happening more and more in the digital world and could be the detrimental factor that determines if your next business venture makes you millions or bankrupt.
Let’s see how it is done:
Tinder for Business: Have a ‘search’ through Tinder and you will find more and more that under their profile picture, where that little space is for a blurb, there is more often than not a brief spiel about their business, the ‘latest’ project or even just their new product that you should check out. What better way to form a new relationship? Or even better- get to really know potential colleague.
Gmail drafts for clandestine messaging: It sounds so simple yet, surprisingly clever. Sharing access to a Gmail account and leaving unsent messages in the “Drafts” folder enables communication without some of the digital traces of email.
LinkedIn for love: You use it to network, to find new jobs, so why not use it to find your soul mate? It seems people find it more of a safe bet to find people who have a steady job in a similar industry.
YouTube for journaling: apparently if you dig deep and check out the comment boards in Youtbe you will discover a world of confessions and reminiscences.
What’s next? We are betting on Instagram making its mark.
