ABSTRACT
Chapter 3 starts with the somewhat controversial decision of Instagram to allow users to hide the “like” button and discusses the design logic of the company. The notion of “affordance” is then introduced as a key to understanding the relationship between media design and usage. Further, the chapter introduces the seven functional building blocks of social media: identity, conversations, sharing, presence, relationships, reputation, and groups. Finally, the chapter delves into the implication of the affordance perspective by explicating how organizations could effectively leverage social media affordance to engage their employees. These lessons also form the basis for subsequent chapters that discuss the use of social media in specific contexts.
