Social Networking

So for this assignment I was asked to write about Social Networking.

In today's day and age social networking has been brought to the forefront of societal interaction. Today's generation does the majority of its communication and "mingling" through social networking websites such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Orkut, etc. As our society grows and becomes more diverse social networking can help develop our interactions with one another. Social networks provide platforms for us to communicate with people from across the globe. My sentiments about social networking are reiterated by Nicole Ellison, assistant professor of Telecommunication, Information Studies and Media at Michigan State University, in Stephen J. Dubner's article, for Freakonomics.com, titled "Is MySpace Good for Society? A Freakonomics Quorum", in which she says "I believe the benefits provided by social network sites such as Facebook have made us better off as a society and as individuals, and that, as they continue to be adopted by more diverse populations, we will see an increase in their utility. Anecdotal evidence of positive outcomes from these technologies — such as political activities organized via Facebook or jobs found through LinkedIn — is well-known, but now a growing corpus of academic research on social networks sites supports this view as well." As we can see from Nicole Ellison's commentary on social networking their uses can be quite varied. 

Aside from providing a peer to peer interface for communication, social networks also provide company's great platforms to either recruit, market, or enhance their business productivity's and growth. Company's use social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter to market their products actively. Many companies have dedicated company pages on Facebook that create a buzz when a new product is about to come out, or when they want specific information to reach the consumers. Social networking websites such as LinkedIn are used extensively for recruitment. LinkedIn is usually billed as the professional's Facebook, where most top level executives and recruiters are able to fish through the website in search of their companies next great recruit. If we look at the example given in Frank Langfitt's article, for NPR.org, titled "Social Networking Technology Boosts Job Recruiting", where a recruitment manager for Osram Sylvania was able to find a new product marketing manager using LinkedIn. Aside from that example, the article has input from other company recruiters who attest that LinkedIn gives them the opportunity to search for employees from a much vaster talent pool. 

Although I am an avid social networker myself I do realize that these technologies do have a negative aspect to them. When I look at my younger cousin's who are growing up just as social networking is being adopted as the new way to communicate I can see how they lack in communications skills. Being reliant on just communicating behind a screen can be harmful for ones personal growth. I enjoy social networking but I still believe one does not have the same conversation online as they do face to face. Aside from that I also believe that we are at a risk if we do not use social networks responsibly. Not just our youth, but adults as well can be stalked using social networks if they do not use the proper privacy settings. Just the other day I was having a conversation with a women at work who was telling me about why she does not use Facebook. She was telling me a story about how one of her relatives posted online that their family was going on vacation for two days. Somehow someone was able to view that status update and ended up robbing their home. The robbery was never solved. Aside from that example their are countless stories about people being stalked and harmed because people were able to follow them through there online activities. Hence, people must use these technologies intelligently, or else as with anything there are negative aspects to them. 

We must be aware that social networking is in it's prime. These technologies will continue to evolve. I believe that in the future more and more of our lives will be immersed in a constant stream of communication with our family, friends, and peers. I think that as technology improves everyone will have access to social networks through their cellular devices. Slowly and slowly televisions, even refrigerators, are coming with built in apps for Facebook and Twitter. I know of some cars out at the moment that have social networking in their display units, and I believe that will become the norm sooner or later. I also believe that in the future social networking will have a greater role to play in our day to day communications. Regardless of whether we think this is a good or bad thing, I believe it is a change that will occur. Social networks are here to stay. 

For now I believe this is enough of my commentary on social networking. If you have any comments or questions, feel free to comment. So for now Blog to you later.