Social Networking Sites

            I feel that Facebook has become old news to our generation and has captured more of the attention of our parents as was mentioned in the article from FoxNews.com.  As quoted in the article, Facebook has more drama than other social networking sites (FoxNews.com). Also, Facebook tends to have very long detailed posts that people today no longer have the time or the intention span to look at and read. Facebook is a good way to communicate with friends and family from different countries and keep in touch or for people who do not get to see each other often and could keep up with what is new going on in their lives.

            I have recently come to realize that Twitter is more than just a quick way for friends to update each other on what they are doing. Twitter can be a way to inform people in the event of an emergency. An example of this was seen back in 2013 when the Boston Marathon bombing took place. Twitter was the quickest and easiest way for the Boston Police Department to keep the public updated with the newest information on the terrorist attack and helped to get some of the chaos under control (Bindley). It is a way to get instant news updates on multiple topics.

            Snapchat is a social networking site that is beneficial because of its time limits just how Twitter has its character limits on their posts to keep them short and concise. You could follow news channels and other accounts of your choice that give you a quick synopsis of what is going on through their stories. One great thing about Snapchat is that you could choose who you want to send your snaps to. Sometimes you just see something funny and only want to show certain friends for a few seconds without posting it on other social media sites where it will stay unless you take it down.

            Pinterest is a social networking site that is different from most of the others in the fact that you “pin” posts on your board instead of posting them. This site allows you to capture people’s attention through the picture you pin up and if they want to see what it is about they could click on it and go to the website. You have the ability to categorize your pins into different folders so you could easily find them. I love Pinterest because I love to cook and bake and Pinterest is a great way for me to find new ideas and recipes and save them to my board where I can easily re-access them when I need them.

Citations:

Bindley, Katherine. "Boston Police Twitter: How Cop Team Tweets Led City From Terror To Joy." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 26 Apr. 2013. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/26/boston-police-twitter-marathon_n_3157472.html

FoxNews.com. "Twitter Winning Teens As Parents Flood Facebook." Fox News. FOX News Network, 23 May 2013. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/05/23/twitter-winning-teens-as-parents-flood-facebook.html#ixzz2U8uzovRG

Blog Social networking

            The technology of blog social networking is used for almost everything in today’s society from careers and businesses to personal pleasure and entertainment. Businesses use these outlets to spread word about their business. Blog social networking is beneficial to anyone with a message or a photo that they want to get out to the public. Small new restaurants that would not otherwise be known across such a huge audience such as Black Tap who got a picture of their signature milkshakes on Instagram are now one of the most popular and trending places to go. Companies research possible employee candidates to see what they could find out about their lives and how they behave before they consider hiring them. People post what they do and where they go, follow what interests them, and stay in touch with people whom may otherwise be hard to communicate with. Social networking is especially important to students in this school because there are so many international students who need to be able to contact heir families back home.

            I believe there is a dark side to these technologies. When people sign up for Facebook and other social networking services, they give up their privacy. So much of people’s personal information is released onto the Internet every day and they do not even realize it. Between intentional sharing of information and the power of social networking, you could find out almost anything about anyone in today’s society and that is pretty scary. Strangers have the power to know where you are and what you are doing, if you are home, with friends, or on vacation.  With this information, you could easily be a target and a victim both physically as well as online for identity fraud. As seen in Virginia Heffernan’s article by a previous user of Facebook is, “What especially galls him is the commercialization and corporate regulation of personal and social life. As Facebook endeavors to be the Web’s headquarters – to compete with Google, in other words, and to make money from the information it gathers – it’s inevitable that some people would come to view it as Big Brother” (Heffernan).  We see the same issue in Wharton’s article about privacy and personal security. This issue is basically summed up by the fact that, “Few of these users realize that the information they post, when combined with the new technologies for gathering and compiling data, can create a fingerprint-like pattern of behavior” (Leaving ‘Friendprints’: How Online Social Networks Are Redefining Privacy and Personal Security)

            I feel that even though these technologies have revolutionized the way we communicate, they will only get worse in the future. I personally do not use any platforms of social media and prefer not to. I see the benefits for businesses as a way for them to advertise and spread the word about what they are currently doing but I feel that it is unnecessary for people to share every moment of their lives. People use social networking to show off what they are doing and if the people you follow were your real friends, they would already be clued into the events of your life.

1.  Heffernan, Virginia. “Facebook Exodus", NY Times, August 26, 2009

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/30/magazine/30FOB-medium-t.html?_r=2&ref=technology

2. Knowledge@Wharton, "Leaving 'Friendprints': How Online Social Networks Are Redefining Privacy and Personal Security.

http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/leaving-friendprints-how-online-social-networks-are-redefining-privacy-and-personal-security/

BLOG: Blog v Wiki

            Blogs and Wikis are often confused, however, there are differences between the two. Blogs lean more toward online journals where people write and post regularly. Blogs are not usually edited, but new posts are added instead and often include their opinions on certain topics. Wikis, on the other hand, are usually online articles that are continually edited and updated by multiple people to collaboratively create something. Blogs also usually get commented on, while Wikis do not. These two are similar in that they both allow people to communicate and work collaboratively, even though this collaboration is done in different ways.

            Today, social networking has become such a huge part of our society. It has allowed us to connect the world and communicate with people we would never have the opportunity to share knowledge with otherwise. Wikis play a huge part in this connection with people from around the world. They allow people to, “share information and collaborate on online projects” as mentioned in an article that discusses the uproar over Wikipedia’s decision to add a layer of editors to the entries (Sutter p. 1). This decision caused so much debate because people felt that Wikipedia was going against its core values.  Blogs and Wikis need to converge because in situations like this, bloggers are more likely to spread this news and their opinions where people could all comment on the posts and make people aware of what is going on.

            We see multiple scenarios where blogs are used for collaboration.  In an article from The New York Times, bloggers in a neighborhood in Brooklyn worked together and were finally able to bust the drug dealers and crack house in their neighborhood. This was a huge accomplishment because they were all scared to come forward alone due to the fear of the people that lived in those houses. However, because of their blogs that each shared different pieces of important information, these bloggers were able to put it all together and bring the case to the attention of authorities and the community and finally do something about what was going on. As stated in the article, “Mr. Miller, the pet shop owner, said a core group of seven people who met through the blog brought the case to the attention of the community board and met with the authorities. ‘A group of people who did not know each other came together and traded information,’ he said” (Wilson p. 4).

            Blogs are also seen being used for collaboration on Wal-Mart’s unfiltered blog that encourages people to contribute and speak truthfully about products sold in their store. As stated in Barbaro’s article, “Wal-Mart says the Web site helps buyers solicit quick feedback from consumers on the merchandise — and shows a softer side of the giant company, which has 5,000 stores, 1.2 million workers and annual sales of nearly $400 billion” (Barbaro p. 2).  Although there are disadvantages to blogs such as this one, it gives both customers and buyers real feedback that they can trust and know is not being filtered by the company.

            Wikis are currently used in all different industries and revolutionized the way things are done.  As a major in the business field, I see how Wikis are used in the business world for things such as marketing, allowing teams to work together and collaborate on a project, allow them to communicate, and also just to inform people about products, companies and news.  I feel that at this point, Wikis have been used for almost anything that you could think of, however, people will continue to find new uses for them.

Citations:

1. Barbaro, Michael. Wal-Mart Tastemakers Write a Blunt and Unfiltered Blog, NY Times, March 3, 2008.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/03/business/03walmart.html

2. Sutter, John D. Wikipedia: No longer the Wild West? CNN.com/technology, August 26, 2009.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/08/26/wikipedia.editors/index.html

3. Wilson, Michael. Brooklyn Blog Helps Lead to Drug Raid, The New York Times, June 26, 2008.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/26/nyregion/26bayridge.html 

Social Networking: A Purposeful Loss of Privacy

In today's society, social networking has become both a blessing and a curse. One of the biggest sacrifices that people make when it comes to using social media is their privacy. People do not realize how much personal information they are making available for everyone to see through social media outlets. However, this infringement on privacy is not always a negative thing. I will be researching both the positive and negative effects of social media in relation to privacy.