Social Networking

Social networking is a form of new media that allows users the ability to always stay connected with the ability to share what ever you want to share. When looking at the 5 c's, social media allows for all of them, Communication, Collaboration, Community, Creativity, Convergence. With sites like Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, IMDB and new sites like Google+, social networking which was mainly used to connect with friends and family, is attracting a lot of attention for celebrities, companies, and even politicians. Celebrities use sites like Twitter and Facebook to promote, share ideas, and to connect to there many fans and this also allows users the opportunity to give feedback as well as connect to this celebrity. Companies use social networking as a tool to connect to there customers and market, promote, and receive feedback. Politicians use these sites to for similar reason like celebrities however they also can gain new voters, raise funds, and tap into a younger audience who may not be big on voting. In the New York Times Article, How Obama Tapped Into Social Networks’ Power, we see the power of this new media. The quote that really hit home on the power of new media was, "“Thomas Jefferson used newspapers to win the presidency, F.D.R. used radio to change the way he governed, J.F.K. was the first president to understand television, and Howard Dean saw the value of the Web for raising money”.

Each social networking site brings different aspects to the table. A site like twitter allows users to send out short tweets which can be used to share thoughts, pics, or even a retweet. Myspace and Facebook offered user with the ability to connect with friends, but myspace gave users the power to create and format your page, while Facebook approach was more a simplistic touch. A website like IMDB allows users to connect to critique a movie as well as rate and share feedback. I have looked to sites like IMDB for ratings of movies and was shocked to read that result could be distorted. In the Technology Review Article, Can You Trust Crowd Wisdom?, it says "If you have two or three people voting 500 times, says Kostakos, the results may not be representative of the community overall. He suspects this may be why ratings often tend toward extremes". This was a big shocker to me due to my online experience, where users usually shared my feelings or at least the comments would defend why someone disliked or liked something.

Like with everything in life there is a catch. while social networking has it benefits, you can't post threatening or radical thoughts, and a lot of time can be spent in cyberspace reading friends tweets or status updates instead of doing homework, or just spending time or something more productive. I feel that in the future social networking will be more incorporated in school, where you will meet classmates before you even attend your first day, and where students will be able to keep in contact with their teachers after school hours.