Social Networking Sites

So you’re new to the Internet and you've been hearing a lot about this Twitter, Facebook, networking nonsense. If you want to communicate with your family and friends using one of these sites is essential to your well-being. However, out the bunch that's out there, which one will work for you? Don't fret, I'm here to lighten the load so to speak and shed some light on the 4 networking sites (Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Google+) I believe is the most reliable today.

      If you're breathing than you've more than likely heard about Facebook. It's become the world’s answer to global networking in a way that is simple but very efficient.  Facebook takes online communication from the days of sending a regular email or an instant message to personal or corporate promoting of one's life. In my opinion, I feel Facebook stole that idea from MySpace but I'll get on that a little later. Facebook is less about "me" and more about "us" with interactivity being the main draw to the community. For instance, take a look at your Facebook profile when you first login, do you notice that the first thing you see is the news feeds of your friends activity? Keep that picture in mind when I introduce to you another social networking site worthy of the title Facebook's ancestor called MySpace.  

      Unlike most social media sites, MySpace was the first site that had such a public impact on the world. It was seen mainly as the as a hangout spot for the young and hip – no one over 30 need apply. And though MySpace gradually has become more popular with those in their 30s, 40s, and beyond, it is still teen-heavy. MySpace is a place to create a Web site that makes a statement about you, with customizable themes and a music player that can load and play a song automatically when visitors hit your page. By default, your MySpace page is viewable by the public, but you can set the page to be viewable only by your MySpace friends. Over time, MySpace has developed a reputation as a “hook up” site and it has struggled with spam disguised as friend requests and hacked user accounts, but the site has worked to overcome these difficulties with tightened security safeguards and enhanced communication with users.

     Looking at both sites I'm sure you noticed you a lot of similarities and the few differences and in reality Facebook is the son of MySpace. Generally, most users prefer Facebook because you can be nosy and search for people, whether it's your ex or an old time friend. It just works!! However, what if you're looking for something more, something that you can get your voice out to the world anytime of the day at any point in time. Guess what? Twitter is your answer to this problem simply because it does just that. You can use it to get out what you’re currently thinking to the public and those who "follow" you. If someone were to ask me, what do you think Twitter is all about? I would tell them, Twitter is what YOU make it out to be. Think about you can follow people you're interested in, have people follow you and monitor what you're thinking as well you monitor what they're thinking. From that point on you decide what you want to from that point on, you can use this information to promote your business like most companies do. You can use it to create a community of people that all have the same interests as you and you can bounce ideas back and forth. It's also used for learning and engaging with one another, check it what Jeanine Walters had to say about that, "I learn every single day from Twitter. Ironically, some of the learning is how NOT to behave. I absolutely appreciate the community I have found via quick tweets or discovered blogs (like this one!) but I also find doofuses who don't get it every day. I use these "role models" to remind me to continue to see Twitter as a village - not a podium." Whoever said you can't teach old dog new tricks, it still takes a village to raise a child ladies and gentleman.

     To wrap this meeting up I would like to touch on a serious issue that has been disturbing me and a few individuals in my circle. What does Google think it's doing by coming out with Google+? Seriously, I thought them trying to come out with Android cell phones every 3 days were enough for them. Now they have to come and capture the social networking too? First of all, its way too complicated for the average social user. They have so much options and different features for someone who’s trying to simply post information. This is why Facebook and Twitter is hot right now --making hard things simple. Also now, granted, Google's redesign turned it into a weird hybrid of Twitter and Facebook's layout, but it still gets the job done. Second there is a chatting limitation that you cannot freely chat with all the users in your Circles; you can only chat with those who are connected to your Google+ account through your email address. This is one of the big lacking features that Google+ need to pay attention to. Because, chatting has now become an essential feature of social networking sites, so, having such limitations to chatting would cause a block in getting people attracted to it. Overall it's a nice site to look at and Google does have a way of things to look nice but everyone knows looks ain't everything.

     Among all these social networking sites my favorite is twitter, not because I can let you and the world know what I'm thinking but I can also follow what other respectable figures are saying about their life. Whether it's a joke from Kevin Hart or an inspirational quote from T.D Jakes, it works for me. How about you, what's your thoughts?

Social Networking

     Over the many years, technology has advanced exponentially to heights that we would never dare to think. Can you imagine? It was just a few years ago, when instant messaging on programs like AOL, Yahoo, MSN were the hottest things next to ketchup. Now look at us, we took that same concept and brought it to cell phones to what is called text messaging. Take MySpace for example, everybody loved the idea of creating their own page that represented who they are, whether it was the background of Chris Brown or it was your favorite playlist that automatically played your music once someone visited your page. It would be an understatement to say that we are becoming more and more like star wars through social media each day. It's more than a phenomenon, it's a way of life.
     Ask yourself this, do you still submit your resumes on company websites? Based on your experience in the job market did you get the absolute best job you can find with your skills? If not, no worries because thanks to a social networking site called LinkedIn this can help you tremendously. This is an example of the direction that we are going in the years to come in job recruiting field such that employers can search for keywords in a resume to pull up a list of suitable candidates for their company.
     If you have a new Nissan Altima or Maxima, you noticed new gadgets and cool equipment the vehicle has to offer. However, has it ever occurred to you how long will it take for Nissan to make the next year model better than this one? Well, social networking for Nissan has helped them develop a way to communicate with other departments and executives across the globe in minutes. An overseas stereo systems job that would normally take easily a month to come up with a decision took only 3 days says Todoroki, 33 "It normally would have taken a month" (Hall, 2006).
     The impact that social networking has had on our lives over the years would make our ancestors curse this technology for being "magic". Which brings me to my final example the infamous Facebook. Literally, everybody has Facebook, from a four thousand dollar Shih Tzu named Napoleon to grandma Suzie in Italy, I repeat again everybody has Facebook. If not, in these times that we're living in at least, you are considered old school, unchanging, expired, anything that is rigid and is outdated. That is the kind of weight Facebook brings to the table. Why do people worship this site so much? It's very simple, if you have any type of computer technology connected to the Internet, whether it's a mobile phone, tablet, laptop, desktop, you can have literally your entire family, friends, co-workers, haters, all in one place. Worst if you have Facebook on your mobile device they not only do you have them with you at home but also in your handbag or back pocket. Much like an 2yr old infant, we like to talk and look at pictures, plain and simple.
     "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one and love the other" says Jesus and he wasn't lying. Have we relied too much on social networking sites like Facebook that we hate picking up a phone and saying hello to the family member or friend? Too much of one thing causes us as a society to forget the essentials of what it really means to communicate with one another. Some says it's purpose is dying? In a response to social media giant Facebook, Virginia Heffernan says "Many seem to have just lost their appetite for it: they just stopped wanting to look at other people's photos and resumes and updates, or have their own subject to scrutiny. Some ex-users seemed shaken, even heart broken, by their breakups with Facebook" (Hefferenan, 2009). Don't act like you haven't had a nasty break up or kept looking through a list of photos on your friend's page that after a while you felt even worst about your life, you reading this may not experience it but they people are out there that do. Ultimately, the dark side to this social media boom according to Leif Harmsen is "the commercialization and corporate regulation of personal and social life" (Heffernan, 2009).

     It's pretty clear that they're benefits that come out of social networking like the integration of communication between people, each person has their own individual voice, easier to search for skilled workers, stay up to speed with friends, track down old friends, promote your business, the list goes on and on. These are great, but it leads to the question, how might these technologies evolve in the future? In my opinion, I see social networking becoming more intrusive with little or no input from the user. I believe these technologies will start to think for the user, for example, track the posts I made Twitter in the past, then post a tweet to the page of a person I am following without me physically being there type it. It can get out of control rather quickly but we must wonder as a society, will we let it?

   

References
Frank Langfitt (2006, November 22) Social Networking Boost Job Recruiting. Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6522523&sc=emaf

Kenji Hall (2007, October 30) Why is Nissan mimicking MySpace?. Retrieved from http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2007-10-30/why-is-nissan-mimicking-myspace-businessweek-business-news-stock-market-and-financial-advice

Virginia Heffernan (2009, August 26) Facebook Exodus. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/30/magazine/30FOB-medium-t.html?_r=2&ref=technology

Blogs vs. Wikis

     There was once a time when AOL (American Online) was the best way to communicate with one another besides the telephone. Whether it was going to the movies, out to lunch, a business meeting or just saying hi to a few family and friends, it's safe to say we've come a long way rather quickly when compared to technology today. Twitter, YouTube, Google+, Facebook, Skype, blogs and wikis just to name a few, in my opinion has given the meek and shy a voice in todays' networked world. The problem I have, however, is that most of these technologies are so closely related, it gets difficult to distinguish the difference between them, especially, blogs and wikis. Does anyone know the difference? what is it's general purpose? if you've scratched your head asking these same questions (I sure did) then keep reading and I'll break it down for you.
     To start here is an idea of what a wiki page looks like: http://docs.webob.org/en/latest/wiki-example.html, now look at this page carefully and you'll see an example of you guessed it's a blog. To the naked eye you'll notice just a few differences, pretty colors, cool backgrounds to say the least but everybody knows the saying "don't judge a book by it's cover."
     Both blogs and wikis are similar in that both are information-sharing sites. The acts of updating a blog (adding an entry) is called "blogging;" someone who writes a blog is a "blogger" (Gill, 2004) who usually updates the information in which only the blogger can edit. NO ONE else can edit the blogger's work. Sure, other bloggers can make comparison posts linking to yours (I do it all the time), but the author still retains complete control over the content, and ultimately, over the message. Think of it as online journals/diaries maintained by you or a team with regular updates (called as blog spots). They are typically meant for general consumption and are arranged in a chronological manner with the most recent blog posts on the top. Blog posts can also have the provision for readers to leave comments, thus, are usually more informal and chatty.
     Wikis, however, named after wiki-wiki, the Hawaiian word for quick, are essentially web pages that anyone -- or at least anyone with permission -- can create or edit (Goodnoe, 2005). Wikis are usually more about facts and multiple perspectives, while blogs are usually personal writing and from one perspective. Wikis in it's simplest form, can be imagined as a repository of easily editable website pages. Each wiki can have a specific purpose and a bunch of wiki pages that are maintained by the users of that wiki. Wiki pages typically have comments that can be used for collaborating around that page/topic. It can be used for a variety of purposes like documentation, knowledge management or just a team repository of information. Wikis are referred to in a more business friendly manner as "Projects". Projects can have specific permissions associated with them so access can be given in am more controlled fashion. Projects can have any number of wiki pages that can be arranged in a hierarchical fashion to give the wiki some structure. With a wiki, you don't have full control over the content, and attempting to keep control will lead to "last one to edit wins" types of battles. A wiki is most useful when you want to create a community-accessible site, where constructive criticism is encouraged.
     In simpler terms, a blog is far more useful for getting your specific message out, without changes being made by someone else. There's another very large difference as well. A wiki is much more like a "traditional" website than a blog is. once a page is created on wiki, it's just there (unless it's deleted, just as with any other site). A blog is much more temporary. Typically, the main blog page will show the last N items or the last N days worth of items. Sure, everything is accessible via the archives or via search - but it's not just there. The top page of a wiki, with the items it points to, is a (relative) constant. In contrast, the top page of a blog changes with every posting. Thus, a wiki is better for information that needs to be sticky "sticky." A blog is much more akin to the morning newspaper - fresh, but changing.
     Back to the matter at hand, you may ask yourself under which circumstances do you want a wiki, and under which do you want a blog? If you want to encourage input from a community, a wiki is a good tool for that, however, you need to be aware of the limitations. Most people are uncomfortable writing html, and any people will be uncomfortable using wiki markup (most wikis support a simplified markup scheme). If you want to get a personal voice "out there" talking about your products and services, blogs are the way to go. A caveat here though - blog is only useful if the author(s) post regularly on topics of interest to the target audience. It's very easy to start a blog - it's much more difficult to sustain one.
     In conclusion, you are going to want to use wikis for some situations and blogs for others. Either way, commitment is very important. Blogs need regular postings while wikis need maintenance and pruning. If you plan to you use either or both, you need to walk into the venture knowing full well that a decent amount of time commitment is necessary. I just got an idea! What if hospitals used wikis to summarize a patients visit over a time period that updates with each doctor visit. It would be a new way of seeing a patients record for physicians without the limitations. Life made easier. Deuces.

References
Common Craft (2007, November 29) Blogs in Plain English. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NN2I1pWXjXI/

Kathy E. Gill (2004, May) How Can We Measure the Influence of the Blogosphere?. Retrieved from http://faculty.washington.edu/kegill/pub/www2004_blogosphere_gill.pdf/

Information Week by Ezra Goodnoe (2005, August 5) How to Use Wiki for Business. Retrieved from
http://www.informationweek.com/how-to-use-wikis-for-business/167600331