Social Networking

In our generation, social media and social networking has consumed our lives. We are the generation that is known for being stuck in our phones at all times of the day, and it is because we are constantly on websites like Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Businesses have realized this and have started to create social websites of their own. There have even been new websites created such as LinkedIn which is essentially a person’s resumé on their profile to help businesses recruit and hire new employees. This times into what the article Social Networking Technology Boosts Job Recruiting by Frank Langfitt is talking about. This article talks about how a job recuiter for the company Osram Sylvania found a product marketing manager on LinkedIn. LinkedIn has made it very easy for job recruiters to find highly-qualified candidates to recruit.

The article Is MySpace Good for Society? A Freakonomics Quorum by Stephen J. Dubner touches on a few things about social networking. Although this article was written in 2008, there are still very relevant points that were made about social networking. One professor, Judith Donath talked about one negative aspect of all these social networking websites. She said that it devalues the meaning of the word “friend.” She also said that although we will have a lot more “friends,” the connections between us and them will be a lot weaker. I thought this was very interesting because I can relate to that. There are some people I have as “friends” on social networking websites that I never talk to. I think this is part of the “dark side” of social networking. Another part of the “dark side” would be people pretending to be someone they’re not. There is a lot of cyber bullying on social networking websites that has caused young teens to do drastic things like commit suicide. Martin Baily addressed this in the aforementioned article.

Blog v Wiki

Although blogs and wikis are both forms of communication on the internet, they are different in several ways. A blog is usually written by one author, who shares content on his or her particular interests. Once the author posts the content, anyone can comment on the blog posts, but the author is the only one who can edit the content of the blog. Once someone comments on a post, the author has control over whether he or she would like to approve the comment and let it be posted on his or her blog. This gives the author full control over what they want to display on their blog. In contrast, a wiki usually has many contributors. Anyone can edit the content at any time. With a blog, the discussion takes place in the comments. With a wiki, the discussion takes place in the content. Another difference between blogs and wikis is that blogs will usually display content that reflects the author’s opinion, while content on a wiki will usually display factual information gathered by different contributors. Nonetheless, both blogs and wikis are equally useful when it comes to sharing information across the Internet. The article Pentagon Keeps Wary Watch as Troops Blog by James Dao touches on some very relevant things. It speaks negatively about soldiers blogging about their experiences. Soldiers use blogging as a form of therapy and a way to express themselves so that people can see what these soldiers are actually experiencing. I think it is very important that soldiers are able to do this because without this form of therapy they could lose their minds. An article like this shows the importance of blogging and the need for an outlet where you can express your opinion to the world. On the other hand, the article Wikipedia Founder Jimmy Wales on Making the Most of Company Wikis by Gardiner Morse explains how wikis can be efficiently used in businesses. Jimmy Wales tells us that employees use wikis in their company when they need to rapidly collaborate with other employees and share knowledge on a particular topic. This tells us that if we need something done quickly and efficiently, wiki is the way to go.

Social Networking: Better or Worse than the Real Thing?

Today, it is very easy to interact with people over the Internet. Websites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram give us access to interact with people across the world. People have become more comfortable interacting with others behind a computer or cell phone screen, which has made actual in-person interactions more uncomfortable for people. So which interaction is better? Which interaction makes it easier to understand what the other person is saying? Which interaction makes it easier to lie? There are pros and cons to both interactions, but I feel like both can be useful depending on the situation.