The Importance of Social Networking Essay
In today’s society knowledge, having technical skills and access to information technologies, is becoming very important for people who have become open mind and supportive with social connections. Although resources and opportunities may be available, one may not necessarily be aware of their existence, or even have direct access to them. In those cases, getting to know people from different backgrounds, grades of expertise, and social levels turns out to be essential or can be negative from all areas of networking.For instance, who among us has never needed a letter of recommendation in order to get a job, or had to rely on a referral in order to find a specific doctor? In this essay I will discuss the what, who and why of social networking and the advantages and disadvantages of the new telephone for most people and businesses. Do you ever wonder what is social networking and how does it benefit me in many ways. Social networking is an online service, platform, or site that focuses on facilitating the building of social networks or social relations among people who, for example, share interests, activities, backgrounds, or real-life connections.
A social network service consists of a representation of each user (often a profile), his/her social links, and a variety of additional services. Most social network services are web-based and provide means for users to interact over the Internet, such as e-mail and instant messaging. Online community services are sometimes considered as a social network service, though in a broader sense, social network service usually means an individual-centered service whereas online community services are group-centered.Social networking sites allow users to share ideas, activities, events, and interests within their individual networks. (DURAN, Aug) There are some effects of these sites that users are more than likely unaware of. These include: health risks, job opportunities, and legal issues According to CareerBuilder. com survey, over 25% of 1150 hiring managers determined whether or not an individual would be hired due to the information they obtained from Internet search engines.
Of the 25%, 12% had access personal networking sites (like Face book) to do so.Around my generation there was no such thing as the internet, face book, MySpace or Twitter, but in today’s generation you can’t communicate without these websites. The births of the internet started around the early 1960s were there was great potential value in allowing computers to share information on research and development in scientific and military fields. J. C.
R. Licklider of MIT, first proposed a global network of computers in 1962, and moved over to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in late 1962 to head the work to develop it.Leonard Kleinrock of MIT and later UCLA developed the theory of packet switching, which was to form the basis of Internet connections. Lawrence Roberts of MIT connected a Massachusetts computer with a California computer in 1965 over dial-up telephone lines. It showed the feasibility of wide area networking, but also showed that the telephone line’s circuit switching was inadequate.
Kleinrock’s packet switching theory was confirmed. Roberts moved over to DARPA in 1966 and developed his plan for ARPANET. These visionaries and many more left unnamed here are the real founders of the Internet. (Howe, May)The most popular cites used by social networkers are, Face book which has 750 million users, the biggest social network in the western world, Qzone, 480 million users, this social network allows users to keep a diary, share photos and listen to music, Twitter has 200 million users. While some social networks offer a lot of services, Twitter has attracted a host of celebrity users, Renren with 160 million users sometimes called “the Face book of China”; Renren is very popular with students. VKontakte, 135 million users, offer similar functions to face book, but is mostly used by Russian internet users.
Badoo has an estimated 124 million users, a truly global operation, the site is managed and run from London, and most of its users are based in Latin America, Spain, Italy and France. (Connell, 2009) The list continues with Bebo at 117 million users bought by AOL. LinkedIn has 115 million users and is a business-based social network.
Orkut, 100 million users is another Google-owned site; Orkut is very popular in India and Brazil. MySpace with 50million users once dominated the social networking market, but declined steadily from 2008.Social networking is growing stead vastly and will continue to grow with the advance of technology.
(Connell,2009) Social networking is a place where the sense of popularity is known and the more friends you have on your face book the more popular you seem to become, but is this good or bad? How many of your ‘friends’ on face book do you actually know when you see them out and about and how many of them do you interact with? Many people have taken to adding anyone they think they have something in common with on face book for one reason or another.Just because they added them does not mean they will ever communicate with them. The bad part of all this has to do with status and in a society where people want to be more than just ‘that person’ we have come to want more friends on face book. Twitter is the same way but can be ugly as many people and their favorite stars to the list of followers and don’t get a follow back. Some people take it personal and use twitter to attack and bash others in a negative way.
Both the big two can also be a way to destroy someone in ways that doesn’t seem right.For high school students Face book and Twitter have become the new rumor outlet and the new bully way, because almost everyone who is in high school has a twitter or face book account and will use it to take out those they don’t like. The ugly truth is that no matter who you are if someone doesn’t like you they can destroy your reputation, or social status with a few simple words and pictures on the two big social networks. The results indicated that users joined Face book for a variety of reason like social information research, and to belong to a group, club or organization.
As users spent more time on Face book and MySpace, it became noticed that the use of the site was basically forced by a need to belong and interact. It’s great to have friends but you have to admit that there are certain interests you or they have, which neither of you is interested in. When this happens, it is time to expand our circle and that is just one of the advantages of social networking. Social networking enables people who share the same interests to hang out together and this simply means that you are able to make new friends.Since most social networking is done over the web, you get to meet individuals from other countries and learn about their culture. Knowing that you share something in common, you get to communicate with that person frequently that is very alike to hooking up with your friends after work or school.
From a business point of view, the first two advantages of social networking enable you to meet new clients and expand your business because most of these sites allow you to customize your webpage and provide links to your personal website. The best part about becoming a member of a social network is that it’s free.All you have to do is sign up. The advantages of social networking will allow you to make new friends, promote your business and best of all, won’t cost you a thing. Some people think that social networking sites will replace meeting people in social events and other gatherings, but Of course not, because all this does is give you more exposure. It allows you to put your best qualities out there especially when first impressions say everything. The disadvantages of social networking are lack of privacy, respect for creativity or work and there are no copyrights for information or creative art.These sites influence how we grow as a person, our health, and friendliness towards others.
Social networking sites can be extremely beneficial; however, we also need to be able to recognize the negative events that can happen. Of course, there are some effects of these sites that users are more than likely unaware of. These include: health risks, job opportunities, and legal issues. (Bates, Aug) One wonders what kinds of social networking are available for someone wanting to belong to a club, organization, promoting their business, and for academic purposes.Types of social networks available are: Face book: the most popular social website today, Face book provides a way for users to build connections and share information with people and organizations that want to interact with each other online.
Twitter: Share your thoughts and keep up with others. Google: This relatively new entrant to the social connection marketplace is designed to allow users to build circles of contacts that they are able to interact with and that is combined with other Google products. MySpace, began as general social media site, but has evolved to focus on social entertainment, movies, music games and more.
Social networking makes it easy to share video and photography content online. Here are some of the most popular sites for multimedia sharing. YouTube allows users to share and view video content Flicker is a site that provides a powerful option for managing digital photographs online, as well as for sharing them with others. Picasa, Similar to Flicker, provides a way to organize and share photos. It is a Google product.
Professional social networks are created to provide opportunities for career-related growth.Some of these types of networks provide a general forum for professionals to connect, while others are focused on a certain occupation or interest. A few examples of professional social networks are LinkedIn; participants have an opportunity to build relationships by making connections and joining relevant groups. Social network specifically designed to help teachers connect, share and help each other with professional matters like profession-specific matte Nurse, an online community designed to help individuals in the nursing profession connect and communicate with each other.SQL Monster, lets you share tips and information with each other via this site. Informational communities are made up of people seeking answers to everyday problems.
For example, when you are thinking about starting a home improvement project or want to learn how to go green at home, you may perform a web search and discover countless blogs, websites, and forums filled with people who are looking for the same kind of information. A few examples include Super Green Me, an online community where individuals interested in adopting green living practices can interact.HGTV Discussion Forums allows you to connect with individuals interested in home design improvement via the HGTV message boards. Do-It-Yourself Community is a group were social media resources allow the do-it-yourself person to interact with other people like them. Educational networks are where many students go in order to join forces with other students on academic projects, to conduct research for school, or to interact with professors and teachers through blogs and classroom forums. Educational social networks are becoming extremely popular within the educational system today.Some examples of such educational social networks are listed below.
EPALS School Blog, this international social network for K-12 students is designed to build international connections to encourage world peace. ELearners, this social networking community is designed to help online degree students connect with each other through forums and message boards. One of the most popular reasons many people use the Internet is to conduct research on their favorite projects or topics of interest related to personal hobbies.When people find a website based on their favorite hobby, they discover a whole community of people from around the world who share the same passion. This is why social networks that are focused on hobbies are popular. A few examples of hobby-focused social networking sites include.
Oh My Bloom a social media site specifically for gardening. It features groups, forums, blogs, video content and more. My Place at Scrapbook. com is designed specifically for scrapbooking lovers; users can create profiles, share information, post updates and more.Sport Shouting is an online destination for sports fans to voice their opinions and connect with other sports fans. Academic researchers who want to share their research and review results achieved by colleagues may find academic social networking to be quite valuable. A few of the most popular online communities for academics are: Academia. edu, users of this website can share their own research, as well as follow research submitted by others.
Connotea Collaborative Research is an online resource for scientists, researchers and clinical professionals.In conclusion many social websites are available from social to hobbies to research. In this essay I discussed the what, who and why of social networking and the advantages and disadvantages of the new telephone for most people and businesses. If there is one constant thing in social networking, its change. New channels seem to join existing ones each day. In the social circle meanwhile, whether it is a small community (e.
g. blogs) or a more centralized one (MySpace), a different spirit about social networking has evolved. Appendix A References Bates, C. (Aug).
The Dangers of Social Networking Sites.Retrieved from http://www. mhlearningsolutions.
com/commonplace/ Connell, R. S. (2009).
Academic Libraries, Face book and MySpace, and Student Outreach: A Survey of Student Opinion. Portal: Libraries and the Academy 9(1), 25-36. The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Retrieved May 8, 2012, from Project MUSE database. DURAN. (Aug, 18 2009). Define social networking. Retrieved from http://www. optimum7.
com/internet-marketing/sem/define-social-networking. html Gangadharbatla, H. , Hopp, T.
, & Sheehan, K. (2012, April). Changing user motivations for social networking site usage: implications for internet advertisers.International Journal of Internet Marketing and Advertising, 7(2), 120. Retrieved May 8, 2012, from ABI/INFORM Global.
(Document ID: 2630947541). Howe, W. (may, 3 2012). A brief history of the internet. Retrieved from http://www.
walthowe. com/navnet/history. html Kushan Mitra. (2012, May). Indecent Exposure :The Web, and social networking in particular, is destroying individual privacy, says this book. Business Today, Retrieved May 8, 2012, from ABI/INFORM Global.
(Document ID: 2643931131). Qualman, E. (2008). Did you know 2011- welcome to the social media revolution [Web]. Retrieved from http://youtu.
e/dQFMH343ORk Social Networking Andrea Whitfield Ashford State University INF 103 March 15, 2010 In today’s society knowledge, having technical skills and access to information technologies, is becoming very important for people who have become open mind and supportive with social connections. Although resources and opportunities may be available, one may not necessarily be aware of their existence, or even have direct access to them. In those cases, getting to know people from different backgrounds, grades of expertise, and social levels turns out to be essential or can be negative from all areas of networking.For instance, who among us has never needed a letter of recommendation in order to get a job, or had to rely on a referral in order to find a specific doctor? In this essay I will discuss the what, who and why of social networking and the advantages and disadvantages of the new telephone for most people and businesses. Do you ever wonder what is social networking and how does it benefit me in many ways.
Social networking is an online service, platform, or site that focuses on facilitating the building of social networks or social relations among people who, for example, share interests, activities, backgrounds, or real-life connections. A social network service consists of a representation of each user (often a profile), his/her social links, and a variety of additional services. Most social network services are web-based and provide means for users to interact over the Internet, such as e-mail and instant messaging. Online community services are sometimes considered as a social network service, though in a broader sense, social network service usually means an individual-centered service whereas online community services are group-centered.
Social networking sites allow users to share ideas, activities, events, and interests within their individual networks. (DURAN, Aug) There are some effects of these sites that users are more than likely unaware of. These include: health risks, job opportunities, and legal issues According to CareerBuilder. com survey, over 25% of 1150 hiring managers determined whether or not an individual would be hired due to the information they obtained from Internet search engines.
Of the 25%, 12% had access personal networking sites (like Face book) to do so.Around my generation there was no such thing as the internet, face book, MySpace or Twitter, but in today’s generation you can’t communicate without these websites. The births of the internet started around the early 1960s were there was great potential value in allowing computers to share information on research and development in scientific and military fields. J.
C. R. Licklider of MIT, first proposed a global network of computers in 1962, and moved over to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in late 1962 to head the work to develop it.
Leonard Kleinrock of MIT and later UCLA developed the theory of packet switching, which was to form the basis of Internet connections. Lawrence Roberts of MIT connected a Massachusetts computer with a California computer in 1965 over dial-up telephone lines. It showed the feasibility of wide area networking, but also showed that the telephone line’s circuit switching was inadequate. Kleinrock’s packet switching theory was confirmed. Roberts moved over to DARPA in 1966 and developed his plan for ARPANET.
These visionaries and many more left unnamed here are the real founders of the Internet. (Howe, May)The most popular cites used by social networkers are, Face book which has 750 million users, the biggest social network in the western world, Qzone, 480 million users, this social network allows users to keep a diary, share photos and listen to music, Twitter has 200 million users. While some social networks offer a lot of services, Twitter has attracted a host of celebrity users, Renren with 160 million users sometimes called “the Face book of China”; Renren is very popular with students. VKontakte, 135 million users, offer similar functions to face book, but is mostly used by Russian internet users.Badoo has an estimated 124 million users, a truly global operation, the site is managed and run from London, and most of its users are based in Latin America, Spain, Italy and France.
(Connell, 2009) The list continues with Bebo at 117 million users bought by AOL. LinkedIn has 115 million users and is a business-based social network. Orkut, 100 million users is another Google-owned site; Orkut is very popular in India and Brazil.
MySpace with 50million users once dominated the social networking market, but declined steadily from 2008.Social networking is growing stead vastly and will continue to grow with the advance of technology. (Connell,2009) Social networking is a place where the sense of popularity is known and the more friends you have on your face book the more popular you seem to become, but is this good or bad? How many of your ‘friends’ on face book do you actually know when you see them out and about and how many of them do you interact with? Many people have taken to adding anyone they think they have something in common with on face book for one reason or another.Just because they added them does not mean they will ever communicate with them. The bad part of all this has to do with status and in a society where people want to be more than just ‘that person’ we have come to want more friends on face book.
Twitter is the same way but can be ugly as many people and their favorite stars to the list of followers and don’t get a follow back. Some people take it personal and use twitter to attack and bash others in a negative way. Both the big two can also be a way to destroy someone in ways that doesn’t seem right.For high school students Face book and Twitter have become the new rumor outlet and the new bully way, because almost everyone who is in high school has a twitter or face book account and will use it to take out those they don’t like. The ugly truth is that no matter who you are if someone doesn’t like you they can destroy your reputation, or social status with a few simple words and pictures on the two big social networks.
The results indicated that users joined Face book for a variety of reason like social information research, and to belong to a group, club or organization.As users spent more time on Face book and MySpace, it became noticed that the use of the site was basically forced by a need to belong and interact. It’s great to have friends but you have to admit that there are certain interests you or they have, which neither of you is interested in. When this happens, it is time to expand our circle and that is just one of the advantages of social networking. Social networking enables people who share the same interests to hang out together and this simply means that you are able to make new friends.Since most social networking is done over the web, you get to meet individuals from other countries and learn about their culture.
Knowing that you share something in common, you get to communicate with that person frequently that is very alike to hooking up with your friends after work or school. From a business point of view, the first two advantages of social networking enable you to meet new clients and expand your business because most of these sites allow you to customize your webpage and provide links to your personal website. The best part about becoming a member of a social network is that it’s free.All you have to do is sign up. The advantages of social networking will allow you to make new friends, promote your business and best of all, won’t cost you a thing.
Some people think that social networking sites will replace meeting people in social events and other gatherings, but Of course not, because all this does is give you more exposure. It allows you to put your best qualities out there especially when first impressions say everything. The disadvantages of social networking are lack of privacy, respect for creativity or work and there are no copyrights for information or creative art.These sites influence how we grow as a person, our health, and friendliness towards others. Social networking sites can be extremely beneficial; however, we also need to be able to recognize the negative events that can happen. Of course, there are some effects of these sites that users are more than likely unaware of. These include: health risks, job opportunities, and legal issues. (Bates, Aug) One wonders what kinds of social networking are available for someone wanting to belong to a club, organization, promoting their business, and for academic purposes.
Types of social networks available are: Face book: the most popular social website today, Face book provides a way for users to build connections and share information with people and organizations that want to interact with each other online. Twitter: Share your thoughts and keep up with others. Google: This relatively new entrant to the social connection marketplace is designed to allow users to build circles of contacts that they are able to interact with and that is combined with other Google products.MySpace, began as a general social media site, but has evolved to focus on social entertainment, movies, music games and more. Social networking makes it easy to share video and photography content online. Here are some of the most popular sites for multimedia sharing. YouTube allows users to share and view video content Flicker is a site that provides a powerful option for managing digital photographs online, as well as for sharing them with others.
Picasa, Similar to Flicker, provides a way to organize and share photos. It is a Google product. Professional social networks are created to provide pportunities for career-related growth. Some of these types of networks provide a general forum for professionals to connect, while others are focused on a certain occupation or interest. A few examples of professional social networks are LinkedIn; participants have an opportunity to build relationships by making connections and joining relevant groups. Social network specifically designed to help teachers connect, share and help each other with professional matters like profession-specific matte Nurse, an online community designed to help individuals in the nursing profession connect and communicate with each other.SQL Monster, lets you share tips and information with each other via this site. Informational communities are made up of people seeking answers to everyday problems.
For example, when you are thinking about starting a home improvement project or want to learn how to go green at home, you may perform a web search and discover countless blogs, websites, and forums filled with people who are looking for the same kind of information. A few examples include Super Green Me, an online community where individuals interested in adopting green living practices can interact.HGTV Discussion Forums allows you to connect with individuals interested in home design improvement via the HGTV message boards. Do-It-Yourself Community is a group were social media resources allow the do-it-yourself person to interact with other people like them.
Educational networks are where many students go in order to join forces with other students on academic projects, to conduct research for school, or to interact with professors and teachers through blogs and classroom forums. Educational social networks are becoming extremely popular within the educational system today.Some examples of such educational social networks are listed below. EPALS School Blog, this international social network for K-12 students is designed to build international connections to encourage world peace. ELearners, this social networking community is designed to help online degree students connect with each other through forums and message boards.
One of the most popular reasons many people use the Internet is to conduct research on their favorite projects or topics of interest related to personal hobbies.When people find a website based on their favorite hobby, they discover a whole community of people from around the world who share the same passion. This is why social networks that are focused on hobbies are popular. A few examples of hobby-focused social networking sites include. Oh My Bloom a social media site specifically for gardening. It features groups, forums, blogs, video content and more.
My Place at Scrapbook. com is designed specifically for scrapbooking lovers; users can create profiles, share information, post updates and more.Sport Shouting is an online destination for sports fans to voice their opinions and connect with other sports fans. Academic researchers who want to share their research and review results achieved by colleagues may find academic social networking to be quite valuable. A few of the most popular online communities for academics are: Academia. edu, users of this website can share their own research, as well as follow research submitted by others.
Connotea Collaborative Research is an online resource for scientists, researchers and clinical professionals.In conclusion many social websites are available from social to hobbies to research. In this essay I discussed the what, who and why of social networking and the advantages and disadvantages of the new telephone for most people and businesses. If there is one constant thing in social networking, its change. New channels seem to join existing ones each day. In the social circle meanwhile, whether it is a small community (e. g. blogs) or a more centralized one (MySpace), a different spirit about social networking has evolved.
ReferencesBates, C. (Aug). The Dangers of Social Networking Sites. Retrieved from http://www.
mhlearningsolutions. com/commonplace/ Connell, R. S. (2009). Academic Libraries, Face book and MySpace, and Student Outreach: A Survey of Student Opinion. Portal: Libraries and the Academy 9(1), 25-36.
The Johns Hopkins University Press. Retrieved May 8, 2012, from Project MUSE database. DURAN. (Aug, 18 2009). Define social networking. Retrieved from http://www. optimum7. com/internet-marketing/sem/define-social-networking.
html Gangadharbatla, H. , Hopp, T. , & Sheehan, K. (2012, April). Changing user motivations for social networking site usage: implications for internet advertisers.International Journal of Internet Marketing and Advertising, 7(2), 120.
Retrieved May 8, 2012, from ABI/INFORM Global. (Document ID: 2630947541). Howe, W. (may, 3 2012). A brief history of the internet. Retrieved from http://www.
walthowe. com/navnet/history. html Kushan Mitra.
(2012, May). Indecent Exposure :The Web, and social networking in particular, is destroying individual privacy, says this book. Business Today, Retrieved May 8, 2012, from ABI/INFORM Global.
(Document ID: 2643931131). Qualman, E. (2008). Did you know 2011- welcome to the social media revolution [Web]. Retrieved from http://youtu.
be/dQFMH343ORk
