Social Network: The Advantages

Network Sites

 The advent of social networking, social scientists and media experts have wondered about the benefits social networking brings to communication. While some of these are obvious, some others have only become apparent as users have become familiar with social networking. The ability to increase our networking potential or work with others regardless of distance presents new ways for us to do busines.. Furthermore, the ability to stay in contact with friends and family allows us to maintain closer ties to our loved ones across long distances.
             

Guaranted Meeting Places

When attempting to plan meetings with colleagues or friends, having access to social networking sites expands the available times and places in which meetings can occur. Individuals can meet each other and chat over Facebook, or open a video chat through Google+. Rather than having to travel to specific locations, or try to work times out in which everyone is near a central location, people can plan to meet at times that work for all of their schedules.
                                                                   

Keep In Touch With Family

Keeping in contact with family through the phone or even over email presents a challenge. Instead, social networking sites allow the individual to share their day to day life in a secure but public forum, which family can watch and experience. Facebook and skype for example, allows people to share events, images, videos and thoughts in real time, during the course of any day. Family and friends can then experience all the things that someone does, and comment on them. Then, they share in the experience, rather than just being "informed" about them during weekly phone calls.
                 

 

Professional Networking

For professionals and academics, social networking sites allow users to create networks of like-minded people. Academics find other scholars to share research or ideas.Professionals also can find mutual friends and possible clients to make business online, employers, or business partners. Social networking expands the horizons of what sort of contacts people can make in their professional lives.

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Staying Informed About The World

People on social networking sites share what interests them, such as news on current events. People who share those interests, or who just want to stay informed, can read these stories and share them as well. Eventually, these stories make their to users who may have never read them. Since stories are shared through "word of mouth," smaller news outlets such as blogs can get exposure, and social network users are overall connected to a larger pool of new information and opinion.      

What Is Social Networking?

Introduction to Social Networking

Just like other technology, for example mobile phones, social network online can be a very effective tool for connecting people around the world.

However, there are few privacy and security issues it's worth keeping in mind.

Most famous social networking site; Facebook with its founder, Mark Zuckerberg.

What is Social Networking?

Social network involves the use of the Internet to connect users with another users - friends, family and acquaintances. Social network websites are not necessarily about meeting new people online, although this does happen. Instead, they are primarily about connecting with people you already have in the real life. The most well-known social network sites are Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Vine. These sites allow you to share photos, videos and information, organise events, chatting and even play games.

Often, each of your friends or followers will be friends with several of your friends or called as mutual friends. Just like in real life, the connection between people aren't just one-on-one, but a network of connections. This online social network is very useful in spreading information, photos and videos. For example, you can easily set up a web page with details and photos of an event you might be planning, such as a school fete. The site allows you to easily sent out invitations to other users of the social networking site. Then, if given the option by the host, those who are invited can send out more invitations to their friends who might want to attend - hence, the network.

Your Profile Page

When you signing up to a social network, you need to have an email to verify your identity. This will automatically create your own profile page. A profile page usually allows you to post your profile picture and some general details about you, your interests and a few list of any of your favourite. You don't have to fill all the fields in your profile - think carefully about what the people want to know about you before you fill it.

Privacy

Social Networking sites have a variety of privacy settings you can adjust. This means you can control who sees your profile page and other information you share on the site. Some people do not mind having their personal information available for anyone to view online. However, we strongly recommend that you don’t publish your home address and be mindful of posting other personal information about yourself (including your birthday), or others - especially if you don’t have their permission.

It’s worth keeping in mind that if malicious parties have access to your full name and date of birth and using other available information – for example which suburb you live in - it is possible that you could fall victim to identity theft. Just as you wouldn’t give your mobile number or bank details to anyone who asked, you should guard access to all the details of your social networking account. For more on this issue, visit the SCAM watch website: HERE

Some people who use social networking sites prefer only to allow people they have officially become friends with to see their profile and other information. It is important to note that for most social networking sites (including Facebook and MySpace) the default privacy setting is not to hide your information when you sign up. If you don’t want your profile and other information to be seen by people who you have not authorised to be your “friend” or “follower”, you will have to check these settings and adjust them accordingly after you sign up – look around the page for a link to “Privacy” or “Settings”.

Friends and “Friends”

The whole point of joining social networking websites is to be in touch with your friends and family. “Friends” in the context of social networking, and Facebook in particular, has a specific meaning. For example, for you to interact online with a friend, family member or acquaintance either one of you must first send a “friend request” to the other and then have that request accepted. Once accepted, the technology recognises you as “friends” and you can interact with each other online, so you can view the other person’s profile page, see their pictures, and send them messages.

Safety

On the whole, nearly all the interactions that go on via Social Networking sites are safe. However, you need to be conscious of your safety and what you want people to see of yourself and your friends. Furthermore, everyone should remember these safety tips:

1. You are not obliged to accept a friend request from someone you don’t know or do not want to be in contact with. 

2. Be respectful of others privacy if and when posting photos or videos of them, or mentioning them where others might read about it. 

3. Be aware that you can remove someone as a “friend” and / or block them from interacting with you even after you have “accepted” them. 

 4. Change your privacy settings so that only your friends can see your profile page.

Teenagers and Parents

Parents should encourage an open dialogue with their primary-school aged children and teenagers about what they are doing online by asking them which social networking sites they use. Parents signing up and creating their own profile is a good way to get to know how they work.

NetAlert provides practical information and advice on how to keep children, and your family, safe online: http://www.netalert.gov.au 

Finally, the Australian Media and Communications Authority has more social media safety tips at www.cybersmart.gov.au

The 6 Types of Social Media

There are 6 types of social media. This week I will introduce you to each of the types of social media and then we will go more in depth in the coming weeks.

 • Social Networks - Services that allow you to connect with other people of similar interests and background. Usually they consist of a profile, various ways to interact with other users, ability to setup groups, etc. The most popular are Facebook and LinkedIn. 

 • Bookmarking Sites - Services that allow you to save, organize and manage links to various websites and resources around the internet. Most allow you to “tag” your links to make them easy to search and share. The most popular are Delicious and StumbleUpon. 

• Social News - Services that allow people to post various news items or links to outside articles and then allows it’s users to”vote” on the items. The voting is the core social aspect as the items that get the most votes are displayed the most prominently. The community decides which news items get seen by more people. The most popular are Digg and Reddit. 

• Media Sharing - Services that allow you to upload and share various media such as pictures and video. Most services have additional social features such as profiles, commenting, etc. The most popular are YouTube and Flickr. 

• Microblogging - Services that focus on short updates that are pushed out to anyone subscribed to receive the updates. The most popular is Twitter . 

• Blog Comments and Forums - Online forums allow members to hold conversations by posting messages. Blog comments are similar except they are attached to blogs and usually the discussion centers around the topic of the blog post. There are MANY popular blogs and forums.

Keep in mind that, while these are the 6 different types of social media, there can be overlap among the various services. For instance, Facebook has microblogging features with their “status update”. Also, Flickr and YouTube have comment systems similar to that of blogs.

Social Network: The Revolutions

Technology Revolutions

Over the past decade, many innovations have been made in the world of information and communications technology. The introduction of Wikipedia in 2001 led to a surge in user-generated content. In 2004, the search-engine Google went public, solidifying itself as a permanent presence in how information is found and retrieved. In 2006, Nintendo introduced the Wii, revolutionizing the video game industry and changing the way popular culture perceives "gaming”. In 2007 saw the introduction of the Apple iPhone, triggering the smartphones frenzy. 

The invention of computer and sparks of Internet has boost the technology revolution.

Each year saw a great technological event, but perhaps not a year had an event with such significance as that of 2002, which saw the launch of Friendster, the website that gave way to the beginning of the greatest change in media information and communications to date: the social-networking revolution.

Rise of Social Network 

Friendster emerged with success after the .com stock bubble burst in 2000. Past attempts at social networking had lacked any ability to hold connections with real world "friends," and thus can only be called distant ancestors to the modern social network. Friendster was first social network to allow people to make profiles and "friend" others members. By the end of it's first three months, Friendster had gained about 3 million users, a little less than 1% of all internet users at the time. After Friendster came the first mega-social-network, MySpace. MySpace was intended to be a clone of Friendster, but rapidly outgrew it's "big brother" website as more and more internet users opened MySpace accounts. Soon after MySpace launched, several other social networking sites such as LinkedIn and Jaiku sprang up, and the social-networking frenzy began. Myspace dominated the social-networking landscape until 2008, when it was surpassed by arguably the most famous and well know social network of all: Facebook. 

The chronology of social networking. Source: FindAndConvert

It's difficult to remember a time without "status updates" and "friending," just two of the urban verbs introduced into social norm by Facebook. Developed in 2006 at Harvard College, Facebook was originally intended to allow for communication between college students, but quickly grew into much more than just a tool for reminding fellow peers when the final paper was due. After anyone aged 13 and up with a valid e-mail was permitted to have an account, the Facebook craze exploded. Facebook's member count has expanded to more than 300 million, a population larger than that of most countries. Members have the ability to connect with friends, both old and new, share information through web links, photos, and video, and chat with others anywhere in the world in real time. 

While most modern social-network users have a Facebook account, there is also Twitter, which allows members to "follow" other members and receive short and simple updates from other accounts. Not only can members of social networks like Facebook and Twitter send and receive virtually any form of media (typed updates, photos, videos, etc.) at the click of a mouse, but members can provide feedback and respond to others' media, creating a global network capable of moving hundreds of billions of individual pieces of information anywhere in the world in less than 1/100th of a second, and all for free! 

This ability has allowed normal people to become news reporters, with several media corporations,(CNN, MSNBC, and FOX) using social networks as a source for many of their current news articles. News stations have also turned to social-networking as a tool to help provide more information on significant world events, such as the recent uprisings in almost every country in the Middle-East. Such a feat was nearly impossible to imagine seven years ago. Now, however, it is achievable by anyone with an internet connection and a voice. 

Life Changing Innovations

It's astounding to consider how four websites have changed the entire landscape of global media in less than a decade. Friendster. Myspace. Facebook. Twitter. The revolution of social-networking has led to an evolution in how people interact, both online and in person. Of course, some people just use these sites to talk about "last night's big play" or "that hot chick at the beach." However, such technology can be used to a much greater effect. Scientists who were once limited to mail and conferences to report new findings can now send videos and photos of research to their colleagues from anywhere in the world. News stations which once had to wait for a reporter to arrive on the scene of a big story can now turn to videos posted by ordinary people witnessing the action as it happens. 

Variety of social network that has become a trend nowadays. Source: Leverage New Age Media

Yes, Nintendo changed video-games forever. Yes, Apple's iPhone raised the bar for cell phone producers worldwide. Even so, neither of these innovations can come close to the vast and permanent mark on world media made by one little website founded in Morgan Hill, California has done to the way we as people view and process information. Though many leaps and bounds have been made over the last decade in the virtually limitless universe of information and communications technology, nothing can compare with the impact of social-networking and the effect that it has had on the modern world today.

Click on picture for bigger size. Source: Creativo

Article Source: BBGcommunications

Social Network: The Effects On Future

 Social network is a tool used by people around the world. The aim is to encourage and to assist communication between person. However, this type of technology may be doing more harm than good in the coming years. It's not only changed the way we communicate, but also how we interact with each other everyday. There is the issue in which sound - "With the rise of sites like Facebook, the social network may be on verge of replacing traditional interaction for the next generation". The way we used to interact will be at risk if we do not realize the consequence of social media. The social networks affect our lives in many ways - communication, self-expression, cyber bullying, isolation, friendship and also the sense of humanity in ourselves.

Vision on what might be of social network in future.

Social networks such as Facebook and Twitter were created for the sole purpose of helping individuals to communicate easily. Many people use these sites to talk to their friends in other cities, states and even other continents of Earth.These networks not only allow communication between friends, but also allow you to meet new people. Similarities and common friends will create a new bonds. This allow one's social circle to become bigger, to expand. If you ask around on how people think social networking affects them, many will say that they "have an expanded circle of social connections, and stay in touch more frequents." (Source: PC Magazine Online). These networks are becoming the modern way of making friends and living life. These new people we met communicate and interect through these social sites. However, standard communication is not the only way this social technology is used.

It is simply an organization that has affected the way people interact today. It is apparent that Facebook has such an eminent control over its users; nevertheless it is the user who must determine on how they are going to use it - good or bad.

Together, yet further apart.

Facebook and Twitter, for example, are the channels where customers expect to be able to reach out and get responses from enterprises. As enterprises begin active engagement, the user will realize that not all problems can be solved through these. Twitter for instance, due to limited characters input. However, there will be scenarios where problems are addressed directly through Facebook via chat or private message, especially given Facebook's incorporation of the HTTP Secure protocol. By the end of 2012, many enterprises will get this and will have embarked on new strategies for different social media sites.

Social Network Goes To School

At New Milford High School in New Jersey, the school's official Facebook page keeps its 1100 fans updated on sports event and academic achivements. Students who travelled to Europe this spring for a tour of Holocaust sites blogged daily about their experiences and received comments from all over the world. Other students have used the video voice service Skype to talk to their peers in states like Iowa for school projects.

For Principal Eric C. Sheninger, the micro-blogging tool, Twitter has become his mainstay for professional development as well as school promotion. Through Twitter contacts, he formed a partnership with a company that donated technology equipment and training to the school, and he linked up with CBS News, which brought national exposure to the high school's program.

"I used to be the administrator that blocked every social-media sites, and now I'm the biggest champion." Sheninger says. "I'm just someone who's passionate about engaging students and growing professionally, and I'm using these free tools to do it."

In some schools, social network has changed the way educators teach and students learn, says Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano, the 21st-century-learning specialist at the private, K-8 Martin J. Gottlieb Day School in Jacksonville. In January 2009, Tolisano launched her "Around the World With 80 Schools" project. The goal was to introduce her school's students to peers in countries around the globe. She build a social-networking site using Ning for teachers from all countries who wanted to participate, eventually attracting 300 members. Tolisano says she sets up a meeting between classes using Skype. Students prepare a list of questions - What's the weather like there? How big is your town? What continent are you on? And chat with the students in Canada, Finland, New Zealand and Spain among a long list of others.

Steven W. Anderson, an instructional technologist at Clemmons Middle School in the 52000 students Winston-Salem/Forsyth County school system in North Carolina, says social networking is revolutionizing the way teachers improve their skills. "In the past, professional development has been so formal and rigid. You go to these events scheduled by the district because this is what they think you need," says Anderson,a an EdChat moderator. "With social network allowing teachers to connect one-to-one and one-to-many, they have the professional development that they really desire."

In fact, most social networking sites like Facebook and Ning require users to be at least 13 to participate. That's why private wikis or blogs or other social networking tools designed for school use can often be more beneficial in such situations, says Terrell, the teacher and blogger. For example, she often uses a tool called VoiceThread with even her youngest students. That free service allows users to leave voice comments about pictures, video or drawings, and it enables users to doodle or draw on the screen as they comment. Terrell says fears about how to proceed with social networking sites and tools should not prevent educators from using them.

"If you don't take that golden opportunity to teach students about the responsibility of using these thing, you lose a teachable moment," she says. "If schools block them, they're preventing students from learning the skills they need to know."

An education through social network.