Social Networking

Social networking seems to have developed into a modern way to “hang out” with others. It really hones in on the connectivity and interaction of people. In my opinion, social networking really took off with MySpace. Ever since the site went online, more and more variations, competitors, etc. began popping up. I think social media has become so popular because people enjoy interacting with others, especially when it’s as easy as typing a few keys on a keyboard. Nowadays, it can be, and is, used for all sorts of things. Social Networking Technology Boosts Job Recruiting talks specifically about LinkedIn. This site is becoming an increasingly popular tool for connecting with others and a professional, work-type manner. I like to describe it as a “professional Facebook,” where the focus is on your work experience, skills, and education rather than friends, games, and random status updates. Both companies and job searchers benefit from sites such as LinkedIn. Companies have a convenient place to find prospective employees, and job searchers have another way to network and market themselves. Many companies also take advantage of these social networking sites in order to receive feedback directly from consumers and provide effective customer service. For a marketing class I took, I had a group project based on marketing Five Guys. I ended up tweeting at and posting on the Five Guys twitter page and Facebook page, and both sites responded with feedback. I even ended up getting a free Five Guys t-shirt out of it! That sort of interaction is what companies (and people) really feed off of through new social media.

Of course, social networking sites have their drawbacks. The most controversial issue is privacy. Once you post on the Internet, it is essentially set in stone. Sure, you can delete a comment or a picture, but many people could have seen it beforehand and potentially saved it already. There are plenty of reasons to be wary of privacy within social media. The issue discussed in Antisocial Network? from the New York Times is another huge critique of social media’s popularity. Many people, teenagers particularly, spend an enormous amount of time on sites such as Facebook and Twitter, and less and less time interacting in person. Social media interactions are great and fun, but they can never replace meeting or talking to someone in person. If a person can control themselves with social media, then this really isn’t an issue. However, I’ve know a few people who have spent or still spend far too much time online, and it hinders their real interactions with others.

Social networking is an ever-growing phenomenon in our culture right now, and of course it will evolve as time goes on. I can’t know for sure what it will evolve into, but I think it will involve more video and voice aspects. Something towards the Skype-type stuff wouldn’t surprise me. Voice commands for social media sites might be a possibility as well. It will be very interesting to see what happens down the road.