Blog Social Networking

Social Networking is the backbone of society's form of communication among one another. There are numerous networking sites such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn. These sites allow for people to communicate through the usage of posting biography, commenting, messaging, and simply sharing information with others. This is used by individuals, businesses, and corporations. These technologies could be used in productive, efficient ways. For an example, LinkedIn is a business-focused social networking site. The main purpose of this site is to help people network professionally; to find other clients and colleagues whom you already know. This quickens the process for users. According to “Social Networking Technology Boosts Job Recruiting,” recruiters could scout a group of job candidates in merely a half hour. Another way this technology could be used is to advertise products or services a company has to offer to potential cliental. Facebook allows for the greatest platform to display items that potential cliental may want to purchase.

Not only are there productive ways to use these networking sites but also are a special benefit to society. According to New York Times article, “In India, Using Facebook to Catch Scofflaw Drivers,” traffic police started a Facebook page as a weapon against dangerous driving. The page automatically had residents post photos of drivers violating traffic laws. Thus, because traffic officers can’t be at the everywhere at the same time, users of the site are making it easier for them to do their job. As always, a violation is a violation. Networking sites allow for more than just connections in this case, it forces drivers to drive safer if they want to avoid a violation.

Although, social networking sites have proved to be very influential in our daily lives; there is also a dark side to this. The boundaries of privacy seem to disappear when it comes to social networking. Users share loads of information to their friends, but seize to realize this information can go to the wrong hands. In “Facebook Privacy is So Confusing Even the Zuckerberg Family Photo isn’t Private,” Mark Zuckerberg’s sister, Randi, shared a photo of her family celebrating the holidays, in which one of her subscribers got a hold of the photo and shared it via twitter. In this case we can see that Randi wanted only her friends to see the photos that she has posted, but somehow a complete stranger in her eyes shared this photo. This proves for Facebooks settings to be a bit confusing and slightly infringing upon rights.

These technologies have already evolved so much in the span of a decade, there is only room for improvement. I believe that companies and marketers will think of new ways to use social networking to promote their products to their target audience. With so much technology use, advertisers will have to think of much more creative ways to attract users. Overall, social networking has both its advantages and disadvantages to society.

Citations:                                                                                 

Facebook Privacy Is So Confusing Even the Zuckerberg Family Photo Isn't Private,” The Atlantic Wire, Greenfield, R. December 26, 2012

"In India, Using Facebook to Catch Scofflaw Drivers" By Heather Timmons, NY Times, August 1, 2010

Social Networking Technology Boosts Job Recruiting by Frank Langfitt, NPR, March 16, 2008.