Posts Tagged: social networking

After going back through my blog posts, I found a framing post I never responded too and I read my questions and surprisingly, they related to my interactive presentation and a project I am completing in another class. Social networking is all around us and it is changing advertising in many different industries. Facebook and other social networking sites have changed socialization in many different societies and the privacy component has changed it as well but in a good or bad way? There are many components that contributed to the positive expansion of certain industries but it is harming many other areas of society. I actually watched a story on Good Morning America this morning that talked about facebook breaking up marriages and causing quite a few relationship issues because of the heavy reliance on the media.

1. Are social networking sites negatively hurting interpersonal communication by providing a technology mask that does not allow some to show who they really are?

In my opinion, facebook is helping in some ways with relationships and helping people meet new people and reconnect with old friends but interpersonal, face to face communication is not what is used to be. I love the fact that I can sit next to a human being and have a conversation with them but for some people, it might be tough to conduct a conversation with a complete stranger because they hide behind a computer screen all the time. Come on people, get out and socialize, facebook will not be around forever!

2. Does the term “friend” take on new meaning in this day and age because people are more prone to accept a complete stranger because they know a friend of a friend? Is that friendship at all?

The term friend takes on new meaning when it comes to social networking but the term “friend” is very broad in itself. There have been many studies that talk about how people think kids do not understand the meaning of the word friend because of facebook but I think the term friend has be very indecisive in its meaning for quite some time now. I feel like social networking is blamed for anything that goes wrong in the social world these days and in many cases, they are wrong!

3. Are privacy settings on certain SNS’ effective if companies and/or professional organizations can get around them? Therefore, is facebook a means of truly expressing yourself if it is used as a deciding factor when getting a job?

It is wild how so many companies have hired people to be in charge of searching facebook and twitter accounts of potential employees. People love facebook but not very many realize it could be the deciding factor for a job one day. There are ways to get around privacy settings and in some instances, they are not even needed but it is the thought that counts, or is it?

1. Will augmented reality incorporate social media and networking in the near future?

2. What hardware and software are required to participate in augmented reality? How advanced will this technology become in the future?

3. What privacy and ethical concerns arise with augmented reality?

1. Will virtual worlds become even more advanced in the future? Will they incorporate social networking and will we be able to create our own avatars that look like us and have all of our information?

I think that virtual worlds will progressively become more advanced as our technology becomes more advanced. It is just a matter of time before social networking plays a big role in virtual worlds. In the future, I can see virtual worlds becoming so advanced, that it is like being in the real world. My fear is that people will take it that way. They will get so wrapped up in the virtual worlds that they forget to live their real lives. Could this lead to social problems and complications?

2. Could virtual worlds be a new way of advertising for companies with product placement? (i.e. Second Life)

I think that in the future advertising will take new ventures to promote their products. For example, social networking (i.e. Facebook) is already allowing companies to advertise in the side bars of the webpage. It is only a matter of time before the virtual worlds included advertising as well. For example, Coca-Cola could place coke cans throughout the virtual world as product placement. Of course the users are going to see the Coke can and that is further advertising for them.

3. Could there be privacy concerns, along with ethical concerns, with virtual worlds?

I am fearful that privacy is going to be a major issue in the future of Internet usage and gaming. I am already afraid to put any information about myself of social networking sites or the Internet in general. Virtual worlds will just be another place for the chance of identity theft, etc. I am also fearful that bullying could be a major concern with virtual worlds. Many issues could arise; however, I hope there are moderators that can help keep these incidences to a minimum.

1. Will virtual worlds become even more advanced in the future? Will they incorporate social networking and will we be able to create our own avatars that look like us and have all of our information?

2. Could virtual worlds be a new way of advertising for companies with product placement? (i.e. Second Life)

3. Could there be privacy concerns, along with ethical concerns, with virtual worlds?

Week 6: Sociocultural Contexts of Interactive Media

Remix
– Lawrence Lessig

1. Lessig outlines two cultures – the read-only culture (RO) model of the past and the read/write culture (RW) of the present digital age.  He uses the concept of blogs to explain how consumers redefined their relationship to the content industry through comments and tagging and that we now posses the digital tools to expand upon production.  These comment features have made their way to media news sites and jumped to a new level in dialogue.  If the internet is a source of free flowing information, should media outlets be responsible for comments left by readers on their site?  Or should reader content be monitored, thus going against the free flow?

2.  Today, digital culture permeates our lives to such an extent that it is hard to come up with anything we would deem as “new”.  The current generation will quote content from various sources to create something “new”.  The combination of content may be different, but can this remix of pre-existing content really fall under the category of new?

3. Lessig describes our sharing economy as not being regulated by a metric of price but by a set of social relations.  While Wikipedia has proven that this type of economy can be successful (people are in it because they want to be), should this mindset be applied to all internet content as a whole?  In what realms does a sharing economy not work well for all parties involved?

4.  The book offers 5 steps toward more efficient copyright law (deregulating, clear title, simplify, decriminalizing the copy, and decriminalizing file sharing).  Although these may all be thoughtful suggestions, I believe most people see copyright violation as trivial and there will always be a way to find pirated material unless more strict punishments are put in place.  Should the government simply revamp copyright laws or is stricter enforcement the real problem?

Applied Mass Communication Theory: Chapter 9
– Rosenberry and Vicker

1. The First Amendment sounds absolute in its wording (Congress shall make no law).  Did the founding fathers really want us to take this amendment as literal as it sounds?  If they were observing us today would they be satisfied with the various tiers and levels of protection we have placed on different types of expression?

2.  Privacy is a hot topic in today’s digital world, especially when it comes to social networking and e-commerce.  However, should the government put laws in place that make up for people’s personal choice of providing identifying information on a medium that was built on the idea of free flowing information?  We provide this information at our own risk and to satisfy needs to associate with the internet.  Is it our own fault that the world can read so much about us?

3.  As media and technologies have advanced over the centuries, society has changed with it.  Has law kept up with all the changes and adapted adequately?