The ways (corporate and otherwise) that these technologies can be used.
Social networking can be used to enable connecting between people.
The connecting can be between family, friends, classmates, co-workers, teachers, and strangers. The connecting can be sharing of knowledge, information, experiences, caring, asking questions, and so on.
Social networking site can be used in libraries.
It helps people better utilize the resource, and make research in the libraries. For example, people can use del.icio.us to collect the resource owned by the library, bookmark, and annotate the contents. People can use e-books to read books on computer or cell phone. The e-books usually can be found in the database of the library. People can also search references, scholar resource, press, and so forth in the database of library website.
Social networking can be used by students and professor
Students and professors can massage each other by e-mail, blog, Facebook, and so on. It helps students get helps from professor immediately when they have problems, such as homework questions, exam problem, and anything else. It also helps professor to make announcements to students immediately, such as cancellation of class, sending PowerPoint of the course, and so on. It provides “the additional layer of communication will make the richer class discussions” according to Jeff Young (2009). Jeff Young encourages students to pass notes, and links of related materials by twitter; therefore the students who are too shy to talk in class can put his or her opinion on twitter. This way is also can be done with Blogs and Wiki.
They can also use blog and wiki as course websites to show more information about the course, to post online homework, to encourage discussions and collaborations between students and professors.
Social networking can be in legal investigations.
Educational institutions can use Facebook and My space to investigate students’ behaviors. For instances, students may start drinking under age 21, gambling, fighting, and so on. They can be found through the pictures, posting texts, or videos which posted by students.
Social networking can be used for business operation.
The company website shows the history of the company, the personnel of the company, the advertisings of new products, and the system of online purchasing, and so on. It enhances the collaboration between the company and customers. Through the information provided by the company, customer will know the company better in order to trust the company. The company also can attract new customers when search for the company online, get customer to purchase online, view comments of customers leave on the website. Also, we can make online banking transactions through the websites of banks. The international business companies can make deal, collaborate and sharing idea with each other online. The e-commerce and e-business are also supported by the social networking sites.
Social networking can be used to share knowledge and information.
People can search online for the things which they don’t know, and post the things they know. Since, the basic information online is free and accessible, the sharing is enhanced. The people can be experts or non-experts, their information and knowledge are all over online, such as Google, Yahoo, Wikipedia, and so forth.
Social networking can be used for political activities.
People can elect online for their favor candidates. People can know more about government agencies by looking at their websites. People can express their opinions on political issue online. People can participate in political activities in websites. For example, the essembly website allow political interest people can engage in discussion, and take action online, and Policosmos allow voters and candidates to elect politicians online.
The benefits of these technologies to society
The benefits of these technologies to society can be strengthening relationships within the community, even within the world; encouraging creativities by using blog, games, and so on; helping students to improve the academic performance by searching information online, collaborating with classmates and teachers; making information free and accessible to the whole world; encouraging political participations in the community; enabling mew form of business; assisting the disabled people to perform daily activities better; and so on.
The "dark side"
The dark sides may be online sexual predators, cyber bullying, loss of privacy, identity theft, virus, digital divide, internet gambling, internet addiction, violation of copyright , e-waste, less face to face interacting, and wide sharing of disinformation and misinformation.
Make sure to include your opinion of the way these technologies might evolve in the future.
In the future, I think there will be more cheaper or free information available on the networking sites. Currently, the copyrights of certain information discourage the sharing of information, such as some news articles on the New York Times Online are not free. We can find all the publishing books on Google or other databases contain e-books. It is going to be more difficult to protect our personal information when I rely more on online activities in the future.
Citation
Jeffrey R. Young ,(2009),The Wired Campus: Professor Encourages Students to Pass Notes During Class -- via Twitter, The Chronicle of Higher Education, April 8, 2009. Retrieved on 10/08/2010 from Baruch New Media.
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