Social Networking Sites

TWITTER

Twitter is a social networking site that allows users to constantly update information. It can both be helpful and useful. The status updates are limited to 140 characters, so they are very concise messages or thoughts. Many times, many businesses and news teams use twitter to relay important information to users. They are then able to re-tweet the message so that it can be seen in a more extensive scale. There are also many scammers who use twitter and it is sometimes hard to tell whether someone's profile is legitimate or not (there are many cases of identity theft). 

MYSPACE

Through Myspace, users are able to post pictures and comments. They are able to to be connected to many people. One of Myspace's strengths is that it has largely impacted the music industry with the use of its music pages. Many up and coming artists were able to be recognized through Myspace and really market their talents. Through Myspace you are also able to customize your page by changing the background layout. There is much more space on Myspace to be creative as opposed to the limitations used by Twitter. 

FACEBOOK

Facebook is similar to Myspace in that it makes it easy for people to connect. Facebook also has music pages as well as pages where businesses can share their postings and promote themselves. People are also able to post statuses, like Twitter. Facebook has grown to a very large scale and is the most successful social networking site. It includes many apps where people can enjoy many programs, including games. Facebook also has a chat feature in which you can communicate with an online buddy in real-time. Similar to Myspace, you can create albums and add photos. You can also tag your friends in photos or statuses so they are instantly updated on new information about them.

SEVENSHUFFLE

SevenShuffle is a social networking site that combines blogging with social networking. SevenShuffle allows users to post things that they find unique or cool and can instantly be shared between users. Videos, photos, graphics, etc. are posted in blog form. Users may also rate these postings through an emoticon scale. They are also able to re-shuffle (same concept as a re-tweet). It combines the elements of Myspace, Facebook, and Twitter to create a space where all social networking needs can be met.

Social Networking

Social Networking serves many different functions. One of the primary functions of social networks is maintaining communication with people at a larger scale. Information is transmitted quickly and people are essentially able to keep in touch and be updated about their loved ones without having to interact much. People are able to meet new people and spread positive movements rapidly (Freakonomics 2008). A bad side to social networking is presented through lack of privacy. It has become easier to know what people are doing (Twitter), where people are located at a particular time (foursquare), and personal contact information and pictures (Facebook). It can be used negatively by malicious people and can be dangerous ( Knowledge@Wharton 2009). Another negative effect is that bullying can be easily spread on these social networking site and many people can target a victim, even without knowing them.

In terms of business, social networking sites have become very effective. Companies are able to market their products to a wider audience. Also, people may talk about a product and its success and popularity can spread instantly. Facebook has even made it possible to sell items on the site, creating a different form of interaction between buyer and seller. Mars created an application on Facebook in which users can send actual gifts to other people via SMS and barcode (www.MarketingWeek.co.uk 2008) . I feel that social networks might make privacy even more difficult but that it will make society much lazier. On the bright side, people are able to promote many positive situations dealing with communication and corporate promotion. There will always be a new site promoting a more recent technology than the last and anything is possible in the realm of social networking. Each day, there's a new discovery, and that will continue.

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Is MySpace Good for Society? A Freakonomics Quorum by Stephen J. Dubner. NYT Feb 15, 2008

Knowledge@Wharton, "Leaving 'Friendprints': How Online Social Networks Are Redefining Privacy and Personal Security http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=2262

Analysis: Real Facebook shop in virtual world breathes life into Mars. Marketing Week. Feb 21, 2008. p. 14. http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=59708&u=pg_dtl_art_news&m=pg_hdr_art

Blogs vs. Wikis

Blogs allow internet users to express their opinions and create a world in which they can comment on basically anything and/or everything. The information may not necessarily be true and while blogging distribute positive information, it may also be harmful. There have been many cases in which blogging has led to cyber-bullying, negatively affecting and publicly humiliating a person. Blogs may be viewed by anyone using the internet, and other members may comment on them. With blogs, there is typically only one author. Blogs can be collaborative because people can comment on posts and come to a collective understanding of an issue that needs to be addressed. For example, in Brooklyn Blog Helps Lead to Drug Raid, many members of a community saw a rising drug issue in the neighborhood (Wilson). Together, they got together and brought the issue to the attention of higher community officials to solve the problem. 

Wikis allow internet users to collaborate and organize ideas on a specific page. Many businesses have turned to wikis to effectively communicate information among many employees. Wikis allow different users to edit the page, adding or changing relevant information. There usually needs to be a record of the person making the change and although members may add information, they may not allow others to edit the the particular content (Goodnoe 2). Although many people fear that wikis are unreliable because it has various authors, others can pick up on the wrong information and change it accordingly. Wikis still maintain a structure and most wiki pages have to give permission to authors in order to edit content. 

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"How to Use Wikis for Business," by Ezra Goodnoe, Information Week, August 8, 2005, http://www.informationweek.com/news/management/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=167600331

Brooklyn Blog Helps Lead to Drug Raid By MICHAEL WILSON The New York Times June 26, 2008 available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/26/nyregion/26bayridge.html

Project Description

My Project Description

For my project, I would like to examine how social media and/or how technology has changed the music industry. I plan to research how/where music is legally available as well as the ways people get the music illegally. I will follow specific groups/artists and research how their music is being accessed and what it is doing to the industry, if it has any effect. If any of you have any ideas on how I can narrow this topic or have ideas on how I can research this, please feel free to comment! Thanks!