Social Networking

What are some ways (corporate and otherwise) that these technologies can be used? What are the benefits of these technologies to society? Be specific. Is there a "dark side"? Make sure to include your opinion of the way these technologies might evolve in the future.

Social networking can be used in many ways. Social networking has had an impact on society in a lot of ways in the past five years. In an article named, "How Obama Tapped Into Social Networks' Power", the writer talks about the use of social networking in politics. One of these uses is the encouragement of voters nationwide to vote for President Obama in both the 2008 and 2012 elections. With the use of social networking, his team was able to attract new, young and old voters as well as to understand his goals as president if he were to be elected and how those changes would benefit them. Social networking has also attracted others to share news as well as music much quicker.

The benefits of these technologies to society depends. One of them would be to reconnect with long lost friends and family. Social networking is also largely used for matchmaking when it comes to online romance. In article named, "Social Networking Technology Boosts Job Recruiting" written by Frank Langfitt, he discusses how social networking has had an impact on job recruiting and the way the process is being used to hire applicants. A social networking site known as Linkedin has had a big impact on the way recruiters hire applicants based on their profile on these social networking sites as well as their abilities that can be useful in a workplace. 

There is indeed a dark side when it comes to social networking. Over recent years there has been an increase in the number of suicides because of bullying online on social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, etc. Also, in the world of politics, a simple rumor of a politician can quickly spread and damage the reputation of that politician if there is not a quick reaction to address that rumor. There are a lot positives to social networking but there are some negatives as well. In the future, social networking may determine the way we work and think about a majority of things we depend on because within social networking sites many individuals share their opinions on certain things which people can agree on. So, far I cannot possibly think of any other ways that these technologies might evolve in the future since social networking is always rapidly changing especially with Facebook.