Social Networking

Social media is an effective tool for communicating within our society like never before.  It's easier than ever to be hired, fired, then cry about it over a chat with friends without ever meeting in person.  According to NPR, Linkedin alone has about 130,000 recruiters.  We can trade everything from love letters to state secrets without using envelopes.  We can vote to name a tree in Yellowstone forest or marry a dolphin (not kidding). Learning about political candidates become a hobby for laypeople (NY Times). People can seek out support groups to ease their troubles and share medical symptoms (could be scary however; always consult a professional when considering any of the above).

It would be great to say that all these have saved ridiculous amounts of paper however recent signs of climate change dispute this.  Instead social media has made for new industries and business models. Online marketing is now a growing field that often uses a pay per click model.  Anyone can start a small business online with help from Facebook and Twitter.  This has put the means of production back into individual homes; lucky ones with the right idea can build an empire without leaving the sofa. Also, we're using social media to conduct this very online course, enabling students to matriculate on time or graduate at all (thank you sincerely for offering BUSN3110 NET1).  Social media however does contain a dark side.  Cultural narcissism, at least here in America, quickly comes to mind.  We love to read up on friend's updates in order to keep in touch yet error occurs when we assume everyone really cares about every detail.  Further, bullying and harassment can drive vulnerable people over the edge (JuicyCampus? Really?? Ugh). Other drawbacks are stalking, impersonation, ruined reputations, and, heaven forbid, blackouts that threaten a backward slide to feudal times.  (A documentary about college students going sans internet for one harrowing month was pretty enlightening).  Lastly, platforms such as Myspace and Facebook, while uniting in nature, can isolate individuals, becoming a substitute for genuine and arguably beneficial human interaction.  With these criticisms in mind, social media can remain a positive tool for change if users can maintain perspective, embrace critical thinking, and exhibit self control.  

So, where is all this going?  Under the current circumstances, social media may not change or grow at all.  Technologies tend to emerge one size fits most (DVD players, television, radio), then fragment into specialized uses offered by many different brands.  There may come various incarnations of Facebook or Twitter with individualized features (or, maybe not because this is how these platforms actually began before they became on general interface. The historical pattern in reverse). I'd like to think that social media serves people and so platforms would evolve in ways that contribute to better user experience or purpose.  The reverse however currently seems to be true; users become enslaved by the need to establish and maintain an image, and businesses are keenly aware of this.  In truth it's clear that people voluntarily sacrifice individual liberties (privacy, integrity, personal safety) in exchange for the privilege to contribute anywhere, anytime.  The result is, as expected, big profits for media companies at the cost of the individual.  And where has this ever gotten us in terms of societal benefit?  Certainly not better customer service.  As with most service based business models, social media may stagnate if users continue to believe in the illusory "power to the people" element of instant communication.  It will be interesting to see what, if anything, moves us into more forward thinking territory.