Social Networking

Social Networking has been one of the major developments in what is considered ‘new media’ today. There are a number of services involved that focuses on creating online communities where individuals can meet others who have the same interests and even find new things to do. Social Networking has been used by companies in order to network with potential and even existing clients, also to have ongoing interactions between employees. Social networking sites such as LinkedIn gives young professional the opportunity to meet others, possibly in the same field of work, and even find jobs that they are looking for. In Social Networking Technology Boosts Job Recruiting, Frank Langfitt states that “such sites also help job hunters market themselves online by setting up profiles, listing work history and specific skills”

On the other hand, social networking is also for personal use. Facebook allows users to stay connected to their friends around the world, to plan and share upcoming events, share photos and even re-unite with old buddies. Social networking is also used for games and even medical/health purposes; people usually have accounts on different networking sites. One major benefit of social networking is the access you have to resources and information with the help of others. For example on twitter you can post question and get instant response with links to the information you were looking for, be sure to have people following you though. Another benefit is being able to market yourself to others without meeting them face to face.

The dark side of social networking is usually brought to light often as a result of occurring issues. Issues dealing with privacy breach, not everyone using a social networking site protect their information from possible internet predators. Also recruiters are now checking applicants’ profiles in order to find out who they are hiring, so what was just for personal use could cross over into your professional life. The rate at which things are going now makes me wonder what’s next, but I can see social networking more integrated into our lives and people having less of their life as private.