Week 2 - Social Networking Sites

This week we learnt about social networking sites. I believe that many have a lot to say about social networking sites(SNS)these days.I would say that SNS has become a part of our everyday lives. There are many SNS in society today. Facebook, twitter, myspace, tagged and friendster are probably among the most well-known ones.Without fail, almost everyday individuals like myself and my friends log on to facebook at least once a day to update our posts, or post new photos or to comment or like someone else's photo or post. In fact, we see random and often tweets from friends on twitter almost every hour. Basically, i would say that SNS has invaded our lives.

There are definitely pros and cons with regards to SNS. But by the looks of it i'm afraid that in the near future the cons may outweigh the pros. The good thing about SNS like facebook, twitter, my space and etc is that it is very convenient. In fact, with the increased standard of living in today's society it makes these SNS a lot more accessible as majority have access to in the internet within their convenience. Hence, people see no loss in being so involved in these SNS as there's no cost to being on these sites. Plus, it allows them to meet up with old friends and to stay in contact with old and current ones. Sometimes, people are just too busy in today's world that they make such sites like "Facebook" their "meeting place".

However what i fear is that in the near future such sites may become a substitute for face to face communication. Now itself we almost cant do without these sites and are turning to it to maintain relationships and friendships. And because it is so convenient some may just use these sites as a substitute to meeting up with people in real life. Like nowadays, we hear people saying, "hey i'll catch you on fb later". Almost like as if these sites have become the meeting place.

Can you imagine when it comes to a time where all relationships are maintained through these SNS? How scary is that?

However i believe that if used responsibly and adequately we will be able to reap the benefits of these SNS way more than its cons. What we must not fail to remember is that face to face communication is still highly valued in society and it is still very important in maintaining close relationships. In fact, it also helps in reducing the chances of miscommunication as we are able to see the other party.

Currently, i only have an account with facebook. And i've found many benefits in using it. I was able to find my primary school friends and childhood friends and find out where they are now and what they've been up to. It is indeed very nice to meet up with old friends and to find out how they've been after so many years.

Well i hope that in the near future these SNS do not replace face to face communication and i hope that people continue to use it responsibly so that it can enhance their communication and relationships instead of replacing it totally.

Week 1-introduction to the internet

This week we learnt about introduction to the internet. Basically,all these while i was just blindly making use of the advantages of the internet. Little did i know that the internet has actually evolved drastically over time. It came to my realization that people today are all connected to each other and just within seconds away from each other. It was more of the teleconferencing and email that made me realize how much closely connected we are.

Back then, people had to go through the trouble of writing letters and posting it and waiting for few days before the letter reaches over to the recipient. But today, all they need to do is just type and email and send it and within seconds the recipient is able to receive it. This has definitely enhanced communication in the world today as it had made it a lot faster, convenient and accessible.

Even teleconferencing has made many people's lives a lot easier. Nowadays, people make use of teleconferencing for work purposes and personal purposes as well. The advantages are that even amidst the physical distance and boundaries across countries people can stay connected easily and can teleconference for work related issues. This saves travelling time and travelling cost and besides it can be done at your own convenience.

Another thing that intrigued me was how there is the presence of IP ADDRESSES. One of the video that was shown in class made me realize that the internet is not very much safe after all. We think that whatever we do or post on the net cannot be seen by others but we fail to realize that once we post something on the net, it can be retrieved one way or another. Another scary thing is when we use the computers provided at work. We fail to realize that our bosses can actually hack into our computer system to see what we are doing on the net. Indeed it isnt as confidential as we all think it is.

Hence, i am rather interested and looking forward to this module to continue to learn how the evolution of internet has affected communication today, be it positively or negatively.