Social networks, what are they and how in a short period of time they became so popular and overwhelming that everyone is addicted to at least one? Are we really becoming extensions of technology as Professor. Marshall Mcluhan suggested? As the new technology is being developed we want to portray ourselves as social individuals. People want to learn and share more about each other through these networks and in some instances privacy is not even a major concern. Few examples of such networks are facebook, twitter, youtube, linkedin etc.
It was not so long ago that people like me were not so fond of these networking sites. My experience now is neither confined nor unlimited. Although, I do not want people from all around the world to know details about my where abouts and the routine of my day to day life, still I can be considered active on facebook, twitter and youtube etc to the extent of keeping accounts and updating status once in a while. I agree with the idea that technology made it all possible for us to become a vast group of people to come together and cross all the geographical boundaries.
I used to find most of these networks not quite useful to achieve something but I was able to find my high school friends through facebook. However, since the facebook became more popular the creators commercialized it, it rather looks “overcrowded” than appealing to me with a lot of applications which most of the people hardly use; their constant customization in appearance is sometimes annoying. As compared to facebook I find google+ much more organized in terms of circles, we can add people in different circles rather than “declaring” everyone “friend” in our one single friends list. Moreover, google make it much more easier to communicate through voice and video chat overseas. Google is currently competing with facebook and trying to lure facebook users to their social network, I think they are targeting the right consumers by keeping it simple and providing proper categorization of people.
In conclusion, in near future we might can not socialize at all without being part of one of such channels to express ourselves. Being social animals we want people to know other sides of our personalities and technology made it possible. Still for me the question remains what should I share and what not? Would the notion of privacy prevail at all?
Why do you think you are active in social networks? What about sharing status updates do you find rewarding or worthwhile? Do you see yourself moving to Google+?
You might also consider Diaspora, an alternative to FB that gives users full control of their data — Diaspora does not sell user info or activity to anyone. It’s growing slowly and I doubt it will ever emerge as a true alternative social space.