Social Networking

I was not registered for CS 280 until today, but I feel like web 2.0 has been an important topic thus far in the course. Web 2.0 is about everybody being able to contribute, whether constructively or destructively, to the pool of information on the internet. But it also goes beyond that, by giving people a way to link together and communicate.

There are a lot of popular websites now, and now most websites can be considered "web 2.0", or at least have some capability for users to add something. Here is a funny cartoon photo depicting the personifactions of a few websites:

When I first saw this photo, I thought the difference in depiction of Facebook and MySpace was funny, since I have used both websites. The depiction was funny to me because I used MySpace when I was younger, and Facebook now, and the cartoon basically shows the difference between the two sites. Facebook looks more mature, but still young, probably a college student. Myspace looks like a self-centred, obnoxious, teenager, and always has music on.

Both sites are social networking websites, and there are many similar sites on the web as well. So how do we choose which one to use? And why do we switch from one site to another?

The internet is young, and it is constantly changing. Maybe we switch websites because the newer ones are simply just better, or more fitting for what we need them for. I like Facebook alot better then MySpace simply because every MySpace page is completely cluttered and obnoxiously filled with sparkling animations in the background. Not to mention the music which automatically plays every time I click on a page, and half the time I can't find the music player to turn the noise off!

Facebook has a lot more tools that are useful for social networking, and features that people actually use. Such as the Events application. Now, instead of having to text message your whole phone book to tell them the plans, you can create that event on Facebook, and with a few clicks everybody will know the details and can R.S.V.P. just as easily. Ever since Facebook has gained popularity, it's features are becoming more and more embeded into the rest of our technology. Such as the Mobile Uploads feature, which allows us to take photo's with our camera-phones and add those photo's to our Facebook page without using a computer. How awesome is that!

While websites such as Facebook and MySpace are sites where your identity is made public and is mainly used to connect with friends or people you already know, there are many websites which provide a way for people to communicate anonymously with people who have similar interests. There are many discussion boards like these that I frequent, such as Sherdog, which is a board where users discuss the sport of professional Mixed Martial Arts. This was the first discussion board that I have joined, and I have joined many more since then. It is always interesting to see what people say or how they act when they can do things anonymously. Having the invisible shield of the internet protecting you from any physical harm can turn even the biggest wimp into an internet tough guy. On the other hand, anonymity can allow people to remove the filter from their thoughts and basically let out whatever is going on in their mind. Some of the funniest things I've read were in user comments on the YouTube videos that I've seen.

Well, that is it for the first blog post. The next post should be more relevant to class material, since I will have actually attended the lectures!