dunkykong
Filed under: Social Media | Tags: connectivity, internet, virtual media, web 2.0
Critics say that Web 2.0 leads to social solitude, but several studies proof the opposite.[1] But it is hard to lose the feeling that Web 2.0 somehow changed the behaviour and the communication patterns of people.
It may be difficult to get rid of the image that the Internet does not influence our daily life. It seems as if real life conversations are decreasing, the hours spent in front of the computer screen are increasing, and as if interpersonal activities have lost their importance.
By taking a look at mediums such as Facebook and Twitter, one may detect that many people feel sufficiently satisfied by being informed about their friend’s moods and activities via their online status and comments. On the one hand, life has become so fast moving and somehow impersonal that we do not even feel irritated when virtual mediums are the ones who inform us about our friends.
On the other hand Web 2.0 offers us useful opportunities; the possibility of keeping in touch with persons who are thousands of miles away or the option of spreading important messages within one second.
Due to these facts, it is comprehensible that people feel ambivalent about the value and the necessity of Web 2.0 and Social Media in general. They have generated too much distraction. “Many people have felt that they could not think by themselves any more. By contrast, whenever there is a question they simply jump onto the Web and start Googling, which is nothing but to invoke a public vote for the answer.” [2]
“The Internet is as powerful a machine for the production of loneliness as television is for the manufacture of boredom.” [3] In the end the question remains if the New Media are boon or bane. Do we benefit from its novelties and new opportunities or do they change us and our environment? I will try to figure it out in my following articles.
[1] http://www.mpfs.de/fileadmin/JIM-pdf06/JIM-Studie_2006.pdf
[2] http://yihongs-research.blogspot.com/2009/01/positive-solitude-losing-capability.html
[3] http://chronicle.com/article/The-End-of-Solitude/3708
Filed under: Twitter | Tags: companies, hype, Social Media, social network, Twitter
Lately there have been numerous discussions about the necessity of Twitter; a free social-networking and micro-blogging service which enables us to tell the world whatever pops to our head as long as the posts, known as tweets, do not exceed the limit of 140 characters. Twitter is used by private persons as well as companies and even politicians. Consequently, the question remains if this novelty is valuable or only a hype.
“Just 10% of Twitter users generate more than 90% of the content, a Harvard study of 300,000 users found.” [1] These numbers leave no doubt that we cannot talk about a general hype, but about a hype within a certain group of people who might tend to self-affirmation.
However, the amount of people that do not use Twitter to tell the world how drunk they were at the last party or when they polish their nails, but for business or publicity reasons rises. “People using Twitter to get the word out about their company, sales and promotions jumped more than 250% from this past spring”.[2] The numbers show that Twitter is the only social networking medium that achieved to be used by international companies and additionally, the spread of news did also rise.
Obviously, the use of Twitter is a huge enrichment for many companies. Due to these findings, one could think about a restructuring of Twitter and a division into two sectors, the official sector: business and news, and the private sector. This division would ensure that companies can use it as an important business tool without being compared to gossiping stars or bored people. In the end, Twitter, that started as a hype, could become respectable and helpful.
[1] http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8089508.stm
[2] http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9140579/Business_use_of_Twitter_Facebook_exploding
Filed under: privacy | Tags: commerce, community, companies, control, observation, privacy, tracking, web 2.0
When writing a love letter or telling our diary our deepest thoughts we expect others not to read it. Sometimes we even hide the writings in a secret place to keep our privacy. But when it comes to internet communities, bonus cards or navigation systems suddenly all concerns vanish.
In times of the social web and web 2.0 we are getting tracked permanently; no matter if grocery shops are checking our shopping habits with the help of bonus cards or big companies watch every step we take on the internet. “The Web 2.0 movement will be a marked loss of privacy on the internet, one which leads to big business knowing more about you than it ever did before.”[1]
The problem is that most people do not even realise that they are being observed. It happens very subtle and without any noise. We cannot detect it like we detect that our diary was read by a stranger due to the broken lock and the wrinkled pages. We share our data voluntarily without knowing that we support companies in finding ways to manipulate us and to make us their marionettes.
Did you ever wonder why you receive commercials which you are interested in? Or did you ask yourself why Facebook already offers you, while signing up, numerous people to be friends with, and you really do know the people? “Adding to this sobering reality is that public and private entities have a growing array of tools to track our movements, habits and choices.” [2]
You cannot judge people who say that Web 2.0 makes life more comfortable and offers you possibilities which suit you but is it worth it to give away your privacy for consumption and control? Perhaps it is time to give your details a little bit more thought in the future.
[1] http://www.bit-tech.net/columns/2006/06/03/web_2_privacy/
[2] http://www.csoonline.com/article/504793/6_Ways_We_Gave_Up_Our_Privacy
