Sharing Ideas through the Internet - Research Paper Example

Sharing Ideas through the Internet Today, the internet is a ubiquitous part of people’s lives. It is in all places that people go to such that the only time people notice its existence is when they have restricted access. Sharing ideas through the internet has its advantages and disadvantages. Its greatest strength sometimes also happens to be its biggest weakness. The biggest strength of using the internet and sharing ideas is that it is available to almost everyone. Even those who do not have access can go to public libraries or cyber cafes and log, on to the internet, to access their emails or social network accounts. However, due to the ease of access, some people possess impure intentions as they log onto cyberspace with everyone else. Communication and information sharing are two of the internet’s greatest advantages. Sharing of information and ideas across localities, countries, time zones, and computers occurs over the internet. This sharing allows multi-national corporations to keep projects going all the time by moving it between stations of work electronically by using the internet. Communication can occur through e-mail, file sharing, or instant messaging. The internet can now be used to make telephone calls via a process that is known as Voice over Internet Protocol, or VOIP. Sharing ideas over the internet also enhances play. Sharing of videos, pictures, and music over the internet with a worldwide audience enhances information sharing, allowing individuals to preview new music free. Website hosted games are also available for people across the world, enabling someone in Australia to play with an Austrian. Online gambling and dating are two popular attractions to the internet. However, sharing of ideas over the internet possesses a dark side. If one is capable of covering their cyber address, then they become tempted to carry out things they would not normally do such as spread malicious information and pornographic material. In addition, people with technical knowledge and skills may compromise unsuspecting users sharing information on the internet, which they may use to infect your correspondent’s computer with malicious software. They could also steal one’s information leading to theft of identity. However, this paper seeks to prove that by, taking proper precautions, one’s internet experience, could prove enriching, with the pros far outweighing the cons. Social networking and potential for collaborations brought about by blogs; provide a decidedly human side to the publicizing of ideas and information (Bruns & Jacobs 4). Via the personalization of content, blogs do much more than play an informative role. They provide a platform for expression, deliberation, and debate. Blogs have come to replace outdated personal websites and email lists as vehicles for the idea and information exchange, giving authors an opportunity to connect with their audience in ways that would have been impossible before. At the same time, they retain control over their space’s creative space. The blogosphere is unique due to its structure as a fluctuating, decentralized, and distributed ad hoc network of personalized websites that inter-create, interact, and interrelate with each other. Herein lays the power of blogging. Rather that the individual blog, it is the tapping of thousands of weblogs collective power that brings about the emergence of blogosphere’s “magic”. Blogs enable weblogs to become more than its part’s total. Anyone with access to the internet in this environment can participate in idea and information exchange, with the low level of entry barriers and lack of a central authority to grant accreditation or publishing rights ensure that bloggers are not prevented from linking or responding to ideas or information found on or off-line (Bruns & Jacobs 5). In a time of value system redefinition, global threats, and competing belief networks, bloggers now have the opportunity to question their view on issues, as well as grasp some sense of hope and purpose. Blogging, as broad based and distributed practice of production of content, can be seen as a key sign of the times. The mass media and industrial age was dominated by production’s value chain for physical goods, which were from the producer through the distributor and finally to the consumer. The Ford model extended to the media from manufacturing industry, where audiences were taken as mass consumers, with maximization of the share of the audience being the ultimate goal. Another way of sharing ideas and information via the internet is by using twitter and facebook, also known as social media. Social media is a place where one can network and share with friends, while also now used for conducting business. It enables an individual to approach their potential customers, interact with different business from around the world and learn new ideas (Kelsey 15). Several social media networks offer these services including twitter, facebook, linkedin, MySpace, and others. The most popular, however, are twitter and facebook. These two are the mediums, which, over time, have evolved, with so many new businesses joining in and making their own profiles on their pages. These networks possess their own distinct advantages and disadvantages. Facebook is relatively easy to join, with the whole process of becoming a user and creating a personalized profile performed by anyone new to the network. It also enables the user to find groups and communities related to their business niche, thus paving the way for the sharing of ideas and information concerning their business. As a business, the user can search for potential customers via giving other facebook users information about their business without a lot of trouble and little or no capital outlay. Conversations held; over the internet on these social networks can help the businesspersons augment their business; while one can also create back links to their personal or business websites for potential customers to visit them and increase their page rank. Twitter is a more recent addition to the media social networking scene. Creation of an account is trouble free and requires minimal information and fuss to open. Anyone anywhere can join twitter, with the best part being that an individual does not have to include too much detail about them, with general information being enough. This ensures that users do not judge each other during the exchange of ideas and information from information on a user’s past. Because the number of characters are limited to 140, other users do not have to be burdened by users who write essay type posts, thus exchange of ideas and information remains fun. Additionally, third party services such as HootSuite enable the user to update their tweets automatically with no need to sign in with their details (Powell 29). This enables users to share ideas as soon as they get them, which at times, can be a disadvantage in its own right. Twitter also has various applications that can be used to augment various businesses. However, despite all the great merits of sharing ideas and information over the internet, there are some demerits to the practice. When sharing ideas over the internet, for example, with social networking, there is less personal time as compared to face-to-face conversations (Powell 45). While there are, steps that one can take to eradicate these impersonal touches, one will never have that personal touch that face-to-face conversations and networking possess. It is much easier to close a business deal face to face than over the internet. On the social networking platform, one has to bring their personality to the table in order for individuals on the site to get a feel of whom they are dealing with. Sharing information and ideas on the internet is also more time consuming than face-to-face sharing. Keeping up to speed with the social network sphere, as well as the blogosphere, can prove a full time job. The idea of sharing ideas over the internet is to get instant replies, so one has to maintain an online status in order to respond in a reasonable period. Giving and receiving information over the internet can also be discouraging. When setting up a profile for one’s business, it will take time to build a network. The idea of setting up one’s shop on Wednesday and getting orders on Friday is not plausible. Instead, one requires persistence and comprehension that it will not all be plain sailing. One should continue connecting and waiting for their break. The discouragement that creeps in with the passing of time will eventually become hope when prospects begin to connect over the internet, connecting to the set up profile. Sharing personal information over the internet also puts the sites, such as blogs and social network sites, in a position to sell that information to all who can buy it (Kelsey 47). These include such pests as spammers and online predators. This happens even with assurances that the information shared on these sites will not be shared with anyone else. The site possesses the right to change its policy at any time that it deems fit. Additionally, if blogs are published on a given site, this site can take over the author’s copyright privileges. Very few musicians, artists, and writers are aware of this, turning a blind eye to the fine print in terms of understanding published by the sites. Unless the individuals sharing information over the internet meet in person, they have no way of knowing the other person’s identity (Kelsey 47). While the ideas of, being unable to understand a person’s personality and behavior without body language are myths, online interaction does actually make it harder to discern an individual’s personality. Additionally, there are too many individuals sharing information on social networking sites and blogs, with the tendency being to head for sites with the greatest following. However, this is also the most challenging place to converse, leading to misunderstandings. It also proves to be time consuming and daunting. Outgoing and sparky characters, who want to become instant friends with people they do not know, prove to be the most dangerous. Pressure from these people for information on others makes a good point that sharing ideas over the internet is fraught with the danger of falling prey to con artists. Works Cited Bruns, Axel & Jacobs, Joanne. Uses of Blogs. London: Peter Lang, 2006. Print. Kelsey, Todd. Social Networking Spaces: From Facebook to Twitter and Everything In Between. New York: Apress, 2010. Print. Powell, Juliette. 33 Million People in the Room: How to Create, Influence, and Run a Successful Business with Social Networking. New York: Que Publishing, 2008. Print. Read More