Social Software - Essay Example

Social Software Introduction Social software consists a large number of databases which help the users to interact with each other, share data in form of pictures and media, learn new stuff and entertain themselves with games and many different tools. Nowadays in the modern world the rise of different communication setups can be witnessed. Many things can be included in these communication setups such as Msn Messenger Yahoo Messenger and other similar services. Similarly with the advent of new technologies it is witnessed that social communication through websites is on the rise. Social Communication websties such as Facebook and Myspace are real life examples of such a service. Facebook and Myspace which were originally developed to serve a single community have now been expanded all over the world. Both of these entitites started off with college students and they have now turned out to be world changing entitites. The popularity of these social networking websites has increased such that even the third world countries avail the services provided by these websites. In this Essay I am going to compare my life before I joined these social networking sites with the life I experienced after joining these social networking sites. Body There were times when people had very less friends, they used to socialize very less, there were very less option a person could consult with or people had to go to professional consultants for advise, they had to spend a large some of money for data they required. People used to have very less stuff for entertainment and people found or referred there life as boring due to less activities and social life, that era was when there were no or less social soft wares with very limited options in it like MSN and Yahoo messenger which allowed it’s users to interact with different people by finding there email identities and adding them in their messenger software to interact or share different utilities, but this was limited only from one to one user until the new era of Facebook began. Before I began using social networking sites I realized that it was quite difficult to be in contact with all the people I had around me in my life. These people also included those individuals with whom I had lost contact after a certain phase of life i.e. my high school friends. The people with whom I used to talk and be with only knew how I was on the outside whereas only a few or none knew what I used to do at home. The old friends I had in my school could not be contacted again as I had lost their numbers. And it became quite difficult for me to interact with all the colleagues of mine. Whereas on the other hand after joining these social networking sites my life changed drastically. Every single thing which I was devoid of was now available to me through these sites. All the old friends that I had lost were found again because of the easy search feature of these sites. Not only this, but through these social networking sites I also developed a good relationship with my colleagues. I got to know more about the people around me and as to what they were interested in. It was through these social networking sites that I got into a relationship with my colleague as both of us shared the same interests. Before the use of social networking sites I used to be more involved in solo games which involved real time shooting and 3D games. Usually I was also not aware about the new songs and additions in music which were currently hitting the tops in the market. On the other hand as I started using social networking sites I came to know about the real essence of entertainment. Through these social networking sites I was not only able to interact with people close to me but I was also able to know about the music and movies they enjoy. This made me know about the current hits in the entertainment arena. Moreover I learned games which involved the use of my IQ here. For example a game on Facebook known as ‘word challenge’ helped me to build up words by using my IQ. And similarly another interactive game known as ‘guess as the sketch’ helped me to use my IQ again to identify names of different things in this world. The entertainment provided by these social networking sites was fun, interactive and at the same time knowledgeable too. The social networking sites have expanded so much that a lot of users have entered the social arena. Because of the free membership no one can be disallowed until certain clauses are broken. Individuals even from the negative sect of the world can join facebook or myspace so as to track the whereabouts of other people. It can freely help individuals in tracking people until certain privacy settings are set up. Before using the social networking sites I had less to worry about my privacy as most of the things of my private life were with me or shared by me with only the closest ones. However after I started using the social networking sites I realized that the privacy settings on these social networking sites were not enough to stop the leakage of information. The photos I put on my profile were once picked up by an unknown individual and he/she presented those photos as his/her own. Thus after using these social networking sites I can say that my privacy is not totally protected. Conclusion The social networking sites help its users to interact with each other with the help of different built in applications with help of which its user can connect directly to each other when they are online or leave important and cute messages when they are offline. This software is not only limited to students or teenagers, it is even in use of teachers and adults who can help there students by posting different educational content in the profiles of their students so the content can easily sort out the problems of the students. Thus it provides a medium for interaction, fun, knowledge, creativity, advertisement and entertainment. However on the other hand these social networking sites may also have its bad effects. Time spent online is time taken away from study, extracurricular activities, and other social interactions. Student’s online disclosure of illegal activities, such as substance abuse, can be used if students come under investigation for related offenses. The information posted may be false and/or misleading, advertisers and marketers may gain the ability to tap into more information about individuals than they have ever had. And lastly the privacy of individuals is not maintained as per the level in the normal world. In my opinion usage of social networking websites should be encouraged in Educational institutes but with restrictions imposed. Bibliography Top of Form Engdahl, Sylvia. Online Social Networking. Current controversies. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2007. Bottom of Form Read More