Social networking ( Lecture )

Social networking sites such as twitter and Facebook though relatively recent have really taken off dramatically since their introduction, the most popular and well known being Facebook, this was started by a Harvard college student and has really changed the way people communicate with each other. Of course there is a link with all this to the copyright issues, but in general it is now easy to communicate with all your friends and colleagues – at least all of them that are using the same site as you, for example Facebook, at the one time so information can be shared really rapidly. This is particularly effective as the rise of handheld media devices and smart phones means that people are much more contactable than they would have been even 20 years ago. This is a useful tool for those who have an issue they want to share, look how information was able to be broadcast from Tahrir square in the recent uprising sin Egypt, using social media to spread the word. Also the riots in London last year were thought to have spread and grown so quickly because of this new media technology. This also give people a chance to showcase their talents, Justin Beiber, one of the most successful recent pop artists was discovered after singing on YouTube. These days aspiring agents for example need to be fully fluent in the use of social media so they can be ready to approach the next big thing, it is not just a case of trawling around clubs and bars looking at live acts any more. These sites also give people a great way of sharing what they are doing with their peer groups and gauging reactions. They have transformed communications. Of course there are problems with exploitation; it is easy to pretend to be someone you are not on line. Copyright remains an issue too. And of course issues such as privacy and internet bullying are all the downsides of the new communications, but as time goes on I am sure this will evolve and also people will get better at protecting themselves. Politicians and governments are interested in controlling this type of communication, obviously they can monitor emails and internet use, and it will be interesting to see how this develops.