Thursday, May 24, 2007

Question 5.re. Social networking sites


How do social networking sites extend the possibilities of networking? Evaluate these possibilities in relations to the growing commercial significance of the aggregation of the sites. Is there a way to move beyond this tension?


Introduction

Since 1993, computer networks have grabbed enormous public attention. Computer networks were used by a small group of elites. Now online networks are widely used and are the subject of political debate, public interest, and popular culture (Kollock and Smith, 1998:3). Danah Boyd is one of the chief thinkers of social networking sites (Bowley,2006 ). She sees that social networking sites have been reinforcing online social networks as a global cultural phenomenon and as big business, especially among the youth. Social networking sites have been widely used by the youth to explore themselves, relationships, and share cultural artifacts (Barnes, 2006). It is believed that more than 250 millions people now regularly use an online social network site around the globe (Bowley, 2006).

We would be focusing to discuss on how do social networking sites extend the possibilities of networking in the later part. I would argue that social networking sites are replacing the old form of media and act as a new platform of communication and interaction. Social networking sites are used as the medium to form an ‘imagined’ community as Benedict Anderson (1983) suggested in the cyberspace. Interaction and communication in online networks are different from the face to face one (Kollock and Smith, 1998:3). Therefore, it would be a good idea for us to study how communications work in social networking sites, in order to aid us in understanding how social networking sites could help us to extend the possibilities of networking in the following parts.

What are social networking sites?

Social networking sites are one kind of social media. According to Barnes, social media is an umbrella concept that describes social software and social networking (2006).

Despite the unexpected popularity of social networking sites in the last few years, people have been building up their networks in the net. According to (Bowley, 2006), the first social networking site, sixdegrees.com, began to map the connection among people online in 1997. Its theory was that users could see who was connected to whom and then use a friend’s introduction to get a job or a date. It closed after a few years. But another site, Friendster.com, launched in 2002 and fared better (Wikipedia, 2007). Computer networking allows people to create a range of new social spaces in which to meet and interact with one another (Kollock and Smith, 1998:3).

Moreover, the size of social networking sites is mega. Social networking sites, including Freindsters.com, Tagged.com, Xanga.com, LoveJournal. MySpace, Netlog (Facebook), and LikedIn have become popular on the cyberspace over the past few years (Barnes, 2006). Since the launch of MySpace in 2003, 116 million people have been attracted to register as members in MySpace (Bowley, 2006). According to the 2006 study of Nielson/NetRatings, the top 10 social networking sites experienced a 47% traffic grow over the last year, with MySpace seeing the biggest growth (367% increase) (Seeking Alpha, 2006). The sizes of social networking sites are expanding in a swift way.

Sources:http://internet.seekingalpha.com/article/10720.

How do social networking sites work?

Social networking sites are websites which allow people to build personal websites and connect to friends. People have to register in order to join the community of a social network and hence building their own profile on their personal website. Your profile generally includes your personal details and a picture of yourself (Bowley, 2006). It is rather easy for one to form and join a community online through social networking sites.

Audiences are encouraged to participate and provided contents in the media. You may choose to list some of your hobbies, your favorite music or films. You can write an online diary (blog) about what you are up to in your life. There is also space for other members to leave messages for you, or about you, for other people to read (Bowley, 2006).The conversational way of content transition allow a strong sense of community to from within their networks.

Moreover, other users in the community might notice your profile and ask if they can become your friend. If you say yes, their pictures appear on your profile. If you click on one, it will immediately take you to your new friend’s profile where you can learn more about them and see their list of friends (Bowley, 2006). From this extent, social networking sites serve as an effective media in building and enhancing our social networking.

How do social networking sites extend the possibilities of networking?

From the above discussion on how social networking sites work, we could say that social networking sites do build up a community in the cyberspace itself. Through encouraging participation from users, social networking sites provide a platform for communication and interaction between users. Here, I would base on the ‘imagined community’ idea of Benedict Anderson to develop my argument on how social networking sites could extend the possibilities of networking.

Using the ideas of Anderson (1983), community is 'imagined'. Anderson argues that all communities larger than primordial villages of face to face contact (or perhaps even there) are imagined (1991: 6). Further, he believes the convergence of capitalism and print technology, with the fatal diversity of human language created the possibility of a new form of imagined community (1991:46). In other words, the print media were used as a mean to build up a sense of community (nationalism) among their community.

Anderson considers that is nothing served to ‘assemble’ related vernaculars more than capitalism (1991:44). I would argue that we could understand advanced in technology is a product of capitalism. In the era of Web 2.0, it has broadband, enormous interactivity or ‘user generated content (Appleyard, 2007). Along with, the changes in how we use technology have been transforming our model of interaction. While people now take telephones contact fro granted, it was seen as an exotic, depersonalized from communication as recently as in the 1940s (Fisher, 1993 cited in Wellman and Gulia, 1998: 182).Changes in technology alter how we consume media now.

I would argue that social networking sites are replacing the old form of media, to provide a platform for audiences to extend the possibilities of social networking. Benniger (1987) believes that mass media has gradually replaced interpersonal communication as a socializing force. While MySpace and Netlog are a new phenomenon, many of the links that connect each of us with our family, friends and colleagues have been set down for years in our address books or our e-mail inboxes (Banes, 2006). With the advance in technology, social networking sites are pushing our social contact platform to the cyberspace.

The advance in technology allows more people to have their own platform to socialize themselves. As mentioned before, social networking websites has allowed millions of people to have, for the first time, a homepage. Blogs and social networking sites allow anybody to publish anything they want (Appleyard, 2007).Users with no knowledge of html can create an instant and free website. Social networking sites and the communities that they enable give people the chance to interact with other users that they may or may not know offline, and they provide a platform that encourages the ownership of photos, music, and other content that they can create, upload, and share (Scharmen, 2006). The advanced in technology allows people to extend their social networking in cyberspace more effective.

Is there a formation of Virtual Community in Web 2.0 era?

Some people could question the effectiveness of communication in Internet. Critics worry that life in Cyberspace can never be meaningful or complete because it will lead people away from the full range of in-person contact.Yet, most scholarly accounts of online interactions have been quite positive (Wellman and Gulia, 1998:168-170). In his survey, King (1994) discovered that 58 percent of respondents made contact with other Net acquaintances by phone, postal mail and even face to face (Wellman and Gulia, 1998:182). Therefore, we could argue that an ‘imagined community’ in cyberspace is formed through the social networking sites in cyberspace.

A virtual community is formed by social networking sites. Howard Rheingold expressed his connection to an intelligent social site: WELL. Quotating from his book, Virtual Community (electronic version),

“I'm not alone in this emotional attachment to an apparently bloodless technological ritual. Millions of people on every continent also participate in the computer-mediated social groups known as virtual communities, and this population is growing fast.”

(Rheingold, 1993)

Rheingold defined virtual communities as ‘social aggregations that emerge from the Net when enough people carry on those public discussions long enough, with sufficient human feeling, to form webs of personal relationships on cyber space’ (1993). In the absence of social and physical cues, people are able to meet and get to know each other online (Wellman and Gulia, 1998:183). One of the examples is how Netlog helps Jewish college students in the United States to form virtual Jewish communities.

Jewish students have taken full advantages of different features in Netlog to create Hillel groups, Israel groups, Jewish pride groups. “Without [Netlog], some people might not be connected to Judaism at all. But with it, we can extend a hand to those students and get them involved,” said University of South Florida senior, Andy Frankel (Hillel, 2006).Social networking sites help coordinating and expanding the interpersonal exchanges between its members as never before.

In fact, the most interesting elements of the development of the Internet as a global communications network has been the rise of virtual communities or virtual cultures, based on the interactions among participants in computer-mediated communication (CMC) (Flew, 2005:61). Thus, borders of the ‘imagined community’ in cyberspace could be expanded without a concern on physical and social boundaries.

Hence, teenagers use social networking sites to extend their community around the globe. After the massacre at Virginia Tech last month in the United States, the global community of young people turned in their mourning, fear and anger to Facebook.com. A group titled ‘Always remembers Virginia Tech’ grew at a pace of 1800 members in three hours and reached 10,347 by mid-afternoon. The social networking site has been turned into a universal online student union for collegians and high school students (Grossman, 2007). From this aspect, social networking sites are expanding the possibilities of networking in an enormous extend. With the advanced in technology, media become more invisible to us (Bolter & Grusin, 1999:17). An immediate relationship between the communication parties is resulted.

What are the effects of the growing commercial significance of the aggregation of the sites?

The sites are generally free to join, so they rely on advertising to turn a profit (Bowley, 2006).

Investors are raising fund to open up the market and aggregate social networking sites. The features associated with social networks are increasingly being tacked on to the existing sites (Hirschorn, 2007). One of the examples is Bebo. It secured $15 millions to fund in launching Bebo Bands. This additional product that will enable members to share their own music online the way they currently do on MySpace (Garfield, 2006). Another major commercial aggregation of social networking sites is Rupert Murdoch bought MySpace fro US$580 million (Mayfield, 2007). A test version of MySpace News is expected to launch and will debut with some of the same features offered by the top news aggregation sites (Sandoval, 2007). The functions of social networking blogs are not limited in friendship building among peers only.

Moreover, the commercial aggregation of social networking sites would strengthen the networking ability of sites, not only in terms of friendship. Social networking has proved to be of greatest value to companies in recruitment. Social networking sites allow members to pass suitable vacancies on to people they know, and to refer potential candidates back to the recruiter. Thus, social networking sites like, LinkedIN and Jobster, are set up to explore the marketing opportunities of social networking sites (Economist, 2007). The commercial aspect of the site is quite apparent.

Tension in between……

Furthermore, social networking sites are supporting commercial marketers to join into the virtual community of Web 2.0 themselves. MySpace has begun to get around this by helping companies to set up profile pages for their products. In effect, they become a member of the social network. This gives companies control over the content associated with their brand and it has been popular. In January, the Wendy’s hamburger chain introduced a MySpace profile for its square hamburger. Adidas and Honda have MySpace profiles. Volkswagen set up a page for Miss Helga, the short-skirted star of one of its commercials (who now has 9,000 “friends”). Profiles have become a popular way to promote movies. Paramount introduced a page for Ricky Bobby, the hapless hero of its film Talladega Nights (Bowley, 2006). Social networking sites have been used in marketing in cybersapce.

As an effect of the aggressive commercial aggression of social networking sites, people are starting to aware of the privatization of those networking sites. Earlier this month, Billy Bragg withdrew his music from his MySpace page, claiming that a legal clause meant that News Corporation could claim royalties from his songs. Messages were being sent around MySpace titled 'Run! Save yourselves! Rupert Murdoch is after our content...' News Corporation denies such intentions. But MySpace is going to launch MySpace Careers, a link to the Simply Hired search engine that promises 5 millions job opportunities (Garfield, 2006). Users are starting to concern the result of commercial aggregation in social networking sites.

In addition, the information displayed in the public space creates the problems of privacy. Katz and Rice (2002) describe the Internet as a panopticon. External groups are finding ways to make use of the vast network of information (Millar, 2007).Government agencies and marketers are collecting personal data about people. Many people may not be aware of the fact that their privacy has already been jeopardized and they are not taking steps to protect their personal information from being used by others (Barnes, 2006). Privacy is the issue which will affect the popularity of social networking.

Besides, sexual assaults become common in the social networking spaces. Thousands of convicted sex offenders have registered for profiles on social networking website MySpace. It poses a risk to children who are among the site's most avid users. Children's advocates fear young teens who use MySpace, Facebook and other such sites to socialise fail to grasp the risks involved in meeting people over the internet (The Age, 2007). The popular trend on commercial aggregation of social networking sites is creating a tension between media producers and consumers.

Solution……….

As social networking sites are especially popular among teens as mentioned, it is predominate for social networking sites is to protect youngsters from potential danger. Children advocates believes one concrete step MySpace and other social-networking sites could take to improve the safety of young people would be to verify the ages of their members (The Age, 2007). It is essential for social networking sites to solve the problem of sex assaults.

Also, I believed other solutions is that retailers must walk a very fine line between marketing on any kind of social network and fitting in with members. Wertz at Abebooks once warned, ‘an online community has its own life. People are there to connect with others who share similar interests, not necessarily to learn about a product. Consequently, retailers have to be very careful not to be too aggressive. They should carefully connect with a community through things like contests, content and forums” (Siwicki, 2006). Marketers should think carefully before launching themselves into the virtual community of social networking. Otherwise, the immediacy between communication parties formed by social networking sites would be break down.

Conclusion

Social networking sites are helping users to expend the possibilities of networking by providing a more broaden communication platform. In the era of Web 2.o, social networking sites has became a transparent medium for teens to communicate. In other words, young people are exploiting the ideal way of communicating with each other: socially awkward and self-conscious in the real world, fluent in the online world (Garfield, 2006). However, as commercial aggregation of the sites has become more popular, problems of privacy, ownership and sexual assaults are soaring to the surface as well. Michael Birch, the founder of Bebo, believes we are only at the beginning of things. Social networking sites 'are becoming much more of a utility over time rather than being a pure gimmick', he told the website Online Personals Watch (Garfield, 2006). If nothing is going to be done to solve the tension, the pure friendship utopian in Web 2.0 virtual community would be distorted.


Bibliography

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