Social_Networking

Abstract The current trends and technologies being witnessed over the Internet and particularly over the World Wide Web (Web) are an evolutionary step forward compared to the Internet and Web during the 1990s and at the turn of the century. This new character of the Web, defined as its uses and technologies, is embodied in the term Web 2.0 and what exactly is implied by Web 2.0 must be defined before the privacy concerns related to social networking and social networking sites can be adequately discussed. The basic concept of Web 2.0 as a definitive evolutionary step from a Web 1.0 began to emerge following the dot com bust in the United States (US) in 2001. Many researchers admit that the massive shakeout in Web companies during this period resulted in a fewer but more specialized Web based companies than previously existed (Ellison 83). Thus, the implication is that these Web based companies that survived this tumultuous era in the Internet’s history either had a stronger business model or a unique business model that allowed them to survive. The combination of these surviving Web companies and the companies that emerged after them which followed their lead led to the creation of the platforms that now comprise Web 2.0. In this sense, Web 2.0 could be characterized as a shift from utilizing the Web as a signpost as during Web 1.0 to utilizing the Web as a platform for operations and interaction. Some of websites that characterize Web 2.0, according to this rationale, are Flickr, del.icio.us, Myspace.com, and a host of others that integrate such concepts as tagging, user contributions, user participation, and a reliance on services rather than packaged software (Coutar, Hanley & Zimmerman 24). Additionally, other Web based companies have dramatically altered how the Web has come to be utilized by both consumer and company alike. While Web 1.0 companies such as Yahoo! revolutionized the Internet in terms of content and search, Web 2.0 companies have evolved the Web and the Internet in terms of search results, pay-per-click advertising, and a self-service business model represented by Google’s AdSense keyword advertising program (Google.com). Thus, Web 2.0 can be defined by its platform based business models, user interaction and contribution, decentralization, and interactive, media-rich content. Within this evolving Web known as Web 2.0, one unique platform type that has proven highly popular and successful is the social networking concept. Social networks might be defined as a Web platform which allows a user to track data, information, friends, family, business, or related aspect in an interactive fashion with other users (Ellison 47). However, the most popular Web social networking sites involve tracking and interacting with friends and tracking and producing media content such as pictures, video and podcasts. Some of the more popular social networking sites that fall into the most commonly held conceptions regarding social networking are outlined below: ➢ Myspace.com: Myspace.com is a popular online Web platform that allows individual users to post personal or professional content to Myspace’s hosted servers. Myspace allows users to interact freely through established “friends” networks which are chains of linked users that users can choose to accept or reject (Myspace.com). Additionally, Myspace allows users to post music, pictures, and related content to their individual websites on the Myspace network. Myspace targets teen and young adult users. ➢ Facebook: Facebook.com is very similar to Myspace in form and features in that it too allows users to post personal content to hosted sites on the company’s servers. However, Facebook targets an older demographic and originally was limited to college students (Facebook.com). ➢ Del.icio.us: Del.icio.us is periodically supposed to not be a social networking site but in fact it is. Del.icio.us allows users to interact freely with other users and to share their favorite book marks of Web content (Del.icio.us.com). Users discuss various Web sites and Web features and act on these observations by linking and sharing links. ➢ Flickr: Flickr is similar to del.icio.us in that it is a social networking site in which content is shared and spurs the online interaction. Flickr is a photo image hosting company that allows users to label and tag photographs and post them to Flickr’s servers which then allows all users to search, view, and comment on them (Flickr.com). Flickr is highly interactive and depends on user generated content. ➢ Twitter: Twitter is a Website that describes itself as a “microblog” in which users post comments at random on the network regarding virtually anything from news worthy observations of events to meaningless chatter (Twitter.com). ➢ Youtube: Youtube.com is a popular website in which users can post video content freely and have access to any other video content posted by its users or viewers (Youtube.com). Youtube has received much press and its one of the leading video content hosting sites on the Web today vis-à-vis user generated content. Users are allowed to comment on videos as well as contribute to censorship activities. ➢ Friendster: Friendster is modeled after Myspace and is allows users to join and post personal information as well as content (Friendster.com). Friendster enables users to email each other as well as to develop networks of friends across the network itself. Together these companies comprise the social networking component of Web 2.0 and form the nexus of the Web’s future development. As these companies and industry professionals have discovered, the information and technology (IT) behind the platforms is less important than the functionality and interaction that the sites facilitate. However, this degree of user interaction and personal access comes with a certain degree of risk to user privacy. Benefits v. Privacy Issues Social networking sites offer many benefits and positive outcomes for the individuals and companies that make use of them. As far as actual social interaction is concerned social networking sites allow individuals to meet and interact with individuals they might not otherwise meet and allow them especially to join groups and activities that are related to their own specific interests (Godwin-Jones). However, even beyond the strictly social networking aspect of these popular sites they have become useful in myriad ways that even the founders did not fully envision. Many of these sites have managed to develop new business models that allow them to create revenue streams and monetize the site. For example, Myspace, Facebook and others generate substantial advertising revenues from both companies and individuals alike that advertise services, products and events (Facebook.com). This functionality allows both professional and individual users to target specific markets that they otherwise would not be able to identify. Furthermore, while these sites do not presently fully interact, developing sites across the spectrum of social networking Websites is an excellent method to increase visibility and overall Web presence. Many companies have discovered that developing a corporate Website on social networking sites is a necessity and a network of them contributes to these companies’ page ranking in search engines such as Google.com which further increases market visibility and penetration (Coutard 147). On an individual level, social networking sites have brought into the mainstream the creation of online friends and acquaintances where an individual can develop a network of friends and contacts that can be utilized professionally in the future. Yet, this degree of visibility and exposure does not come without a price. One of the negative attributes increasingly associated with social networking sites is the loss of privacy or the violation of one’s privacy rights. Some might argue that by merely posting one’s information and data on some of these social networking sites one is giving up one’s right to privacy but this should not be the case. One obvious loss of privacy that is most troubling is that criminals and sexual predators utilize these social networking sites as a pool of potential victims because many people post personal information such as phone numbers, addresses as well as photographs (Losinski). Individuals that choose to post such data run the risk of becoming victims of crime such as identity theft or worse and this is an extreme loss of privacy. However, there are other privacy considerations as well. Increasingly, employers are reviewing employees’ and prospective employees’ social networking sites and are partially basing employment decisions such as promotions and raises or employment hiring decisions on the character of the individuals’ social networking personal Web pages (Godwin-Jones). The argument is that since these individuals posted such information in a public theater then its use as a work related decision is right and proper. The point is that images that these individuals post of themselves which might depict that individual in an improper or indiscrete activity becomes a reflection of that individual’s character and is ultimately used against them. Furthermore, much of the data, information, and images that users of these social networking sites now post are regularly crawled over by search engines, especially Google, and become part of the public domain outside of the actual social networking site (Losinski). This private and personal information is then potentially viewable to anyone with an Internet connection. This results in an almost total loss of privacy and even anonymity. It is important for individuals to realize just how quickly the information and images they post to such sites can become part of the public domain and how much this exposes them to potential risk. Arguments in Support Many of the arguments in support of social networking sites point out that these sites actually empower the individual in ways that were previously not considered. Personal empowerment is a strong and valid argument to continue using and expanding the functionality of these types of social networking sites because they give the individual a voice and a platform from which to establish an identity. It has been pointed out that many musicians have successfully developed audiences that they normally would not have had the ability to develop and sites such as Myspace now regularly release user generated music (Mccourt). Considering the large music labels previously held what could arguably be called a monopoly on music release and distribution, Myspace and similar Web 2.0 sites have created a slew of cottage industries similar to Myspace’s music business. Another powerful argument for the continued support and expansion of functionality of these Web 2.0 social networking sites is their ability to self-police. Almost all of these sites now have user enabled privacy settings that allow individual users to limit or screen who has access to their personal or private data (Losinski). This means that individual users must approve personally who becomes part of their private network across the individual Web site and that even photographs are viewable only to those individuals that the user as granted permission to. However, this degree of self-policing has extended even to the companies themselves. Myspace has recently removed 1000s of users who were convicted sex offenders from its database and barred them from future postings (Myspace.com). It is almost certain that other social networking sites will follow Myspace’s lead because the safety of their users is considered vital to the companies’ long-term viability. As these social networking sites become even more sophisticated they will quickly adapt to new and evolving demands to protect personal privacy. While there are certainly privacy risks associated with such sites they are, in many respects, no different than the privacy risks previously associated with the White Pages and personal listings with traditional dating companies and personal ads in newspapers for example. In this sense, the benefits far outweigh the negative attributes associated with Web 2.0’s social networking sites and their full usefulness and functionality has yet to be determined. While commercial use of these Web sites has been condemned in many circles, companies that are able to utilize these Web sites effectively are able to then offer their services in a timely and effective manner directly to the individuals who most require them. This commercial aspect is actually a positive outcome because individuals who do not require these companies’ services or products are spared the trouble of dealing with sales people or marketing collateral (Ellison 72). Additionally, as new companies and industries spring up around these social networking sites it creates a new micro-economy in a way that contributes to the overall economy in a positive manner. Conclusion Despite reservations regarding privacy issues in association with social networking sites, the Web 2.0 and its related platforms will continue to have a deep impact on society and enterprise. Social networking sites are still in their relative infancy and many of these common platforms such as Myspace, Friendster and Flickr, are still determining the best strategies to remain the focus of their respective target markets. Additionally, they are being increasingly tasked with developing new ways to monetize their services (Godwin-Jones). Part of the issue with these sites and their quest to learn how to make money is that once they establish themselves as free to users it is becomes much more problematic to try and charge later for the same services. This issue implies that these social networking sites must then rely almost solely on advertising for their revenues or create new applications in order to generate revenue. This is the direction that Myspace has moved into by creating its own music label that releases recordings made by some of its more popular users (Myspace.com). Youtube, on the other hand, has moved into sponsored videos to generate revenue which allows it to leave the majority of its video services free to its users who would otherwise refuse to pay (Youtube.com). Thus, the future of social networking and the sites associated with it remains shrouded vis-à-vis how these companies will establish themselves in the long-term as viable businesses because, in the end, they are businesses that must develop a profitable enterprise. In some sense then the future of social networking is intertwined with the Web 2.0 itself. The Web 2.0 as a concept was initially conceived in a conference attended by O’Reilly, the technology publisher, and MediaLive Internatonial in 2004 and at this conference these entities identified a new development in how companies and organizations were conceiving their Web properties and putting them to use (Hunter & Lastowska). The outcome was the identification of Web 2.0 and the recognition that some of these applications held elements in common such as useful data and information, user ability to manipulate data, permanently developing applications, the Internet and Web viewed as a platform for services, and a new emphasis on participation and interaction rather than actual publishing. So these qualities are what define Web 2.0 and are what social networking relies on to remain uniquely attractive to such a wide swath of the population. From these observations and ongoing developments in the Web 2.0 and social networking, the direction of future growth in social networking can be somewhat characterized. The fact is that the Web 2.0 as a recognizable advancement from early Web technology and applications. Furthermore, social networking may change over time but it is not simply a fad as some early researchers have suggested. Disregarding the threat to privacy and loss of identity posed by some social networking sites, these pioneering Web platforms are certain to continue to expand in use and functionality. Already newer versions of these social networking platforms that are even more interactive and user dependent are beginning to emerge. One such new and developing Web platform is the mashup which is a term that originated in the music industry wherein the term described music that is composed of songs that have already been released previously (McCourt). However, mashups in the Web 2.0 and Internet sense describe a Web platform that integrates Web content and functionality from a series of different current Web 2.0 platforms such as RSS (really simple syndication) news feeds, AJAX (asynchronous Javascript and XML) and a host of other Web applications. Some mashups have begun to incorporate social networking functionality such as VirtualPlaces which incorporates services from Amazon.com, Weather.com, Flickr.com and GeoURL to name a few (VirtualPlaces.com). The concept is that mashups is based on a platform which allows non-technical users to essentially create their own integrated Web 2.0 site that can incorporate the functionality of existing social networking sites but move substantially beyond the established boundaries of such sites. These and similar platforms that extend the user design influence in the platform itself are the direction that social networking and the Web 2.0 is trending towards. References Coutard, Olivier, Richard E. Hanley, and Rae Zimmerman, eds. Sustaining Urban Networks: The Social Diffusion of Large Technical Systems. New York: Routledge, 2004. Ellison, Nicole B. Telework and Social Change: How Technology Is Reshaping the Boundaries between Home and Work. 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