Social Networking

In our day and age, sending a letter by mail, checking the classifieds and going door to door, isn't the ideal way to get business or even basic communication done. Today, we have access to everyone in the world just by typing their name into a search and adding them or following them to your network. This has created a much smaller world in general, which is definitely a positive, but can also become a bit of a negative.

In terms of finding a job, which is one of the biggest issues currently facing America, there are several sources that can help. Craig's List has become a Yellow Pages for just about every service you can think of. From finding a job to finding a car to purchase, it all can be found on Craig's List.  However, more of a social networking site related to getting a job or professional networking is LinkedIN. LinkedIN enables you to create your own profile and connect w millions of professionals around the world. You can gain referrals, and create groups to help share ideas with each other more effectively.
Check the link below to read about some interesting findings in the world of finding a job on social media sites such as Linkedin

From there, we have the ever popular Facebook and Twitter. These sights are a bit more general in terms of socializing, versus their LinkedIN and Craig's List competitors. "Friend", "Like" and "Follow" your friends, family and even celebrities on everything they do and post. This has become the easiest way of sharing, which is vital in the world of information. I've actually had friends post that they no longer need to turn on the news or television because they have so many friends giving them the play-by-play of everything that's happening during the game or the weather etc. Kind of interesting when you consider the impact on the world of media itself.

I found the article .html very interesting. The "dark side" of social media if you will, can come with some psychological issues. The article only describes how the word unfriend or hashtag has become acceptable phrases in the English dictionary. I would like to say how it affects the human psyche. This sense of acceptance and community is affected each time friendship is created or deleted. New business and media is affected by everyones "likes" and subscriptions. When you really stop and think of it, social networking is changing every facet of functionality in the world as we know it.

My question is, what type of changes could evolve from these changes? How will the world react to a community dominated by posting, sharing and hashtagging? How will advertising and marketing evolve as a result of these changes? What can we as a people do to prevent a world that is consumed by a computer screen?