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Social Network - A Good Thing or a Bad Thing

Wang Bichen

Abstract

A social network is a social structure made of nodes (which are generally individuals or organizations) that are tied by one or more specific types of interdependency, such as values, visions, ideas, financial exchange, friendship, kinship, dislike, conflict or trade. The resulting graph-based structures are often very complex. Social network analysis views social relationships in terms of nodes and ties. Nodes are the individual actors within the networks, and ties are the relationships between the actors. There can be many kinds of ties between the nodes. Research in a number of academic fields has shown that social networks operate on many levels, from families up to the level of nations, and play a critical role in determining the way problems are solved, organizations are run, and the degree to which individuals succeed in achieving their goals.

Introduction

Social networking is the practice of expanding the number of one's business and/or social contacts by making connections through individuals. While social networking has gone on almost as long as societies themselves have existed, the unparalleled potential of the Internet to promote such connections is only now being fully recognized and exploited, through Web-based groups established for that purpose. Based on the six degrees of separation concept (the idea that any two people on the planet could make contact through a chain of no more than five intermediaries), social networking establishes interconnected Internet communities (sometimes known as personal networks) that help people make contacts that would be good for them to know, but that they would be unlikely to have met otherwise. In general, here's how it works: you join one of the sites and invite people you know to join as well. Those people invite their contacts to join, who in turn invite their contacts to join, and the process repeats for each person. In theory, any individual can make contact through anyone they have a connection to, to any of the people that person has a connection to, and so on.

When the Web became popular in the mid-1990s, it enabled people to share information in ways that were never possible before. But as limitless as the possibilities seemed, there was a personal aspect that was lacking. While users could create home pages and post their own content on the Web, these individual sites lacked a sense of community. In the early 2000s, the Web became much more personal as social networking websites were introduced and embraced by the masses.

Social networking websites allow users to be part of a virtual community. The two most popular sites are currently Facebook and MySpace. These websites provide users with simple tools to create a custom profile with text and pictures. A typical profile includes basic information about the user, at least one photo, and possibly a blog or other comments published by the user. Advanced profiles may include videos, photo albums, online applications (in Facebook), or custom layouts (in MySpace). After creating a profile, users can add friends, send messages to other users, and leave comments directly on friends' profiles. These features provide the building blocks for creating online communities.

Apparatus

  The Definition of  Social Network

Social network is the use of internet-based social media programs to make connections with friends, family, classmates, customers and clients. Social networking can be done for social purposes, business purposes or both. The programs show the associations between individuals and facilitate the acquisition of new contacts.

  The Definition of  Media Network

Social media platforms allow large groups of people to create content, share information, participate in and comment on other people's information, and develop social and professional contacts. Web-based and mobile technologies create these platforms. Social media consists of user-generated content from millions of unique users across thousands of these platforms. It shapes collective memory on major events, from politics to crime. It is the way that most Americans learn about significant events and issues, past and present, with little to no waiting.

Results

Social networking or social community is all about linking with people. In the case of company, social networking can bring company employees together by helping them to keep on linked with each other all the way through online web directories, blogs, chats, forums, calendars and more. Social networking/community website can be valuable to small or big businesses and take apparently simple tools "for entertaining" and building them work for company and drive profits.

Social Network Development has been largely responsible for the ‘flat earth’ revolution currently leading the IT sector. It is constantly pushing the boundaries of its definition. Originating as a platform for people to get together and form online communities, social networking portals rapidly evolved into trusted business networks that facilitated the acquiring of services over the net. Within no time, social networking websites were enhancing social interaction with a host of features like blogs, list books, forums, photo albums and so on. With an ever-increasing number of netizens logging on to these networks and reaping their benefits every day, the social networking concept has become a successful business model capable of delivering rich dividends. Social networking has brought the world closer and is here to stay and provide a reliable backbone for communication between humans across the globe.

Discussion

Social network is a good thing or a bad thing?  I think Social network is a good thing. I think the  social media, most people admire it as a revolutionary invention. I have complied some of the positive opinions  express for social networks:

  Friends and Relations

Social networks started as a place to connect with your friends in an easy an convenient way. Truly speaking, many of you might have found your old pals from school or college who were out of touch due to one reason or other, well I would say I have and I thank social networks for this. Social networks has provided us the opportunity to connect with people and build better relationships with friends with whom we are unable to meet personally, and let them know about our life and take input about their lives and events happening with them.

  Reducing Communication Barriers

With social networks we are able to communicate our thoughts and perceptions over different topics with a large number of audiences, and raise our voice. The sharing feature available on the social networks makes your opinion about any topic reach huge number of people (even to those who are not on your friends list). We have the option to make groups with people who are like minded and share the related news with them and ask for their opinion or input about the topic. Simply there are a number of options available for us to communicate with others on these social networks.

  Opportunities for Businesses

Social networks have become a crucial part of many of us. We don’t even notice this but as soon as we open our desktops or laptops to access the web, we sub-consciously open our favorite social network just to see about the updates received. Businesses have noticed the value of social networks in our life, and they are using different techniques to promote their products. There are a number of customized applications being made on the social platforms, whose main purpose is to promote the product or brand. As social marketing is cost effective and brands have a huge audience, they are shifting more towards social marketing.

Conclusions

Thanks to social networking websites, users can share their lives with other people without needing to develop and publish their own home pages. These websites also provide an important linking element between users that allows friends to communicate directly with each other. Because people often have friends from different places and different times in their lives, social networking sites provide an opportunity to keep in touch with old friends and to meet new people as well. Of course, this means that people you don't know may also be able to view your profile page. Therefore, if you join a social networking website, it is a good idea to review the privacy settings for your account. And more importantly, remember to always use discretion in what you publish on your profile.

Recommendations

I  have accounts on several social networking sites, and spend far too long on them writing my own updates and reading the updates of others. I enjoy doing so, being able to interact with friends, family, and random strangers online in a controlled environment. For someone who works at home, this is a big positive. However, social networking sites aren’t a wholly positive influence on the world. In fact, if you delve just a little into how they have changed the world you find there are some potentially negative impacts social networking sites are having on society as a whole and each of us as individuals.

Appendix

Top 15 Most Popular Social Networking Sites | May 2015