Future: Just Like Star Wars?

No one knows for sure how the future plays out entirely. We can only predict it. As Yoda always says, "Clouded the future is," and things like that. Will the future be like Star Wars? I'd think that would be pretty cool. We might have flying cars, and hyperspace travel will be possible. It all seems so cool, but if we were there, then it would just be every day life. In Star Wars, they have some pretty high tech communication, like talking across entire galaxies or using holograms when communicating. There are so many things that they do that we are edging closer to making possible. Just because it's Sci-Fi doesn't mean it isn't based off of our real lives. Of course, none of the Jedi in Star Wars are checking their Tweets or Facebook status, talking smack online about the Sith, or posting pictures on their walls. But just because they don't think it's important, doesn't mean we won't. Maybe we'll use Facebook as a way to communicate with other aliens from different planets. They might have a system like Facebook setup and maybe use computer language like 1's and 0's. Instead of going to war against another alien race, we just might work together peacefully, and all because we have Facebook or Twitter.

It all seems so crazy, I know, but it's fun to think about. Since the future is so "clouded" as Yoda would say, then I'm not wrong for saying any of this. It just means I'm very creative about what we might be doing. That's all. As always, only time will tell.

Future: A World Without Internet

This was a really creative video where it shows a world without the Internet. It's so funny. A guy comes by to the house of these two friends and he is the Facebook man. The guys that live in the house give the Facebook man pictures, and he shares you pictures back of your friends. Then the guy gives out bricks, which of course go towards building your wall. And he also got a bouquet tossed at him.

When at the park, one of the guys friends throws a rock at him with a note on it saying "Watsup." It was like a text message. The guy tries to sell them stuff, and then 'anti piracy police' come after him and chase him down. The point is, stuff that seems weird to do in real life are completely normal online. So, would we survive without the internet? As for the future, no, we can't. And as long as we have internet connectivity, we'll have sites like Facebook.

Future: Social Networks

This is a very detailed article about what our near future will be on social networks. The author likens social networks to air, that we can't live without it and it will be everywhere and easy to access. What we will be looking for is an ubiquitous social network. It will take around five years to bring it around, and the four components of social networks now is profiles, relationships, activities, and business models. But the future will be universal identities, single social graph, social context for activities, and social influence defining marketing value.

Universal Identities: There won't be tons of profiles that have to be maintained over many sites, but it will be easy to maintain them all like OpenID has done. It is a federated approach, where each person will have an ID that will connect them to all of their sites.

Single social graph: It basically helps you keep track of everyone you communicate with and how close you are to them. So if you only phone a certain person or just email, then you can make that happen. The graph explains this pretty well.

Social context for activities: Social networks will be integrated into everything that you do. So when you want to do shopping, you can do that on Facebook, and such and so on. Right now we can only scratch the surface of how much can be done on social networks.

Business model where social influences defines marketing value: Right now advertisers don't do a great job on social networks. What they need to do is reach the people that have a lot of influence and get them endorsed to advertise, or just get them on board. This is done in real life with public relations reaching out to key influencers. But if they can do that online, which they will in the near future, they will be doing a much better job.

http://forrester.typepad.com/groundswell/2008/03/the-future-of-s.html

Future: Leaving Facebook?

This was a neat article this fella wrote. He likes Facebook, but his point was, if you don't like it, then don't do it. He tried deactivating his account just to see what would happen. He brings out how it shows you pictures of people you would supposedly miss, and also demands a reason for why you were leaving their site. I know what that's like myself because I left Facebook. They don't seem to take it too well, like it's a relationship that went sour and the other person demands to know what went wrong. "It's me, not you," that's what you'd say, but when it comes to Facebook, I'd say, "It's you, not me." I have no heart or soul for them.

I like what he said at the end of the article a lot:

"Is there some point at which not belonging to Facebook will be the equivalent of not acquiring a driver's license or other form of government-issued ID, refusing to keep one's money in a bank, or choosing not to have a telephone number--an extreme form of protest against societal norms that amounts to what my mom would describe as cutting off your nose to spite your face?"

So, will Facebook ever be that big? Who knows.

Read more: http://techland.time.com/2010/10/12/when-does-life-without-facebook-become-unsustainable/#ixzz1I5m6BJ00

Future: Social Disability

I saw a news report on TV about how online social networking sites are making it harder for teens who don’t have friends. They might already not have friends in real life, but they only get fake, or superficial friends online. Not that people you meet online can be bad or not real, but when it comes to real life scenarios, these teens will find it harder to know what it takes to make friends since they are online trying to make friends. The psychiatrist interviewed had said that he would never take back the time he had spent as a teen doing things with his friends in person. That is what having a real good time means, not being online. The online social networking sites are essentially making it harder for people to socialize outside of their house.

I see this as being our future with these online sites. It's a major problem, but fortunately people are getting the idea now and are trying to do something about it. The unfortunate though is that we might already have at least one generation lost.

Sports fans

Well hello sports fans do you remember when you were a kid and there you were with your dad and your sole purpose for being there was to enjoy the game and root for your favorite team. Well today we do that to a certain extent, because now we ask ourselves where will be sitting or what kind of food do they have there. The fun of a sport had changed so much over the last few decades where we become more consumed over if a fight broke out or if we have a fun time and completely ignore the fact of who wins the game. Overall isn't who wins the most important part, one would think but that's not always the case. Me personally, my main reason for going to any sporting event is to see my team win not wait for the next blood bath to begin.

Life before computers

Life before computers must of been a drag because in order to find out about what was happening in the world we had to go out and explore our surroundings for information. In today's times we can just go and the internet and just look it up on google and find anything we ever wanted to know in seconds, whereas back twenty years ago it could take hours but you always found out the minimal details the first time. Also if we wanted to go communicate with someone we didn't have Facebook or twitter to send messages in an instant so we had to talk to them face to face, which was really good because we get so many text confused because you can't feel the emotion behind what someone is saying.

Your words are dangerous... tread carefully!

I think for the first time in our generation people are realizing the power of words.  For the longest time the effect that written word can have on someone was lost.  This goes both ways, either for the good or the bad.  We post comments and statuses as if they are harmless little witty comments, but in reality the words we use and say are effecting people in ways we have never seen.  In the past few years an overwhelming amount of suicides and depression cases have increased.  People have begun to use social networks as a way to put people on blast, and talk about them, sometimes not realizing the overwhelming effects of the words we use.  All of us are guilty at some point in our life for saying something that hurt someone else, not knowing what effects they may have.  Now with the power of social networks people are using it to attack others they have differences with.  Bullying is no longer a verbal or physical attack, it is now an internet attack as well.  The effects of bullying have always been dreadful, but with the rapid spread of information across social networks these bullies can attack their victims and let everyone who is reading it see what they are saying.  This has lead to the kids being attacked to feel even more disconnected from the world they are supposed to feel safe and free in.  Being that these words are expressed across the internet their is very little that can be done to prevent it from happening.  Social networks such as Facebook and Myspace can not possibly monitor ever post that is posted.  Even more so, it would be next to impossible to stop these people from spreading their hate messages across these websites.  The only thing we as the readers can do is try not read what is being posted, but that is easier said than done.  The scary reality of it is that we don't ignore this content, we thrive for it, we yearn for it.  Instead of ignoring it or trying to stop the hate, we "like" because I think most of us truly do not understand the effects of the words being posted.  My challenge to myself and the rest of you reading is this:
---Next time you hear about or read a post that is targeting someone individually or a group of people, don't ignore it, don't "like" it, read it and think about what if that was you being targeted, what if that was your child.  Report these posts, or write back and educate the poster that these types of attacks are far worse than they realize.  If everyone takes a stand against internet bullying, then it will fade away.  Bullies thrive off of reaction, they fade away when they realize no one is listening or reacting anymore. 
---Don't let this message die here! spread the word across your social network... pass this message along... hopefully one day these kinds of attacks will end. 
---For the sake of sounding like a cliche TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE! it takes a stronger person to stop bullying than it does to be the one bullying!
THANK YOU!

Stay Connected!

How has connections between people changed over the past few years? People today communicate more through facebook than any other interent sites. People are flocking this and similar internet sites for planning and connecting their social lives. The change over the years is beginning to change how people perceive one another. As people are writing away online, their friends may take their words different then what was meant. This connection will result in problems between people over time causing serious issues.

Advertise Here!

Promotion with the use of online networking sites has become increasingly popular for businesses. With the millions of users whom use social netwoking sites, businesses see this as good advertising. As someone logs on to their userface, a blurb appears on the right with a tiny picture and a few words. This catches the eyes of users in their home and at work everytime they use their networking site. Facebook, Mysapce, Tagged, and other sites are changing the way businesses market to their consumers.

Facebook Song

This is a hilarious song about Facebook. It's sad but true that people would probably just die if they didn't have their online social networking sites. The guy even jokes about if Facebook crashed he'd go out on the streets with a picture in one hand and a profile on paper on the other so people can learn about him. This is because he forgot how to communicate in real life.

I just thought it'd be cool to post it. Watch the video, it's pretty funny. It summarizes in one song how the world has been taken by storm by the world of social networks. I'm afraid communication will continue to decline into the future. We're always stuck behind screens, cell phones, games, you name it. I'm not sure people have even seen the sun in years. They should try it every now and then. The world is a beautiful place, and don't forget it.

Internet Predators

This article was about sexual predators on MySpace. It's not just them, but any social networking site. Though the sites aren't bad in themselves, the people that use them can be very bad. It's scary what people reveal on their pages on Facebook, Myspace, etc. It's dangerous to give out information that is personal on these sites. And putting provocative pictures on these sites is also just inviting sexual predators. This is especially true for girls, but for boys as well. Personal information is very dangerous to put out. You wouldn't just give out your social security, but using your social network page to put "less" dangerous information out there is practically just as bad.

People need to learn what they can and can't do on these pages. It's a very scary and dangerous world out there, and sexual predators are hard to catch online. Educating individuals on what they put online is the key to helping protect us. And parents need to take control of what their kids are doing on the computer as the video brought out. It's not about invading space at that point, it's about protecting your family.

So, play safe.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11064451/ns/dateline_nbc/

Money Bags

This is an interesting article that can be found in the New York Times. In July of 2010 Facebook reached 500 million users. That's super crazy. They have far surpassed other companies like MySpace and are rolling over companies like Yahoo. Facebook could become one of the biggest internet websites. They are even willing to take on Google. This isn't so far-fetched seeing how Facebook got its start and has been advantageous as heck all along the way.

Facebook got 500 million from Goldman Sachs in January of 2011. Obviously investors see Facebook as a company going places and worthy of such large amounts of loans. Zuckerberg, the owner of Facebook, even declined 1 billion from Yahoo to keep the company close, and so far has not put up stocks. But in 2012 Facebook will be reporting its financial results. The article said, "The company, based in Palo Alto, Calif., earned $355 million on $1.2 billion in revenue during the first nine months of 2010, according to a document prepared by Goldman for potential investors. That is up from $220 million in earnings on $770 million in sales in 2009."

I might not like Facebook all that much, but I'll give them props with figures like that.

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/facebook_inc/index.html

It's useful sometimes

From personal experience, I can say that I've used Facebook. I know I give them a lot of crap, but I can say I've been there and back. I hate it otherwise, and I don't use it anymore, but I had a good reason for using it. I have a friend that lives in Australia. We, as you can imagine, don't get to see each other ever! So being able to talk on Facebook, share pictures and see what's going on has been useful. Otherwise, I'd just call my friends and hang with them. Doing that would be more fun then talking to them on Facebook. I like actually doing things. And as for my friend in Australia, we just keep in touch through email. I didn't feel like wasting too much time on Facebook. I know I can be more productive in other ways.

So, no matter how much crap I give it, I can give Social Networks a little bit of slack. They're only like 99 percent bad, but that one percent can be useful, but in moderation. Anything that is done to the extreme is bad. Moderation is key, and it's good to get away from the computer every now and then. You know, stretch the legs, stretch the brain, stretch our lives! That's what I'm talking about.

Facebook Addiction!

Crack is addicting, so is alcohol, even money, but now Social Networks? It's true. This woman in this article has an issue with it, big time. Her daughter can't even get the attention she needs because her mom has some serious issues. That is what Social Networks can do to you. It's no laughing matter. This woman in particular spends at least 20 hours a week on Facebook.

Now, not saying it is bad for everyone, but it has been noted by professionals that addiction to the computer, and social networks is definitely a concern. It's no joke. We need to be careful of how much time we spend on these sites and how much time we spend with our real lives and families. Families and friends mean so much more, so we should spend time enjoying them.

http://articles.cnn.com/2009-04-23/health/ep.facebook.addict_1_facebook-page-facebook-world-social-networking?_s=PM:HEALTH

Today is a New Day

We have discussed the past... now let us talk about today!

Social networking has expanded far beyond the capabilities most ever thought it would.  We are communicating with people in other countries with no translators.  You can read news from all over the world, all at the tip of your fingers, or have coffee with a friend who is studying abroad via Skype (or one of the other many VOIP/Cam to Cam services).  Soldiers deployed over seas can read a bedtime story to their children or give a kiss goodnight to the spouse.  The possibilities of social networks are endless.  Everyday more and more uses for social networking are revealed... today we use it for connecting family and friends... tomorrow well that is for a whole other blog.

Are you Linked In?

Friendster ---> Myspace ---> Facebook ---> Twitter ---> LINKEDIN!

Social networks evolve everyday.  At first they started as ways for friends to re-associate with old long lost friends, families to keep in touch, and to just see what was going on in other peoples lives.  But once again they have evolved.  From my previous post some of you may be under the impression that I dislike the way social networks have encapsulated our lives, but that was until I discovered LinkedIn.com.  It is a social network for business professionals to connect with others in their field.  It is a place to post your online resume, and to network yourself to other professionals.  It provides a place where you do not have to be concerned with the stuff other people say and do (like on facebook), you can be free to browse for colleagues, friends, or people you have not met that share the same passions for your fields of interest as you do.  I urge everyone to take a few moments and browse around LinkedIn, I am sure you will see that upsides of it just as I have.

http://www.linkedin.com

Overpricing Social Sites

Money! Money! Money! It is truely amazing how technology has changed the present forms of social networking. The more interesting fact is how sites whichg are "FREE" are now worth billions of dollars. If a service which is offered free can become worth a significant amount of money, what can we say about everything else in life which is "FREE?

Hello Facebook, Goodbye Myspace

Myspace was once viewed as the ultimate social networking site. Account holders enjoyed access to creating backgrounds, posting pictures, and freind requesting one another. During this era, Facebook was deemed the "college" networking site. Facebook opened their site to ALL users and once this happened, Myspace became a think of the past. Today, Facebook has billions of users while Myspace attempts to hold on by promoting music in replace of social networking. It is truely amazing how these internet sites will convert users. If Facebook conquered Myspace, will another site eventually overtake Facebook?

A Thing of The Past?

This video is obviously a comical view on social networking sites. However, the past years have changed how we, as a people, communicate to one another. A time existed when new networking sites had been developed, yet people still communicated through everyday experiences with one another. Only since the late 1990s and early 2000s has the concept of what we refer to as "social networking" changed significantly.

Pioneers Go West!

When we think about social networking, we may think about twittering, wall posting, or texting someone to know what they are doing at that very moment. How about the days of traveling West in American history? If someone needed help with their cattle or became ill, they could not type to someone and get help right away. For the help of another person or to receive medical help, the pioneers were forced to "suck it up" and to battle their issues as best as possible. Their social networking remained limited as well. They would only associate with people in their wagon parties. However, when they would reach a landmark or fort, they could associate outside their normal community. I wonder what they would have written on their facebook if it existed in 1843. "This heat is killing me, and my brother died today. Pa said we have to continue right away because our food is about gone."

Second Life Bar Scene

Second life bars with all the fun of drinking with the feeling of a hangover. You may be thinking how is this possible, well let me tell you. Basically second life is a virtual world where you can completely change your identity such as sex, race, or background, or you can make yourself taller, skinnier, and even a basketball. in this world there is no limit to what you can be. let your mind explore not only with your physical features but also there is no limitations on where you can travel. For instance you can be visiting venice italy one second and be visiting niagra falls the next. So there is a cornicopia of places to explore, people to meet, and situations dar beyond that of which the human mind can percieve to be real.

STOP! DO NOT SPEAK THE TRUTH!

During WWII, people were under the impression that they were being watched by foreign nations. The U.S. Armed Forces posted this propaganda as a form of "protecting" people from leaking information to distant countries.

The propaganda advertised by the government was a way of keeping people quiet. We can view this as going against the ideas of social networking. If speaking the truth about government issues and plans of attack are frowned upon, people may be less likely to be social with each other. You may speak of whatever you wish, just do not speak about the world or anything related to our country!