Social Networking

    For the last decade or so the topic of social media and networking has been at the forefront of discussions on the culture of todays society and what kind of impact it can have on the future of human interaction. Social media platforms have amassed and unprecedented amount of power in the world. For many people, Twitter is the form in which they receive news, no longer do they go out and buy newspapers, they simply turn on their phone and instantaneously they can access news outlets from around the world. President Obama was one of the first to be able to fully tap into the potential of social media and networks. During his campaign in 2008, the Obama campaign created a network using social media to interact with his followers and make his campaign an almost interactive movement According to a New York Times article "How Obama Tapped into social network's power", the author writes about how in exchange for an e-mail address or a phone number an Obama supporter could receive information about rallies or any other campaign event. This type of interactivity leads the author to write that, "The founders of America wanted a government that reflected its citizens, but would be at remove from the baser impulses of the mob. The mob, flush with victory, is at hand, but instead of pitchforks and lanterns, they have broadband and YouTube." By having this ongoing interaction with their supporters, elected officials can better gauge the needs of the people.
    Then there is the other side of the argument that social networking is changing the way humans live for the worse. In the article, Is Myspace good for the world? A freakonomics qourom, there are a collection of various experts from different fields, who give their opinion on the social networking and any long term effects that they can have on our culture. Former Apple marketing director Steve Chazin writes, "While all humans need to feel connected to each other or to some cause, there are also times when we simply want to disconnect, and disconnecting is becoming increasingly hard thanks to social networking technology. As one who was bitten early by the Blackberry bug, I can attest that the pull of these wireless electronic leashes is often too strong to resist. Today, we experience a feeling of isolation when our Internet connections go down, revealing just how dependent we’ve become on the connective power of the Web." As someone who grew up parallel with this change in society, I can remember a time when adults in a room would talk to each other, now it seems that the only time they take their gaze off a screen is to show each other a funny clip or picture.
   Like everything else in life social networking has positive and negative attributes. As users and consumers of these platforms it is up to use to find that balance and use them as a way to bring people closer together and use that unity for a greater good.

Sources
Chazin, Steve Is myspace good for the world? A freakonomics qourom 

N/A How Obama Tappeed into social network's power New York Times