This weeks reading was interesting, though I have to admit it was a battle to read it and try to grasp it at the same time. The reading talks about networks, about it's structures
and social implications. It explains how networks are now a sort of common ground internationally, people connecting to these networks from every corner of the world.
Let's take a flash mob for example, these days it's organized by tweets, a hong kong michael jackson dance mob was organized solely through twitter, by people enthusiastic about michael jackson. Tweets were sent out into a tag and 300 people showed up to dance. It's amazing how these days groups of people can organize themselves so quickly. Facebook events I suppose are somewhat similar, in the sense that these events are created and usually the people attending and invited are of a network of sorts, be it students of a specific university or school.
I guess if I sit and think about how fast and how easy it is to communicate with a network, through facebook or twitter, it's kind of scary, mainly because it seems 90% of our social lives consist of some form of networking through facebook. Scary thoughts i think.
6 comments:
It is interesting to note how often twitter has been linked to a social change or cause. People changing their profiles to the colour green to show support for Iran.
http://www.webtrafficroi.com/tweeters-go-green-in-support-of-iran-elections/
Despite this what is this really doing? Does a twitter group hold any real political pressure. A government would rather people go green on twitter rather than march down main street with signs. Is twitter marking the end for real political action?
The "new-ish" michael jackson film clip http://youtu.be/fx2ZmhYHxH4 is a good example of the internet's power to connect people. People from all over their world lip syncing the words to the song while attempting to pull off MJ's moves. Im pretty sure the hong kong dance would have been a part of this aswell. It was all done through the social networking sites you mentioned. Its crazy and a little scary how connected we all are through this huge network.
Yeah, the hong kong MJ flash mob was relativly small compared to the ones around the world. I suppose one day maybe countries will go to war and spread the word via twitter? Far fetched right now but who knows, scary idea though.
Allegedly a hacker group called 'Anonymous' have stated that they will hack into and close facebook on November 5th. If this does happen what kind of effect will it have on society? It would show how much interest people have in their virtual lives. However personally it looks like it could be a blessing in disguise.
This weeks reading was indeed a struggle to get through. However I found that a lot more stuck on a second attempt.
Global networks have definitely become a way in which people are able to connect and motivate and flash mobs are a great example. However, a recent not so great example that I am sure everyone is aware of are the recent London Riots. What is to be done when social networks become a platform for the organisation of criminal activities? The move from some governments to regulate and control social networks have caused a great public outcry, but if the trend were to continue and the breadth of criminal activities were to grow, then what would the solution be?
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