I must get my thoughts out -

Some argue the digital age is causing society to disconnect. Some think it is just the opposite - they believe we are more connected than ever before. Is the world indeed becoming smaller... or are we?

Is the digital age more real than virtual or is it a hoax, a fraud?

Our presence on the web...

we have every means available to us

we express

we write

we vent

we defend

we play

we have our space

we have our democratic right

we have a soap box

we have a launch pad for ideas and thoughts

we have a world orchestrated at the touch of our hand

we have a world just to our liking every time we log in

we connect

that awesome word

so filled with promise and opportunity

the anticipation of things await our discovery

so filled with promise and opportunity

Why connect?

we seek answers

we long to fill an emptiness

we hope to find likeness

we explore possibilities

we hide behind the screen

we sneak glances at life outside ourselves

Why not live reality vs. virtual reality?

Why are we so afraid to connect in person?

Because the tools and vices of society have painted a different picture.

Messages dictate, albeit subtly -

we should keep to ourselves

don't make eye contact

don't talk to strangers

don't accept gifts from adults you don't know

you are not safe

your children are not safe

our country is not safe

constantly bombarded with messages

We follow the messages because we are a society built on fear, so we follow the messages and then realize we are all extremely lonely!! So what do we do?

We are a prideful society that finds it difficult to admit mistakes.

We can't go back and say - 'oh sorry that plan didn't work so we’re revising the rules.'

Please make eye contact!

Smile at strangers!

Help people in need, even if you don't know them!

Share the goodness of your heart!

Humanity is worth the risk!

Humanity needs the love!

Humanity craves acceptance!

The weak minded have been swept away into the growing current of needs and wants and lacks. Seeking connection, seeking out the ONE thing that will fill their void.

There are those who remain steeped in reality, they see the weakness of others as an opportunity. They feed the hungry what apears to taste like connection -but leaves us hungry for more.

Because it is not safe to connect in person,we now hide behind our screens. We can talk to anyone at all, from anywhere in the world. No one knows your past, your present, or your future. They only know what you choose to tell them.

WE CAN HIDE WHO WE REALLY ARE

Why do people ever seek to be something other than be who they are? Is the internet to blame? OR Is it really society's cry out suppression?

Is the internet soothing the supplication of our society? OR Is the internet opening doors to new ways of seeing ourselves?

The social networks entice, invite, and give us a sense of connection.

Is the connection valid? Is it true?

Do we really share the truth of who we are?

On the internet we can choose what we want people to take in.

We decide what we want people to believe is truth.

The relationships formed on the social networks... are they real?
People can chat hours on end online with people they have never met.
Yet, the same people cannot make eye contact on the buses, the trains...
Never touching the faces, wiping the tears, living the hardships side by side.

People can make love to someone online

but live next door to someone for years...

without so much as having a cup of coffee with them

We send virtual flowers to our friends

and some how it restores a sense of compassion and kindness?

Have we lost the ability to REALLY connect?

Connection in the digital world is an "action" without meaning.

Void of intent, of heart, of life, of love, of purpose.

Although it seems clear that digital technology has enabled a greater sense of not belonging than ever this form of communication may never change.

People NEED the anonymity because it gives them a false sense of

attractiveness

power

and hope...

a sense they belong somewhere

a feeling of being connected without judgment

a feeling of acceptance, of being loved

But when technology becomes a facilitator in life, are we any richer or fuller as people? What is it that we share that really adds value to each other's lives?

No doubt there are places on the internet that really communicate great issues.
No doubt the early social networks served a purpose grown from common needs.
Todays social networks remind me of junior high games and popularity contests.

In the end, it does not matter how many virtual bouquets were sent, or how much good karma you gave away, or how many times you smile at someone on a social network -

When we turn off the monitor, that world disappears and we are left the reality of our lives. Perhaps this is the energy driving the exploding of the social networks. Society does not want to turn their computers off. People are willing to lose sleep to stay connected. No one wants to be left feeling empty and alone.

Can anything really ever take the place of human interaction, the face to face (F2F) contact?

Our news, our buying and selling habits, our social lives... tangled in circuitry and bytes of modern digital communication. Many believe the digital age is this amazing technology that has brought the world together, brought people together. Are we settling?

Are we settling for something less in ourselves?
Can society "relearn" the skills to connect once again with humanity?

Go beyond what is obvious

Society would have us deny everything in us to feed on the propaganda they send our way. Marketing tells us we are not beautiful enough, not thin enough, not sexy enough, not stylish enough, not rich enough...

not enough

not ever enough

So we begin to doubt what our true voice would have to say about anything.

It is not a coincidence that on the pages of facebook, there are ads for diet, and other marketing opportunities to capitalize on our insecurities as they unfold on the screen. When we turn off the computer and our real lives are the same... unchanged by our moment of inflated sense of being better for doing what? Doing nothing and gaining nothing.

The simple truth is that what we need most... is not bought... is not acquired through the web... it is the human touch, personal recognition and acceptance, love and compassion. Things the digital age is unable to provide.

There is no replacement for humanity... real connectivity.

Social Network Applications

Let me start off by saying, this project drives me to talk to myself. I said I would talk about the "applications" or "add-ons" commonly found on the social net work sites. There are so many - it is truly maddening! There is an application or group for every possible interest that exists. Every day when I log on to facebook (yes - I have become "one of those" people), I am amazed and sometimes surprised about how many groups, associations, organizations, causes, fetishes, hobbies, the list goes on and on. My original thought process is now challenged the further I delve into this world of social networks. I find myself struggling with the good aspects and the possibly bad aspects of social networks.

A social network page is more than a list of your likes and dislikes, your marital status, and how many pets you have. Just as we set the tone for our living in the "real" world, we choose our friends, choose our clothes, users have numerous choices in how they want to approach a social network. The original social networks, or perhaps better stated as communities (late 1980's - early 1990's) were different compared to the popular social networks today. Although the early social networks were pioneers in online exploration and meeting other like minded surfers, they all came from pretty reality grounded backgrounds. That is to say they if they were playing the "hokey pokey" of social networking, they may have had an arm or two "in", but they still both feet firmly planted in the reality of life. Today, the social networks are more than just sounding boards, the digital pages and communities socialize, plan, entertain, connect, inform, and the platforms which execute these actions grow more and more detailed and interesting. Today generations of online youths have always been "connected" and their online experience or should I say lives are simply their everyday way of life.

I think about how I communicated with my favorite cousin who lived in a different state when I was young. We wrote letters to each other. If we wanted to do something exciting, we decorated the pages or envelope with hand drawn pictures. Later we went really wild with stickers! Today, I communicate with that same cousin through myspace and facebook. When something new happens in her neck of the woods, or she creates a new digital masterpiece, or she takes a vacation and wants to share her pictures, she updates her entire network at one time in one spot. My cousin will sometimes make a general post for all of her network friends to see and sometimes she will send a direct message just for me! The disadvange to communicating through a social network like facebook, myspace, or bebo is the fact your audience must become members to view your page. The advantage is the ablility to keep in touch with so many at the same time. The other advantage is finding or connecting to other people who think and feel the way we do. The same cousin I mentioned recently sent her son off to boot camp. He was the oldest of her three sons. She suffered with a terrible depression after his departure. She logged onto myspace and found a group of "Navy moms" who interact and support one another through the heart ache and fears of sending their children off to war. This support would have been very hard to come by a few decades ago.

Applications or add-on features - what am I talking about?
The applications are features that add something to the profile page. Generally something more than additional text. Of the three social sites I test drove, they all offered special applications. Most sites provide a way to search for applications. I think one of the reasons facebook is so popular is the variety of applications they have to offer. Through applications, my cousin was able to find other mother's in her situation and join a space just for them. Some applications are mindless fun, while others serve a purpose.

A popular applications is the "slide" photo application. Instead of looking a screen with a list of photos, the slide application brings life to your album. Here is an image of slide taken from my - myspace page. Users can customize the frame and multiple visual effects. Simply select to "add" the application and begin customizing. Add the pictures you want and change it as often as you want. I also liked the fact that when I had completed my masterpiece, I was given the option to add it to multiple social web sites! This was a time saving feature. As I update two social pages. Why? I have my kids and their friends on myspace and the majority of my friends who use facebook. The benefit of this application is the ability to instantly connect with friends and loved ones through images (birthdays, vacations, graduations, prom, etc.), I am hard pressed to find any disadvantages of this application except viewers cannot order prints and they must be members of the site to view the photos. Picasa is wonderful for photo sharing! It has nothing to do with social networks but it is a great online tool. Picasa allows you to create albums and slide shows and send the link out to family and friends. This is great because there is only one upload and family and friends can view and order the prints they like. Membership is not required.



Another fun application is the "MyFunWall" application. Members can post videos like the one Jessica Diaz posted on my site. Click on the photo and it should take you to "YouTube" and you can view the video. Friends can post pictures, postcards, videos, even announcements. I really like being able to send messages to select friends just by clicking their image or name. The advantage of this application is to connect by sharing some of the the things that touch us in one way or another. I cannot tell you how many times I have laughed or cried after viewing a wall posting. Some of the postings are serious in nature (one post I received addressed child abuse), others marvel at human ability and aptitude, while some are just there to laugh. The disadvantage to this application is it is a time consumer. It is easy to get wrapped up in watching these videos one after another.

With or Without You - Sungha Jung

My latest add was "Pieces of Flair!" I love this one because I have always loved buttons. You can search for buttons that express your personality, likes, dislikes, hobbies, etc. If you can't find something you have the option to create your very own button. Users can invite others to add this application and they can also send buttons to friends. The usefulness of this application, is really just to express individuality/personality. The disadvantage, might be the time it takes to look for all of your favorite buttons. It is like creating a work of art in a sense though. Every timed I read/look at certain buttons, they bring a smile to my face. It is a quick glimpse at some of the things that make Tina - Tina.

There are applications that compare shopping taste, quizzes to see how alike you are with your friends. I have one I update almost daily - it simply tells my friends what my mood for the day is and why. It seems like such a small thing, but I myself have taken that into action when I see a friend post a sad or mad mood. It is my cue to call or send them a message and check on them. I also added a VERY addictive game called "grains of rice" and it is a word game.

Basically there are many many more applications. I have found some to be absolutely mindless, some artistic, some expressive, some informative, and some very unusual. After playing and testing so many applications, I began to find myself compelled to return to my facebook page to play and interact with others - very dangerous for me. I made a choice not to watch television any more because I know it becomes an issue for me - I will not stop with one program! Watching TV for me is like opening a bag of chips or making fresh salsa... I can't help but indulge. For me, facebook is like one ongoing soap opera and I can't wait to tune in to see what is happening in the lives of "All my friends." I know web addiction is not something everyone must deal with, but surely I must not be the only one! Facebook is one of the fasting growing networks in existance. I know there must be other individuals who find themsleves compelled to return to various profile pages and play the mindless games and answer the pointless quizes and see the lastest poetry post, or even feed their virtual pet (I have a French Bulldog name Perceval).

I have met several people online around the world through an application called "karma" where you collect and share karma. Some karmas are special editions and if you don't have them all, you seek others who might be willing to share their karma. I now have friends in London, Singapore, Vietnam, Canada, several friends in India, and all over the United States. One day, one of my new friends in India told me she had decided to "quit" facebook. I asked her why? She said her brother thought it was taking over her life!

As I continue to play and meet people, I think more about what I choose to do on facebook and I have formulated some thoughts. I will share more tomorrow as it is way past my bed time.

Social network applications

All of the social networks offer applications to enhance the online experience. I must say of the three social networks (myspace, facebook, and bebo) facebook users appear to make more use of the applications. I expected to see among the youth on myspace more usage of special applications. My sons and their friends make good use of the music applications and the instant messaging applications. This was the same for the other myspace sites I viewed.

Since I had created profiles on all three sites, I decided to see how easy it was to create or implement various applications. All of the social sites have a search or explore feature where the user can search for interests, groups, quizzes, and countless mindless applications. On myspace and bebo, where I do not have many applications or many friends with applications, it was a little more time consuming to search for applications. On facebook, so many friends, with so many different applications - it makes shopping for applications a snap. When you visit your friends social pages and find an application you like, you just click and request to add the application. Very easy and I must confess some of the applications are very addictive. I will try to work up a list of some of the most common applications. I will then focus primary on the applications on facebook. After beginning this project, I am finding how time consuming creating the sites are. It is more than creating the site, it is very time consuming to use and play on the sites. I will go into details tomorrow.

myspace profile view

Here is the "back office" of myspace, the profile page was even more bare.



Here is a screen shot of my profile now:

bebo profile page views

Bebo started out quite plain



Then you select a theme...



The result is a profile page that reflects a little of your personality

Comparing social networks - Getting started

I chose to establish profiles on three social networks. The basic process to sign up for an account at each site was very similar. All three sites requested information (name, address, birth date, email address, etc.) and all gave the option to access your personal email to add contacts already using the network or to invite contacts to join you on their network. The profile set up was a little different at each site and I will detail out some of the differences.

• myspace: myspace is the original social network. It is the preferred social network by my own children and most all of the teen youths I have met. The set up is typical with all of the general information collected.
  
• CON: It was not very intuitive after setting up the account what the user should do next (at least not for me). After setting up the account the user is dropped on to a page that I refer to as the "back office" of the users site.
  
• CON: No instructions or prompts to talk the user into the next steps to set up their profile page. It is a use and explore sort of site. Note: When I first tried to set up a myspace page fall of 2007 for Ron Dries ITS1670 class, I became so frustrated I abandoned the page. I only returned to finish what I started for the sake of this project.
  
• CON: To personalize the profile page the user must go multiple places.
  
• To enter text on the profile page (user interests, hobbies, etc.) user must select to "edit profile" and fill in the various text boxes, and save.
• To customize the look of the profile page (colors, borders, etc.) user must select "edit profile" and look for the link that says "profile editor" (note: cannot edit the look of a myspace page with any other browser other than Internet Explorer. If you use Mozilla Firefox like me, you are out of luck. You will have to open an Internet Explorer window to make any changes to the visual look of your myspace page.
• CON: To display nice graphics or themes, a user must go to a different site to shop for themes. Most sites require you sign up to become a member and because the sites are not part of myspace, once the user finds a theme they like, they must copy the HTML code to paste into the right area of the myspace personal profile in order for the graphics to display properly. SOUND COMPLICATED? It was for me. This is the part were I threw in the towel. My sons even tried to help me figure it out but I was already so frustrated that I gave up and worked on facebook.
  
• PRO: Once taking the time to look for the themes and learn to copy the HTML code into the right areas of the profile, I am very pleased with the way the social network page looks. I found a theme in colors and designed that suit my personality, and even found music I liked.

• bebo: I thought I would set up an account at a social network site I had not heard of called bebo. Like the other social network sites, the initial set up was very general and requested all of the same information. The profile customization was the most notably different part of the process.
• PRO: bebo prompted me as the user through every step of the profile process. From inviting friends to entering data, a photo, and selecting a theme.
• PRO: User does not have to go off site to select a theme. More themes than I could possibly go through in a sitting were at my disposal. Themes varied both in color and artistic content. A wide array of hobbies, interests, generational interests, you name it - I think bebo had it!
• PRO: Another feature I like when selecting my theme was the "favorites" file. As I looked through the themes, I did not have to remember which page something was on or what the theme was called. I simply added it to my favorites list and when I was ready to select a theme, I could view ALL of the themes I found appealing. Further more, this feature will make it easy to change the theme to match my mood, the seasons, or what ever is going on in my life at the time.

• facebook: The last site I will review is facebook. It has grown by leaps and bounds and is predicted to surpass myspace soon. I believe the secret to their success is one of the very reasons I scrapped myspace last fall and dove head first into facebook. It is EASY. It is easy to set up, clear to navigate, and it is fun.
• PRO: VERY easy to navigate and set up.
• PRO: VERY easy to join a group or affiliation
• PRO: VERY easy to shop for and add applications
• PRO: VERY easy to stay in touch with friends and search for friends by their affiliations with schools or places of employment.
• CON: User cannot customize the color or add graphics and themes to their site. The content itself will add flair. I will discuss further when I address the applications of each site.

Interesting statistics concerning the user demographics of facebook:

• * Over 55,000 regional, work-related, collegiate, and high school networks
• * More than half of Facebook users are outside of college
• * The fastest growing demographic is those 25 years old and older
• * Maintain 85 percent market share of 4-year U.S. universities

Info pulled from Techradar

New social profile site: bebo

This was the end result, or at least as far as I got tonight. I documented the entire process with screen shots and I will work to get the process posted tomorrow night.

My first impression of "bebo" is how easy it was to set up and it appears to have very clear navigation.

Unlike MySpace, it was VERY easy to select a theme and apply it to my profile. Within the matter of minutes I had a place to post photos, write a blog, post my favorites, and have my own url address if I wanted to make my profile public. So far, I think they have done a nice job with security and warnings about posting a public url. It will be interesting to see what sort of applications I will be able to add to my "bebo" site. I tabbed through over 100 pages of themes. I can't imagine how much content I will find when I really begin to look. So far it seems to be a nice marriage between the MySpace pages and the facebook page. I will go more into detail after I spend some time playing in bebo.

Getting started

I just posted my intention for my final project. I realize my final direction may alter depending on my classmates. I decided to begin by creating the blog spot so I would have a place to document my ideas for my project and make changes as needed.

To create a blog spot, you must first decide where you want your blog created. Most of the large internet "biggies" have a blog feature. On Yahoo there is a personal blog area called "Yahoo 360" it has the potential to build networking but it is primarily a place to document your own information. I decided to use "Blogger.com" which works in conjunction now with g-mail. You can name your blog what ever you want to name it and you also select the url address for your blog. Most blog sites will permit you a few color and theme choices.

Well - I started the blog! I now have a place to document my project and I can work on my project from any location as long as I am connected to the internet.


For the record here is the post to the discussion board on my project intention:

I feel myself being pulled in an entirely different direction as I created my blog and began to document creating a profile on a new social network site, bebo.

After participating in a few of these sites, I find myself experiencing an array of feelings. My gut feeling toward digital social networds is starting to resemble concepts similar to Sven Birkirts' views about the decline of literacy in our society. I find both positives and negatives regarding communication and expression through the use of such networds as Myspace, Facebook, and Bebo.

I started a blog with the intention of giving instructions and details of what to expect when signing up for one of these large social networks. I will keep the information already entered into to blog as it is a part of personal documentation of the digital social network experience.

I am going to focus on the popular and common componants to be found on most social networks. I will address the possitive/intriguing side of the applications and then I will discuss the possible down falls to such applications. Ultimately I will have a blog which will hopefully challenge the average social network user to consider the purpose of their presence online.

My thesis lies heavily upon the belief that the emergence and popularity of the social networks is breaking down the quality of our communication while further contributing to the decline of our own sense of self.

The growing popularity of digital social networks are peeking interests globally across various age groups. This rapidly growing form of social communication is attracting record numbers and the marketing and media giants are capitalizing on the fun and games. I hope to spark an interest in users to reflect upon their own online interactions and contemplate whether their activies are contributing something of value to their life or if the countless applications of social networks are steeling time away from their life and subtly eroding the humanity of our communication.