Facebook Predators

When Facebook.com decided to open its site up to more than just college students, you can guess the concerns that came along with it. Whereas before, only college students with valid emails ending in .edu could register, today there are over 42 million users – of all ages.

The problems that came along with making Facebook available to more people, is the issue of safety. Facebook claims that it takes the content of the site very seriously, and will not tolerate anything explicit or obscene. However, New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is investigating to see if privacy controls actually keep younger users safe.

The attorney general’s office created its own Facebook profiles of fictitious 24-year-olds and sent inappropriate requests for nude photos.

Another investigator then posed as a parent of a child that received the request and sent the content and a message to Facebook’s executives stating that it is misleading to represent the site as safe.

The attorney general’s office says they are concerned. After an entire month, a response or action from Facebook execs has yet to be received.

I think that Facebook’s safety controls can be useful, if set up properly. There are a number of different measures that you, or any parent, can take to ensure safety. If they wish, users even have the option of making their entire profile hidden from everyone but their friends.

However, I do think that Cuomo’s investigation has found an issue with the Facebook monitors. Whatever or whomever is supposed to be controlling the information on the site and making sure that it does not violate Facebook’s code of conduct, doesn’t sound like they are doing their job. This should be of major concern to users because the people who should be policing the site are on a 24 hour break, which means no one is making sure that whatever cyberpredators are out there, stay out.

Personally, I don’t feel threatened or worried about the issue. This could be because I live an extremely sheltered life and I don’t think that people could actually be stalking me. Or, it could be because I am responsible enough to know what is okay, what is not okay, and how to protect myself when it comes to networking sites.

This post is in response to an article found at http://graphic.pepperdine.edu/news/2007/2007-09-27-segal.htm

Tennis Players Caught Up In Social Networking Deceit

The Lawn Tennis Association has suspended two of Britain’s top junior players for “unprofessional behavior” and “lack of discipline”.

David Rice, the second-best British junior and Naomi Broady, the national Under-18 champion, have both had their funding withdrawn after the association was notified that photos publicizing their partying and drinking were posted up on Bebo, a social networking site. It has been confirmed that the two have breached their contracts with the LTA that requires them to act professionally.

Roger Draper, LTA chief executive says, “It’s about taking responsibility, being accountable and sorting their lives out…I don’t think sometimes they realize the opportunities they’ve been given”.

Dean Evans from Tech.co.uk says, “It's the latest example of how employers are starting to judge the attitude and lifestyle of their employees by looking at personal photos on sites such as Bebo, Facebook and MySpace”.

I think that anyone who wants to put up photos to display drinking, smoking, partying, etc. should be able to do so. When it comes down to it though, it reflects upon our own image. There is this funny little thing called a ‘reputation’ that I think people sometimes forget about. What happens behind closed doors is of nobody else’s business but our own. However, when we post pictures and videos of it for everyone to see, we need to take responsibility for our own actions.

Personally, I see benefits to the new trend of employers creating pages on social networking sites. I think that they can be used to our advantage, to show our bosses or potential bosses, our true personality. You know, the things that aren’t important enough to put on our resume. What my interests are, what I like to read, my favorite movies and whatever else a typical profile shows.

In fact, one of my employers and I both have profiles on Facebook. We joke about some of the things that are in my profile, but she says that it was a side to me she never would have known and been able to appreciate.

This post is in response to the article found at http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/tennis/7010983.stm

Do You ThinkMTV?

Viacom’s MTV recently announced that they too will be participating in the social networking race. However, MTV says that its new network is not your typical social networking site, and that the new online community will help promote youth activism.

MTV claims that its new site, Think.MTV.com, is unique from other social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook, in that it has collected an assortment of pop culture icons, nonprofits and community organizations that they will use to help young people get their voices heard about politics, education, health, and other issues they care about,. Organizations such as the United Nations and Boys & Girls Clubs of America, as well as celebrities like Bono, Shakira and John Legend have all teamed up in the hopes that they can drive a new type of social networking.

MTV says that multimedia is the key component to help young people to engage and educate their peers. And, to reward members that use the site “to do good”, MTV is offering opportunities to meet celebrities, attend exclusive MTV events, and even get exposure on MTV and other national media outlets. Grants and scholarships will be awarded as well.

ThinkMTV could very well revolutionize the social networking industry and start an entirely new trend in the way young people use of the Internet. MTV has come up with a way to globally spread knowledge peer-to-peer, by using tools that to young people today is second nature, for a purpose. It could be the ultimate new teaching device! I think the idea is ingenious, and I can’t believe that the other, already popular social networking sites haven’t already thought to do the same.

This post is in response to the article found at http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=201807956

Mash? or Mess?

In an attempt to keep up with the times, Yahoo Inc. is in the testing stages of its new social network service called Mash.

Mash will enable Yahoo users to sustain their own profile, share photos from Flickr.com, create their own customized news feed, and add mini-applications. Yahoo says that Mash gives users the ability “to edit their friends profiles and add personal blurbs, subject to approval by the profile owner”. Yahoo also said on Friday that it had recently acquired a company called BuzzTracker.com, which promises to offer users, “a way to create customized news feeds around a limitless number of topics of their own choosing”.

Yahoo will capitalize on their already 500 million monthly users to gain feedback in the experimental stages, and hopefully capture as future users.

But is there room in social cyberspace for yet another networking site? With top-of-mind sites like MySpace, Facebook, Bebo and Orkut already dominating the field, I’m not so sure that Yahoo can compete. What will Mash give users that these other sites don’t already?

The creation of Mash is clearly Yahoo’s effort to get a piece of the growing market. But personally, I think they missed the boat. Smart Yahoo users have already created an account with one of the other, more established, social networking sites. It has simply taken Yahoo too long to enter the field. The earliest origins of social networking can be traced back to 1998 with the launch of Xanga , a site for sharing book and music reviews. The ever-popular Myspace launched in August of 2003, with Orkut following closely behind in January, 2004. Facebook got its start in early February of 2004, and although Bebo was the latest, founded in January of 2005, it is still the third most popular social networking website. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bebo)

As for user popularity, Myspace takes the prize with over 200 million users on September 7. “The service has gradually gained more popularity than similar websites to achieve nearly 80% of visits to online social networking websites” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myspace). As for Facebook, “from September 2006 to September 2007, it increased its ranking from 60 to 6th most visited web site, and was the number one site for photos in US, ahead of public sites such as Flickr [owned by Yahoo] with over 8.5 million photos uploaded daily. As of August 2007, Facebook had 39 million registered users” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook). Also in August of 2007, Orkut had over 67 million registered users (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orkut)

To give credit where it is due, Yahoo 360 is the closest Yahoo product to the other, more popular, social networking sites,
which launched in late March of 2005. But a spokeswoman said Friday that Mash is a “next-generation service that is independent from the company's 2-1/2 year-old Yahoo 360 degree profile service”.

Unfortunately, the reality is that Yahoo cannot expect to contend with these numbers and statistics of their competitors. Had Yahoo jumped in the game a year or two earlier with a “next generation service”, there might have been a chance. But unless Yahoo can give users a revolutionary site with brand new ideas and tools, they are setting themselves up for failure.

This post is in response to an article found at http://ca.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=technologyNews&storyID=2007-09-17T190408Z_01_FLE756827_RTRIDST_0_TECH-YAHOO-MASH-1-COL.XML&archived=False

Networking Friends: Quality or Quantity?

What do you find more important in your friends? Quality? Or quantity? Social networking is taking harsh criticism for its untraditional way of helping people make friends.

On average, a person involved in a social network like MySpace or Facebook has around 150 friends. Still, others have befriended hundreds, even thousands of other users.

According to behavioral ecologists, making new friends is about more than just ‘friending’ and writing on someone’s wall a few times. Making new friends is about a commitment of time and energy and receiving similar benefits from the other person in return.

Are online networks reducing this investment in making new friends by lowering the perceived risk? Most certainly. But to those who take quality over quantity, taking that in-person risk is what it’s all about.

Dr. Will Reader at Sheffield Hallam University says that according to his online survey, he has found that face-to-face encounters are still the most important part in sustaining a close friendship.

I think that these face-to-face encounters are, and always will be, the most important factor in not only making friends, but also keeping those friends. Dr. Reader says that face-to-face contact is the only time that you can use facial and bodily cues to get honest information.

However, I think it is even much more than cues that makes face-to-face befriending important. I think that one of the best indicators of a great friendship is actually silence. Let me explain further. I find that I can tell my best friends apart from my good friends by being able to sit in silence with them, and not feel awkward. This concept may seem a little weird to you. But in my life anyway, it is the people that I can drive in the car for 20 minutes and not say a thing to, that I feel the most comfortable with. The thoughts of, “Oh my gosh it’s so quiet. Should I say something? What should I say? Maybe comment on the weather? Or maybe I should tell her what bad hair day I’m having. No, wait. I shouldn’t talk about myself. I might come off as self-centered.” These are the typical thoughts that cross one’s mind if they aren’t completely comfortable with the person next to them. Sure, a stimulating conversation with a friend is always exciting. But I think a stimulating conversation can be held with most anyone. It is sitting in a silent room with one other person, and feeling at ease (and without mind-racing thoughts) that is a true indicator of a great friend.

And although social networking sites will probably keep growing, as will people’s friend lists, it still remains the truth that our closest friends are the ones that we can call up on the phone and ask them to meet us for lunch, go see a movie, or even just sit in silence. Although some people may believe that the number of friends they have is the most important aspect of their relationships, those who still believe in the tradition quality over quantity will unquestionably be the better friend.

This post is in response to an article found at http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070912161147.htm

Social Networking; Connecting Students

Social networking may not just be a tool for distraction anymore. Two Arizona junior high schools are taking advantage of the latest online trend, and using it to further their students’ education.

I think that schools across the country, even across the world, would probably find great uses for these sites. Not only would students be exposed to collaboration with others on a global basis, but it could potentially be something that kids take beyond the classroom and into their own homes. Furthermore, it is my hope that social networking becomes the “cool” thing to do, and will encourage other kids to get in on the action.

At Chandler’s Santan Junior High, advanced computer students are working on a project called virtualclassroom.org . Schools compete against each other in building a web site on a topic of their choice. Students were able to interact with competing schools across the country, and comment on other sites.

Students at Mesa’s Kino Junior High are conducting classroom science experiments, but with on looking professors from Arizona State University.

The potential for learning opportunities are endless with the use of social networking sites. Again, it enables kids across the world to work together and open their eyes to so many other things. Boundaries will be erased and students will realize that they really have no limits. They will be able to take control of their own learning and their own experiences. And I know personally that being able to control what you learn about is a very freeing concept.

Other interesting facts from the article:

97% of students age 9-17 are now using social networking sites to connect with their classmates for educational purposes.

The national survey found teens who use social-networking sites spend about nine hours a week online, compared with 10 hours a week watching TV.

Want to learn more about the Kids’ Social Networking Study? Log onto www.grunwald.com, or click here.

This post is in response to an article found at http://www.azcentral.com/community/chandler/articles/0907cr-neted0908.html.

Letting Consumers Take Control

I found a similar tactic in learning about an audience in both of the articles I read, Consumer 3.0 and Calling All Pets. In each instance, with some slight variation, experts and researchers are finding that by letting people take control of their own media experience, they can learn a whole lot more about consumers.

The first article I read, called Consumer 3.0, described a way of reaching an audience and learning about them in a way that is a quickly growing trend. “Consumer 3.0 writes, edits, splices, shoots, and manipulates original or reproduced content to aggregate its own audience for its own media ecosystem.” By providing people with all of the necessary tools to create their own media encounters, they can do whatever they want. Observation is the key ingredient for any researcher at this point. Simply follow consumers in their media travels, and a wealth of information is right at their fingertips.

Calling All Pets also talked about letting consumers take control of their own media experiences, but with more of a focus on pet-related products and services. Pet producing businesses help consumers in their search for trustworthy products by appealing to our emotional attachments.

"Part of what we do [in marketing] is appeal to people's sense of logic," Iverson says. "Better ingredients mean a better pet food. The brand's personality is that of a caring brand. We have to reflect that the pet is really a part of the family."

To me, it’s like consumer bait. You put a product exclusively online, without much advertising. This translates to most people as being high-end. (For example, designer fashion lines have little or no advertising.) High-end product means quality, and quality means pricey. “They go online in droves, looking for small companies creating high-end, niche products.” How do researchers then learn about their audience? Simply by people visiting their site. If people come, they can usually get their information, and with their information comes learning and observation.

Podcast Boredom

I'm not going to lie, this podcast was painful to listen to. Although it was only 15 minutes (a lot shorter than typical podcasts), I found it boring and uninteresting. It couldn't hold my attention for more than a few seconds at a time.

There was a point, though, that I zoned back into the discussion, and actually listened to a few minutes. It was when Albert Maruggi started talking about the 9 things that can lead to successful marketing practices. I think the reason for this was because he started the podcast saying that he was going to share these 9 things. However, he didn't get into discussing them until 6 minutes into the podcast. But another 2.5-3 minutes later, my mind was wandering once again.

For anyone in the industry who finds Albert Maruggi interesting, or what he was saying relevant to their own business, I can definietly see how listening to this podcast would be helpful. If you can find some common ground with a discussion like this, it is fairly easy to pay attention and really listen closely to what Maruggi is saying. However, being only a college student who is not too far into the industry yet, I found it hard to keep my mind tuned into this cast.