Blog Social Networking
October 09, 2018
Networking isn't something new—that is, this traditional principle is one that can actually be linked to common sense. Think about it this way: the stranger that you helped out after he dropped his file of documents by the coffee shop? You may never know when you'll meet him again, but such an external locus of control may have fate knocking on your door when that same man turns out to be your interviewer for the new job opening you were referenced to. The takeaway? Be sociable. Be personable. Always put your best foot forward in every situation. In essence, it would be wise for you to build connections and as cheesy at it may sound, always strive to be the best version of you because, in the long run, you'll find out that it only benefits you.
Powering along with the consistent theme of old versus new, plain-old networking has kept up with the times and has evolved into social (media) networking. Integrated within the depths of information technology, social networking technologies have wrung out the likes of Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter among a vast sea of other up-and-coming platforms. Their use? Well, on a corporate level, Maureen Crawford-Hentz of Osram Sylvania is seemingly over the moon with the facilitated and readily-accessible access to potential star employees: "Social networking technology is absolutely the best thing to happen to recruiting -- ever." (Langfitt, 1). In the eyes of Crawford-Hentz, social networking technologies allow employers, like herself, to navigate amongst an enormous crop of prospective employees by searching for certain keywords on say, Linkedin, and getting that initial obstacle of searching for qualified workers out of the way as all necessary information can be found on their respective profiles. Otherwise, these social networking sites can be used as a means of engagement and interactions with friends, microblogging, marketing, and keeping up with the latest news and current events.
As expected of upgrades, these social networking technologies bring about quite the number of benefits. Going back to the positive aid that these platforms contributed to employers, the same can be said for those looking to be employed. Apps, such as Indeed, now exist where potential job listings are posted and qualified hopefuls can reach out and begin the networking process. Additionally, as mentioned by Hilary Stout in her article "Antisocial Networking?", Facebook has completely revolutionized the social landscape for introverts and those a bit more 'socially awkward' per se. For example, the father of two kids, Robert Wilson, mentioned how Facebook has allowed his more timid son, Evan, to be able to converse and interact with friends online as opposed to staying shelled away from human interaction. Furthermore, high school Spanish teacher Beth Cafferty notes: “I actually think they’re closer because they’re more in contact with each other — anything that comes to my mind, I’m going to text you right away,” (Stout, 4).
However, as with many topics of debate, social networking sites are arguably a double-edged sword. Case in point: cyberbullying and lack of proper social etiquette. Due to the anonymity component of major social media sites, trolls feed on the mock-power they believe to have under the guise of a 'non-revealing' (namely, non-personal) username and profile picture. Unfortunately, differing from how they may behave in person, these Internet pests launch relentless attacks against anyone they so choose. Also, in regards to the lack of proper social etiquette being in the "dark side", Gary Small, "a neuroscientist and professor of psychiatry at U.C.L.A.", argues that the Generation Z cohort will lack the aptitude of necessary human interaction skills from spending all of their time on technology: “Even though young digital natives are very good with the tech skills, they are weak with the face-to-face human contact skills,” (Stout, 4).
Developmental-wise, a potential way these social media technologies may develop in the future could be some interface that makes access to content or data more-to-the-point and brief as we live in such a time-crunched society that's always on-the-go. Moreso, however, I see major evolutionary changes within the realm of cybersecurity. For example, a Microsoft researcher and a professor at Northwestern University found that “Overall, our data show that far from being nonchalant and unconcerned about privacy matters, the majority of young adult users of Facebook are engaged with managing their privacy settings on the site at least to some extent,” (Parry, 1). It can also be worthy to note that this was published around 2010, way before the privacy scandal Facebook that sent CEO Mark Zuckerberg to court.
References:
- Langfitt, Frank. "Social Networking Technology Boosts Job Recruiting", NPR, March 16, 2008. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6522523&sc=emaf
- Parry, Marc. "Who Cares About Facebook Privacy? Students Do", New York Times, July 29, 2010, http://chronicle.com/blogPost/Who-Cares-About-Facebook/25877/?sid=wc&utm_source=wc&utm_medium=en
- Stout, Hilary. "Antisocial Networking?", New York Times, May 2, 2010, p. ST1. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/02/fashion/02BEST.html
1 comments
I'm both intrigued and scared as to how much more they can be brief in the distribution of information in the future, considering how things are right now. We have websites like Twitter which already limit our speech by 280 characters and abbreviations, acronyms, and slang that we develop in texting or online-speak.
ReplyDeleteI think cyber-security will definitely get upgraded as firms start to learn how to overcome and counter hackers or piracy's of their work and also how to battle viruses and hackers from invading other people's private and personal information. But I'm sure it will be a continuous and rigorous process.