Social Networking Sites - Post 7

          For my last post, I decided take a more creative approach at pushing people to really understand how much social networking sites are affecting our lives. Since starting my practicum project and my experiences with 43Things, Google+, and LinkedIn, I have realized really how much SNS are running my life. 4 out of 5 internet users are visiting social networking or blogging sites. 76% of American social networking users are passive users - they're "spectators", making "creators" just a fourth of all the social network users. With these statistics, and many more that you can find at http://thesocialskinny.com/100-more-social-media-statistics-for-2012/, it becomes evident that these numbers are constantly increasing and that the majority of internet users are now using social networking sites. What started out as solely a college-student phenomenon, has shifted to more of a free-for-all type of experience. People are seeing friends, younger siblings, older siblings, mothers, fathers, grandmothers, grandfathers, professors, and much more on these sites. The important thing to realize when pertaining to these issues is the idea of online identity formation. 
          We must be careful in how we present ourselves, especially when we take a second to realize how is following us or who is friends with us. This is something I learned with the three sites I looked at. Not only could my identity shift between these sites, but also I was able to be more flexible in more informal situations (43Things) and less flexible on the formal sites (LinkedIn). To close my experience, I wanted to present a little game to you all - a play on the famous sporcle.com - if you haven't been on there, don't, especially during finals weeks because you'll never get off. But here it is.. take a look at the image presented below and see how many of these social networking sites you can identify - I think you'll be surprised.

          So the SNS take home message? These sites are controlling or lives. They're consuming our online time. They're running our professional and personal connections. It's is important to understand these sites and constantly be aware of the changes that are occurring. Be aware what is happening and be conscious of your personal presentation. Well, that's all folks - If there is anything I want you to take from my personal experience with social networking sites you just heard it! Feel free to ask any questions regarding my experience. I'd love to share more!

Social Networking Sites - Wikipedia - Post 6

Throughout this semester my experience on LinkedIn by far as been the most rewarding of the three social networking sites that I chose (LinkedIn, Google+, 43Things). Not only will I continue to use this site, but I definitely have been able to build a strong profile and make a mass of contacts throughout the semester. For this reason, I decided to edit the Wikipedia page for LinkedIn. I really think this site can be beneficial to all. The one thing that I found to be a let down on LinkedIn was the fact that you cannot uploaded future jobs or experiences to your profile. 

The main reason I wanted to start a profile on LinkedIn was to be able to connect with people at my job at Target Corporation next fall. LinkedIn did not allow me to do this. You can only upload present and past work and community experiences to the profile - nothing futuristic. This was what I found to be something that was not on the Wikipedia page for LinkedIn yet. I think this specific bit of information will assist many when they are starting up a profile. After reading through the entire Wikipedia that was basically the only thing that I felt needed to be changed. So, that was my addition to LinkedIn. I added things to the features section in order for people to be able to quickly know and understand the features of LinkedIn. Hopefully my additions will be of assistance to many!

Social Networking Sites - Post 5

Since the semester is coming to an end I decided that it was a good time to talk about what I found most interesting about Google +, especially since I haven't dedicated an entire post to this social networking site. While Google+ probably won't be a site I am active on once this project it over, it's definitely brought a few things to my attention. First off, the one thing that really stands out is how easy it is to connect people. Even when you are not active, the site is constantly giving you suggestions on who to add to your circles. In this screenshot I am showing you how easy these connection are:

The suggestions box shows me 100 people at a time and even allows me to "add all to circles". In my opinion this is not really connecting with people but rather just adding people that you may have the slightest bit of acquaintance with. Also, it was interesting to notice that Google automatically suggested two people from my Gmail address book as "people you may know." When I looked further neither of these people even had a Google + account but Google wanted me to reach out and invite them.

With all this being said, it became apparent to me that it is not a very active site, currently. While the user base is high, many people, including myself, aren't constant "posters" but rather use it to connect with people and see what they're doing. This is completely different than say Facebook, because on Facebook I am constantly posting or commenting on what is being posted. I found that Google + was a pretty passive website compared to others. I do think that this could change. Who knows what will happen in the future?! Let's be honest, with the Internet it is just too hard to predict!

Social Networking Sites - Post 4

I finally received my first comment/message on 43things! Out of the three social networking sites I am looking at for my practicum project, 43things has definitely been the most challenging. Not only is it difficult to navigate and set up, it is hard to connect with others. That being said, recently I received my first comment on a post I had on the site. One of my 'goals' is to take a cooking class before I graduate. Within this goal, I posted a message to others to see if anyone had resources or ideas on where to find inexpensive classes. The response I received back was not only helpful, but also encouraging. See the post below: While this may not seem to intriguing to many, it was exciting for me. I had my first real conversational encounter, after many failed attempts. Compared with the other sites, 43things feels like it is lacking engagement from the users. It is not something that people are consistently using but rather they are only going on the site when they either achieve a goal or need some advice. This is much different that say, Google+, where users are constantly checking the feed as well as adding posts for other people's viewing pleasure. I'll definitely admit, 43things is not a site that I am going to be active on once I am done achieving my goals!

Social Networking Sites - Post 3

Before my presentation tomorrow on Social Networking Sites, which will be paired with Personal Homepages, I wanted to give you a few things to think about. First off, personal websites and SNSs are two customizable ways to build web presence. While personal websites allow for more customizing and designing, social networking allows for a more targeted presence, like career networking, but has less latitude in design. That is why, for those of you who want a web presence but do not want to go through building a PWS, there are SNSs. As I've stated in past posts, the three social networking sites I have made a presence in for this project are LinkedIn, Google+, and 43Things. While all the sites are very different, a key similarity stands out - they are allowing me to make a web presence in a pretty simplistic, user-friendly manner. As I am sure many of you are users of one of these sites, or maybe Facebook, you understand how easy it really is to start a profile and increase your overall network. That being said, many people choose to take this easy methodology rather than a deeper, more challenging one, making a personal website.

So, what I want you to think about for tomorrow's presentation is, what do you think the future holds for the integration of PWSs and SNSs? Do you think that SNSs will become more similar to a PWSs where you're given more free range to design your entire page, or do you think we are moving in a more simple, less flexible direction? Another key topic we will touch on is the interconnection between SNSs and PWSs. Many times people link the two together in order to increase the amount of people they have visiting one, or both, of the sites. That being said, we also want to you to think about the following: If you have a PWS, do you link it to your SNS? If so, do you find that it increases viewership of either of the sites? I look forward to telling you about my experiences thus far and hearing your feedback about these questions!

Social Networking Sites - Post 2

I have finally dug pretty deep into all my social networking sites: LinkedIn, Google+, and 43Things. I am going to use this post to specifically talk about my experience thus far using my LinkedIn profile. I was thrilled to finally be pushed to create a LinkedIn profile. As I said in my previous post, I had been working towards developing a page but when I finally was offered a job I thought my uses of it would be minimal. I decided to use LinkedIn as a way to connect with my future colleagues at Target Corporation.

To my surprise, this isn’t possible! When I went to put in all my job history and current positions, it would not let me present a “future employment” option.For some of you who don’t have experience with this social networking site, LinkedIn allows you to connect with past and current colleagues as well as people in your past and current educational experiences. I figured that they would give me the he site. I am surprised that they have not wanted to turn this site more into a way to meet people who are in potential social networks of yours – it seems somewhat at a stand still.

While I think the site definitely assists people in making connections from past and current positions, as well as being able to have recommendations written by these colleagues, I am disappointed at their lack of options futuristically. By only allowing users to find connections they’ve worked with, done business with, went to school with, or are otherwise affiliated with, I think they are limiting their users quite a bit. The more connections you have, clearly the more opportunities you have, but if you cannot connect with future colleagues, it is hard to develop relationships prior to a business experiences. This also pertains to meetings, interviews, etc. If you could look up their LinkedIn profiles and connect with them prior to meeting, you would have a better idea of their past and what exactly their future aspirations are.

I am considering emailing or getting in contact with someone about this limitation so I can get a true explanation as to why this future employment is not an option. It doesn’t seem logical to me!

Social Networking Sites: Nicole Chorney

I was thoroughly excited when I was assigned to Social Networking Sites for my practicum project because of a variety of reasons. First off, I am not a huge social media geek except for the obvious, Facebook and Twitter. By being assigned to this project I feel like I will be able to open my horizons to other social networking sites and get a more diverse view of what these sites are all about. Secondly, a few of these sites had been ones I was planning on joining in the recent past but I hadn't found time to start up a page - now I feel like I'm killing two birds with one stone - completing an assignment and crossing some things off my to-do list! I think this project will allow me to not only extend my knowledge of social networking sites but also allow me to engage in a little fun, while working of course!

The first site I am choosing to join is Google+. While I received an invite to this site awhile back, I didn't take it seriously enough and never set up my account. I was hesitant because I had heard that many people weren't following through on using it and I just figured it would be another social networking site that flopped. This seems to be somewhat true, in that many people haven't "caught on" to the idea of Google+ yet, but this could change quite rapidly. With Google being somewhat of a monopoly, I think that once it creates enough buzz people will begin to really dive into the site as a more mature form of social networking.

Secondly, I chose to start a LinkedIn profile. This is the one site I chose that I have really been meaning to do since this summer. LinkedIn, as many of you know, is a great way to market yourself in the professional world - I even know people that have had job opportunities just from having a LinkedIn page. As I said in my introduction, I accepted a job with Target Corporation this fall so once this happened starteing a LinkedIn profile was put on the back burner. I am excited to finally get this done and hopefully I can network with current and future Target employees and maybe even make some new friendships prior to my arrival there in September!

The last site I am ready to join is called 43Things. Compared to the other two sites, I am assuming that many of you do not know exactly what 43Things is. In a nutshell, it is a social networking site that has users create accounts and list their goals or hopes for the future. It then uses tagging techniques to connect you with not only people, but also resources, to getting those things done. As I'm sure many of you seniors can relate to, I am working through a "Bucket List" before I graduate from Madison. This bucket list not only contains "badgerly" things I want to experience, but also sets me up for my future in Minneapolis. I am hoping that through these goals and hopes I present on the site I will be able to completely my "list" of things prior to graduation - come along for the ride and get an idea of some of the fun things this campus has to offer!

As you can all probably tell, I'm more than excited to begin this journey through three new social networking sites. If any of you have accounts on them feel free to add me - I'd love to start accumulating some new friends. If not, maybe after sharing my experiences with these sites you'll become inspired to join one, two, or maybe even three! I look forward to the weeks to come and sharing my experiences with you - feel free to ask me any questions or give me any suggestions regarding these sites; I'd love the help.