Social media's impact on trust, relationships, and civic engagement

¶ … DB Post

Social Web and You

Explain how social media/web is changing or has changed the ways you, your family, and colleagues find information. Also, how has social media/web changed the ways you interact in your personal and professional life as well as within academic spheres? What functionalities do you think will be invented in the future? Make sure you support your argument with facts, figures, and intelligent analysis. Also, consider any opposing arguments. (One page).

When social networking was just getting started, critiques were concerned that it would lead to isolation -- that people would only connect online and would increasingly neglect their real time friends and family (Putnam, 2000). The Pew Foundation has been conducting a longitudinal study called the Internet & American Life Project that examines how people use the Internet and how that use is changing communication, social interactions, and political activism, among other dynamics. As part of the Internet & American Life Project, Pew researchers surveyed social networking people to learn about their overall social networks and how use of technology relates to "trust, tolerance, social support, and community and political engagement" ("Pew SNS," 2011).

People who use Facebook and Twitter tend to access the site on a daily basis, while only 7% of those who use LinkedIn access that platform daily ("Pew SNS," 2011). Clearly casual communication and networking is dominates most Internet use on social network sites ("Pew SNS," 2011). According to the Pew study, Facebook users tend to be more trusting of people than non-Facebook users ("Pew SNS," 2011). Facebook users tend to have more close social relationships and get more social support than non-Facebook users ("Pew SNS," 2011). In 2008, the average American had 1.93 core ties or discussion confidents ("Pew SNS," 2011). By 2011, that number had increased to 2.16 discussion confidents, which is a significant -- if modest -- increase ("Pew SNS," 2011). Indeed, Facebook users who access the platform several times per day average 9% more close, core times within their social network than other Internet users ("Pew SNS," 2011). Measures of total support, emotional support, companionship, and instrumental aid (or actual real-time support) indicate that Facebook users score higher in every category of support ("Pew SNS," 2011). Users of Facebook score about half of the total support derived from being married or from cohabiting with a partner for average Americans ("Pew SNS," 2011). Moreover, Facebook is often used to renew dormant relationships, which can be important source of information for users ("Pew SNS," 2011). Facebook users seek information about politics on social networking sites, and they are more likely to attend a political rally, and 57% of Facebook users said they were likely to persuade someone to vote in a particular way (Smith, et al., 2010).

About one in five people in America still do not use the Internet -- most reported that they do not find it relevant, but they have the skills to use the Internet if they wish to do so ("Pew SNS," 2011). Of the people in groups that do not use the Internet (elderly people, in household with less than $30,000 income, people with disabilities), access to the Internet is shifting to mobile devices and away from computers ("Pew SNS," 2011). Most of the people I know who have research to accomplish go first to the Internet and then later may access printed material ("Pew SNS," 2011). Also, for information gathering, professional networking sites like LinkedIn are frequented ("Pew SNS," 2011). I believe the best example of how the Web is being used is the recent viral video to make Kony famous. In the words of the founder of the non-profit that filmed the video, "Today, people all over the world can actually see each other, and leads to caring about each other and the lives people are leading far away from you" (paraphrased).

Sources:

Hamptom, K., Goulet, L.S., Rainie, L, and Purcell, K. (2011, June 16). Social networking sites and our lives. Internet & American Life Project, Pew Research Center.

Putnam, R. (2000). Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.

Smith, A., Lehman, K. Verba, S. And Brady, H. (2010). The Internet and Civic Engagement. Pew Internet & American Life Project, The Pew Institute. Retrieved http://www.pewinternet.org/~/media//Files/Reports/2009/The%20Internet%20and%20Civic%20Engagement.pdf

2. (DB) Slide Show Presentation Critiques

THIS WILL NEED TO BE DONE LATER

Post your research paper slide show presentation to this discussion forum (PowerPoint, optional PowerPoint with Jing or optional Prezi). Analyze and provide constructive critiques for at least two of your classmates' slide shows. You will use the feedback you receive on your slide show to make improvements for the final submission to your instructor on Day 7 of Week Five.

Include written observations about the following in your constructive critiques:

Is the slide show purpose clear?

Is the slide show organized (logically, sequentially)?

Is the amount of textual reading appropriate and to the point?

Does the slide show provide examples?

Does the slide show follow the 7 x 7 rule?

Is the slide show free of spelling/grammar/punctuation errors?

Does the slide show make use of effective graphics (balance)?

Is the slide show consistent in terms of font, point size, headings?

Is the slide show graphically pleasing, i.e. color, links, background?

Do the slides show creativity - (any combination of these) transitions, use of bullets, custom template, master slide, sound, object linking/embedding, animation, without overload of special effects?

Isak I am not sure what this all means and dad will be with mom for the next 10 days, I believe he has to answer these questions by some kind of graphics? I am hoping you can help me because I have no idea what I need to tell him. I also think this slide show is supposed to be part of his research papers? (Three pages) AFTER THE POWERPOINT PRESENTATION IS COMPLETED, YOU WILL NEED TO POST IT. THEN YOU OR I WILL NEED TO ACCESS THE PRESENTATIONS OF CLASSMATES AND CRITIQUE THEM.

On the Horizon, MCB University Press, 9 (5)

Metzger, Miriam J. (2007). Making sense of credibility on the Web: Models for evaluating online information and recommendations for future research. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 58 (13), 2078-2091. Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/asi.20672

MIT, one of the most prestigious universities in the world, began sharing all their online content for free for every class about ten years ago (2000). Yet, every year thousands apply to get accepted at this elite school. It says much about the power and importance of the learning community there. This same concept applies online. Explain what the notion of an online community is all about.

MIT. Here you have many of the finest minds in the country -- perhaps in the world. The school has opened its doors in manner that is absolutely unprecedented. OpenEducationResoucres (OER) means that anyone can access the syllabi, the professor's lectures, and the online resources for free. Doubtless, this is shaking up regents meetings in institutions of higher education across the country. Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs) are enabling people to tap into a reservoir of knowledge that has definitive economic value. It will be interesting to see where the deconstruct college movement leads. With access to such high quality information, do arguments about the plethora of questionable information on the Web become moot? One wonders if the law of supply and demand will apply to this free high quality content in such a way that less credible sources are driven out of the market.

Consider, too, what would happen to Wikipedia if all institutions of higher education took this tack. Wikipedia could ostensibly become just another Ask.com or e-notes. Alternately, Wikipedia could become an aggregator for the free coursework and technical information, changing its position from a knowledge creator to an information distributor. Wikipedia, as the premier voluntary knowledge creator and information storage vehicle has undergone changes in its short history that indicate the form may be resilient even though it may need to be adapted to keep up with the disruptive technology churn. The Wikipedia community has remained strong even as it has evolved. Certainly, there are similar expectations that Wikipedia will ride out the changes intact, or will adapt in ways that expand the utility of the online community.

Source:

____. (2012, April 24). Is Peer Input as Important as Content for Online Learning? MindShift. [Blog] MIT OpenCourseWare

The world is not flat for all of us. Consider a haircut…can you outsource that? What about repairs on your home? Is that service part of the "flat" world coined by Friedman? So then, what is globalization all about and how is technology one of the drivers?

Few can argue with Friedman's fundamental message in The World is Flat. He asserts that the Internet is speeding up business communications and knowledge work, and that the global labor markets have been made more fluid than they ever have been (Tibbi, 2005). Friedman explains to the reader that there have been three major convergences. The first convergence came about when hardware and software melded to create superior functionality. The second convergence was formed as ways of conducting business linked to the new technologies. The third convergence occurred as technology enabled some key low-wage industrial countries -- China, India, and Russia, specifically -- to participate in the market in ways previously not possible.

Globalization can be thought of primarily in economic and cultural -- language, ideas, popular culture -- terms (Coucher, 2004). The supply chain stream that has resulted from outsourcing by multinational firms has literally blurred the boundaries of international trade and figuratively blurred the boundaries of national interest. Not only can goods and services more freely in this leveled world, but so can capital and investments. Increased specialization creates comparative advantage when there is lower marginal cost and reduced opportunity cost to produce certain goods in one country over another country (Croucher, 2004). Even considering absolute advantage for producing all goods in a particular country, if the efficiencies differ between the countries, both countries can gain through their mutual trading arrangements (Croucher, 2004). Some of the results of globalization are less visible, or perhaps we are less willing to perceive them. For example, that haircut? The scissors were invariably manufactured in China. Repairs on your home? Changes are, the tools in the workman's tool belt were made in China, and the workman could very well be a Russian immigrant who was recommended to you by an Indian software engineer who lives in your block.

Sources:

Croucher, S.L. (2004). Globalization and Belonging: The Politics of Identity in a Changing World. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

Friedman, T. (2005, April 5). The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century (1st ed.). New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Taibbi, M. (2005, April 21). The peculiar genius of Thomas L. Friedman. New York Press. Retrieved http://rolocroz.com/junk/friedman.html