Social Network Innovations
It is almost hard to imagine the days before the advent of social networks like Facebook and Twitter. While some people bemoan the lost art of letter writing or perceive a loss of privacy with the rise of the Internet and social networks, some things would be more difficult to do without social networks. Meeting groups of like-minded people for obscure hobbies, watching international events such as the Arab Spring unfold in real time, and communicating with loved ones in the armed forces are just a few of the things that are easier to do with social networks than without.
Facebook is not the only social network that lets people connect. Marc Andreessen’s Ning allows people to create their own social network with any theme they choose and make it public or private (Brown 30). Sites like Meetup allow people to connect to others in their area who have similar interests. This makes it easy for people with obscure hobbies such as knitting, gaming, falconry, and so forth to find each other and share information online or even meet in person.
Twitter appears to have been a large factor in making the world aware of events unfolding surrounding the Arab Spring. Foreign Policy Managing Editor Blake Hounshell was at first suspicious that Twitter was a mere fad, but as mainstream journalists as well as average citizens began to tweet events in Egypt, Libya, and so forth, he wrote, “These [tweeters] weren’t revolutionaries so much as they were reporters, translating their struggle for the rest of us” (1). From Middle Eastern countries that previously censored information on their news networks were now coming firsthand, uncensored reports from people on the scene. Without social networks like Twitter, much of what happened in the Middle East would have been left in the dark much longer.
Social networks like Facebook now allow members of the armed forces to keep in contact with family members on a much more regular basis than in the days before the Internet. In the past, families had to wait for weeks or even months for a single letter to arrive, reassuring them that their soldier was safe. Today, with Facebook, Skype, Twitter, and other networks, families can communicate with much more frequency and find greater relief faster.
Overall, the speed of communication on social networks provides the greatest benefit in all of the above examples. Whether looking for a gaming group, tweeting about a political uprising, or communicating with loved ones, everything happens much faster with social networks and makes these activities easier than ever before.
References
Brown, Arnold (2011). Relationships, Community, and Identity in the New Virtual Society. The Futurist 45(2). 29-34.
Hounshell, B. (2011). The Revolution Will Be Tweeted. Foreign Policy 187. 20-21.
