Creativity

Many companies these days use social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter to find out what their customers think of them and use the internet praise and criticism to improve themselves. In the past, companies would have to use forms of primary research if they wanted to make improvements, in order to find their customers and figure out their thoughts on company products or services. Doing research in this manner can be very time consuming and expensive. Through social media and other internet applications, firms can now get their creative and innovative thinking right from their own customers easily. Instead of companies hiring people specifically to generate ideas that will please consumers, they look at the feedback they get on the internet to figure out what changes need to be made. Even Twitter used its own followers to find out what new features users wanted and made those changes happen. Internet users can easily use their creativity to generate new ideas for existing companies. Companies benefit greatly from knowing exactly what their consumers want, and consumers benefit by having their needs met by companies. This also fosters user creativity by allowing them to come up with their own ideas on how companies can meet their individual needs.

Works Cited

Cain Miller, Claire. "Twitter Serves Up Ideas From Its Followers." The New York Times. The New York Times, 25 Oct. 2009. Web. 26 Oct. 2014. <http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/26/technology/internet/26twitter.html>.

Modeling Reality with Virtual Worlds

     Virtual worlds are used for many purposes. Many virtual world accounts are registered to children ages 5-15 who use them to interact with the outside world since they cannot go out into the real world on their own yet. For these kids, virtual worlds are a source of interaction with others. However, adults can also use virtual worlds to satisfy social needs. For example, people use Virtual Lower East Side (VLES) to go out to clubs and other locations where they can interact with people, but without having to leave their home. It makes it more convenient to socially interact without actually having to see real people.

     Virtual worlds also have other purposes. An example is the 3D virtual world, Second Life. A man named Michael Brown used this site to create a virtual version of Hotel Chelsea, as it existed in the past. This particular user used this technology to bring back a world of the past instead of envisioning a virtual future. Whether creating the past or the future, however, sites like Second Life give users a chance to foster their creativity and create or preserve a version of the world that they would like to experience.

     Some companies, such as Linden Labs, use technology in the workplace to bring employees together for meetings and conferences in a more convenient way. This company also uses Second Life for its virtual world interactions. For meetings, attendees can project a virtual version of the Rayburn House Office Building onto television screens on the wall to see the other attendees without having to physically be in a room with them.

     Virtual world technologies can potentially make it very convenient for people to interact both socially and in business situations, while also using the same technology to express their creativity in a way that would be much more difficult to express in the real world. People can create whatever kind of world they want to without having to worry about its maintenance and preservation in years to come.

Works Cited

Itzkoff, Dave. "I've Been In That Club, Just Not In Real Life." The New York Times. The New York   Times, 5 Jan. 2008. Web. 19 Oct. 2014. <http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/06/arts/television/06itzk.html?_r=0>.

Knafo, Saki. "In Room 100, It's Sid and Nancy All Over Again." The New York Times. The New York Times, 2 May 2009. Web. 19 Oct. 2014. <http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/03/nyregion/thecity/03virt.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1413915256-hhgschfGOgv7aymF46FnIQ>.

Mehta, Diane. "After Second Life, Can Virtual Worlds Get a Reboot?." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 30 Apr. 2013. Web. 19 Oct. 2014. <http://www.forbes.com/sites/dianemehta/2013/04/30/after-second-life-can-virtual-worlds-get-a-reboot/>.

Musgrove, Mike. "At Hearing, Real and Virtual Worlds Collide." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 2 Apr. 2008. Web. 19 Oct. 2014. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/04/01/ST2008040103032.html>.

Social Networking Sites

     Four popular social networking sites: MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. How are they different? What are some similar features?

     First, let us look at MySpace. It used to be a lot more popular than it is now. People used to communicate with their friends and meet new people, although there was no way of knowing who you were really talking to. As its popularity has died down, it has become a place where amateur musicians can promote their music. It seems like every profile still in existence has some sort of music player of some band or musician trying to get people to listen to their new songs.

     Next, there’s Facebook. It’s been around for a while now and a large majority of the population has their own profiles. Facebook is very convenient if you want to communicate and share your posts with large groups of friends or family. It’s mostly used between people who already know each other.

     

     In contrast to Facebook, Twitter is better for sharing your thoughts with the entire population of Twitter users. It is easy to post something for large groups of strangers to read. It is also easy for people to communicate with celebrities and other figures with greater influence than themselves. Many people even find jobs through Twitter and companies use Twitter to find recruits.

     Instagram is a little different from these other three sites. It is specifically meant for use with a mobile device and it allows people to get a little more creative with their phone cameras. People can post pictures along with their thoughts, and their followers can view them in an organized way.

     

     All of these social media sites have the same general purpose: communication. What is different about them is how and with whom users can communicate.

Social Networking

     Social Networking is changing the way society interacts. Through sites like Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter, people can communicate with both friends and strangers easier than ever before. Companies have begun to use social networking to recruit people for jobs. In fact, Maureen Crawford-Hentz, from the company Osram Sylvania, said, “Social networking technology is absolutely the best thing to happen to recruiting ever.” Through business networking sites like LinkedIn, recruiters can explore thousands of people and find thousands more who could be potential employees for their companies.

     Although social networking is great for businesses seeking new employees, it also has a dark side. For example, Randi Zuckerberg, sister of Facebook cofounder Mark Zuckerberg, privately posted a family picture for the holidays. A non-friend of Zuckerberg’s ended up getting access to the photo when it came up on her newsfeed. Zuckerberg was very upset with this, and it shows how even what people think is private on their social networking profiles is not really private.

     For different people, social networking is perceived as either the best thing to happen in the world, or the worst. Although it is nice for people who want to reach all of their friends with one status update, it is not so nice for those who prefer to keep their private life private, only sharing with a few select people. In regard to whether the present and future development of social networking has made humankind better or worse off, Stephen J. Dubner describes it, “social networking technologies are doubtless changing society. But like anything — apart from motherhood and apple pie — whether this is good or bad depends upon what kind of society you value.”

Works Cited

Dubner, Stephen J.. "Is MySpace Good for Society? A Freakonomics Quorum." Freakonomics RSS. N.p., 15 Feb. 2008. Web. 4 Oct. 2014. <http://freakonomics.com//2008/02/15/is-myspace-good-for-society-a-freakonomics-quorum/>.

Greenfield, Rebecca. "Facebook Privacy Is So Confusing Even the Zuckerberg Family Photo Isn't Private." The Wire. The Wire, 26 Dec. 2012. Web. 4 Oct. 2014. <http://www.thewire.com/technology/2012/12/facebook-privacy-so-confusing-even-zuckerberg-family-photo-isnt-private/60313/>.

Langfitt, Frank. "Social Networking Technology Boosts Job Recruiting." NPR. NPR, 22 Nov. 2006. Web. 4 Oct. 2014. <http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6522523&sc=emaf>.