Social+Networking

= Social Networking = Courtney Cox

**Description and Uses of Technology**media type="custom" key="11258606" align="right"
Social networking is used for many different reasons by people all around the world. Many see "online social networks as a representation of social interactions that can be used to study the propagation of ideas, social bond dynamics and viral marketing, among others" (Huberman et al., 2008). The main examples of social networking include but are not limited to Facebook and Twitter. Facebook was originally a tool used for and by college students in order to connect old friends and new friends. Facebook was "created in 2004, by 2007 Facebook was reported to have more than 21 million registered members generating 1.6 billion page views each day" (Ellison et al., 2007). "Facebook constitutes a rich site for researchers interested in the affordances of social networks due to its heavy usage patterns and technological capacities that bridge online and offline connections" (Ellison et al., 2007). By creating an online profile, people are able to list their interests, favorites, and relationship status.

Twitter is a social networking tool that is able to update people on the latest news. "Twitter users tweet about any topic within the 140-character limit and follow others to receive their tweets" (Kwak et al., 2010). To use Twitter, people simply login to their own "@" name and "follow" people who may be of interest to them. Some popular people to follow would include news stations, famous celebrities, and companies that have free give-a-ways. People are able to update their twitter with anything from describing what is happening in their day, to exciting news that may be happening in their life or in the world. Famous celebrities may tweet where they are to cause a ruckus and many fans show up to meet them. The news stations also will tweet information that is happening in the world. This helps keep people up to date on matter that may affect them.

Both Facebook and Twitter "allow individuals to present themselves, articulate their social networks, and establish or maintain connections with others" (Ellison et al., 2007). Even though there have been internet hoaxes from time to time about Facebook starting to charge their members, there social networking tools are still free of charge. The problems that may arise from such social networking tools would be the privacy issue. People may post certain topics on twitter or facebook that could agitate others and cause various problems.

Important Findings on Student Outcomes
According to Lenhard (2009), 93% of teenagers between the ages of 12-17 use the internet. Lenhart (2009) also says that 77% of the students in school use the internet while they are at school. Along with this same study, 65% of teenagers have an online profile on the Facebook website and Twitter users are normally above the student age. This shows that students are using these social networking sites. Students can use these sites to connect to one another. For example, a student might get home one night from school, start their homework, and realize they have a few questions. They can sign into their Facebook account and chat with fellow students who might be able to answer their questions. This will allow the student to get another students perspective because if they were to e-mail the teacher, the teacher may not be able to get back to the student in a sufficient amount of time.

This can also go for teachers. Some schools allow teachers to "friend" their students on Facebook. Some schools absolutely do not allow for it. However, if a student and a teacher are Facebook friends and the student has a question about homework, the student might get a quicker response from the teacher if they Facebook message instead. This is because after school hours, it is the time for teachers to go about their normal routine, which more than likely means Facebooking. Going along with the teacher having a Facebook account, the students don't necessarily have to be "friends" with the teacher in order to get help. Teachers can create Facebook groups for their specific class. In the group, the teachers can post different things in order to help the students. For example, there might be a very important project that is due very soon. The teacher can post website into the Facebook group that may help the students, or simple post a reminder so that no one forgets.

Twitter can also be used by students and teachers. Students can follow teachers and learn different things that are happening in the world. The teacher can easily "retweet" things that have been said on Twitter, in order to let their students know something that has happened. As I said earlier with Facebook, Twitter can be used to remind students of assignments that are due. The teacher can also "tweet" words of encouragement to their students to help them gain courage in their assignment or test that is coming up.

Both social networks can be used to connect with others all around the world. This can be a great tool for students. Students can "friend" other students from around the world to possibly learn more about another culture. This helps connect classrooms together, even if they are thousands of miles from one another. Instead of surfing the web for information, a student can get a first-hand account from a student that lives in the culture every single day.

Students are able to use social networking to learn from others. According to Lockyer & Patterson (2008), "Researchers have analyzed interaction that has taken place in social networking sites and have identified sharing of ideas, providing of peer feedback, and engagement in critical thinking." This can really help the student in the classroom. By sharing information with others, the students can see problems in a different light and/or be able to actually solve problems that are presented to them in the classroom. This type of learning is referred to as "informal" learning (Lockyer & Patterson, 2008). Therefore. "it could be concluded that this experience of using a social networking site in a formal education environment realized positive learning outcomes and experiences for the participants" (Lockyer & Patterson, 2008).

According to Lockyer & Patterson (2008), those positive learning outcomes come from "the level of sharing/comparing ideas and/or negotiation/co-construction of ideas related to the topic" (Lockyer & Patterson, 2008). Students were able to collaborate with one another on these social networking sites to futher their education. Additionally, students have shown "testing tentative, constructions, statement/application of newlyconstructed knowledge in relation to understanding the functionality of and how to use the Web 2.0 technology of this specific social networking site" (Lockyer & Patterson, 2008). This tells us that social networking has not only advanced students in the school subject areas, but also with the use of technology in the classroom.

Emerging Trends and Open Issues
Some of the biggest emerging trends in social networking include companies using major website for promotion. Companies all around the world are taking to Facebook and Twitter to get people to see what they are about. Facebook groups can be "liked" by costumers and this allows customers to follow what that company is doing. Companies have also taken to Twitter for promotion. Companies can make Twitter accounts and "followers" can read about special promotions the company may be having. With both social networks, they also can give their things away. A company can say they are giving away free things from their store and their "followers" will see this and be able to participate.

There have been many issues regarding the use of social networks. The main issue is privacy. A lot of Facebook profiles are open to the public and this can present many risks. "Major concerns revolve around the possibility of sexual predators and pedophiles finding and then assaulting adolescents who carelessly or unwittingly reveal identifiable information on their personal profile pages" (Hinduja et al., 2007). Even though people can change their privacy settings to make sure their profile is not available to others, many do not take advantage of this and their identity is given to millions of people from around the world. Privacy issues arise from Twitter as well. According to Humphreys et al, "about a quarter of tweets do include information regarding when people are engaging in activities and where they are." Unlike Facebook, Twitter does not give away your address, phone number, schools etc., but people can post "tweets' on Twitter that can give this information away. However, this should not scare people away from using the social networks. "In contrast to popular press coverage which has primarily focused on negative outcomes of Facebook use stemming from users’ misconceptions about the nature of their online audience" (Ellison et al., 2007). According to Dwyer et al. (2007), "it is not well understood how privacy concern and trust influence social interactions within social networking sites." Therefore, even with the privacy concerns, people all around the world are still using the social networks.

To minimize privacy concern in schools where social networks are used, it is important that students and faculty are well educated on the different privacy options that both Twitter and Facebook have made available for users. Students can also be informed of items they should and should not share with the public. For example, letting the public know where you are at all times could bring about many issues. As long as the students are aware of things they can do for personall protection on social networking sites, it can be a safe and useful tool in the classroom and in their everyday lives.