Joseph's a-ha moment #2

This week I have finally given into temptation and joined Facebook. Partly for the sake of the class, partly to stay in touch with some long distance friends I have joined the social network. I had been reluctant to join the site because of the stories I have heard about the negative emotions that it has caused in the past. I had always seen the site as one big popularity contest, and did not wish to be friends with a bunch of people I did not know.

My limited experience with Facebook has bee thus far positive, as I have been able to get into touch with some friends I have not heard of in awhile. As someone who has moved around multiple times in my life, I sort of wish that Facebook had been created years ago. So far I have resisted befriending people I don't know, but I wonder if I will be able to much longer. When the course ends I wonder if Facebook will become a useful tool for myself or will its use slowly fade away.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

The Ted Talks video was entertaining and also provided some insight into how the internet operates. The idea that the internet depends on unpaid users to keep it running and police it truly unique. Because of the size of the web, the occurrence of random acts of kindness could have a real impact on the world if enough people were to act together. It can be uplifting to think that so many users choose to use the internet in constructive ways, when most news reports only show the negative side of the internet.

As college students, one of the most relevant topics concerns the use of the internet for research. Internet Detective is a site that briefly looks at the positive and negative sides of using the internet for research. The internet provides a vast range of research work that can be cheaply and rapidly. However, the access to such widespread information can lead to plagiarism, misinterpretation, and the use of false information. Of course the ever present threat of scams, frauds, and hate also effect the use of the internet for research.

The Internet Detective site suggests some other sites that can be used as an aid for internet users. One of these sites, Snopes.com has a good reputation and also can be an entertaining read. While updating many scams running on the internet, the site also has a list of many urban legends and the truth behind them. The self run site created by a husband and wife team is an example of the good that can be found on the internet.

Joseph's a-ha moment

For someone who is just over year removed from the dorm life experience I was well aware of how large Facebook has become. I did no very little about how Facebook was created, only that it was created by and for college students. Now I now the name Mark Zuckerberg and maybe even some of the real story of what went into the creation of the network site. The speed by which the site went from an exclusive ivy league network to a global wide sensation is outstanding. It is important to remember that these online relationships can never replace true face to face interaction, and of course what you say online can have real consequence for your real life relationships.

Interesting that the person responsible for the social phenomenon that has connected so many people like never before is such a private person. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg now faces more exposure than he has probably ever had with the release of the Social Network. The film presents a dramatic story of the creation of Facebook that includes destroyed friendships, the excitement of instant fame, and heartbreak. Mark Zuckerberg would like you to believe that the real story is not as interesting as the film, but the law suits did happen and lives where effected.

A lot has been made of Mr. Zuckerberg's act of charity to help education in Newark. It is hard not to be led to believe that this act of charity is way to combat the image portrayed of Zuckerberg in the film. If you watched the film, Zuckerberg's character was also concerned with how the founder's images effected their business. The news piece doesn't pass up the chance to use Zuckerberg's own creation to find out what common people think about the film. It is telling that most of the people who use Facebook everyday have little interest for the person who co-founded it.

The piece makes an interesting claim that Mark Zuckerberg will be seen by history in the same category as people like Henry Ford. Like Edison and Bell, Zuckerberg has changed the way society functions everyday. Because Zuckerberg values his privacy so much, Films like the social network may actually be the source for how he is portrayed in the future. If Mark Zuckerberg wants to mold the way he is seen he must begin to share the way he has allowed million's of people to share their lives.