With the advent of social networks such as twitter, blogger, facebook and all the other chat rooms, forums and such, the world has become a much smaller place.
With this digital community becoming larger and more free, it's also becoming both more paranoid but also more open - as in sharing information.
This is also the problem. Unsavory characters can invade peoples natural paranoia and fear of all things unknown by offering doom and gloom suggestions. Here's an example: "Facebook will close all accounts that have no wall post in about 3 weeks from now". I see this on a dozen or so peoples wall-posts.
Now seriously, is it in Mark Zuckerberg's best interest to close accounts, even inactive ones? Considering that Facebook earns a profit from advertising revenue, and the more users, the more money advertisers can be charged. So, NO, facebook won't close inactive or faceless accounts simply to save a few K of memory on their servers, it would cost them a fortune. But people don't think, so they post this message in the hopes that they can spread the "evil empire message around."
The virus warnings are particularly funny. Not a day goes by where some - well meaning friend - sends an email saying "Don't open a certain file or email, cause it's a virus and will wipe out your C drive, leap out of the computer, take over your brain and use it for compost. Spread this to all your friends, quickly."
I must have compost brain - cause I forgot to mention I use a Mac, and my C drive doesn't exist! Must have been that evil compost virus!
Sorry getting off topic - a few months ago I placed an ad on a local classified site offering to do graphic design services for anyone. I got a few replies, nothing much came out of it, except an offer to teach Photoshop, Indesign and Adobe Illustrator at a local internet school. Imagine, being offered a job based on 60 words in a classified ad.
I went through the motions, met with the owner of the company, and agreed to offer my services in a part-time fashion. All this through a half-dozen emails and one 10 minute interview. How trusting this kind soul was! There must be 500 designers with more experience and a more creative brain in the region, yet I was being offered an evening teaching position based on one classified ad on a website. Small internet community!
Well things fell through on this end, he couldn't get enough student at the same time to take the course, or it was too expensive, or ALL the colleges already teach them, - whatever the reason, I turned down his generous offer to teach 1 or 2 students an evening course. What will I do without that $100 for this months worth of courses?
Social Networks
I love the social aspect of Facebook. Talking to and searching for friends I might not have seen in years. Being able to communicate with an entire group by simply clicking a mouse. - but nothing beats having a friend over for coffee and talking for hours, or getting together at the tavern for a pint of brew. These are the events we remember.
Look backwards at your memories for a second. Do you recall that great conversation on Facebook or the ski- trip you took to Camp Fortune last weekend?
The internet has become the largest library on earth, a vast vault of knowledge, yet cannot replace a simple handshake and the feeling of companionship we get from friends and family. It is also NOT a place for the timid! Its a tool! An addition to your tool belt of knowledge and information.
Use the internet, and all the social aspect it can offer as an addition to your resources, not a replacement. Don't spend an entire day staring at a monitor hoping something magic will happen! Nothing will. Sure you might gain a level in Mafia Wars, or build a new barn in Farmville, but is it worth spending an entire day doing these things?
A day wasted can never be replaced!
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