Jennifer Buse, Bryan Bleda, Tyrone Celoza, Alyssa Montanaro, Nicole Layfield

Introduction What is Social Networking? Building online communities of people with common interests How does it affect us? Powerful way to communicate and share information Prevalent everywhere Brings the global community closer

BACKGROUND The earliest forms of social networking sites were found in the form of bulletin boards, Usenet, and other forms of closed systems. As social networking developed, websites such as classmates.com and sixdegrees.com, let people connect with their old classmates and friends of friends. After the fall of sixdegrees.com, Friendster became the popular social networking site. Soon though, Friendster was plagued by technical difficulties, and people started to leave the site. Social networking giant, MySpace.com, was launched in 2003, and attracted people with the ability to personalize their profiles with colors, music, and pictures. Since early 2007, Facebook.com has experienced a growth rate even greater than MySpace had experienced.

Some Current Thoughts on Social Networking “You feel like you are instantly broadcasting your own life and experiences to your friends at home, and to anyone in the world who wants to join” Walter Zai: New York Times 4/29/08 "Maybe everything we thought was so great wasn't as great as we thought," Tina Wells: Foxnews 10/6/06 “Facebook: more popular than porn” Bill Tancer: Time magazine 10/31/07

POSITIVE Aspects Allow people to express themselves Posting blogs, diaries, photos, music, videos Keep in touch with friends and family Easy form of communication Build relationships with people Connect with people who have same interests as you

NEGATIVE Aspects o Lack of privacy o Easy disclosure of sensitive information o Allows stalking, identity theft, predatory behavior, etc o Encourages narcissism o Allows one to form seemingly close relationships with many that can be used to enhance self o Allows “showing off” through number of friends, pictures, etc o You can be endangered by others o Even if you don’t take part in social networking, your picture and information could easily be given away by your friends o “you’re only as safe as your friends”

Our Opinions About Social Networking Sites When used in a safe and responsible manner, social networks are very useful. Social networks can greatly aid in meeting new people, especially before major events like college. They can help keep old friends in touch. They help groups share information easily. It’s so easy to communicate on social networking sites Plus, we, as college students… basically cannot survive without Facebook! (we’re all big fans of social networking sites)