Social Networking

My first venture into modern social networking was back in 2005, when Myspace was on it's way up to popularity, and Facebook was still in a dorm room at Harvard. At the time I was 19 years old and what attracted me was the ability to have my own website. I could have a site to which I had, to some extent, control over what content was on it, and I could communicate with close friends and theoretically anyone else who had an account. This was such a leap forward from the normal communication through email or instant messaging. At the time I was a freshman in college, and it was right about the time that I was becoming more independent and needed a support system to help me out when I was not at school. This new form of social networking answered my prayers. I was able to find other peers and communicate with them, without needing to know their emails or phone numbers. All I needed was a name.
Fast forward five years and I am still involved in social networking. Only now Myspace plays a lesser role, and it is not all about homework but more so about developing my understanding of various matters. Not only that, but I am subscribed to at least five or six types of social networks. In these days it is almost impossible to stick with one network because there are so many options that not everyone agrees on which one to commit to. One convenience is that some play nice together and allow for plug-ins or APIs to blend some of the services between network platforms. While I use Facebook for personal contacts, I use LinkedIn to maintain a connection with current and previous co-workers. Twitter acts as a quick look at what trends are happening "now", but I still need to become a more avid user of that platform to truly call myself a "twit" :)
These new ways of communicating online have enabled me to keep up to date not only on my personal matters, but also on various changing aspects of my career. I am able to read on updates, conferences, and other available resources online without having to be glued to a news site or my email.
Now more than ever social networking offers the abilities for education to create online environments where students can be engaged in conversations. It is with these platforms that everyone has a voice to speak with and share their thoughts.  While there are issues that come along with social networking, e.g. cyber bullying and privacy, proper instruction may lead to a better understanding of how our actions and words can have tremendous effects online and offline.