How do you think social media will change in the future? What other trends would you add to the mix? Are they any specific technologies that you think will gain popularity or emerge?

I believe that social media will change for the better of mankind. Making the lazy, lazier and the active will be even more active thanks in part to the new and upcoming smart phones and the new Google glass. The growth of social media and new technologies is making things extremely easy for individuals to communicate with one another. With this new Web 3.0, coming to homes near you, the way we search the internet will become customized towards are specific needs. These new search engines will make the dumb, dumber in my opinion. Now, think about it for a minute, people already have a hard time writing, reading and communicating with one another face-to-face. How will taking away vocabulary words from a person’s dialect help individuals succeed in the real word? One cannot always depend on spell check you know, especially when speaking. I see social media’s impact on today’s youth and it is not pretty by any means. So, that being said; what does the future hold for them? A big problem in today’s society is gridlock; people spend an incredible amount of time in their vehicles. So, why not make it safer for people to communicate effectively without breaking the law. I can see something like Google glass being intergraded in vehicles, the technology is almost there. The technology that I believe will gain popularity is paying for items with your smart phone. Just by simply scanning a bar code on your phone and “voila” done, wasn’t that easy? Just think how easy it will be to get hacked and ripped off. As much as I enjoy writing these blog’s it is time to sign off. I will keep using social media as a business tool and as far as socially you can just “shovel it”, I will keep enjoying life as a “caveman”.

 I leave you with a famous quote by Albert Einstein.

“Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe.”
― Albert Einstein

 

 

http://www.google.com/glass/start/how-it-feels/

http://www.goodreads.com/quotes

Blog 3 and 1 to go

According to Malcom Gladwell, a well-known author in the area of social media, social media are built around weak ties and real social change can never come from loose networks of people that do not know each other. Do you think that social media has the potential to bring about real social change?

I think I need to write a book, seems these days if you write about something, could be anything really, you get noticed. The worst the book is, the better acknowledgment you get from society, it’s crazy. “Fifty Shades of Grey”, there is a perfect example of what I’m talking about, stupid book, bestseller, go figure. I like to consider myself an in- between if there is such a thing, I understand the value of social media in today’s society without it businesses would crumble. I think that social media is both good and bad at the same time. We are all different not everyone thinks rationally, that’s what makes us human beings. Maybe that is why the world today is such a bloody mess. Social media plays a big role in today’s society. There was an article not too long ago I can’t remember on what site I saw this article it was about a young girl that was turning 16 and a house party was going to be taking place... The ending picture showed thousands of people showed up for this party. It turned out that this poor girl that had sent out a few invitations to close friends had her online account hacked, and an invitation was sent out to all.  I also talked a little bit about a situation of terrorism in my second blog posting and how these terrorist used social media to communicate with each other and organize their attack. I believe “Twitter” was used for their communications. I think that social media has the potential to bring real social change and it has, with the good comes the bad. Unless the government is willing to start forming a unified task force to look after “cyber world”, and direct social media through extremely harsh guidelines, rules and regulations… I am sure by now you get the drift . Just remember these are my thoughts and my opinions. 

Cheers,

RL

Social media has allowed everyday citizens to become authors, editors, and publishers of news and information. Do you believe that social media has increased the quality use and information or decreased it?

 

Here, we go again I do not believe that the quality of news and information has increased or decreased. I think that the news and information itself has increased, as far as quality it is up to the reader to decide whether his or her sources are reliable. I’m one of those people that enter into his vehicle, and the first thing that comes on after the vehicle is turned on is AM 680, a radio news station. Yes, of course I use the Internet to check out different stories or news that I find intriguing. I never take what I read at face value without doing my own research through credible sources of course. Through a little research of my own,  I found out that the two main sources of information in an emergency situation is Facebook and twitter. I also found the following article engrossing and included the website below my blog. “Those who are still skeptical about the value of Twitter for real-time situational awareness during a crisis ought to ask why terrorists likely think otherwise. In 2008, terrorists carried out multiple attacks on Mumbai in what many refer to as the worst terrorist incident in Indian history, the terrorists in question used social media for coordination and decision-making purposes.”

 I think by now people have realized that I have mixed emotions concerning social media, Facebook and Twitter. I want to share a personal story with everyone. A good friend of mine was involved in a serious accident in a major intersection of downtown Toronto, about five years ago. It was not long after the collision that pictures flooded the Internet, and then came the comments. “This gentlemen is an alcoholic, and now caused somebody severe injuries,” this is only one comment that was posted by one person who was an acquaintance of my good friend. These pictures that were posted by these so-called authors, editors, and publishers or whatever you would like  to call them, I personally call them people with too much time on their hands. The pictures depicted the accident with debris everywhere empty beer bottles littered the intersection broken glass everywhere it was a horrific scene. A police investigation began, and lawyers were hired. What had happened, was the person in the pickup truck ran a red light T-boned my friends vehicle causing his death upon impact. The force of impact was so severe that the pickup truck literally flipped over spreading it's load of empty beer bottles all over the intersection. Here is a man who had a lot of personal issues, and persevered through life and because of his past people figured they could be authors and post damaging comments about him on the Internet. I do not have to tell you guys the effect that these comments had caused his family, the legal battles that they had to go through to clear his name. It was not my friend who caused the accident it was actually a drunk driver but not my friend. Nobody knew that he was attending “AA” meetings for the past two years and had been sober for 18 months, only his family knew and a couple of his closest friends. Remember what you post might be news to you but could be extremely damaging to someone else. Please use discretion when posting news or info on the web, remember that social media plays a particularly crucial role in today’s society. The news-worthiness and credibility of the information conveyed on various sites is left to the reader to verify the source of information.

Like the saying goes buyers beware, or in this instance readers beware.

            May your soul rest in peace my good friend, you are missed tremendously.

Source: http://irevolution.net

Based on my opinion, when it comes to social media in a social setting, not only do I find it invasive it is also extremely disruptive. Why do I believe it is invasive, based on the fact that what is posted is fair game for all to see and can be used against you in the court of law. Areas where I believe it is disruptive, that is an easy one to answer. When people forget proper etiquette, and surf the web, or are on Facebook, in business meetings or even in a classroom setting. I also think that social media in a social environment is crippling the young minds of today’s youth, taking away their ability to communicate effectively face-to-face. That being said; in business it is an absolute necessity. Social media in business is no longer an option; it has modernized businesses in a way that can no longer be ignored by those seeking to gain a competitive advantage over their competitors. Succeeding in today’s market is to understand the importance of social media in a business environment as well as to its successful implementation within one’s organization. To answer the question at hand; no I do not think it is a trend, nor do I think it is the next big thing since the industrial revolution. Do not get me wrong social media is good for businesses but, what I find more significant is the technology behind it all. Social media has evolved thanks to new technologies. Also, social media has been around forever but on a different level. Some examples would be newspapers, magazines, television ads, just to name a few. What I honestly find concerning is the way one’s personal information is sold to the highest bidder. Let’s face it folks if you think Facebook, Twitter and all the other social media platforms will allow you to use their software for free your mistaken there is and always will be a hidden motive.