A New Perspective Through the Web

One of the greatest highlights of the internet is the fact that users can develope multiple perspectives and ideas that they might not encounter in the real world. The web offers people the opportunity to become invisible. The internet allows it users to portray any type of image that people want to convey to others. The ability to hide behind the keyboard has given many net users a confidence that lack in the real world. Those that might be introverted, shy and quiet in the real world, find it easier to show their true emotions or characteristics online.

According to Wired Magazine one of the greatest dangers of the internet is the "echo chamber effect". This effect explains the how people spend top much of their time seeking information that they already know. This only reinforces the things that they already believe are true. For Example: hackers associate with other hackers online, anorexics search blog sites for tips, and victims of bullying seem to actively associate themselves with social networking sites.

Online representation is very misleading when dealing with the internet. Above is a video of football superstar Manti Te'o who was a victim of false identity through the internet. He had an online relationship and fell in love with a woman via the web that lasted for many years. As the relationship progressed Te'o fell very much in love with the woman, and at the height of their relationship the woman died suddenly before he was given the opportunity to meet her. After these events past Te'o learns that the woman he fell in love with was not real and in fact it was a man who created a fake identity. He used another woman's picture and pretended to be the woman that Manti Te'o fell in love with. Manti Te'o's story has become popular in the news and has reached many people who frequent the internet. His story makes users think twice before trusting someone online.

The misconception of the web is important in understanding the false consciousness that people have when using the internet. There are many perspectives that users can have and can also experience while using the internet. A 50 year old widower can now become a 25 year old single woman at the drop of the hat. These issue extend to a much broader topic that flows into a negative aspect of online perspective. Different online perspectives can have a negative effect on people, especially on dating sites. On dating sites such as match.com, e-harmony.com, and plentyoffish.com have millions of viewers. There are several stories where woman are beaten and killed by men who portray themselves as the "good guy" on the these dating sites

Perspective on the web can range from bad to good. Different people will always have the opportunity to view different perspectives of others on the internet. Its just up to that people to be careful and make wise decisions when getting to know others behind the screen

The Height of the Obama Campaign and Social Media

The Methods and Implications of the Obama Campaign’s use of Social Networking Tools

     With the many social networking resources we have today, it is easy to see how the United States president Barack Obama was able to win a landslide victory against John McCain in the 2008 election. Obama made a very wise decision to tap into the social media network and use it as an advantage in running for president. A great percentage of the success of his campaign came from the usage of social media sites such as facebook, youtube,myspace and especially twitter. 

Obama's official website is BarackObama.com. It is cleverly run by Chris Hughes, who is one of the three co-founders of Facebook.This website was a very smart decision made by the Obama party because the website is structured to mimic a social media site. On BarackObama.com, the site includes online tools that allows for its members to create blogs, post photos, and form groups. This became a major aid to Obama. As reported by Hughes the website generated over 200 million new users who took to the site to organize their local communities on behalf of Barack Obama. He also estimated that over 200,000 events were organized and 400,000 articles written.

Obama and Facebook

A few months before the election, the Obama administration created an interconnection between the user accounts on www.barackobama.com and Facebook. As Obama expanded his use of facebook, he was also able to attract younger voters and more of the minority vote. The Obama Presidential Campaign spent 643,000 promoting Obama's facebook page. This page also attracted voters to keep track of the election and stay in tune with the current events in relation to the election. 

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Growing up Online: Issues in Social Media

The PBS Documentary “Growing up Online” brings up some very important matters that are becoming a significant issue in our society today. Throughout time media has grown to become the primary source of information consumed by the world today. The use of technology is growing more prevalent in the teenage population with users as young as 4 years old. “Growing up Online” explores the relationship of technology in comparison with American teenagers.  This documentary is very informative for parents as well as their children.  In this film, we can see that the filmmakers are biased against teenagers and their usage of the internet. They examine how teenagers are living out parts of their lives online and the challenges they face while doing so. The filmmakers show evidence of negative online post by teens by showing videos of fights and clashes among high-schoolers , as well as subjects that deal with anorexia, bullying and suicide. The age of technology has clearly become more advanced for teenagers. It has become a place where teens can escape and have their own privacy even in their own homes. With the internet a person can have a whole new persona, where no one has to know who they really are. Social media sites such as myspace, facebook, instagram, and twitter makes it easier for people to expose themselves in any way they choose to. This creates the opportunity for more real life situations to extend to the internet. For example: Erica Hill is a woman who has become victim to online stalking. Her stalker was able to retrieve her pictures through a social media site and repost them with malicious comments. In this world today, technology makes personal information easily accessible by anyone. The widespread of social media sites have made it easier for people to share pictures, ideas, and news online. This does not help the many issues that teenagers go through today, such as bullying and anorexia. Bullying is not only a physical action, bullying can also be done online. Social media sites such as facebook and instagram allows the users to post pictures, request friends, and share comments about their daily life through the use of a newsfeed. Under a newsfeed many people are able to see what goes on in a users daily life by the pictures he/she has post. In the issue of bullying, sometimes there are incidents where people post malicious and offensive comments under ones photo. There are other times where a person has had his/her secret life exposed on the web by a person who is out to ruin their reputation. "Growing up Online" actively shows demonstrations of people who go through these type of situations daily. The documentary does a great job at informing parents and children of the hazards of the internet. The rise of new technology cannot be stopped and it can barely be controlled. Social networking sites and the media is at the fingertips of every cell phone, tablet , and personal computer. It is up to the user to either control it or be controlled by it.