Social Networking

For the most part, the concept, applications, and issues of social networking are known entities, and they are covered in varying levels in blogs for the social networking assignment. Personally, I am interested in social networking statistics and I would like to share my discoveries with members of this forum. The following data was published at www.statisticbrain.com/social-networking-statistics/

 

Social Networking Statistics

Total number of Facebook users worldwide:                                                1.2 Billion

Total percentage of 18-24 year olds who already use social media:               98%

Total percentage of people on Earth who use Facebook:                               11%

Total amount of minutes people spend on Facebook every month:               700 billion

Average amount of time a person uses Facebook per month:                         15 hours 33 minutes

Total amount of people who access Facebook with phone:                           250 million

Total amount of websites that have integrated with Facebook:                     2.5 million

Total pieces of content shared on Facebook each month:                              70 billion

Total amount of unique YouTube users per month:                                       490 million

Total amount of YouTube page views per month:                                         92 billion

Total amount hours spent on YouTube per month:                                        2.9 billion

Average amount of tweets per day:                                                                190 million

Percent of teenagers who log on to Facebook over 10 times per day:           22%

Percent of teens that view social networks as unsafe:                                    59%

Percent of Americans who aren’t confident in their ability to use                 24%

privacy settings

 

Most disconcerting were the statistics on social networks safety and privacy settings In the article, “Antisocial Networking?” by Hilary Stout, the author raised concern over the effect of cyber-bullying and texting sexually explicit messages (sexting) on kids’ intellectual development. Currently, the body of psychologists researching “the darker side of online interactions” is in the evaluation process. Next, in the publication, “Leaving 'Friendprints': How Online Social Networks Are Redefining Privacy and Personal Security” Published: June 10, 2009 in Knowledge@Wharton, there is a troubling acknowledgement that “Privacy is a moving target.” Lance Hoffman, a George Washington University computer science professor noted, "Privacy policies differ in theory and practice. In theory, consumers know about a site's privacy policy and trust the network. The reality is that no one reads the policies. I don't read them myself."  For example, Facebook’s privacy policy is 3700 pages long and most users are not inclined to read a long-drawn-out online document. If 59% of teenage users consider social networks unsafe, it is conceivable that social networking providers are exposing teenage users to fraudulent use of personal information, and increased risk of physical and psychological distress. 

BLOG: Blog v. Wiki

 

Blogs and Wikis are online media institutions that facilitate access to a global community. Blogs are conversational single topic online posts. In BUSN 3110, blogs serve as an online course management tool and a medium for collaboration on course assignments. Blogs are authored and owned by the respective blog writers, and only blog authors can modify post content. However, the post author can authorize a defined group to provide content comments that can broaden the discussion. For example, a course blog like New Media and Business not only allows students to publish class assignments but promote participation by giving other students the opportunity to post comments that are reviewable by contributors, readers, and Professor Rhein.   

A Wiki is a webpage that functions as a collaborative writing tool with access rights for editing activity. Unlike blog posts, wikis have shared ownership and content can be modified by its’ contributors. The primary purpose of a wiki is to harness the expertise of a community of writers in the creation of a database of information for a large multi-participant project. For example, Wikipedia is a wiki project focused on the assemblage of reference material by authors with the responsibility for ensuring content accuracy and ongoing development. In the case of course BUSN 3110, a wiki will be useful for knowledge sharing, teamwork assignments and developing experience in collaborative writing.

In the article “Learning with Blogs and Wikis,” writer Bill Ferriter notes “Blogs and wikis are changing who we are as learners, preparing us for a future driven by peer production and networked learning. All you need to get started is a willingness to explore and a sense of the kind of tools that make work easy.”