Social Networking and Virtual Worlds

1. Social Networking and virtual Worlds used by employees (corporate) or people of the free world to collaborate together and share ideas and knowledge. For example:
Proffesional recruiters recruit potential employees by search in Linkedin since everyone can upload their profile.
Webkinz- social networking for kids
In corporation by creating “ creating online profiles and blogs, form online communities and discussion groups, and swap data files…you can ‘cc’ everyone”
2. Benefits: In Buisness-”Reduce the cost of doing a business” by participating in virtual forums from location all over the world. Today you can reach out to that community and discuss those issues.”
“New IBM employees separated by thousand of miles will be able to mingle, interact and share ideas in the virtual world before their first day on the job” They can learn real life working skills.
Other- “visitors can practice social interaction and find information about their condition. The graphical representations of real people create a "comfort zone" that can coax users out of their shells and get them communicating with others.”
”Second Life excels at minimizing geographical separations between people and bringing people from all over the world to meet together quickly and easily”.
3. The “Dark Side”: criminals can use their anonymity to reach children and indefensible audiences and participants. Also, the ability` of making illegal business is an issue.
4. I believe these technologies in the future will commingle with our day to day operations more and more, so we can benefit from other as other benefit from us.
Sources:
http://www.workforce.com/section/00/article/24/61/08.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/06/arts/television/06itzk.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6522523&sc=emaf
http://ibm.rogersconsumerpublishing.com/macleans/downloads/social.pdf
http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/conditions/03/28/sl.autism.irpt/index.html#cnnSTCText
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/23/magazine/23patients-t.html?_r=2&scp=1&sq=goetz+practicing+patients&st=nyt&oref=slogin&oref=login
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/04/01/ST2008040103032.html
http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/15/is-myspace-good-for-society-a-freakonomics-quorum/?emc=eta1