So this is my last post on social networks and communities. And as all good things come to an end, it seems only right to end off with the Hayley's Top Social Networking Site Award.
After much deliberation (a whole 2 thoughts later) the outright winner is by far and obviously Facebook . No big surprise there...
Here are my reasons why Facebook is the best:
1) Its still addictive after a year whereas Myspace lasted about 3 months with me.
2) It is the best way to snoop on people.
3) Finding long lost mates and even though I never write them messages after the first 'hey, havent seen you in ages..' rant, I still get to snoop on them and get to rate who came out better, me or them? (come on now, we ALL do that!)
4)My mom gets to see the videos I produce in class. And I say my mom because I dont think anyone else is interested...
By the looks of things I'm not the only who agrees that Facebook is fab. There are nearly 250 000 members of the South Africa network.
But moving along, I also have other social network sites that I have enjoyed and will continue to enjoy. Youtube is great because there is such a vast amount of videos that there's virtually nothing you cant watch.
The clip from Youtube that I have loved most is a French clip, although I dont understand the language, it doesnt actually matter. Watch and see for yourself
Amazing.
And to think, if it wasn't for Youtube, the rest of world would have never seen this.
Over the past posts I have come to realise that social networking sites have become an intergral part of the digital era. It's an example of how the world has become a global village as we have the ability to communicate with other people all over the world in real time as if they were sitting next to you.
Since I will be moving into the world of photography soon, I'm guessing that my new favourite social network site might just have to be flickr. At the moment I dont have an account with the site but as soon as I establish myself as the next Obie Oberholzer, I'll be sure to share with the rest of the world.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Mixing it up
The only time that I ever feel old and out of touch with technology is when people, or should I say kiddies, talk about Mxit . The mobile social networking site has never really taken off with me but maybe that’s because my oh-so-up-to-date Nokia 3310 (read sarcasm) doesn’t quite support it. Anyway once upon a time I did have a cellphone that had WAP and 3G and I didn’t use Mxit then either. Although I’m not part of the Mxit generation, plenty of others are, mostly being high school kids.
As it seems most kids dig Mxit because they can chat away with their mates (or strangers) for as little as 2c a message. And since its mobile, kids can chat anywhere. All of a sudden Mrs Botha’s double biology period doesn’t seem so bad. Mxit is ideal for the teen market because its cheap, it’s tech-savvy, and it’s on your cellphone which means mom, dad and nosy little sister can’t read your messages.
Mxit, which was created by a South African, has become a phenomenon in this country, with nearly 5 million users. Mxit has become such a craze that even media giants have taken notice. Recently Naspers bought a 30% stake in the company. And according ITWeb, Mxit will soon be taking over the world, as the company plans to expand internationally.
But then there are also the critics of Mxit mostly being parents and teachers. You can almost hear the whine of 5 million angst ridden teens complaining “ah man, my ballies just don’t want me to have any freedom, like why cant I just, like, you know, use Mxit, why do they, like, have to try, like, control everything I, like, do hey?.”
But obviously parents and teachers have a point. They are concerned about their kid’s safety. There have been reports of young boys being lured by paedophiles (see here), young girls becoming addicted to sex chatrooms and schools over the country have raised concern over pupils not being able to concentrate in class because of Mxit (see here).
What I think is that Mxit has its pros and cons. On the pro side it is a great way to communicate with your friends as it is a whole lot cheaper. But because it is primarily used by teenagers and tweens, it does become a hunting ground for sicko’s. But then I believe it’s up to the parents to educate their kids that they must be wary of people they meet in chatrooms, especially if they plan to meet these people in real life. I don’t have all the solutions to the cons of Mxit, I do however wish I knew of Mxit when I was in high school.
As it seems most kids dig Mxit because they can chat away with their mates (or strangers) for as little as 2c a message. And since its mobile, kids can chat anywhere. All of a sudden Mrs Botha’s double biology period doesn’t seem so bad. Mxit is ideal for the teen market because its cheap, it’s tech-savvy, and it’s on your cellphone which means mom, dad and nosy little sister can’t read your messages.
Mxit, which was created by a South African, has become a phenomenon in this country, with nearly 5 million users. Mxit has become such a craze that even media giants have taken notice. Recently Naspers bought a 30% stake in the company. And according ITWeb, Mxit will soon be taking over the world, as the company plans to expand internationally.
But then there are also the critics of Mxit mostly being parents and teachers. You can almost hear the whine of 5 million angst ridden teens complaining “ah man, my ballies just don’t want me to have any freedom, like why cant I just, like, you know, use Mxit, why do they, like, have to try, like, control everything I, like, do hey?.”
But obviously parents and teachers have a point. They are concerned about their kid’s safety. There have been reports of young boys being lured by paedophiles (see here), young girls becoming addicted to sex chatrooms and schools over the country have raised concern over pupils not being able to concentrate in class because of Mxit (see here).
What I think is that Mxit has its pros and cons. On the pro side it is a great way to communicate with your friends as it is a whole lot cheaper. But because it is primarily used by teenagers and tweens, it does become a hunting ground for sicko’s. But then I believe it’s up to the parents to educate their kids that they must be wary of people they meet in chatrooms, especially if they plan to meet these people in real life. I don’t have all the solutions to the cons of Mxit, I do however wish I knew of Mxit when I was in high school.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Get thin or die tryin?
A touched a little bit on pro anorexic sites in my last post and that seemed to generate a bit of interest. And since I’m not anorexic nor have any desire to be one I can’t add a personal flavour here (I suppose I shouldn’t really use food puns…) I did however go to school with an anorexic, but I think its standard for an all girls high school to have the token ano.
Anyway, if you are a young teenage girl (or boy) the internet is a great source of information about getting into anorexia. Especially social networking sites that offer support and helpful hints to maintaining a waif like figure.
Social utility sites are fast becoming a portal for pro-anorexics to network with each other. I was amazed to see how many groups on Facebook there were that were pro-anorexic and the sheer amount of videos posted on YouTube that are “thinspo” (thin-inspiration) related.
What surprised/ shocked me the most was that on Facebook these girls who join these groups are openly stating their anorexic desires. And as I recall I don’t think I have ever heard a girl say out loud “I’m ano and proud!” Anorexic people never openly admit their disease –well certainly the ones I’ve known, normally you hear the “I have an overactive thyroid” excuse. So I was quite amazed that a lot of people on the web are out and proud of something that is normally so hush hush in real life.
What made me feel sick were the thinspo videos on YouTube. People post picture slideshows of their thin inspiration. Mary-Kate Olsen and Nicole Ritchie come up tops in thinspo along with skeletal models.
But anyway my point is not to slate anorexics. What my point is, is that shouldn’t social networking sites take more responsibility into what gets posted onto the sites. Anorexia is a mental illness and shouldn’t be allowed to be displayed as positive thing that girls should aspire to. Sure people have the freedom of speech but there should be a line as to whether what you are saying is intended to promote harm to other people. It’s a topic that highly debatable and I’m interested in what you all think.
Anyway, if you are a young teenage girl (or boy) the internet is a great source of information about getting into anorexia. Especially social networking sites that offer support and helpful hints to maintaining a waif like figure.
Social utility sites are fast becoming a portal for pro-anorexics to network with each other. I was amazed to see how many groups on Facebook there were that were pro-anorexic and the sheer amount of videos posted on YouTube that are “thinspo” (thin-inspiration) related.
What surprised/ shocked me the most was that on Facebook these girls who join these groups are openly stating their anorexic desires. And as I recall I don’t think I have ever heard a girl say out loud “I’m ano and proud!” Anorexic people never openly admit their disease –well certainly the ones I’ve known, normally you hear the “I have an overactive thyroid” excuse. So I was quite amazed that a lot of people on the web are out and proud of something that is normally so hush hush in real life.
What made me feel sick were the thinspo videos on YouTube. People post picture slideshows of their thin inspiration. Mary-Kate Olsen and Nicole Ritchie come up tops in thinspo along with skeletal models.
But anyway my point is not to slate anorexics. What my point is, is that shouldn’t social networking sites take more responsibility into what gets posted onto the sites. Anorexia is a mental illness and shouldn’t be allowed to be displayed as positive thing that girls should aspire to. Sure people have the freedom of speech but there should be a line as to whether what you are saying is intended to promote harm to other people. It’s a topic that highly debatable and I’m interested in what you all think.
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
not my kind of community
I decided to google my name the other day and to my surprise the search resulted in hayley vos-nalle coming up tops which bummed me out because I wanted to be the top hayley vos. So anyway this hayley vos-nalle is somebody who belongs to AVEN which stands for asexual visibility and education network. Definitely not me.
So Aven is a virtual community (just a regular forum) of asexual people. According to the site “The Asexual Visibility and Education Network is devoted to creating dialogue among and about the rapidly emerging group of individuals who identify as asexual.”
So if you are asexual then you know there is a site for you out there where you can interact with like-minded people.
So since I would never join this virtual community, I decided to look up some other virtual communities that I would never join but might appeal to other people. So here goes my top 5 never ever will I join this virtual community.
Number 5: The Vegan Virtual Supper Club onflickr. Not that I have anything personal against vegan’s, I just think that it is probably disgusting. I like my meat and I like my cheese.
Number 4: Blogs on Alien Abduction and UFOs, the Paranormal, and Collective Psychic Impressions on Alien Abduction Experience and Research. Right…
Number 3: Anafriends. The pro-anorexic site that encourages girls that anorexia is all good. Ano’s alike can communicate in chat rooms and on forums. And with quotes on the page saying “the best thing about a donut is the whole in the middle” you have to wonder about people out there. Like I said before, I like my meat and I like my cheese.
Number 2: Loving ferrets. The online community that is dedicated to expressing one’s love and weird obsession to ferrets. Animals aren’t really my thing, especially ferrets.
And finally….
Number 1. The Tyra Banks show website. Ok this isn’t exactly the definition of a virtual community but people visitors of the site have the opportunity to comment on Tyra’s blog posts. Never would I ever commit myself to this. Her show….her forehead, I just couldn’t.
So Aven is a virtual community (just a regular forum) of asexual people. According to the site “The Asexual Visibility and Education Network is devoted to creating dialogue among and about the rapidly emerging group of individuals who identify as asexual.”
So if you are asexual then you know there is a site for you out there where you can interact with like-minded people.
So since I would never join this virtual community, I decided to look up some other virtual communities that I would never join but might appeal to other people. So here goes my top 5 never ever will I join this virtual community.
Number 5: The Vegan Virtual Supper Club onflickr. Not that I have anything personal against vegan’s, I just think that it is probably disgusting. I like my meat and I like my cheese.
Number 4: Blogs on Alien Abduction and UFOs, the Paranormal, and Collective Psychic Impressions on Alien Abduction Experience and Research. Right…
Number 3: Anafriends. The pro-anorexic site that encourages girls that anorexia is all good. Ano’s alike can communicate in chat rooms and on forums. And with quotes on the page saying “the best thing about a donut is the whole in the middle” you have to wonder about people out there. Like I said before, I like my meat and I like my cheese.
Number 2: Loving ferrets. The online community that is dedicated to expressing one’s love and weird obsession to ferrets. Animals aren’t really my thing, especially ferrets.
And finally….
Number 1. The Tyra Banks show website. Ok this isn’t exactly the definition of a virtual community but people visitors of the site have the opportunity to comment on Tyra’s blog posts. Never would I ever commit myself to this. Her show….her forehead, I just couldn’t.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
networking your kids
About two weeks ago I had to baby sit my two younger cousins who are both still in primary school. Like most kids their age they spent their leisure time watching TV and mucking about on the internet. On the internet the boys played mindless flash animated games and then googled just about everyone they knew. It got me thinking about how I spend my leisure time on the internet, I spend it on Facebook, gmail chat and googling potential love interests and ex boyfriends.
So besides being a stalker I spend my time wanting to interact with other people on the internet. So why should my kid cousins not want to do the same? Devon who is 12 had heard about Facebook but didn’t know exactly what it was. When I showed him I could see that he was soon interested but not exactly too thrilled because there weren’t any games.
So this got me thinking to kids’ social networking and virtual community sites. Surely there has to be sites that are dedicated to it. So I googled around and found Imbee. The site is like Myspace and Facebook rolled into one but only kids between the ages of 8 and 14. It works the same as the two sites, you add friends, create an avatar, join groups, blog, message people, listen to music etc. Like Myspace kids can even add celebrities to their list of friends.
Imbee, created by Industrious Kid, has taken precautions so that kids can network in a safe environment. Unlike other social networking sites Imbee is not free, this means that parents have to take out their credit cards in order for their kids to join after a free trial period. Parents also have access to a control panel so they can monitor and restrict their kids to whatever they want or deem safe. This way parents can have a big brother eye on what their precious darlings are doing. This way Imbee is protecting the site from becoming the Pick ‘n Pay for paedophiles.
So far over 25 000 active members use the site, so clearly kids think its cool and parents think it’s safe.
To read more check out these articles:
Imbee Launches MySpace for Kids
Imbee - Disney Is Investor
So besides being a stalker I spend my time wanting to interact with other people on the internet. So why should my kid cousins not want to do the same? Devon who is 12 had heard about Facebook but didn’t know exactly what it was. When I showed him I could see that he was soon interested but not exactly too thrilled because there weren’t any games.
So this got me thinking to kids’ social networking and virtual community sites. Surely there has to be sites that are dedicated to it. So I googled around and found Imbee. The site is like Myspace and Facebook rolled into one but only kids between the ages of 8 and 14. It works the same as the two sites, you add friends, create an avatar, join groups, blog, message people, listen to music etc. Like Myspace kids can even add celebrities to their list of friends.
Imbee, created by Industrious Kid, has taken precautions so that kids can network in a safe environment. Unlike other social networking sites Imbee is not free, this means that parents have to take out their credit cards in order for their kids to join after a free trial period. Parents also have access to a control panel so they can monitor and restrict their kids to whatever they want or deem safe. This way parents can have a big brother eye on what their precious darlings are doing. This way Imbee is protecting the site from becoming the Pick ‘n Pay for paedophiles.
So far over 25 000 active members use the site, so clearly kids think its cool and parents think it’s safe.
To read more check out these articles:
Imbee Launches MySpace for Kids
Imbee - Disney Is Investor
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Getting paid to blog
Over the holidays I spent two weeks interning at ITWeb in Johannesburg. On the first day I arrived I sat down at my desk, logged on to my computer and clicked straight away to Facebook. To my shock and horror ITWeb, like most other companies, had the site blocked. The whole office heard me wail out loud. So, just as I thought I would have to go cold turkey for two weeks, a kind ITWeb journo offered me an alternative. She introduced me to the site My Digital Life which she and all the other journos thought was the new crack.
My Digital Life is a social networking site that pays you to blog. My Digital Life works like any other social networking site, you sign up, create a profile and add friends to your list of contacts. Then all you have to do is start blogging away. Once you’ve posted a certain number of blog posts you attain author status. The My Digital Life community decides whether or not you worthy of earning some cash. Each time someone clicks on your blog you earn 10c and the cash becomes redeemable in blocks of R50. This is great news for struggling students to earn a bit of drinking money.
My Digital Life is not a bad idea for up and coming journalists. For those of us stuck in small towns like Grahamstown we have less access to getting our stories published than those who are in the cities. My Digital Life at least allows us to get our stuff out there. And because it’s a social network a like minded community can judge whether you write like, and excuse my language, shit or not. So instead of just putting up your thoughts, stories or whatever on a random blog that might never see any traffic (like this one) publishing on My Digital Life allows for feedback. And at least you know you’re bound to get some traffic as Amatomu lists (as of the 25 July 2007) My Digital Life as the 15th most popular blog site in South Africa.
My Digital Life is a social networking site that pays you to blog. My Digital Life works like any other social networking site, you sign up, create a profile and add friends to your list of contacts. Then all you have to do is start blogging away. Once you’ve posted a certain number of blog posts you attain author status. The My Digital Life community decides whether or not you worthy of earning some cash. Each time someone clicks on your blog you earn 10c and the cash becomes redeemable in blocks of R50. This is great news for struggling students to earn a bit of drinking money.
My Digital Life is not a bad idea for up and coming journalists. For those of us stuck in small towns like Grahamstown we have less access to getting our stories published than those who are in the cities. My Digital Life at least allows us to get our stuff out there. And because it’s a social network a like minded community can judge whether you write like, and excuse my language, shit or not. So instead of just putting up your thoughts, stories or whatever on a random blog that might never see any traffic (like this one) publishing on My Digital Life allows for feedback. And at least you know you’re bound to get some traffic as Amatomu lists (as of the 25 July 2007) My Digital Life as the 15th most popular blog site in South Africa.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Myspace, Facebook, Second Life agh please doll! Sooo last season!
It seems to me that virtual communities like Facebook , Myspace and Second Life are just fashion accessories that are this season’s must haves. Is there a point when these social utility networks become old and outdated and ‘so last week’?
For myself, last year was the year of Myspace. Only the cool kids had Myspace accounts. But the particularly ultra cool kids had personalised backgrounds and made friends with Zach Braff. Then this year the Facebook craze hit hard. And all of a sudden Myspace didn’t seem that new or cool anymore.
But how long will the Facebook craze go on for? Surely there has to be a point when the amount of friends you know reaches a maximum. And then what? When the site has nothing new to offer people will get bored and stop logging on. I know this happened to me with Myspace because it got to the point where only random people were asking to be my friend. I got bored with the site and stopped logging on.
The reason I started thinking of this topic is because I started thinking about the people who have left their jobs to start solely producing their income by selling virtual products on Second Life. Surely this is a major risk, because like Nelly Furtado says all good things must come to an end. The virtual world Second Life can’t go on forever because it is a fad, just like how the Friendster fad died. Fashion trends whether they are virtual or not follow the same life line. The trend emerges with the underground people who are in with the know, it hits the mainstream and explodes commercially and then as soon as the nine year olds start sporting the trend then you know it has died and has lost all sense of ‘coolness’.
Maybe I’m just a pessimist, but I don’t think that virtual communities are here to stay. Maybe the concept will stick around for sometime but I don’t think you’ll catch me logging in Facebook or Myspace in 3 years time. What do you think?
Interested in this argument? Check out this site that also talk more on the subject as well as here .
For myself, last year was the year of Myspace. Only the cool kids had Myspace accounts. But the particularly ultra cool kids had personalised backgrounds and made friends with Zach Braff. Then this year the Facebook craze hit hard. And all of a sudden Myspace didn’t seem that new or cool anymore.
But how long will the Facebook craze go on for? Surely there has to be a point when the amount of friends you know reaches a maximum. And then what? When the site has nothing new to offer people will get bored and stop logging on. I know this happened to me with Myspace because it got to the point where only random people were asking to be my friend. I got bored with the site and stopped logging on.
The reason I started thinking of this topic is because I started thinking about the people who have left their jobs to start solely producing their income by selling virtual products on Second Life. Surely this is a major risk, because like Nelly Furtado says all good things must come to an end. The virtual world Second Life can’t go on forever because it is a fad, just like how the Friendster fad died. Fashion trends whether they are virtual or not follow the same life line. The trend emerges with the underground people who are in with the know, it hits the mainstream and explodes commercially and then as soon as the nine year olds start sporting the trend then you know it has died and has lost all sense of ‘coolness’.
Maybe I’m just a pessimist, but I don’t think that virtual communities are here to stay. Maybe the concept will stick around for sometime but I don’t think you’ll catch me logging in Facebook or Myspace in 3 years time. What do you think?
Interested in this argument? Check out this site that also talk more on the subject as well as here .
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