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

Nowadays, social media is a main form of communication between individuals. In the future, I believe that social media sites such as facebook and twitter will get more users and have a more user friendly interface that will appeal to their older users (which is us at the time) and to newer and younger users. Also, I think in the future that they will apply the technology in the Google glasses, so people can access their facebook and/ or other social media anytime or anywhere, but with warnings when something is going obstruct their way or hit them. It should also have a real time update so you know what you’re friends are doing at what time. Here is an article of the Google glasses if you’re not familiar of what they are:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/us-news-blog/2012/apr/05/google

Another idea for the future of social media would be the cool fact that you might be able to stream live videos on YouTube like videos, TV shows, and movies. Internet streaming is getting more popular with shows like Big Bang Theory putting their newest episodes the day after they air, on the channels websites.  I think YouTube would start putting up more movies to view while paying a copyright to whoever owns it, depending on how many views it has or how it is rated by the viewers. It could be the same thing with TV shows. They could get rid of the country specific videos that they have. I know those videos don’t show up that much but there are still some more videos out there that have that. Also, another thing that YouTube could do is that they could put up foreign tv shows the day or the day after with English subtitles so that people all over the world can enjoy the show not just people from that one specific country. I’m saying this because I watch anime with the original Japanese dub with English subtitles but they take forever to update with new episodes.

Those are my predictions for the future of social media with improvements, suggestions and comments.

Do you think that social media has the potential to bring about real social change?

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.

Personally, I don’t agree with Mr. Gladwell, anything (including social media) has potential whether it is good or bad that is something to be determined. Nowadays, social media (such as Skype and even Facebook) allows us to communicate with people all around the world. An example of social media contributing to a big change in society also relates to the disaster in Japan. Linkin Park is known across the world and many people are ridiculously huge fans so they will go to great lengths to follow they do, regarding the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, the band have come up with a novel way to raise funds for relief efforts. Their latest project, on fundraising site, give2gether.com, is a fan challenge in which the first 500 people to raise $500 or more will get a pair of tickets to a secret Los Angeles show that's scheduled to take place on August 31. At press time, the Give2gether site had 1,155 supporters who had raised $47,635, with the most generous U.S. fan donating $7,000 to the cause. That is incredible, and all just because of someone's social media influence.

Everything has its pros and cons and social media is not an exception. A few examples of this bad potential it is that it decreases personal face-to-face contact. You hear about people in offices and how they no longer get up from their desks anymore to deliver a message, all you have to do now is send it through e-mail or other social media source because it is so much quicker. I realize that the younger generation rather text or use social media to talk to somebody. I have a 16 year-old cousin and he does not even like to call people, she would just choose to Facebook them or text.

In conclusion, I think that it isn’t about the good or bad potential to bring about social change,it was whether there was the potential to bring about real social change. My belief is that with all the positive and negative influences, it has brought on some sort of social change.

Do you believe that social media has increased the quality of news and information or decreased it?

I think that social media has changed how the news gets around not really the quality. Social media brought significant changes into the ways that we communicate and retrieve information. Such media is very popular and people benefit from it as it is convenient to use and easily available to everyone. The most significant benefit of using social media is that it is an accessible and inexpensive source of communication that enables unrestricted flow and exchange of information. It allows people to communicate regardless of their global position and to access information and news from the entire world. We no longer have to wait for the evening news because we can now access information or news much quicker via internet. While social media has made news faster and accessible, it also has a down side.  

They have the opportunity to input their version of the news onto their blog, podcast, or social networking site.  And this information may not be entirely true.  Also it is very easy to ‘Photoshop’ any picture, so if these citizen journalists wanted to make their news seem more real, they could just add there Photoshop picture.  But overall news in social media is going to keep growing, whether or not the information is fact or fiction.  And because social media is growing and not going anywhere soon, the news in the blogs, podcasts, and social networks is going to keep growing as well.

On our part this is very lazy for us not to walk down the street to the newspaper box and pay our $.50 for the paper or have the paper person deliver the paper right to our front door and then sit in the comfort of our own home and read the paper or better yet turn on the local radio station and receive the latest news.  So saying that the new hype of social media delivering our news and gossip has not only decreased the quality but also the information contained, compared to the old fashion ways of seeing it in hardcopy.

What is your perception of social media, do you think it is a fad or the biggest shift since the Industrial Revolution?

I think people have their own opinion on social media. Some people think it is a fad and others think it is a shift of technologic advancement like the industrial revolution. Everything in the world social media has its some pros and cons. Basically,  It is just another way to communicate like the telephone and e-mail.

Some bad examples of social media or technology is the plentiful of Facebook status’ and Twitter updating with pointless information that people don’t really need to know.  Useless information like “Oh, I’m going to eat roast beef tonight” or  I know some people who put “ Like this and I will tell you who I like.” It just gets me annoyed would actually do that for attention.  These social media sites are also a good place where cyber bullying happens.  I know people who got their art stolen, as in they post their online and people take change a little thing about it and post as their own work. Furthermore, someone pretending to be somebody else can make you believe that he or she is up to some business offer, ask to meet up with you, and take your money. It has also become easier for someone to stalk you and harass you online.

After hearing all these negatives, you might be thinking there should be some positives right? One positive effect that social media has paved the way for easier communication to your friends, family, or colleagues. One example is that instead of meeting in a certain place, you and your classmates could discuss a school activity by having a conference in a certain site that you are all members of, thus saving you time and effort. Virtual communities are also formed, which are composed of people connected together by common interests, purpose, and goal.

You should make use of the pros and cons of social networking sites to take precautions in the kind of people you should trust and share some information about yourself to. There are ways to prevent some of the negatives of social networking such as only talk to people you have meet in real life and don't use those social networking sources like your life depended on it.

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