Facebook Fatigue

The last two years has seen an explosion of social networking activity on the Internet. With websites like MySpace, Bebo and Facebook attracting millions of users who log on each day to check their profiles, upload photos and talk with their friends.

Over recent weeks Facebook has reported in a downturn in activity on their website and it is lead to people claiming “Facebook Fatigue.” With so much hype about Facebook and so much to do on their websites with millions of applications that you can download or get invited to take part in people are now starting to get bored of their product or are starting to use it in a less active way.

I think social networking has its good points and its bad points. I think social networking websites are great for developing confidence and networking skills as well as sharing information and getting back in touch with old friends. However instead of using social networking as a tool and part of your life people over the last couple of years have let social networking become their life with a high percentage of their daily interaction with other people happening through social networking and not real life. Some users have not been able to go five minutes without checking their profile to see who has commented or left them a message it has become like an addiction and a way for people to waste time.

The biggest concern I have with social networking is the security implications of using them. if used sensibly and run sensibly these sites can be safe places but with so much information being posted and made freely available to the general public it is now becoming too easy for people who you wouldn’t want getting your information getting hold of it. Also on the security side it is now all to easy to set up an account in which the user can pretend to be someone they are not in order to engage in criminal activity.

I think social networking can help make your social life more efficient but this is if only used correctly and as a tool. I think that social networking needs to be made a lot safer before I would encourage children to use it as at the moment there are too many dangers. Regardless of how many good points there are if there is one small danger to young people I would not recommend it.

Social Networking is now big business with Facebook, Bebo and MySpace all making millions of pounds each year so there are always going to be new companies trying to break the market so like Facebook has grown over the last year I’m sure next year there could be a new major player.

As well as the companies that provide social networking not getting complacent companies that market through social networking or have social networking pages also have to guard against compliancy. Social networking pages are a great publicity tool but you have to make sure you are getting the most out of your page and providing a service that your viewers want. Also social networking is great for young bands as they can now have their own page for free which can easily be updated and that they can drive viewers to which is another way it can be used for good reasons.

So overall I say yes there is a place for social networking but don’t let it rule your life. Customize the experience to suit your needs.

To share your thoughts on social networking come and check out our topic of the week on our forums by going to:

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=375

Adam Sibley
Founder of the Talented Young People organisation
www.talentedyoungpeople.com
"Envisage it, Believe it, Achieve it!"

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.blogspot.com

New Technology

This week’s blog is dedicated to new technology and how it is helping talented young people around the world achieve their dreams.

Now when I talk about new technology helping young people I bet you expect me to start talking about things like the internet, video cameras, phones, TV, MySpace etc. But the greatest impact I feel is still to come in regards to technology helping young people and that is the design of the $100 Laptop as part of the One Laptop per Child Project.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6679431.stm

This project and laptop could see millions of children from the developing world have access to equipment which the western world takes for granted and help give these children a chance to build a better future for themselves.

Now I am sure many of you this week in the UK have been signing up to Orange Broadband to claim your free laptop but most of you claiming this offer will already have a computer in the house so although the spec may be far superior on it to the $100 laptop it wont have the long lasting effect that the $100 dollar laptop will.

Not only will these laptops provide young people in the developing world with new skills and a better education they will give these young children hope and encourage them to go on and achieve greater things than they ever felt possible. Technology is changing our world every day and with the changes and improvements come more chances for young people to achieve their dreams.

At Talented Young People we are always on the look out for new technologies that we can use to help young people and to help spread the word. Recently as you may have noticed we have started using social bookmarking websites like Contentpop, Blinklist, Digg and del.icio.us to help promote our news feed which seems to be going well, I’m sure social bookmarking websites are going to play a big part in the future of the internet and web promotion. On top of this you will have hopefully noticed that our second podcast is now available to download by going to:

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.com/podcasts

But getting back to the point at hand MySpace may be able to help you get a million people to listen to your song or a video camera may help you put a video on Youtube and have it viewed by a million people but if you can give a child a piece of equipment that helps them find a dream or gives them the opportunity to achieve things they never thought possible then you can truly change the world.

You can talk about new technology and how it affects your life in this week’s forum topic by going to:

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=129#129


Adam Sibley
Founder of the Talented Young People organisation
www.talentedyoungpeople.com
"Envisage it, Believe it, Achieve it!"

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.blogspot.com/