One of the newest Communication Technologies, Social Networking Sites took the world by storm in 1977 with the invention of CompuServe Networks. CompuServe Networks was the 1st centralized web portal for file sharing, according to our class lecture. The first SNS that appeared that was considered identifiable was SixDegrees.com, founded by Andrew Weinreich. You could make a profile, communicate with others, and view the entire network. According to our class lecture This is considered to be the 3 requirements of a SNS.
MySpace was the first SNS with html coding that could allow for you to customize your own profile. This SNS made big waves in the social networking community, with the invention of Facebook in 2004 by controversial Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg appearing next. This SNS offered a live news feed, i.e., the timeline where updates and photos appear, and eventually in 2008, overtook MySpace. It is still the number one social networking site to date. This didn’t stop the invention of our newer social media sites though, like Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, and even TikTok. SNS is now used to do many things like, keep in touch with family members, share photos, updates, memories, comment on other people’s updates, discuss beliefs and politics, and promote yourself or business. 
Politically, SNS has become a platform for government agencies to gain analysis on their content. Completely different from the lobbying and in person surveys that dominated the 1900s. On a different note, SNS has also become a threshold that “warrants our attention” (Barnett and DeLuca 98 ). “The Conditions that form us” is an article written by Joshua Trey Barnett and Kevin Michael DeLuca and explains how the media has become a vessel. They also speak about how media are the spaces within and through which we move and act and think and feel, explaining how social media affects our daily thoughts and actions in both a positive and negative way. SNS affects how we feel because it is the public version of peer pressure and the need to go “viral” to be understood. “Media gives shape to the world as we know it,” Barnett and DeLuca continue throughout this article explaining how SNS has become our way of thinking. In summary, Social media has affected us in the way that we can share our thoughts easier, but SNS being a vessel can shape these thoughts and “shape our perceptions”. Barnett, J. T., & Deluca, K. M. (2019). The conditions that form us: Media, affect, social change. Culture, Theory and Critique, 60(2), 99-106. doi:10.1080/14735784.2019.1588534
I really like your take on Social Networking Sites because it is prominent today. SNS began as a way to network and communicate with others and now has advanced to the spreading of cultures, political platforms, etc. We are being influenced by others through the things we see on our SNS, which can be both good and bad, but it does allow us to see more in the world. As you said "Media gives shape to the world as we know it" and SNS has increased this capability.
ReplyDelete--Katelyn Smith
Hi! I really enjoyed reading your blog post. How you discussed the importance of modern day SNS. Not only did you highlight the important parts of the apps you also talked about some negative effects of it too. When you mentioned how social media can be used as peer pressure I feel like that showed a different side of these apps.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post about SNS communication technology. It's really interesting to see how the media can change one's perspective in an instant the fact that we are more connected to the media now. It also helped me realize how the media can affect one's emotions along with our daily thoughts and actions.
ReplyDeleteHello Brittney! Fist of all, I love how creative your blog is and how you added visuals to catch the user's attention. The overall content was also really informative and a nice read. I agree with you on the shift that certain social media platforms have taken towards being more politically geared and how this affects our opinions. I think that we should take a step back and see how much of the media we consume actually shapes how we perceive the world. - Ana Pina
ReplyDeleteHey Brittney, I liked your blog a lot because it I remember when Myspace was cool. Personally I think Myspace may of been a bit ahead of its time because as fast as it came up was as soon as it came down in my opinion. Granted Myspace help spawn what we have today which is TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat and may others. I do notice that many people use these lines of communication to stay in contact with people or just to show them what they are doing or how they feel. Maybe one day SNS will come to end, but it seems we are still deep in it and will continue that way for a while. -Ruben Garcia-
ReplyDeleteHi Brittney! I like your background information about social media, especially when bringing up MySpace since it was my introduction to social media. I agree with what you’re saying when it comes to how media shapes the world and it can be used effectively as a political tool, something that occurs more often nowadays with platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.
ReplyDeleteHi Brittney! Your blog looks great! I found your last statement to be so interesting. I never thought about how even though it feels like we are sharing our thoughts, the sites are actually shaping those thoughts that we are sharing. To be honest, it’s a little creepy to think about! I do love social media, but there are definitely times that I worry about the harm that it causes.
ReplyDelete-Madison Gleinser
The blog looks awesome, it caught my attention right away! I found how interesting how the SNS technology has grown. I 100% agree with you the political parties. To also see that social media does really run some of our day and makes us emotional. It really has shaped the thoughts for some. Its scary to think about because where is the validity in what some people post? I like this post and definitely opens my eyes to what is being displayed.
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