Social networks on the Internet

[Kumi]

What do you think about social networking on the Internet?

Do you know the social network socalled LinkedIn?
How about Orkut?

It seems that the number of people who join social networks has been increasing rapidly. I've never joined these social networking organizations, so I don't know much about them. I've searched about them on the Internet, but I'm getting more and more confused because of flood of information.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of social networking on the Internet?

I believe most of you enjoy communicating with others from all over the world. So, I'm very interested in what you think about the social networks.
I'm looking forward to YOUR reply!!

[Torsten]

Dear Kumi,

Thanks a lot for bringing up such an interesting topic. As you know we all are social beings - that means, we interact and communicate with other people in various situations and on different levels. As soon as you arrive on Earth you become part of a social network - your family which in turn is linked to other networks too. When you go to school you enter another social work and so on.
Now, the Internet makes it possible to establish communities with members all over the world - something hard to achieve in the Offline world. That's why social networking is developing so fast. More and more people start to realize that the way they live does not so much depend on what the politicians and the governments in their countries do and say but what they themselves think and do.
As for LinkedIn - I did some research on it and found that it is one of the largest online networks for professional people - I'll check into Orkut later - or even better - maybe, somebody can tell us more about it here on the forum.

Let's eleborate on the subject of social networking online - after all, we too are establishing our Internet community.
_________________
Test Of English for International Communication
TOEIC Preparation & TOEIC Vocabulary

[Kumi]

Hi Torsten,

Thanks for your interesting post.

Social networking on the Internet is becoming more and more popular. I do believe many people join these social networking groups. A friend of mine is a member of one socical network, and she's now crazy about it.She spends most of her free time in front of PC, and what she really cares is how many people are connected to her. She says she really enjoys seeing the number of her 'friends' is increasing..... although it doesn't mean she's directly connected to most of her friends.

What is the benefit of social network?
I know it's fun to communicate with other people on the Internet whenever you want.

But.... have you ever thought of disadvantages of it?
What about leaking of information through the network?

Am I the person who worries about everything too much?


Kumi

[Torsten]

Hi Kumi,

Your friend is one of those many people who use the Internet to establish and maintain personal and professional contacts. I'm sure that in a couple of years the vast majority of the population of all developed countries will do a lot of activities online (taking training courses for all kinds of subjects, enchaining experiences with other students, seeking advice, working on joint projects, serving customers, writing/editing/selling/buying books, organizing family events etc.)

You can connect with another person or organization through the Internet just as closely as you can through personal contacts. Online communication has even a number of advantages over the conventional way of socializing: you can exchange your thoughts with a lot of people from place in the world any time. Sometimes oral communication is more superficial than the written form because you have less time to think and you might be inhibited. Also, speaking requires more effort because in addition to the contents of your sentences you also have to concentrate on pronunciation.

Of course, there might be some drawbacks to social networking through the Internet just as there are some disadvantages of driving a car as opposed to riding a horse.
Let's elaborate on this interesting topic...
_________________
Test Of English for International Communication
TOEIC Preparation & TOEIC Vocabulary

[Nicole]

[Rich7]

[Torsten]

It's a typo that should read exchanging experiences.
_________________
Test Of English for International Communication
TOEIC Preparation & TOEIC Vocabulary