Social Networking Week 8: #18

In the previous post, I said I'm a member of at least five social networks. So I don't really need to join any more. But this gave me an opportunity to check out sites I haven't used. I looked at Ning but I closed it after a few minutes. Don't get me wrong. It's great but I would lose a lot of time searching for that elusive network I cannot live without. LinkedIn is useful but I wouldn't look at it too long. It's a bare bones site. Xanga looks like a lot of fun. I like the themes. I wish I had tried it before I tried Facebook. RateMySpace is great way to get ideas about remdeling from ordinary people instead of TV shows backed by corporations. Threadless has my favorite type of clothes---t-shirts! I want to buy a t-shirt! Well...uh...maybe later.

Social Networks Are Forever?(Week 7: #17)

Most people who listen to or read the news have heard of Facebook or MySpace. But have you heard of ListenToYourWife or AlternativeEnergy? If people are interested in it then somewhere out in cyberspace there is a social network for it (or in the process of being launched). I think it's great but I hesitate to join anymore. I'm probably a member of at least five social networks. I probably visit one regularly (and I have links to the other four on it). But I visit the others maybe once every couple of months. I often wonder if one day I will find that one of my accounts is disabled because of lack of use (I think at least one should be-I haven't gone past registering for it).
Networking is important for work, learning and relationships. But how much is too much? Will the social networks keep growing until several come up with so many awesome apps the others can no longer compete? Or will new ones keep appearing everyday? Will my Facebook account still work when I'm 60? It better! Just think of all the friends I could collect over several decades. Would you want to lose all that contact information? No way! But how long will this go on (and for free!) ?

Wiki, wiki, wiki (Week 7: #16)

Wikis are great ways to work together. Some are easier than others to work with. I think wikis are great for collaborating on papers, books and creating a list of ideas or activities. Most wikis allow you to create a clickable table of contents to navigate. Just like blogs, you can include links, files and photos. Wikis usually notify the administrator and the moderators about changes and allow you to change them. Since everyone sees the same thing online and that makes it easier discuss to ideas or changes.