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Looking for Friendship Only. The world wide web has opened up incredible opportunities for social networking. In fact it has even changed the meaning of social networking! It used to be what you would do when you went down the pub and met friends, or to a meet up group. Now it tends to be used most often for online networking on the internet. So if there has been a change in perception of the term, and I believe that has happened, then why is the internet such a powerful tool to link people together? Frankly, a phenomenon such as the growth of these websites must mean they can't all be bad, as some aspects of the media seem to roll out on a slow news day?
The main key is accesability and anonymity, both powerful words with many layers of meaning.
Accesability: If there were only a few dozen computers linked to the internet, as in its early inception, then it couldn't be considered as accesible except by a very few. With such a small number of computers linked the information available would have been limited to say the least. Now that we have hundreds of millions of computers linked and servers have a storage capacity that was once considered impossible, the amount of information has risen exponentially. The access rates rise each year and now the internet is firmly established as part of the modern world. So in the developed world we have ease of access from home, internet cafe's and often even work. You can log on from a mobile phone or a netbook. So if you are sat there thinking of increasing your social circle then frankly its fast becoming the obvious place to start. The choices are huge, the availability is immediate and the cost of surfing and speed have both moved in the right direction. (one down, the other upwards).
Anonymity. Well there's a two edged sword if ever there was one. If every action we did on the internet was 100% visible and traceable would it look any different? Once in a car many drivers adopt a totally different set of social rules to what they would do in a public place, which again is different to interacting (social networking) with their own close friends and family. So the reality is we change our behaviour to match both the circumstance we find ourselves in and how 'safe' we feel acting in a particular way. It was a common belief in the early days on the net that you could pretty well get away with anything. But that's changing because in the last few years social networks have demonstrated that what you type into them and the images you upload can remain. In fact they can come back and haunt you! Let's take the example of, say, a 19 year old on holiday in Ibiza. Sun, sangria and a good time can make for many a happy memory on film and there's nothing wrong with that. But before you upload your tanned body pouring a carafe of wine down your trousers think how that might look at that important job interview. Maybe not this year, maybe not next. But eventually.
Fact is the internet is not anonymous but still does need policing. That role is taken on by the administrators of social networking websites to ensure your information is suitable for their site. Take for example www.4friendshiponly.co.uk which is a couples only, friendship only website and www.4m8sonly.co.uk which is a singles only, friendship only site. The theme of the site is clear and the administrator (me) must ensure that nothing happens to spoil it. After all the genuine members signed up for 'couples only, friendship only' or 'singles only, friendship only' so why should they get anything less? In addition, and this is very important, when a member leaves their details are completely deleted.
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