Social Identity and Networking Pros and Cons

What does it mean to network using social media?

This week I watched some videos and read some articles about social media and networking. I originally felt that social media was solely based on sharing information with family, friends and selling items. However, I now understand that it has a wide variety of purposes depending on your intentions. It can also mean something different to different people. Social Media has the opportunity to reach out the family and friends based on privacy settings and abilities on different programs, but it also allows people to reach a wide variety of people across the globe. It can be for the purpose of connecting socially or as a business it could also be to share your story with the world. Social media seems to have no limits depending on what your looking for. It can also be a way to target audience based on algorithms nowadays. I feel like the purpose can change and can be the same depending on individual situations.

How are we motivated to participate in networked publics?

Motivation depends on needs and wants. Some people have made public networks a job, while other use it as a form of connection with the world. Social media users people use it as a way to reach out to the world for love, travel ideas or a form of sharing their lives. If people are selling a product they may participate in a way that a company would like opposed to their individual taste, but the viewers may not know that and get tricked or lured into wanting to be like that person sharing a product. Hopefully, people become aware of the truths and the false information online to critically think about what they are viewing even if it appeals to them.

What are the risks & rewards of public communications?

Risks:

The internet is a great place and a scary place for users. Everyday in peoples lives they could do, say or feel something that is meant to be private however you never know if you are being filmed or recorded. Perhaps you have become intoxicated and something films you doing something and it affects the rest of your life. A future career, love connection, friendship or application for just about anything. Some people may be followed based on a simple mistake or become infamous for something they wouldn’t want to share. A digital risk is that it can be found on the internet and you can’t permanently delete something. You are not in control of the entire internet.

Rewards:

In regards to public rewards is that you can connect with anyone and learn about almost anything. For instant medical issues that may have been harder to solve before now has millions of people who can share similar experiences. Opposed to a small group of people sharing information many ideas can be shared and you can find ways to support or help others.

Digital Identity

What is a digital identity?

A persons digital identity is who they are online. Before I thought it was limited to what people post but after learning about it I have discovered that it is an opportunity to connect the world. Many people have access to the digital world providing jobs, id, connections whereas over 1.7 billion people are still out of the loop. They don’t have an equitable opportunity in the world. It is something that will hopefully help, educate, and share good ways with everyone to travel for help, safety and opportunities. Digital identities for people sound great but they can also be scary. The internet is still really unregulated and the world is still coming up with ways to make it safe and private for people. I feel like there is still a long way to go to govern the internet to the point of being fully safe and usable without problems. Hopefully a plan can be created for a safe place for all users.

How do personal versus professional approaches to digital identity affect social media use?

Professional approaches are wonderful for the sellers because they can reach a wide variety of audiences. They are also a wonderful way for people to share information and grow as learners. When people share ideas and collaborate and connect they can create even better ideas to use in the future. Personal approaches can differ for users as well. People can use it as a way to connect to people and share images of families, friends and events with family who may live far away or would like to document parts of their life. However person identities can be fake and share only one side of pieces of information. They can show glamour for people making other people feel inadequate or guilty. Therefore people need to look at other peoples social pages from all sides and understand that what is shown on someone’s social media is not always accurate.

How do digital identities converge in networked publics – what are the impacts and/or benefits?

When people have a variety of public profiles they can create an image and view of their lives from many perspectives. It can be beneficial for people who would like to connect to multiple people and groups. It can also be a bad thing if you are not careful because people may see something on an unmonitored platform that may affect your future in a non-ideal way. Public networks can be used for wonderful reasons such as jobs, popularity and connections but they can be dangerous if not monitored or shared professionally.

Thanks for listening and think before you post.