The indulgence of the unsociable habit that is, Social Networking

I will start this blog with a quote from a very dear friend of mine who was the spark in me writing about this topic. Friend says, “Social networking steals the joy of actually socializing... I don’t want to know what you doing... if I did, I would call you.”

This is so true and such an understandable attitude! But what people are all about today is time. Time, time, time; we just do not find the time anymore. We are really living fast-paced lives and we don’t realize before it’s too late what an unsociable habit this social networking has developed into.

Okay so firstly, to bring everyone up to speed, the term as understood and mainly used today ‘Social networking’ refers to a place (site) where people can get together and socialize without having to see each other face-to-face. It is a socializing space where people usually have the same interests or some sort of common background or in general... just for the fun of meeting new people.

The big issue is that should we really indulge in this technological habit so much so that it appears to take over our lives? Yes, this may seem a tad bit dramatic; but think about it... entirely true.

Personally, I am guilty of sitting in front of my laptop, on the internet with many tabs open; one connecting me to Facebook, another to Twitter, another two to my two email accounts, a pop-up screen for Skype and on the odd occasion you can even find me mxiting (chat service on your phone where you can connect with your friends) at the same time. This is crazy! I am a total Social networking junkie! I think, in relation to my personality, which is one of a shy nature, I find it more comfortable to interact via technology. Ultimately, the main reason as to why I use social networking sites is to get into contact with people I know but just don’t have the time to see on a regular basis.

What is beneficial is that you can connect with people you may have lost contact with over the years; and to highlight this fact, it is an even more efficient way of communicating if they are possibly overseas where you can’t always get together for a regular meet and greet session. On the other hand, if you don’t like the act of social networking... then just simply don’t do it. What is amazing, however, is how far the media and technology has developed over the years.

So after all said, it can be seen that this is an ongoing debate with both advantages and disadvantages, leaving one in-between minds on what stance to take in the matter. Both ‘for’ and ‘against’ points are equally persuasive. Not everyone has the opinion my dear friend presents, but if we did... wouldn’t the world take on some sort of humane shape again?

Should we really indulge in social networking? The indulgent choice is yours.

The J-school Revealed

Is a journalism school necessary? There is a big change going on around the world of journalism. Regrettably, the students who aspire to be journalists are not receiving the training from their journalism schools to deal with such change. Journalism no longer only revolves around writing; it also includes delving into electronic blogging and becoming an expert in the social media. Patrick Thornton writes an article titled, "Let's be honest about J-school" and explores the realism and point of attending a journalism school.

It has been said that the journalism schools (also known as the J-schools) that have been very prestigious in the past are of no longer relevance to the way journalism is explored today. So the times are changing but the J-school curriculum basically stays the same; this resulting in outdated information. What is needed is the type of program that can educate the students on how to become entrepreneurs and to launch their own ventures. In this program, the fact that the social web is a reality and predominantly active in the here, the now and the future of journalism needs to be apparent. A high-quality J-school possibly has the tools to assist in cultivating the students’ intuition and build a foundation for good journalism but it definitely cannot instill in someone the passion to assist in the developing and progression of journalism. The educators are another concern when it comes to the success of teaching journalism appropriately. If the teachers do not have experience in journalism as it is in the world of today (blogging and web activity etc.) then how are they supposed to convey their knowledge to their students?

One way of getting ahead in the journalism world is to have connections. One would think that getting together with people who went to a J-school would be an ideal connection, however, many more relationships are built and form via the internet and blogging; it has a wider network of people to reach out to. There are many other ways of attaining and nurturing your talent than that of going to a J-school; BeatBlogging.Org is one of the sites that Patrick mentions that could help.

Finally, journalists don't just write long articles of nothing, they add passion to the great reporting they produce.

www.thoughtleader.co.za/

Who is the blogger?
>>Thought Leader

Who does the site belong to?
>>Mail & Guardian Online

Who writes?
>>There are a range of writers. Siyabonga Ntshingila, Coenraad Bezuidenhout, Sentletse

Diyakanyo and Bernard Allen are just to name a few.

www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/health/Swine_flu/article6737507.ece

Who is the blogger?
>>Anjana Ahuja

Who does the site belong to?
>>Times Online

Who writes?
>>Anjana Ahuja appears to be the main writer and there are also people who comment on her

article.

www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog

Who is the blogger?

>>The Sport Blog

Who does the site belong to?
>>The Guardian

Who writes?
>>There appears to be many different sport writers posting their articles as well as posts by

the public.

www.southafrica.worldcupblog.org/

Who is the blogger?
>>Daryl, seems to be the main blogger who initiated the place where the fans could express

themselves.

Who does the site belong to?
>>World Cup Blog South Africa 2010

Who writes?
>>The Bafana Bafana fans who are looking forward to the 2010 worldcup. They can express

their feelings and opinions about the upcoming event.

www.blogs.indiewire.com/anthony/

Who is the blogger?
>>Anthony Kaufman

Who does the site belong to?
>>indieWIRE Blog Network

Who writes?
>>Anthony Kaufman

www.indiefilmbloggersmovie.blogspot.com/

Who is the blogger?
>>Sujewa Ekanayake

Who does the site belong to?
>>Indie Film Blogger Road Trip

Who writes?
>>Sujewa Ekanayake

Sujewa Ekanayake is an avid blogger who has been blogging since October 2004. His blog has received an estimation of 7100 views which proves that his topics arouse interest within quite a number of people. He works as a filmmaker and can be found in Brooklyn, New york. He is an enthusiast for valuable and attention-grabbing movies.

Sujewa Ekanayake is ideal to be a blog writer seeing as his occupation (filmmaker) makes him knowledgeable about the topics he blogs about. Some of his topics are as follows: "Stranger than Hollywood", "Filmmaking for the poor" and many more. I think he can relate to the public who are made up of aspiring filmmakers and those who are interested in films and cinema because one of his dimensions deals with low-budget films and would be useful to give tips to the viewers of the blog. He writes what he is passionate about and therefore, tying in with the freedom of expression and blogging, this is a good way to express his thoughts.

Censorship or Freedom of Speech?

Freedom of speech and censorship appears to go hand-in-hand in most instances and ways of expression. Freedom of speech is one of our basic rights but when some people go as far as to insult their fellow man then it is somewhat logical and justifiable to apply the condition of censorship. However, we cannot allow censorship to fully control and restrict our personal expression and stunt our individual voice if we have something worthwhile to say.

The act of managing and controlling ideas and data spread in a society is known as censorship. Censorship is present in many forms of expressive means and has been in existence for many centuries. In addition to that, the fight for liberty to express oneself goes as far back as the implementation of censorship. Censorship has been developed and introduced to mainly conceal ideas which threaten public associations such as relatives, the church and the state; so censorship can therefore be seen as a protective device.

This condition of censorship violates and infringes on expression of what may be the truth by the public because it is not always that the media produces the truth and reality for the public. This discussion of censorship is relevant and relational to the recent events taking place in Iran as well as some of the social networking sites where people think that they may have full freedom of speech absent from prosecution which then turn out to be not entirely the case.

In Iran recently there have been protests and riots being performed by the people of Iran; their reaction is in relation to their presidential elections which took place. It is suspected that there was fraud activity going on around the elections. The elections are supposed to be free and fair and of a democratic nature, however, if you make your choice but there are irregularities concerning the outcome then why is it termed as freedom? If in fact it is the case that these elections were of a fraudulent nature then it reveals that there is no evidence of Iran being a democratic either. The fact that there are hardly any places to view the voice of the people of Iran concerning this issue, also shows censorship and restriction on freedom of speech.

There is another story in relation to censorship which involves a man by the name of Dave Carroll whose guitar got damaged while on a flight to Nebraska. He blamed the airline for the damages to his guitar and publicly displayed his complaints on the internet; he also went as far as to make a music video about his experience. The comments posted by the public in relation to his video and experience were contradictory to one another; some agreed that it was the airlines fault whereas others said that he should’ve been more careful with his instrument. One of the comments posted were, “Thanks to the internet, the little guy can have a big voice. I see he has over 130,000 views”. This shows that by him not being censored, he got his views across and the public could have the chance to relate to them. It brings out personal opinion and truth, but only to a certain extent. Unlike Dave’s situation, there is a women who decided to openly vent on a social networking site about her dissatisfactory mouldy apartment and the people responsible for it. Unlike Dave’s situation, the woman’s complaints resulted in her receiving a law suit.
So it makes one wonder, how and where can we state what we deem as truthful? But also, from the view of the opposition, how are they supposed to recover after the damage has been done?

Blogging... freedom of speech to the max!

Blogging... the term used to portray websites that keep a continuous data base of information.

From a social perspective, blogging is good for a more citizenship reporting approach. Freedom of speech allows us autonomy to state views and ideas unrestricted, and principally without trepidation of retribution. It means that we can express our thoughts and opinions regarding any topic we choose, without being restricted by any authority. However, even with this right and 'freedom' there are also limits and boundaries in certain forms and genre of media. A newspaper makes for a relevant and appropriate example in this instance. A journalist's profession entails reporting on current newsworthy issues; however, they have to stick to the facts and can't always blatantly express their personal opinions. Therefore it is clear that newspapers are controlled by laws which prohibit them from indulging in extensive freedom to express explicitly; unlike blogging. Back to the topic, the reason why blogging is an important form of new media is then revealed. It gives one the chance to express one's personal views on any subject matter you wish; you may speak your mind. It is a way in which freedom of speech is used at its utmost. Obviously with this amount of leeway one cannot always believe and deem whatever may be blogged as truthful. Topics that may still be considered as taboo in some cultures and situations may be voiced through blog. It allows us to explore territory which is not often, if at all, ventured through in newspaper media. It is also a way for the public to connect with each other, share stories and thoughts. Unrestricted interaction and expression... freedom of speech to the max!