Wired to connect

 Visualising Friendships (Butler, nd)

Power can be perceived as many things, such as different types of power as in social networks, and sources of power (such as energy) and in fact some people would define power only as a physical force, whereas in contemporary society, social networking is power. It is the power to connect, a social platform which people use to build networks with others who share similar interests and real life connections.

The virtual network I have chosen to analyse for my first blog assignment is Facebook. My encounter with Facebook was an appealing source to make contact with friends and family but my user activity has been minimal. As I observe users of Facebook it appears to be an addiction, as Buchanan (2002) describes it “a pattern of social interaction” (p.27) which is disempowering and affects many facets of social being. The use of social media has increased what the level of dependency and need for self-gratification and we now expect an immediate response to any post or blog and this in turn affects our behaviour. I was not a regular Facebook user until this course and was surprised to see that so many people were users. This article, Facebook hits billion user mark (2017), indicates the power of social technology and networks.

I reflect on the lecture 1 power point (2017), in particular Kuttainen’s reference in slide 9, in which this subject analyses the networks and network theory. The focus of this subject is to "...increase social and scholarly significance of networks...". My impression is that active users hold the balance of power to communicate on many levels, advertise products and services and raise an awareness of issues. Alternatively social media can be used for social and financial gain and criminal intent, such as fraudulent claims of illness, coerce people to behave in a certain way. I now have a different perspective of Facebook and I am mindful of how I use the social network and what I disclose. Virtual networking has changed the way we are educated, do business, relate and maintain records. In essence, Virtual Network has infiltrated every level of society in ways in which we had not thought of when we began using it.

 Despite the negative aspects of virtual networks the benefits outweigh them and as we progress forward our world will become increasingly integrated with technological innovation.


 References

Facebook hits billion user mark. (2017, June 28). Al Jazeera, Retrieved from   http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/06/facebook-hits-billion-user-mark-170627180945270.html

Butler, P. (n.d). Visualising Friendships [image]. Retrieved from http://lab.softwarestudies.com/2012/03/computational-humanities-vs-digital.html

 Kuttainen, V. (2017). BA1002: Our space: Networks, narratives and the making of place, lecture 1: Power. [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from http://learnjcu.edu.au

 Buchanan, M. (2002). Nexus: Small worlds and the groundbreaking science of networks. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company.