How do you think social media will change in the future? What other trends would you add to the mix? Are they any specific technologies that you think will gain popularity or emerge?

Social media will only get more popular over time and social media will definitely change.  What we see now as social media will only be the start.  As more and more people see the popularity of social media, more people are using it as a tool to broadcast information.  Technology will no doubt improve and with that social media will improve as well.  The quality of these tools will improve and those with a love for technology will jump right in.  It will change in a way that it will become more complex I think.  And although it is more complex, a genius out there will make a way for those who are less technologically inclined to be able to figure it out as well.  I think that more and more people will use hand held devices to access their social media sites rather than going on the computer.  As handheld devices become more and more inclined to mimic a computer, the more likely that our generation will use them to do a lot of their tweeting, face booking, emailing, and blog posting.  Many people might start making their own social media site mimicking many of the popular sites but until one has more options and easy management such as Facebook, none will take over the lead for popular social media sites. 

I believe that eventually Facebook will lose its popularity and another one will rise to take its place.  I am safe to say that this site is probably being worked on right now.  Social Media will definitely change in the future, by new technology sweeping the earth or perhaps some other way, but social media will definitely change the future and handheld devices will be the most popular way of accessing it.  

According to Malcom Gladwell, a well-known author in the area of social media, social media are built around weak ties and real social change can never come from loose networks of people that do not know each other. Do you think that social media has the potential to bring about real social change?

With technology being the way it is today more and more people are doing things online.  For example, many people use the internet for online shopping rather than go into the store to shop.  Networks are a strong way of communication.  Many people may not know each other online but information can be passed in an instant and because of this I believe that social media has the potential to bring about real social change. 

                Social media can bring change because as the younger generations are more and more dependent on the internet the more likely social media has the potential to bring change.  Although many people do not know each other many people use dating sites and game sites that cause people to first meet online and then later meet in person.  These tools are used in order for people to meet each other.  Without these tools many people would not be able to meet each other.  Because many people are using these to meet new people this is another reason that social media can bring a real social change.  The older generations are even using social media more and more.  For example, my mom uses Facebook way more than I do.  They use it to communicate with many people around the world.  People they haven’t even met. 

                If more people used social media the future would change in the way of communication.  More and more people would be using social media rather than meeting with someone in person.  This seems to be more and more popular as the years go on.  These are the reasons that social media has the potential to bring about real social change and because of this it will change the world one computer at a time.

Do you believe that social media has increased the quality of news and information or decreased it?

 I believe that Social media is amazing! So many people use it.  This is a benefit because if someone decided they want to share something, whether it is opinion or fact this can be done in a fast and easy way.  Not only can you make an article, you can post your opinion and facts that may either agree or disagree with the author of the post.  This is a way to give and receive news in a matter of seconds.   Now although I think that it is a fast and easy tool to communication. Many people can abuse this to write things that may not necessarily be true.  As readers we need to use our discretion when reading news put on the internet. 

               I believe that it has increased the quality.  Some people may not agree with this but news is so readily available and can be updated and changed in a matter of minutes.  This gives a chance for those who don’t have million dollar equipment a chance to let their voice be heard.  It gives them a chance to give their opinion, perspective, or in person account of a story.  We have a choice to pick and choose which news we want to watch and when we want to watch it.  The quality of news and quantity of news has both gone up.  It is amazing to see the change in the way we gather news.  My grandparents still receive most of their news from the television or radio.  As the younger generation uses Social media more and more it is becoming a more and more popular way of gathering news.    

What is your perception of social media, do you think it is a fad or the biggest shift since the Industrial Revolution

Social Media is a way of interactive dialogue.  It allows us to communicate in an instant.  Although some may say that this is productive and allows us to communicate faster, I believe it is hindering our interpersonal skills.  It used to be that people would keep diaries and only tell their close friends and family all of their funny stories and personal details of their life.  With the availability of face book and other such social media, those thoughts are plastered for the entire world to see.  I believe if we have the proper balance between the two we can use social media to our advantage.  I understand that our world is becoming more and more electronically based and if we do not keep up the times we will be left behind, but this does not mean that we need to abandon face to face communication skills. 

Social media does not seem to be a fad in my estimation.  If anything, social media will become more popular as time goes on.  The older generations do not seem as interested in many of these social media opportunities as the younger generations do, but they are definitely increasing in popularity.  I do not believe it is a fad, social media is probably the biggest shift since the Industrial Revolution.  The Industrial Revolution was a massive step and social media seems to be moving forward slower but still at a consistent pace.  Social media can also include the radio which seems to be popular.  It also includes dating sites and sites that allow you to simply vote or as complex as commenting on other peoples comments and rating movies. 

Social media is a great way of communicating and should be used to everyone’s advantage, but as I mentioned before I believe we should use it in moderation.  We need to make sure we are communicating with others in person and continually improving our interpersonal skills. :) 

My first post

AWESOME!