Firstly I have to say I'm glad to be back this week, the prospect of three new modules is enticing and having skimmed through the module specifications it should prove to be a very interesting semester.
This is my very first blog I've ever written, although I have read numerous blogs in the past; I've never had a moments thought of writing my own but here I am now. My first day back straight into the creaky lecture room of MD007 for the opening lecture of Computer Networks and Operating Systems. From the very beginning the lecture proved to be highly interesting with this opening video. This was the video which piqued my interest and provoked the idea for this very blog.
After watching this video again once I got home, I also watched this similar video which I found equally as intriguing, the prospect of the rapid progression of the area of social media is astounding and the potential and possibilities it offers is tantalising. The instantaneous access to any information you require is absolutely amazing and helps me personally on a daily basis, whether its checking up on a area of lecture notes I wasn't entirely sure of or delving deeper into an area.
The social aspect of this networking is also tremendous, the sharing of opinions on such sites as Facebook or Twitter can enlighten you with newfound facts or can cause a debate which is always good fun lol. No longer do you need to have the news on the tv to hear breaking news, the social media aspect brings the news to you quicker and covers more personal opinions and possible news than a daily newspaper can ever aspire to provide, it even surpasses the Daily Mail for gossiping purposes.
However along with the emergence and growth of this sector, there brings distinct possibilities for negative repercussions. The sheer availability and easy of access to your personal information is of great concern. As talked about in the lecture you're never fully secure when you're browsing. Anyone could now search for you, and find out information about you whether from your Facebook profile or what you search for on Youtube. This of course could lead you into an extreme pitfall, say for example in two years when I'm applying for Graduate jobs, the companies offering posts could easily search for my activities, interests and personal information online, and automatically judge me as a person from this. This is a concern in my opinion and I will be very wary of anything I publish online. As seen by higher profile footballers for example getting into trouble from their ill advised tweet outbursts, step forth Darren Bent and Ryan Babel.
I for one are genuinely excited by the social media development and hope it prospers in future years, our lives could be changed by this and as I will be working with technology everyday I think this is rather relevant. However as with anything I hope the potential downfalls don't outweight the positives.
