Modeling Reality with Virtual Worlds

Pros:
Cheap advertising for businesses
A way to keep in touch w/ others
Fast way to distribute info too many people
Entertaining
Exposure for business, groups/organizations, artists, etc...

Cons:
Time consuming
Addictive
Public, not private; too much personal info online
Identity Theft threat
Many cases of sexual assault

When behind a computer you can be anyone you desire to be. Many people have alter egos that they sometimes expose or keep secret. So using a social network allows them to express their talent(s) either of these ways with the world. It can be a fun way to do it but and it can also be dangerous. So you have to ask yourself, is freedom to be creative a good or bad thing? When hiding behind something such as the world wide web it allows a lot of room for freedom. You are admired, envied, frowned upon, etc...

The future of the virtual world is going to continue to eliminate the presence of feelings, facial expressions and sensitivity in communication. How many times have we read an email and said OMG! I can't believe her/she is talking to me like this? Or how many times have you responded to someone through email rather than having a verbal conversation and it just turned out ugly? So, sometimes non-verbal communication can be insensitive and/or taken out of context. There's nothing that can replace a human body. Would you rather be friends with a computer or a person?

My thoughts will not at all stop or even slow down the progression of the virtual world. Social connections will continue to build through people all over the world. Cultures, languages, new ideas/inventions, etc will all be learned without having to travel. More things will be accomplished in less time than we've been used to. So the future of the virtual world will continue to open a lot of doors just without human contact.

Check Out Social Networking Sites

Aren't all social network services the same as long as you can reach the main goal? No! MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter all have different followers. When MySpace was created I saw it as a way to keep in touch with friends, family, and keep up with talented artists. When Facebook came about, it seemed as if all of that changed. Facebook was known as a social network for college students and then...it all went downhill from there.

MySpace was the "ghetto" to the social network scene, while Facebook was the more "mature" and/or "sophisticated" thing to be a part of. Facebook began allowing people that are non-college students sign up, which allowed room for both the young and all to enjoy; from high schoolers, business, talented artists, causes, etc...
So is that a good or bad thing...hmmmm? Well MySpace started to become obsolete as everyone began "converting" over to Facebook.

Twitter, on the other hand, seems to not be for everyone but is the easiest to use. You basically sign up and create a profile and you then begin "following" people and have other follow you as well. To follow is to keep up with the live progress of events throughout the day. People of all ages, businesses such as newspapers and blogs, entertainers, etc are all a part of this.

I happen to be a member of all of the three services mentioned above. I find facebook to be used the most of them all. Mainly because I have the most immediate friends who use it versus Twitter and MySpace. It also is a great tool for entertainment while I have some downtime either at work or home. I must say it isn't for everyone and would suggest the next option to be used should be Twitter since it is very user-friendly.