Tools of social Networking: frogs and videos

Now I know about social networking on a new level. It is not just about people networking at business meetings or conferences to exchange business cards and resumes, it goes far beyond this industrial period of doing things. Social networking has filtered into cyber space. Through these readings I learned new words, like Memes, Nodes and Ties. Memes was stated to be a contagious pattern of cultural information passed on from mind to mind. Manipulated and shaped by specific actions and the mindsets of a social group. The concept of memes was furthered by Richard Dawkins a geneticist. focusing on imitation and transfer. James Paul Gee developed a concept called " Affinity Spaces". Affinity spaces are on-line and off-line interactive spaces. showing how people are connected by shared activities, interests and goals. I learned that nodes are individuals and organizations of a network and Ties are the relationships between the actors or individuals. Social Networking can operate on many levels ranging from families to nations. "They are influential in how problems are solved, how businesses are run and the achievement of goals and success." Social Network analysis' effort is to determine how the structure of ties effect individuals and their relationships.

In Lu of the information I gained on social networking I made a connection with the story on Hopkin Green Frog. The story proceeds with an autistic boy creating a flier by drawing a picture of his lost toy frog and requesting help in finding it. Then someone finds the flyer in effort to help and puts it on the website. Then the frog becomes an icon. People began using it to promote other concerns using the picture as a poster for other genres of interest. This exhibits a loose network in action, where the connections are made on line and off line, and it further emphasises the definition of memes as a contagious pattern of cultural information passed from mind to mind, directly shaped by key actions and mindsets of a social group.

Youtube also expounds on the contagious patterns of cultural information being passed on and influencing the mind sets of others, only it is done through video. audio and visual tools are used to give the social groups more face to face perspectives. A voice and more realistic face to the written text. Used to promote political view points, to convey information and to persuade people in areas of interest and needs ties.

All this loaded information is a lot to swallow, yet so true and realistic.