Social Mesh

Day 6: Social Networking

·         What communication medium (SMS, Instant Messenger, Phone, Twitter, Facebook), do you and your friends use the most to communicate through and why? What are the positives and negatives of each?

SMS, MSN, Phone, Facebook, Skype. These are my commonly used communication media. SMS is quick and cheap but I don't like texting. MSN is quick and free but it may lag online downloads. Phone calls are expensive but is the best way of communicating in my opinion, because the message is conveyed really fast and I get my answers right-away. I use Facebook to send messages when I'm not expecting for an immediate reply. This is especially better since I know that my friends hang out at Facebook more frequently than they are online in MSN. I use Skype to communicate with contacts who are further in distance because since I have good connection, it's just like speaking on the phone and for free! :) I do use Twitter but rarely.

·         Is social networking sites like Facebook or Twitter making your life better or worse?

Better I would say. Because people who read my blog use Facebook as a medium to reach me.

·         Please list the number of online social networking sites (Facebook, Friendster, Twitter, blog) which ones you are a member of and why you chose to have a profile/account on each of them? What activities do you usually do when you are social networking sites?

Facebook - my favourite! I send and receive messages here besides keeping in touch with acquaintances, Friendster - rarely used these days, Twitter - I use Twitter once in a while to keep in touch with my blogger friends, Blogspot - but it's my blog manager! Basically, on social networking sites, I send and receive messages, upload my pictures, share links and post notes.

·         How many Facebook/Friendster/MySpace/Twitter friends do you have? Who are these people? How many of these do you consider ‘close friends’? How many of them have you not meet before?

I have about 500 friends in both Friendster and Facebook. Half of them are people I know, mostly from school. A quarter are close friends. A quarter are people I've met online and not met before. 

·         Do you prefer to meet people for the first time online or face-to-face? Why?

Online. Because if there is no flow in conversation when we're online, it would not matter. It would get awkward if it's face-to-face.

·         Do you have Twitter? If yes, how many followers do you currently have? Who do you follow?

22 followers and following 11. These 11 are comedians and bloggers.