Social networking has become an addiction that has taken hold of the generation that grew up with the Internet. Posting pictures, videos and information about ourselves has become second nature, rarely do we question this everyday fact of life. It is natural for the trend to travel to the most common instrument of technology: the cellphone. You cannot leave home without it for fear of not being connected with the world. The major cellphone carriers now offered ways to keeps people even more connected! Applications for social networks!
Blackberry offers apps for Facebook, flickr, myspace.
iPhone offers 157 applications in the Social Networking category for application. The most Popular are Facebook, IM+ for Skype, eBuddy Lite Messenger.
Verizon wireless offers 16 applications in the Community and Sharing section of the products available for phones. The most popular applications are designed to share photos.
These applications have been modified to fit the smaller screens but still function in the exact same manner as on computers.
Here is an interview with a programmer that aggregates social networks on cell phones at CES 2009.
To me, one of the most interesting aspects of our generation’s reliance on technology is the cell phone and its various uses. People our age have seen the growth of these devices firsthand. It amazes me that just a few years ago text messaging was the new craze that was “revolutionizing” how we use technology. Now people can IM, surf the Web, or watch videos with the touch of one button. The fact that there are companies like Intercasting out there that allow users on all carriers to manage all of their online communities on their mobile device is unheard of. Advances like this truly give users the possibility to be interactive with friends and family at all times. It will be interesting to see how long it takes for companies like this to become more mainstream. In a few years college students may be wondering how they ever functioned without their social networking communities at their fingertips at all times.
Comment by Thomas — 22 March 2009 @ 12:37 am
I believe that this posts proves that social media is everywhere and basically unavoidable. Even if someone is not interested in social media, it is being provided to them by many companies, and now even comes with your new cell phone. In corporate communications, the takeaway message is that companies should be utilizing social media because it is simply a very important means of communication for a large section of the population.
Comment by Kelsey Schum — 30 March 2009 @ 1:38 am
I agree with Kelsey. Social media really is everywhere and everywhere I turn people, including me, on on their cell phones. I personally find social media applications to be very beneficial, but it also does affect how I use the social media. Now that I have a BlackBerry, I get all of my Facebook notifications on my phone and I barely go on Facebook anymore. I can check my friends’ statuses, message them, view events, and accept friend notifications in seconds instead of getting to a computer, logging in, and then browsing around. Social media applications also allow me to go on Facebook and other social media sites while I am doing other things.
Comment by LeiLani Ching — 7 April 2009 @ 3:02 am