Online, social networking reaching new heights

In a world built on social interaction, it’s impossible to truly predict the next step in social networking sites.

Internet options are endless.

“Social networking site could go anywhere in the future, I think,” said Sterling Heights junior Fred Bartolomei.

Just a few years ago, online messaging tools such as AOL Instant Messenger, MSN Web Messenger and Yahoo Messenger were the most convenient ways of communicating online. Before that, e-mail. Society is always looking for another way to make networking and socializing easier.

“I mainly just use Facebook and sometimes Twitter,” Bartolomei said. “I don’t really use AIM anymore. I can just use the Facebook chat.”

Last spring, Facebook added Facebook Chat to its list of tools, allowing users to instant message others while using the popular networking site. People are using separate messaging tools less and less.

Warren freshman Nick Desalvio is one of these people.

“I only use Facebook now,” Desalvio said. “It’s easier.”

Facebook’s high popularity is not because of just its chat capabilities. The ease in which a user can get in touch with another is unheard of. They can share pictures and videos while sending messages, instant message, searching for other users and viewing calenders all at once.

This is what draws Wyandotte junior Chelsea Tims to Facebook.

“I can use it for everything,” she said. “I use it to invite people to events like my birthday and also to keep track of friends’ birthdays.”

But Facebook is not the only available social networking tool. Twitter, Craigslist and Myspace are some of the many social networking sites people are using everyday. Some social networking sites, such as Linkedin, are designed to assist users in finding jobs.

Director of Career Services Julia Sherlock said these sites can be very helpful.

“It’s a great way to announce things,” she said. “It’s evolved a lot from where it started.”

Society has become even more connected and interlocked with the combination of social networking sites. Users of these sites can share their ideas, hobbies and beliefs, just about anything, with people all over the world.

“The world has shrunk because of technologies,” Sherlock said.

The networking sites make it easy for people to stay in touch with friends who are a long distance away, especially those in different time zones.

“Now with being up here, its still easy to talk to friends back home,” Desalvio said.

There are many things that people who use the networking sites can do to meet new people. Sherlock mentions a few way users can do this.

“You may want to attach photos of special projects you’ve worked on. That would showed your interests and creativity,” she said. “You can join groups to easily find people with the same beliefs or needs.”

One of the most interesting and exciting parts about social networking is the thought of where they could go in the next couple years.

“I think it’s going to continue to get better,” Bartolomei said. “I think it’s going to get easier and easier to use. And now that there are so many phones that are being designed to work with sites like Facebook, people are going to be using it even more frequently.”