Social Networking

Using social networking could benefit corporate companies as it would allow them to advertise their services at a much cheaper rate than through the newspapers or media(i.e., television, radio, billboards, etc.). By companies using this type of technology, they have the opportunity to recruit potential employees geared towards a specific description given by these people. In doing so, these prospective employees are also marketing themselves by utilizing these social networking sites (i.e., LinkedIn, Craigslist, Facebook, Myspace etc.) to further their career. Up and coming and possibly even famous actors, artists and musicians are known to have websites providing fans the opportunity to see into their lives and what they are currently up to.

Companies and potential empolyers can use the opportunity to view these sites to learn more about these individuals and see if they are qualify for the jobs being offered. Also, in the case of corporate companies, if they are seriously condsidering hiring someone, they may run a backfround check as well as see if their personal websites, if any, may tell more or less about themselves.

Of course, to me, the dark side to publicly having these social networking sites is the opportunity for others to view your sites and gaining personal information that may be irrelevant to the company. However, in doing so, these companies may now view and judge you differently. Another negative aspect is the possibility for you to welcome unwanted visitors. For example, if you are underage person and being monitored by an adult, there may be some predators out there preying on innocent victims. What about that horrific incident that lead a massage therapist to her death for answering a craigslist ad.

An online article from Workforce Management states that IBM is already using a program that will allow people to train in virtual environments. IBM hopes to have a "virtual world" technology for emplyee training in the near future. In years to come, I believe numerous companies will follow suit and invest money in virtual technology. Sadly, if we opt for this virtual technology, our interaction with "real" people will become less and less frequent as it means people are opting to connect with a computer instead. What will this mean for the thousands of people whose job it is to train new recruits? There will no longer be "real" people to assist them.