13. ACTIVITY – SOCIAL NETWORKING – MSN

Social networking is the communication of people over the internet for example through msn and Myspace and is replacing the conventional ways of communicating

The internet encourages people to speak, whilst you may never think of calling someone, talking over the internet is convenient and allows you to do several things at once.
The main people that social networking targets is 14 – 19 year olds especially msn, however Myspace is also starting to be used by older people as a dating site, where they can meet new people. Teenagers also use it to meet new people and boost self esteem by posting pictures which can then be commented on. MSN however is probably the most popular form of social networking in the UK. You can communicate with people all over the world, talk to several people at once, or take part in group convocations. Msn also allows you to easily share files such as pictures and music with your friends, and play games with each other for example tic tac toe. Msn plus also creates more options for the audience, as it gives them even more features. A popular one is boss lock which allows you to hide your msn if people come into the room, extra colour features for your font, and renaming of contacts is also possible.

Most people use msn to talk through the conversations however there are other features that people may use. For example if you have family on the other side of the world you could use your webcam to see them, or if you have new clothes which you want to show to your friend you could also do this trhough the webcam. Microphone conversations allow you to speak to the person rather than having to type to them, making it even easier for people to communicate.

The institution involved with msn messenger is MSN. They benefit, as they know messenger is a popular thing, which they can then play of through advertising as well as added features which you can only get through paying for example extra backgrounds for your messenger conversations. Advertisers also benefit as they can pay to get their product incorporated into the service, for example there are several options available down the side of the messenger screen which include dating.

Interactivy is important here, as people can use msn the way that suits them for example whilst they can talk to their friends they can also web cam them, or play games with them. Personalisation is important, as the media can be adapted to suit your own personal needs, for example with the add on feature of msn plus which allows you to rename your contacts, and the fact that you can change your font and display picture to suit your tastes. Finally reach is important as msn allows people from all over the world to communicate easily, as long as they have the software installed on their computer.