Online Application Ning - the Platform Allowing Users to Create and Cl Coursework

Online Application Ning - the Platform Allowing Users to Create and Close Their Own Social Network - Coursework Example This critical analysis functions to examine the role of social networking with a variety of diverse populations, arguing that the widespread social adoption of this technology has not simply been a tool to achieve greater efficiency, but is in actuality reshaping and formatting the nature of human culture and consciousness.A television program recently had a comedic skit where the internet went out in a home and the residents had to resort to a box-labeled ‘pre-internet’ – inside the box were a rubber duck, a barbell, and a fake plastic tree. While most of us recognize that there was a lot more going on in pre-internet times than a box full of trinkets, the absurdity of the skit draws one's attention to the fact that one of the great divides of culture, arguably on the scale of the Protestant Reformation, the Industrial Revolution, or even the Renaissance, is the contemporary occurrence of what has been deemed the Digital Age. Having died in 1980 Marshall McLuhan had only glimpsed its genesis when he proclaimed, â€Å"In this electronic age we see ourselves being translated more and more into the form of information, moving toward the technological extension of consciousness (McLuhan 1967).†With the explosion of Web 2.0 software and the use of social networking sites (SNS), it was certain that professional environments would begin to incorporate the technology. While previous conceptions of computer-mediated communication – video gaming, Facebook use, YouTube – have been characterized as detrimental, the technology is now being reconsidered for its functional value. Many varied corporations have implemented collaborative technology, including Google whose employees hold daily meetings with associates spread throughout the world. One of the most widespread uses of collaborative technology has occurred in education environments. Indeed, certain researchers even argue that this technology is expanding the very nature of the classroom room outside institutional walls.