Social Networking

What are some ways (corporate and otherwise) that these technologies can be used?

I believe that this technologies can be good to keep us informed, let say if people follow social networks about news and thing like that t is very useful to keep an eye on what's going on not only in your town or your country but also all around the world. It truly is a way to keep in touch with people you don't see that often anymore, to find childhood friends. For some other people this is a great way to meet people (I am not one of them because you are never sure if the person who is really after that picture or profile is really the person you think it is, for me it is way better to actually meet people in meeting, or just randomly which can be awkward but it is better to know for certain who is the person who you're talking to and not have the uncertainty of not being sure who is behind the screen). 

These technology is a much better way to find jobs, and put yourself out there to find a maybe better job than the actual. This i believe is a really good tool because people might bump into your profile they might like your characteristic and from there now there is an opportunity that you might have not thought of having by just sending out your resume at some potential places you would like to work at. This is stated in the reading Social Networking Technology Boosts Job Recruiting by Frank Langfitt, NPR, March 16, 2008.

What are the benefits of these technologies to society? Be specific. Is there a "dark side"? 

I believe that the good thing about social media is that you can keep in touch with people who live in some other part of the world or just friends who you don't see that often anymore, in my case social networking is a great tool to keep in touch with people from my country, also I follow some facebook pages that are related to news so when i open up my facebook I can see some of the stories they have publishes and so on. But I do believe this has a really big dark side, I know that we are in a technological era but this social networks keep us somewhat hypnotized, I read recently that there are people who are literally addicted to social networking and cannot live with out their phone, and the treatment that they are giving this people is the same as an alcoholic or even a drug addict. Social networking is good if it's used in a reasonable way or even just as an attraction but not for it to become your life. 

I find important nowadays the privacy you can have in your social network, because you will post something online because you want to share it with certain, but if you're not sure of how it works or if you're not sure of the configuration just don't post it, find a more private way of doing it, and so you'll avoid what happened to the Zuckerberg's, getting something that was supposed to be private to be public. (Facebook Privacy Is So Confusing Even the Zuckerberg Family Photo Isn't Private,” The Atlantic Wire, Greenfield, R. December 26, 2012).