The Rise of Online Social Networking

During our school days, the number of "friends" that we had were best illustrated by the number of entries in our "Autograph Book". Typically, we would exchange autographs with our class/school mates, teachers and friends, with good wishes and hopes penned down, sometimes quite artistically (depending on the individual).

There are some of us who managed to develop social ties with friends far, far away, with the help of a pen, paper (and full support of the Postal service). Pen pals were yet another form of social networking, albeit one that did not update in "real time". Still, it was enough for many people to develop lasting and true friends, and some even finding their life mate too!

Then, getting off the school bench and out into the real world, coinciding with upcoming technology, keeping in touch was now via pagers and soon, cellular mobile phones (voice, SMS and MMS) and finally, e-mail (back then there was only dial-up Internet available to the masses, service provided by either TMNet or Jaring).

Fast forward to the present. With somewhat affordable Fixed line and Wireless Broadband Internet connections and free WIFI, more and more people are getting connected via Cyberspace. E-mail, once the forerunner of communication, has been relegated to "snail-mail" like its ink-and-paper counterpart, replaced by micro-blogging services like Twitter (that strangely mimicked the 140 maximum characters limits of a typical SMS).

According to an online survey conducted by TNS Digital Life (http://discoverdigitallife.com/global-digital-life-research-project-reveals-major-changes-in-online-behaviour/), here in Malaysia, 88% of the online users have at one time or another uploaded photos on the Internet. Not such a surprise when the typical Malaysia was found to spend 9 hours per week logged on to their online social network (not only Facebook, there are others too, you know, such as Multiply....). And speaking of online social networks, Malaysians were found to top the list of most online friends, averaging 233 friends on their social network. Hmm, that puts me somewhat lacking compared to the "average Malaysian"!

Online social networking sites have also made a success of their creators, notably figure being Mark Zuckerberg, the main guy responsible for Facebook (another Bill Gates in the making?). Unlike a certain product from Microsoft that is named after a "glass-covered hole in the wall", the services of Facebook and other social networks are virtually free-of-charge, and yet they manage to make good money for their creators - could it all be from just online advertising alone? Net economy is something to look into next....

Well, in spite of the technological advances and availability of online social networks, as I recently wrote in my post on reconnecting with old friends, nothing beats physically being in the company of friends, to chat and exchange stories over a cup of real coffee (your drink of choice might differ). Online social networks do come in handy however for those who are separated over vast distances (like those who are studying or working abroad) and for those of us who really cannot move about so liberally (after you have kids, try going out as often as you did before). And of course, there's always that handy-dandy feature of reminding you when your friend's birthday is coming up, so you'll never have an excuse to forget wishing him or her ever again...! :)