Social Networking and Blogging

I was in high school when I was introduced to the Internet, cyberspace, world wide web or whatever we call it because I needed to search some stuffs for the IT quiz bee. I signed up my first email when I was in third year because I needed to email some relatives abroad.

I thought, that was all.

Then came college and Friendster. Most of my classmates have an account or accounts and they have always asked to add me. But I had none not until the last weeks of college that I finally signed up an account because I wanted to get connected to them even after graduation. I also started my first blog long before blogging became a culture in our class.

So then, I got an account in a social networking site and an online journal.

Then came Multiply, which I did not understand why I still have to have an account, but because many are using it and said that it is better than friendster, I signed up and uploaded some photos. And by the way, I also had an account at Ringo.com which is already closed for uploading my photos. I only have my photobucket now.

After multiply and adding friends into this account came facebook. I did not want to sign up because I already have friendster and multiply and I can have a lot of virtual friends through those sites. Before I forgot, I also have a christianster account. This time, I signed up with facebook because this is the easiest way for me to connect to my friends and colleagues in the US. And I think I am enjoying the features of it more than I did with friendster and multiply.

With blogging, I had my mindsay, account which I left and transferred to blogdrive, which I also left then finally to wordpress, which I am trying to have an update every now and then. I also have other blogs but I find it hard to maintain them. Well, I still write there once in a while.

So what’s the point of having all these accounts?

Most of the world have their lives over the cyberspace. The Internet has an answer to almost all queries even friendship and dating — that is why social networking exist. It is because the creator of those wanted people to get connected amid distance and time (except for the profit of course). If you have one or two or three accounts, you are powerful, because in the on-line world, the most powerful is the individual.

Online, you can have your own identity other than who you really are. Online, you do not have to see people to communicate. Online, you do not have to go to the office to work and the list continues… But what these social networking and blogging contributes to most people is self-expression, something that seems to be difficult to do off line. That’s why I do it.