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The Social Animals We Humans Are

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(Posted on Jul 27, 2013 at 07:33PM )
Human beings are social creatures and our lives depend on other humans. We are born unable to care for ourselves. We develop and learn about the world around us through others. Our connections to others are key not only our survival, but also to our happiness and the success of our careers.


And being social creatures comes the need to interact with others to reassure ourselves that we are liked, admired, respected; and noticed.


Then on April, 30th, 1993, it was announced that the World Wide Web would be free to everyone and the rest is history. Since then, the introduction of social network sites such as MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and even AOL in the beginning, to name a few, has transformed the way we communicate.

Along with the Internet Social media will probably go down as one of the major influencers of every generation since the Baby Boom generation and take its place as one of the wonders of modern time.


Between 2000 and 2002 the number of users on the internet grew a staggering 566.4% Nowhere else nor at any time in history has there been a forum even close to the scale of the World Wide Web.

WORLD INTERNET USAGE AND POPULATION STATISTICS
June 30, 2012

World Regions

Population
( 2012 Est.)

Internet Users
Dec. 31, 2000

Internet Users
Latest Data

Penetration
(% Population)

Growth
2000-2012

Users %
of Table

Africa

1,073,380,925

4,514,400

167,335,676

15.6 %

3,606.7 %

7.0 %

Asia

3,922,066,987

114,304,000

1,076,681,059

27.5 %

841.9 %

44.8 %

Europe

820,918,446

105,096,093

518,512,109

63.2 %

393.4 %

21.5 %

Middle East

223,608,203

3,284,800

90,000,455

40.2 %

2,639.9 %

3.7 %

North America

348,280,154

108,096,800

273,785,413

78.6 %

153.3 %

11.4 %

Latin America / Caribbean

593,688,638

18,068,919

254,915,745

42.9 %

1,310.8 %

10.6 %

Oceania / Australia

35,903,569

7,620,480

24,287,919

67.6 %

218.7 %

1.0 %

WORLD TOTAL

7,017,846,922

360,985,492

2,405,518,376

34.3 %

566.4 %

100.0 %

With all this connectivity we are now being faced with the loss of our privacy being subjected to Government agencies and even Employers spying on us and collecting information. By putting it all out there for everyone to see one should expect and understand that they are relinquishing their right to privacy to a large extent.


We use all this technology to interact with friends and family, to get the latest news and entertainment, and to research things we want to know about. It was only a matter of time before business saw the opportunities that Social Media offered.


Business saw the opportunity that getting involved with social Media would open up a huge potential resource. Social Media presented Business with ways to reach people in ways that were never possible with other forms of media. It allowed them to put a face to their business and to identify them in new ways.
But this new social medium also comes with risks that if they are not socially responsible in their advertising and communications or have any kind of misstep the consequences could be very costly.


It is all boils down to how you use it to your advantage or disadvantage. We are influenced by, and we are able to influence, people who we know as well as people we never met. We need to look at what social networks hold our interests and decided if the people we are interacting with are the people we want shaping our lives and careers.


We can influence others and gain recognition by posting blogs, getting involved in discussions, participate in forums and even help people by being a tutor online at a language site or any of the many sites available on the World wide Web.
Social interaction can open doors to job or other opportunities. You can meet like-minded people and have discussions with people who can give you new perspectives. The possibilities for whatever we are looking for or want to accomplish socially are limitless.


In the end, we need to take responsibility for how we act socially on the internet because in the end the internet as a social whole will make the final judgment on how it reacts to, responds to and accepts to what it is being disseminated.
Written By Bill Cosgrove

DealerNet Services