Social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace allow users to share photos, videos, and personal information with friends. While sharing with friends can have benefits, oversharing personal details or publishing inappropriate content can lead to privacy and employment issues. Facebook has grown rapidly since its founding in 2004 and continues evolving to meet user needs, attracting both users and businesses seeking advertising opportunities on the popular sites.

2. Social Networking: The Pros and Cons Nathan Talbot

4. How it Compares… -Stats Statistics correct as at November 2007 14-18 18-24 Primary Age Group 350,000 200,000 New Users Daily 185 Million 50 Million Current Users MySpace Facebook

5. How it Compares… -Features ✗ ✓ Tagging of Friends ✗ ✓ Ease of use (i.e. navigation) ✗ ✓ Easy to share things with friends ✗ ✓ Finding Friends ✓ ✓ Community: Groups, Events etc ✗ ✓ Specialist Networks ✓ ✗ Editable profile layouts & themes ✗ ✓ Customisable Applications ✓ ✓ Videos & Pictures ✓ (limited) ✓ Privacy Controls MySpace Facebook

6. Pros and Cons Let’s look at a few of the pros and cons of Facebook * Dependant on privacy settings Distraction (from work) Sharing of Pictures, Videos and Notes (Blogs) Privacy Concerns * Many fields for personal information No profile themes Simple layout Unwanted Advertising * Customizable Applications Annoying Notifications Friend Finder Cons Pros

9. (Yes, but only my friends can see it!) Any Questions?