What does it mean to network using social media?

With the development and popularity of new media such as telephones, computers, mobile phones and the internet, social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Blogs are becoming increasingly popular places to interact with the public. This new form of communication has expanded the scope of interpersonal communication, made it easier to connect with people, enriched the ways and channels of interpersonal communication and subtly catered to the fast pace of life and work in today’s information age. Social media has no time or place restrictions, we can exchange information about our work or life online in real time.

How are we motivated to participate in networked publics?

For those of us in the 21st century, Internet socialising seems to have long since become an important, if not indispensable, part of life. In the old days, when we travelled, we would take a few souvenir photos at places of interest and then go to a photo studio to have the film developed; nowadays, when we travel, we can simply use our mobile phones to take photos and share them on Facebook or ins, or share dynamic videos anytime, anywhere, and also attach a location to our address. In addition, during covid-19, we have implemented another new form of education, online education, where students and teachers can communicate with each other through online zoom meetings.

What are the risks & rewards of public communications?

The rewards of public communication is that it brings a lot of convenience to users of various social media platforms. People can easily search and share the information material they need and are able to connect with anyone around the world on the web, making new friends and maintaining social relationships. But with the benefits come risks, namely the potential for personal information to be leaked to others on social media, and for people to use online news stories or news personalities to make unkind comments or cyberbullying against individuals.