Dangers of the Internet: Blog 4

The internet is no doubt one of the greatest things that has happened to our society. It brings us news and information fast and is at the tip of our fingers. It also comes along with all of the social media sites that let us connect with people we can't see on a daily basis, and sometimes even meet new people. Using these sites for meeting new people can be intriguing, but you need to be aware of the dangers that come along with putting yourself and your personal information on the Internet for everyone to see. There are many dangers that come along with meeting people online, but I feel that the most dangerous thing that can happen is someone pretending to be someone that they are not. 

The Internet is like an open book. Anyone can do and/or be anything/anyone they please. This is a scary concept to me! Unless you actually know the person and can physically see them at your leisure, then you don't know if that person is really who they are portraying themselves to be. The most common term for this nowadays is "cat fishing", and sadly enough, it is actually a very common thing to happen. Even if you aren't in the actual conversation part of the situation, you can still be affected the picture you is used, or any of your personal information is used on someone else's profile. 

The question is, how can this be prevented? In my personal opinion is says no way of being prevented. There are some people out there with sick and twisted minds that think this kind of thing is acceptable to do. So no, I don't think it's totally preventable. There are ways, however, to protect yourself from these kinds of situations, and red flag that you should watch out for. 

If you feel like this situation is happening to you do some detective work! Google image is your best friend in these kinds of situations. Look them up and see what pops up! You could also look at their Facebook friend count. The lower the number, the fishier the situation. You could also look at the pictures on Facebook. If there are no tags, something is definitely up. Some other red flags could be they make excuses when you want to see them/talk via phone, Skype,  FaceTime, etc. these are just a few examples of how to look out for yourself. Always be extra safe and chatting online! 

Works cited:

O'Donnell, Andy. "How to Avoid Getting Catfished Online." About.com. 2014. Web. April 2014. 

More than just a "small potato"?

Anyone who's anyone now a days knows all the big name social media sites, like Facebook and Twitter. Because of these big social media sites, we tend to overlook some of the sites that aren't in the spotlight 24/7. These sites are known as the Internets "smaller potatoes". This would include sites such as MySpace, Reddit, Digg, and many other sites that have been pushed to the side. The question that remains is should these sites be more than a "small potato", or should they just be forgotten all together? I feel as if Digg should be more than just a "small potato". 

Digg is a social media site that once was very popular, but then got pushed to the side by Reddit and then all the other social media sites that followed that. Now, I know that Digg and Reddit are VERY similar, but I feel that Digg should definitely get more attention than it does now. The site is full of news stories that I seem to find very interesting. You're probably wondering, "Why is she picking Digg over Reddit?" Fair question! My reasons are as followed: 

1) It has a professional feel to it. When you go to the site, there isn't a bunch of goofy and silly stories. Of course, there are probably one or two not so serious ones on there, but it's mainly factual information. It's a good site to go to if you want solid information on a topic. 

2) It's eye appealing, which kind of goes along with the professional feel it has. The site is very clear cut, which makes it easy to look through the stories to pick and choose the ones that are the most appealing to you. It also had less ads on the side, and not as many subcategories, which can get confusing and make the site look messy and not put together. 

3) Lastly, it's easy to share the stories you read with other social media sites. After you're done reading an article, there's a tab bar in the bottom in which you can link up with the bigger name social media sites. You don't see that on Reddit! This would have to be the most appealing feature to me. I know that after I read an interesting article, I like to share it with my Facebook friends. This is the feature that won me over, by far! 

In conclusion, I definitely feel as if Digg should be used more than it already is. It had good, solid information that's worth sharing! Digg isn't a "small potato" in my book!