Opening the Doors of Networking

In a story called Social Networking Comes to Casual Games tells of how much technology is changing in our everyday lives...

• "A service the company launched Wednesday lets users create their own Web site to write and share game reviews and earn rewards in a referral program. It takes the community aspects of popular sites like MySpace.com and tunes it for a crowd of casual gamers, who are mostly older women..."

It is great to finally see that through time the digital divide might be closing up a little where people who did not really grow up with technology like we all have are getting a chance to network online as well. This new service that Big Fish is launching on the world wide web is letting people receive incentives for networking and getting to know others online. Friends gain discounts to refer other friends on games that they want to play.

While I have been growing up technology has always had a place in my life starting off in elementary school taking computer class on Macs to going to college where everyone I knew had their own computer. Big Fish has been targeting a different generation who have not been as into computers as the younger generation. They are trying to pull more people into technology. Computers have allowed people to stay in touch better and more efficiently than ever before, through AIM and networking websites like Facebook and MySpace, and now through Big Fish.

I think networking has become one of the biggest advantages on the world wide web right now. It allows people to keep in touch with others and it also helps to break the uncomfortable feeling of picking up a phone and calling, where now you can sit at your computer and send a quick message to see how people are doing. Even though the computer has depersonalized keeping in touch, it has allowed people to just keep in touch more than ever. I think about being a part of Facebook and MySpace and just think of the people that I am still in touch with now, that I probably would never of talked to again after high school or after hanging out with them a few times. Big Fish has allowed for networking just by playing a casual game, and become more knowledgeable about technology by designing websites (which many people, even ones who have grown up with computers, do not know how to do) and downloading games. I hope this is a glimpse into the future of networking and increased technology knowledge for many more people online.