ICT Unit 2 B1 level

From Wikipedia

• Exercise 1

Read the text below in order to complete the exercise:

http://www.lefo.net/en/gtests.html?test=524&start=1&laprof=en

Social network is defined as a structure that means the ties and relationships existing between individuals. Although the term social network has been used by sociologists since 1950, the development of the Internet and such websites as My Space, Facebook and LinkedIn has made it part of everyday language and life.

Another term related to it is social networking. Social networking means creating communities of people who share interests and activities.

In the past social networking was strongly limited by geographic factors. Recently, due to the advances in transportation and even more in communications, networking has taken completely new shape. Most social networking is done online in a variety of ways. Social networking websites are used by millions of people, who visit them on a regular basis. Early networking communities interacted using mainly chat rooms and sharing personal information or opinions on topics of interest. Some other communities linked via e-mail addresses. These sites included Classmates.com and SixDegrees.com focusing on maintaining ties with former schoolmates or new acquaintances. User profiles were created, messages could be sent to users on ‘friends lists’. The networking sites developed later allowed externally –developed add-on applications to be used.

Generally social networking services fall into two categories: internal social networking (ISN) and external social networking sites (ESN) as: My Space, Bebo, Facebook and Twitter.

An ISN is a closed community made up of people who belong to a company, association, organization, university or an ‘invite only’ group.

An ESN is open to all web users and ranges from small communities sharing common interest e.g. YouTube, Flickr, Fotka.pl to large social networking sites e.g. Facebook. Users of both types of sites can create their profiles, upload pictures, participate in discussions forums, hold private conversations and video conferences, create chat rooms and share blogs. Social networks usually give them privacy controls allowing users to decide who can view their profiles or contact them.

The popularity of social networking is rising constantly. Teachers and students are using it extensively for discussions and posting assignments. Scientific communities see social networking sites as an excellent opportunity to exchange ideas and share scientific knowledge.

Social networking services have a great impact on the world of business and work. Social sites are beneficial to companies and entrepreneurs who want to expand their customer base and advertise products, make business contacts to find orders and organize online meetings with specialists in business and industry. An example of social network which serves business purposes is Linkedin.com, which connects professionals. Some companies create their own sites focused on brands. By connecting consumers on a platform they give them a possibility to express their views and opinions.

Social sites are becoming an element of professional life. They serve as an alternative, cheap source of information about potential employees, providing complementary information to CVs. As meeting places for specialists in different businesses, social sites are ideal for both employers and employees.

Finally. What kind of trends can we expect in the development of social networking sites? In the future social sites will continue to be influenced by new technologies of computer-mediated-communication introduced for public use. Many new social sites may focus on creating active communities contributing to the website.

Based on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_network_service <br> http://communication.hoowstuffworks.com/how-social-networks-work.htm

• Exercise 2

http://www.lefo.net/en/gtests.html?test=525&start=1&laprof=en

• Exercise 3

http://www.lefo.net/en/gtests.html?test=526&start=1&laprof=en

• Exercise 4

http://www.lefo.net/en/gtests.html?test=553&start=1&laprof=en