Benkler

It is made quite clear throughout this first chapter that Benkler is an extreme supporter and advocate of the social networked sphere.  He validates his opinion clearly and concisely, offering several examples of current and possible positive developments.  One item he addresses caught my attention more than the others: the idea that the social networked sphere exposes the individual to large amounts of diversity.  This is as opposed to the commercial mass media which filters the information that gets through to the individual, the social network field allows for all and any information shared to be found, read, and digested by the individual.  This prevents society from being forced into having tunnel vision, but instead allows us all to have knowledge of the different aspects of different cultures, and gather opinions about such things for ourselves.  This idea is huge in terms of democracy, for if our government suddenly prevented our ability to access certain information, whether it be about a different cultures or about daily news, our freedom would certainly be restricted.

"How we make information, how we get it, how we speak to others, and how others speak to us are core components of the shape of freedom in any society (7)."

In his many other arguments that the social networked sphere is a positive development, Benkler seems to focus most on the individual and the freedom of individuals.  With the social networked sphere, gone is the power of the wealthy to control what information we receive and gone is the narrow scope which commercial mass media allows us to view the world through.  The floor is opened to new ideas and concepts from around the world.  Issues are not diluted, but expanded to great lengths through discussion boards and other venues of communication.  

His arguments are summed up into a couple extremely powerful as well as resonating sentences at the end of this chapter:

"As economic policy, allowing yesterday's winners to dictate the terms of tomorrow's economic competition would be disastrous.  As social policy, missing an opportunity to enrich democracy, freedom, and justice in our society while maintaining or even enhancing our productivity would be unforgivable (28)."

Almost everything in relation to the Internet acts or has the ability to act as a social network, however sites like Facebook and Myspace somewhat overshadow the others.  Myentre.net is an example based right here out of the University of Northern Iowa.  It is defined by itself as "A community of  entrepreneurs, small business owners & service providers who grow, learn & share online."  Similar to this is LinkedIn, which, despite some popular opinions, I believe is still a more prominent social networking tool for businesses than Facebook.  Outside of these larger scale sites, social networking is still seen everywhere throughout the Web.  Another 'at-home' example would be UNI's eLearning website; we can connect with other students and even enter chats with peers in our various classes.  There are countless fan-fiction sites which serve as social networks, as well as an infinite number of blogs and vlogs (video web logs).  There are plenty of Q&A type sites such as Yahoo! Answers, Ehow, and ExpertVilliage.  My final example will be wedding planning sites such as TheKnot, where you can find and trade wedding tips.

I have created a blog as well as keep up with various other blogs throughout the internet; through this I also link to various other websites and resources which expands the social networking sphere through Benkler's idea of clustering (12).  I also have had webpages through the Relay for Life website for several years past supporting my team and gaining valuable tips and information.  Other than these and the obvious sites such as Facebook, public forums are the only other social network I contribute to.  

The comment section to online news articles is one of the most democratic examples I can think of.  My sister once submitted a letter to the editor, and it is quite interesting to see the things that people write in response.  Individuals are even more vocal in their opinions when there is no consequence, and even more so when they are virtually anonymous as is often the case with such comments.