Introduction to Twitter, Ning, and StumbleUpon

EDIT 603

We created these social networking tools in class on April 6, 2009.
Proffessor, Mr. J. Gutnicki


Twitter is user friendly social networking tool that can be used in various ways. Some of the ways are: To send and receive tweets via the Twitter website, Short Message Service (SMS) or appplications, such as Tweetie, TweetDeck, etc. Applications are free to users over the Internet, but SMS requires a service fee. Other uses are as a collaborative tools for teachers to use along with their students. Another use, as teaching tools to collaborate with their colleagues, to share lelssson plans, review sheets, or as projects and portfolios. While Twitter is a great way to keep in touch with family and friends; it can be used for "updates". Twitter is ranked as the fastest growing social networking tool in the Member Communities category. Each day, new entries are added regarding people, places, news and the weather. There are pros and cons about its use.Is this a good or bad site? In some ways "yes" and "no". It depens on the user, your purpose, and how can it help you whether it is in the classroom or as a social tool.


NING is the second social network tool that was created. It is an online site that allows users to create their own social network for a topic or a need for specific members. It has free and paid options. A fee is required if you do not allow Ning to post ads. In the meantime, a monthly fee is required if you restrict Ning's ads or if you opt to leave ads out altogether. One of the great tools of this site educators are using Ning for developing educational resources.



STUMBLEUPON is a social network that allows you to discover and rate web pages, photos, and videos. It chooses which Web pages to display based on the users ratings of previous pages by friends and users of similar interests. Users can choose to rate or choose not to rate any page with a thumbs up or down. This is referred to as channel surfing


What does Ning, Twitter and StumbleUpon have in common. How do they compare. First, they share and connect many people of like minds and interests. They allow collaboration and creativity among the social network users. Twitter is a great way to keep in touch with family and friends. Also, it is a great too for "updates" on the news and the weather. Another advantage is to use it as a teaching and collaborative tool for teachers, students, and colleagues. Ning allows users to create their own social networks. StumbleUpon allows used to rate Web pages. This resembles "channel-surfing'.