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I thought that there is no connection between social network and technology. However, as I get the class, I learn the relationship between social network and science, technology, popular culture and art. There are two key points of this week also. One is that new media technologies extend existing social networks or even work to isolate people from the society. The other is that when new media technologies promote new social networks, they challenge existing social, political and economic relationships at the same time.

New media technologies extend existing social networks. Social Network is realized when people know each other. Also, as people know each other more and more, social network is also getting bigger. Even if I know a famous actor, it cannot be social network unless he knows me. So even though I know Myung Bak, Lee, I cannot put his name on the social network because he does not know me. How do the new media technologies work to isolate people? I think that we are usually able to meet those kind people who are isolated. Perhaps all of us are also isolated. Anyway people who are isolated do not go outside and they just stay at home or a space and then they find news, information which they want to know by using the new media technologies.

When new media technologies facilitate new social networks, they simultaneously challenge existing social, political and economic relationships. And social network as science is a little bit different from social network as technology. Social network analysis is an interdisciplinary social science, but has been of especial concern to sociologists. Actually, there were no communications between every part of studies. As new media technologies are developed, the barriers between every part of studies are breaking down. For instant, our global school of media is made up art, liberal arts and sciences. If we were students of this university about 10 years ago, numerous people do not understand why we get the same class because they thought that every part of studies must be separated. However, new media technologies and the width of studying are also developed by breaking down barriers. And people’s thinking is also keeping changing. Besides, recently, physicists and mathematicians have made large contributions to understanding networks in general (as graphs) and thus contributed to an understanding of social networks too. There is a pattern. According to the pattern, we can observe the patterning of links among actors and then we are able to find the opposite facts. We also can solve problems and predict the next. Furthermore, social network gives opportunities. For example, when we find a part time job, we usually go search internet or ask a person who I knew already. There are two kinds of social capital. One is called bonding capital which can connect other network. The other is bridge capital which likes branches and has central person or something.

Social network as technology is more complicated than social network as science. If social network as science is just for people, the social network as technology is able to include every part. Also, social network as technology is linked according to people’s taste, favorite things. So I think that social network as technology is better than as science because we are able to meet various kinds of people and to communicate with people who have same interest as me.

Some of people use the social network as art. Some artists draw the social network by hands and it shows that the relationship between people and people. However, drawing the network by hands is really hard and I think it wastes their time.