At many companies access to social networking sites is a big no no, Facebook and Twitter are off limits during work hours.  For me, social networking is a constant part of my daily life and when I disconnect even for one day I feel like something is missing.  In fact, a big part of what I do at work is connecting to new people through Facebook and Twitter.  This blog has a Facebook fan page and a Twitter account and it’s an important part of what I do, reaching out to people in the community through online engagement.  In a little over a week I have been able to “meet” hundreds of people who work in the visual effects industry, who are fans of visual effects and entertainment as well as tell people about my cool new job blogging for Zoic!  Frankly, the whole reason I am sitting here writing this right now is because I saw a post about this position on Twitter.

I was thinking about what would happen if these sites were down not just at work, but at home too.  What would happen if you couldn’t access your favorite social networking site for a day, a week, a month, a year or forever?  The other day on set I learned about a huge breaking news story by accessing my Facebook account on my IPhone.  Much of the daily news I now get is from accessing my Twitter account, looking at the thousands of tweets about everything from the Gulf oil spill to the number one movie at the box office to the latest legislation about to be passed by Congress.  The truth is I can’t recall the last time I picked up an actual physical copy of a newspaper.  Some people say that’s crazy, but I say I am just really connected.

Then there is the social aspect of social networking.  Anytime I want to hang out with friends to grab a drink after work I send them a message on Facebook.  My mom sends me wall posts asking me how my day is and on occasion my boyfriend “pokes” me.  Recently I reconnected with my best friend from 3^rd grade.  We hadn’t spoken since we were both eight years old.  She sent me a message and now we are planning to meet when I am back east for the Thanksgiving holiday.  I send family and friends birthday messages, happy holiday greetings and invite them to events.  The only reason anyone knows what I look like on a given day is because I post pictures on Facebook and take Twit Picts.

Erik Press, the Executive Producer of Commercials at Zoic Studios said it best, “If social networking didn’t exist, my cell phone bill would be crazy, and we’d be forced to see people face to face in real time.”  I think Erik brings up a good point. Who wants to see anyone face to face anymore?!  Isn’t it easier to simply break up with someone on a wall post, or better yet just change your relationship status from in a relationship to single and let the comments fly?  The number of face to face confrontations and arguments are suddenly gone.  Speaking of confrontations, what if every fight could be fought via Mafia Wars?  Maybe the answer to peaceful resolution is how many chickens you can raise and sell to your friends on Farmville?  Perhaps the world would be a far more peaceful place if every conflict was resolved via social networking.

Obviously social networking is here to stay and will continue to change and grow over time.  I mean it was only a few years ago that people were dating people they met on Friendster, when a guy named Tom wanted to be your friend on Myspace and when you could share your deepest darkest secrets on Live Journal.

So Zoic community, I want to know; where do you think social networking is headed?  How do you feel about Facebook, Twitter, and Four Square etc?  Do you think our lives would be better off without social networking sites?  Post your thoughts on the comment section below.   I would love to hear from you.

(You can find I Design Your Eyes on facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/I-Design-Your-Eyes/163671542378?ref=ts and on twitter at: http://twitter.com/IDesignYourEyes)