Time to rant a bit about a "new technological advantage" I saw the other day.

I just got my BluRay player hooked up to the internet, so I can marvel at the genius of all the technologies now available for me.
Sure it is fun to watch YouTube videos on the BluRay/TV without having to hook up a computer - but well, this isn't about that....

I popped in some disc I just bought and there was a notice for some kind of "chat" system.
Interested to see what benefits I could take advantage off now that my player was finally hooked up, I navigated over with my remote.

Well - in essence it was just a basic chat system, which would place a big chat box in the side of the screen and I could then invite my friends to "watch the movie" with me and "chat with them" while doing it ..... all from the comfort of each our own couch.
Now that is stupid enough to begin with - if I want to watch movies with friends, I - you know - visit them, and if we watch movies, I sure as heck would not want a chat box taking up the screen.

But that was not what struck me .... one method of chatting was using the remote and the keys like on phones, but the alternative was using a computer to type on, which of course also needs to be online.
But if you have a computer, hooked up to the internet, and you can use to chat on - why on earth would you then chat via a BluRay movie system?

Isn't that what you would use a - you know - chat software on your computer for? Wouldn't it be much better to just use your usual IM client and chat on the computer, if you have a computer anyway? Seriously - How irrelevant can one technology be.....

(And yes, I understand the irony in me complaining about such technology after hooking my BluRay player up to the net)

I want to touch on something – again – which I’ve mentioned a few times.
I have problems understanding all these “new” social websites, the entire web 2.0 wave and the continued pull on so many people to judge their self-worth based on these site.
And yes – I am so very aware of the irony of using similar services myself and even more blogging about it. There is no need to point it out – I am just a lemming, although one of my reasons is “keeping up” with the technologies due to professional interest. But I’m also a lemming who view these things critically.
Anyways – as I see it, much of it is just a continued development of the usage of the internet, to a degree. The popularity of something increases (drastically), more people, new technologies and so on.
Back in the “old days” of being online it was the bulletin boards which were the big thing, then the web struck it big and everybody and their dog had to have a website. IRC chat, ICQ and UseNet groups existed and people socialized via them, but it was for the nerds and geeks and people with no life. But it was Web 2.0, and it was it before anybody had even thought about calling anything for Web 2.0.
But then development stepped up pace discussion boards where big and sites such as “MySpace” popped up and now everybody and their dog had to have a MySpace page and be a member of umpteen forums, and share their thoughts and often private details with the world. Websites were a thing of the past. Well not really, but it wasn’t “cool” any more.

Nowadays it is Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and the likes – there are a ton of social sites out there, where ICQ and IRC have died out. People have moved on to the next new thing. No big surprise there.
But where does this development take us? It is almost a race to keep up. New social network and “big thing” and people flock towards that without judging whether it is worth it or not.
Reports are flowing around now that Facebook sells the information it gathers on its users  for advertisement purpose – logically I’d say. Of course they’ll do that, almost anybody would much like Google does – few people give away services for absolutely nothing.

But combine such reports with so many people’s inability to separate their private sphere, or business sphere from their online Facebook (for example) activity, it results in confidential, private or even harmfull material is flowing around an mass.
And then enters the security risk of all the hundreds of applications people spam other people with, all masked with the approval of friends, meaning the critical sense and safeguards are clouded which would otherwise safeguard you from clicking links you shouldn’t.
Just imagine the amount of data which shouldn’t be there, based on the cases we actually hear.
I even saw some analyst suggest that people should hurry on to these sites and simply create a profile to reserve their name and avoid fake profiles, so you/your company wouldn’t be spoofed?

I mean where have common sense gone? Why is it common anymore? My Facebook profile is mostly used as a contact book for friends, and so I can keep up with what they are doing and have an easy way to contact them in case I need/want. But why do people post private pictures on what is essentially a network they have no control over? People post they go on vacation alongside their full name and address/home town.
I’ve also start seeing reports in the news that “kids” these days measure their worth in how many friends they have on services as Facebook. “Oh noes, I only have 20 friends, so I must be less popular and interesting and worthwhile then that one who has 200”.

I’ve often wondered whether the expansion of the internet have made common sense go away as it becomes a larger part of our life – or it is because lack of common sense is a constant and we just see it much more visible than ever before due to modern technology?
Are these social networks really beneficial for many people? Can they not control themselves when the border between private and public becomes blurred out due to technology?
Has technology moved too fast? Or have it just exposed the people who lack common sense?