Martes, Disyembre 24, 2013

The Kinds of People You Meet On the Internet





People use the internet for different reasons. Hence, there are different personalities or kinds of people you can meet on the web.  

1.       The Researcher. The internet is like a glorified library. Instead of a hundred shelves housing thousands of books, the internet is packed with websites where various resources can be found. The researcher is usually a student or a teacher. If there is a topic that they are currently working on, the researcher will most likely sit down on a chair in front of a computer, search for the concerned topic and get loads of references in just a few clicks. Aside from accessing books digitally, the researcher also gets to access similar papers made by co-students or co-teachers from around the world.

However, there is also the danger that with the many resources that can be found online, some may not be verified references or the author is not credible enough. For the researcher, he or she must be responsible in verifying what he or she sees on the internet. 

2.       The Business Man. With the ubiquity of the internet, it is possible to manage an entire business as some would for a physical storefront. Businesses today make it a point that their actual storefront has an online counterpart to accommodate customers who are online as well. Thus, a popular person you can meet on the internet is a businessman fully and constantly engaged in marketing the products or services that he or she has to offer. 

The online business man has a shop that he manages online. If you know him personally, chances are he has asked (or forced) you to like his business’ Facebook page or follow his business’ Twitter account. If he has a promo or a contest, he will urge you to join and have you invite your friends to join the promo or contest too to influence his business’ popularity. 

3.       The Socially Well-Connected. This person is everywhere – on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Foursquar, you name it. This person knows that technology is a daily requirement. It is his bread and butter to stay in the know and to be connected with friends and family. The socially well-connected is found with a smart phone or tablet computer in hand. 

With the attachment the socially-well connected has towards handheld gadgets, this person usually loses touch with reality. Invite them over dinner and chances are they are already hooked on their smart phone even before desserts and conversations start pouring in. 

4.       The Trolls. There are people who simply love stirring a commotion or provoking anger and other related emotion. Trolls are everywhere since to make their trolling effective, they first need to know where the commotion is coming from. When there is a buzz over a controversial topic where almost every single person on the web has an opinion over, they will naturally join the thread and create a comment that is 180 degrees different from the common emotion. 

      Once they drop the bomb, they will leave the thread and simply watch responders lose their mind. Cyber bullying may be illegal, but then the anonymity of trolls makes it possible for them to proliferate and proceed with their activities undetected.

Ultimately, there are more profiles of internet users lurking around the World Wide Web. As the internet continues to be a platform for different activities, more and more personalities will be born.