The Internet posted by Jimhello on Tuesday, 10 December 2002, at 9.07 pm.

The Internet has increasingly developed and become part of our everyday life. Do you find the Internet useful? What do you use the Internet for? How much time do you spend surfing the web a day? Please respond to these questions.

FORUM

Response # 1Re: The Internet - Posted by Sandra Morgan

In my opinion, the Internet is a very fast and convenient way for me to get information. I can also communicate with my friends and relatives by means of email or chatting. However, I don’t use the Internet very often because I don’t have much time. For me, the Internet is a wonderful invention of modern life. It makes our world a small village.

Response # 2 Re: The Internet - Posted by Honghoa

Nobody can deny the benefits of the Internet in our life. However, it is a pity for me as well as for most of my friends in the countryside. The Internet is available only in cities, therefore I cannot easily get access to it. I sometimes visit my uncle in the city on weekends, and this is a good occasion for me to explore the net. I spend most of the time wandering because I just don’t know which website is useful for me.

Response # 3 Re: The Internet - Posted by Huansui

People use the Internet for many purposes: education, communication, entertainment and commerce. However, the Internet has limitations. It is not only time-consuming and costly but also dangerous because of viruses and bad programs. Moreover, Internet users sometimes have to suffer various risks such as spam or electronic junk mail, and personal information leaking. So, while enjoying surfing, be alert!

46. What does Sandra use the Internet for?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………47. Why is it difficult for Honghoa to get access to the Internet?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………48. According to Huansui, why do people use the Internet?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………49. Make a list of benefits of the Internet according to the three responses.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………50. Are there any disadvantages of the Internet? If so, what are they?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 35 to 42.

Social networks

Business applications

Social networks connect people at low cost; this can be beneficial for entrepreneurs and small businesses looking to expand their contact base. These networks often act as a customer relationship management tool for companies selling products and services. Companies can also use social networks for advertising in the form of banners and text ads. Since businesses operate globally, social networks can make it easier to keep in touch with contacts around the world.

Medical applications

Social networks are beginning to be adopted by healthcare professionals as a means to manage institutional knowledge, disseminate peer to peer knowledge and to highlight individual physicians and institutions. The advantage of using a dedicated medical social networking site is that all the members are screened against the state licensing board list of practitioners. The role of social networks is especially of interest to pharmaceutical companies who spend approximately “32 percent of their marketing dollars” attempting to influence the opinion leaders of social networks.

Languages, nationalities and academia

Various social networking sites have sprung up catering to different languages and countries. The popular site Facebook has been cloned for various countries and languages and some specializing in connecting students and faculty.

Social networks for social good

Several websites are beginning to tap into the power of the social networking model for social good. Such models may be highly successful for connecting otherwise fragmented industries and small organizations without the resources to reach a broader audience with interested and passionate users. Users benefit by interacting with a like-minded community and finding a channel for their energy and giving.

Business model

Few social networks currently charge money for membership. In part, this may be because social networking is a relatively new service, and the value of using them has not been firmly established in customers' minds. Companies such as MySpace and Facebook sell online advertising on their site. Hence, they are seeking large memberships, and charging for membership would be counter productive. Some believe that the deeper information that the sites have on each user will allow much better targeted advertising than any other site can currently provide. Sites are also seeking other ways to make money, such as by creating an online marketplace or by selling professional information and social connections to businesses.

Privacy issues

On large social networking services, there have been growing concerns about users giving out too much personal information and the threat of sexual predators. Users of these services need to be aware of data theft or viruses. However, large services, such as MySpace, often work with law enforcement to try to prevent such incidents. In addition, there is a perceived privacy threat in relation to placing too much personal information in the hands of large corporations or governmental bodies, allowing a profile to be produced on an individual's behavior on which decisions, detrimental to an individual, may be taken.

Investigations

Social network services are increasingly being used in legal and criminal investigations. Information posted on sites such as MySpace and Facebook, has been used by police, probation, and university officials to prosecute users of said sites. In some situations, content posted on MySpace has been used in court.

What should users not do on social networks?

A. download viruses

B. be too free with their personal information 

C. contact predators

D. upload copyrighted music