The social networking juice

Well the social networking juice that powers a generation across sprawling vibrant communities has its feed forcibly cut off when the majority of company staff walk into work. And all the potential of networked company communities, the opportunity for people to collaborate and and share knowledge is left at home and lost to the company.

Moreover, is it fear of lost productivity to idle chatter, tighter budgets and a weakening of central control that drives businesses to produce restrictive policies on social media use at work? These are long held arguments against developing a social media strategy, and simply don’t hold water. Devolving central control works. Flat organisational structures dissolves barriers between teams, ideas are generated with the customer and new products and services can be brought online quicker than through the traditional gate process. Vibrant social communities support this open structure and in todays rapidly changing economy, knowledge and innovation that drives the market can be at the heart of a company’s social community. Businesses have to let go of centralised control.

People who keep close to their customers by empowering their staff to engage directly with them across their internal and external comms channels, to solve problems and find solutions know what the market’s needs are and can respond faster to changes. In flat organisations, decisions are pushed through faster because the ideas are fed directly into decision makers without having to go through limiting chains of command. It also means the creativity of staff is released, and ideas and innovation blossoms.

Companies who are slow to release the energy of their own staff could have serious repercussions for them when the next generation of employees, the tuned in Millennials, who increasingly spend more of their time online being entertained, learning, researching, listening and talking to friends enter the workplace.

Think of the posibilities of a socially networked business. The ability to nurture new ways of thinking and innovating together is already proving sustainable (Look at the human genome project) and businesses who are tuning onto the opportunity are setting the standard for a new social business model that puts customers inside their products / service development process. These businesses tap into the human processor at the core of it’s workforce and free peoples minds to dream and create better products and services.

The winners and losers in business is borne out by Don tapscott and Anthony D. Williams who suggest in their seminal book ‘Wikinomics’, when web properties are compared, the difference is the losers build websites, and the winners build vibrant communities. I.e wiki beat britannica, blogger beat CNN, craigslist beat monster and googlemaps beat MapQuest. The losers build walled gardens the winners public squares.

Social Gaming Phenomenon in U.K

Maker of some of the world's most popular video PopCap Games, today unveiled the results of a survey targeting "social gamers": Consumers in the UK who play games on social networking platforms such as Facebook® and MySpace®. Respondents More than 24% said they play social games regularly, indicating a total social gamer population of approximately 100 million in the United Kingdom alone. Additionally contrary to prevailing stereotypes, the average social gamer is a 43-year old woman.

The social games sector is projected by industry analysts and researchers to generate revenues of more than US$1 billion in 2010.

Nearly 5,000 consumers who responded to a survey, more than 1,200 play games on social networking sites and platforms at least once a week, qualifying them as "social gamers" for the purposes of the survey. The percentages of all qualified survey respondents who are from UK 58% of all social gamers are female and 42% are male. The average age of social gamers is 43, . Further, 23% of British social gamers are 50 or older. Interesting thing is to know that Only 6% of all social gamers are age 21 or younger.

Men and women differ in their consumption of video games, and attitudes towards, social games:

• Well among the most avid social gamers, women make up the majority; 38% of female social gamers say they play social games several times a day, vs. 29% of males.
• Additionally, women are more suitable to play social games with real-world friends than men are (68% vs. 56%).
• And men are more inclined than women to play with strangers (41% vs. 33%); nearly twice as many women as men say they play social games with relatives (46% vs. 29%).

"Depression"Biggest Social Issue in UK

It has been observed since last few years that depression, anxiety and other forms of mental illness have taken over from unemployment as the greatest social problem in the UK, a health economist warns today.

As per a research around 15% of the population suffers from depression or anxiety. You’ll be surprised to know that economic cost in terms of lost productivity is huge - around £17bn, or 1.5% of UK gross domestic product. Well "There are now more than 1 million mentally ill people receiving incapacity benefits - more than the total number of unemployed people receiving unemployment benefits," he writes in the British Medical Journal.

Many people take drugs for mental relaxation. According to The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (Nice) drugs are not the best answer. Drugs may work in adults in the short term, but patients more easily relapse when they stop taking them, and may suffer side-effects. A company, The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Authority (MHRA), which licenses drugs, has told doctors not to prescribe most of the modern antidepressants known as the SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors), like Seroxat, to under-18s because risks outweigh benefits.

As per an analysis only 4% of all those with depression and anxiety disorders received psychological therapy in the past year, Lord Layard says. However the "talking" therapies are popular with patients who often do not want drugs.

The cost of therapy is about £750 for each patient. And in the next two years it is likely he or she will have about 12 extra months free of illness compared with no treatment, and at least one extra month in work worth more than £1,880, which more than pays the £750 cost of treatment. Infact there are other financial benefits too, which include fewer needing to be hospitalised.

Elderly care system Trend in UK

Currently UK faces a care timebomb within seven years, with the number of elderly needing full-time help outstripping the number of carers, a report has found.

This thing is in news these days that the charity Carers UK yesterday said that without reform the care system is in danger of collapse.

Actually it wants the Government to revolutionise support in the same way that parents have been given access to flexible working and tax credits.

And now the charity's warning came as politicians squabbled over whether to attend a care conference starting today, hosted by Health Secretary Andy Burnham.

Additionally, according to Carers UK, a lack of facilities means one million family members already take time off work to care for aged or disabled relatives, while another six million take some ad-hoc responsibility for caring.

And with the over-85 population expected to double to two million by 2025, the number of carers needed will have to soar as well.

According to Carers UK chief executive Imelda Redmond this army of carers will lose around £1.5bn in potential earnings.

Infact taking time off work also stores up potential problems for carers who will then find themselves facing poverty in old age as they have missed vital pension contributions.

Launching the charity's Tipping Point for Care report, Miss Redmond said: 'By 2017, we will reach the tipping point for care when the numbers of older people needing care will outstrip the numbers of working age family members currently available to meet that demand.

'Unless we take action now, we will be condemning increased families to lives of poverty and ill health.'

Social Activities of Youth in UK

It is becoming very important to get involved in different kind of social activities for relaxation. Basically social activities allow young people the chance to have fun, interact with other youths, learn valuable skills, and feel a part of a group. Young people need constructive ways to stay busy, and youth groups can help to meet that goal. Well if you're an adult who works with youths, you will realize that coming up with new ideas for activities can be a challenge; it helps to first plan objectives for your group, and then find specific activities to meet those objectives.

Taking Responsibility can be a good activity for young ones. So let the youths plan as many of their activities as possible. This activity will allow them to gain valuable leadership and organizational skills and to exercise responsibility. Interesting thing is that youths can be put in charge of such things as making telephone calls to remind other youths of scheduled activities, researching the cost and hours of operation for a destination, planning and making refreshments, inviting guest speakers and bringing supplies for an activity. When youths plan their activities, they will have a vested interest in seeing the activity succeed.

Secondly, Team building activities help the group members to form friendships and identify with the group's purpose and shared beliefs. And at the same time, team building activities should be fun for everyone involved, and allow each member to express his individuality. A board game night, sports night or high-adventure activity such as whitewater rafting or a ropes course can help bond the youth group and form lifelong friendships.

Moreover, youth groups can do a lot to help out in their communities. Basically service helps to teach the youths unselfishness, compassion, social awareness and gratitude for the good things in their lives. Older youth groups can work for Habitat for Humanity, helping to build houses for financially disadvantaged people. Almost every city or town has a food bank or soup kitchen where youths can help out. Social activities could include doing yard or housework for the elderly or cooking freezer meals for a young mother who is ill.

Drugs in UK

In today’s world there are many drugs fall into a number of groups according to the conditions for which they are prescribed. You can use drugs for many different purposes, it could be a good purpose or it can be bad as well. Usage of drugs is increasing day by day in UK.

Lets have a look on few drugs, which are very common these days:

Cannabis is very popular these days. It is basically a plant that can be found in many parts of the world. And this can be easily cultivated in temperate climates such as the UK's. There are many different forms of cannabis are available in different part of world. And all types can be found in UK as well. one very common form found in UK is “A Resin” that is scraped or rubbed from the dried plant and then pressed into brown/black blocks.

Sometimes cannabis can be used socially with peers but in some cases can prevent you from developing new friendships and socialising in new places. There are cases in which people smoke cannabis to stop them from feeling sad, but this can make the problem worse. Some people who use cocaine may mix this with smoking cannabis, in order to take the edge off the cocaine. As result they feel like becoming more anxious and paranoid, rather than making them calm down.

It has been observed that in UK cannabis is usually rolled into a cigarette (or joint), often with tobacco, and smoked. And let me tell you that it is the most extensively used illegal drug in the UK and by far the one most likely to have been tried by young people. You can be arrested if you are under 18 because possessing or supplying cannabis is again law. One can be charged fine as well.

The other drug that is used very commonly in UK is Cocaine. It is produced from the leaves of the coca shrub. White crystalline powder cocaine, which is divided into lines and snorted, is very popular in UK. Cocaine can also come as 'freebase' or 'crack' cocaine, which is made into small lumps or rocks, which make a cracking sound when burned. The crack is smoked in a pipe or bottle. Crack and freebase both forms can be made into a solution, which can be injected.

All types of cocaine are strong, but short acting stimulant drug. Person can feel extreme anxiety, paranoia and even hallucinations if he takes a large dose. Well initially it can make a person feel alert and energetic. Basically it’s a stimulant, which increases heart rate and gives the user a sense of increased alertness and energy. High doses of cocaine may cause an heart attack because it causes the heart to beat faster than a normal routine.

This is very important to know that cocaine is also an illegal drug. You are not allowed to keep this drug. If any one caught in with this drug he’ll can get up to atleast seven years in jail.

There are many other drugs as well, which are illegal to have. These two are the most common in the list in UK.

Social Networking Services

Today news from all over the world is just a click away from you. Actually, social networking services allow users to create a profile for themselves, and can be broken down into two broad categories: internal social networking (ISN) ; and external social networking (ESN) sites such as MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and Bebo. So both types can increase the feeling of community among people. An internal social networking is a closed/private community that consists of a group of people within a company, association, society, education provider and organization or even an "invite only" group created by a user in an ESN. An external social networking is open/public and available to all web users to communicate and are designed to attract advertisers. Basically ESN's services can be smaller specialised communities (i.e. linked by a single common interest eg TheSocialGolfer, ACountryLife.Com, Great Cooks Community) or they can be large generic social networking sites (eg MySpace, Facebook etc).

On the other hand, is either specific or general community, the general approach to social networking services sites. Users can upload a photo of herself to make her "profile" and is often "friends" with other users. Confirm, in most social networking services for both users that they are friends before they are connected. For example, if Alice lists Bob as a friend, "said Bob would have to approve the request friend, Alice, before they appear as friends. Some social networking sites have a "favorites" feature that is not the consent of the other user. Social networks tend to the privacy controls that users define who their profile or contacting with them, etc. can
The social-networking sites usually have a section devoted to comments from friends paid. On Friendster, called the heading "References". On Facebook in this section, "The Wall". At first it was a feature that people turn encouraged to messages on the person who is in the profile. But over time people began creative stories, write behind the creation of a form of entertainment.
Some social networking services sites are for others, like parents made social networking site "Gurgle." This page is to talk to parents about the pregnancy, birth and raise children.
Various social networking reach in Asian markets such as India, China, Japan and Korea have not only high but also a high level of profitability. Services such as QQ (China), Mixi (Japan), Cyworld (Korea) or mobile service to mobile game DENA city in Japan (who has more than 10 million users) are all profitable, apart from their Western counterparts.