Do you use Verizon, AT&T or ANT?

We seem to constantly be bombarded with commercials and ads for cell phone services like AT&T and Verizon that compete in their promise to provide the best network. Living in this world of new technology, its understandable that the first thing that comes to mind when someone says network is "computers, verizon, or Eaglenet." However, as we discussed in class, IT language is just one way of speaking about networks.

Networks, in the social sense, are studied to understand communication flows in terms of relationships. As we saw in the Amelia Arsenault article, networks can be formal and informal, and can exist between both organizations/businesses and people. Arsenault describes the three theories of networks as being Actor Network Theory (ANT), The Network Society, and Network Analysis. These theories do not disregard the technological network by any means, but have different interpretations of how technology interacts with social networks.

The interesting aspect of ANT is that it does not separate the individual from the technology he/she uses. This means that a person functions with their computer, for example, to influence the network. This theory therefore seems to attribute everything to a network, as any tool one uses, albeit technology, is significant.

The network society acknowledges that we have always had a network society, but now networks are used to define meaning. Technology therefore, aides the communication of networks. I think this theory is practical and describes the technology age we live in today.

Furthermore, The article of Grewall's lecture argues that networks have been a driving force behind globalization. Networks can include and exclude people, and this can be see in the context of globalization. For example, Grewall uses the example of English as the standard in business. This has resulted in English as the "global language." Those that can speak English can participate in international business while arguably those who cannot are left out. While this may seem like common sense, its interesting to discuss if English will STAY the dominate language. Clearly networks propel this "standard" that has been made, but would it continue without the networks? Grewell mentions this in his article, when he talks about the fact that non-English speakers now teach English to other non-English speakers. In theory, this pattern could continue without networks requiring English to be spoken. Interesting food for thought.