英语听力精选进阶版 6163（在线收听）

The Growth of Online Communities 社交网络使用的增长

Have you recently been poking your friends, twittering, or blogging? Well, according to a recent report from the global research company Nielson, you are most definitely not alone.

The report says that social networking and blogs have now become more popular than sending personal emails. Moreover, one in every 11 minutes online is accounted for by people using social network or blog sites.

The idea behind these sites is that of global online communities. To join a community you need to create a personal profile. Then you can connect with your friends, share pictures, music and your thoughts.

Social networks are not new but they are evolving. Almost all the networks popular in the UK can now be accessed from a mobile phone. Sites such as Facebook seem popular with a broad audience largely thanks to bolt-on applications which allow everything from photo-sharing to online gaming.

Not to be outdone, the longer-established sites are carving a niche for themselves in the online marketplace. Myspace is now largely accepted as the social network of choice for music fans and Bebo appears to be targeting younger audiences through the provision of parental controls.

One of the most talked about sites of late has been Twitter, with everyone from P Diddy to Barack Obama twittering about their daily lives. Whether this is a clever public relations stunt or a means of directly communicating with fans, it is undoubtedly fascinating social commentary.

Of course, there are those who fear that these online communities may in fact be anti-social. They are anxious that the more time people spend on these sites, the more difficult it will become for them to communicate in face-to-face situations.

We will have to wait to see the long-term effects but in the meantime we can rest assured that a large percentage of the world is online with us.

GLOSSARY 词汇表

poking 戳（在社交网站上常用的和朋友问侯的一个方式）

twittering 一个用户可以经由手机短信，电子邮件，即时通讯，或 Twitter 网站来更新的微型社交网络

blogging 博客

social networking 社交网络

online communities 线上社团

profile 概况，简介（用户注册时填写的信息）

connect 连接

evolving 进化，演变

bolt-on 附加的

applications 程序 

not to be outdone 不想被超过

carving a niche 开辟一席之地

online marketplace 网上市场

parental controls 家长的控制 

stunt 引人注意的举动，绝招

social commentary 社会评论

anxious 忧虑的

face-to-face 面对面

long-term effects 长期效应

rest assured 放心