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ry private update, possibly accompanied by a photo or video as a form of self expression purely for their own intent and perhaps for that of close friends. Users do not necessarily consider the far reaching global accessibility of their update. The update is then visible online not only to their network, but to the network of those who may comment or interact with the status, and indexed online infinitely, potentially appearing in Google searches depending on the privacy settings the user has on their profile. Facebook also fails to highlight during the sign up process that they can offer the platform as a free tool for users by selling users personal information to advertisers (Horton, 2012). Consequently, supposed private information and private writing on these platforms is far from private.

The future of writing in web based communications will ultimately result in the near total collapse of the division between private and public writing. The publicised aims of leading social media companies coupled with an increasing spread of network literacy globally will aid in the continued breakdown of this once strong division. Writing and reading will become more and more a social activity pursued in collaborative environments rather than as solitary endeavours (Rheingold, 2007). This can already be seen in areas such as online education, with students collaborating through virtual communities and social networks, and education facilitators using platforms such as blogs and wikis for students to publish their work publicly instead of lodging an assignment privately to the instructor only. Leading social networks which have facilitated many communicative shifts such as Facebook and Google have already taken steps to further diminish the privacy of their networks. During an interview with TechCrunch, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed that he had taken an 'about face' on privacy and argued that privacy was no longer a 'social norm' (cited in Bosker, para.7, 2010). Zuckerberg argued, 'People have really gotten comfortable not only sharing more information and different kinds, but more openly and with more people' (cited in Bosker, para.7, 2010). He further concluded, 'That social norm is just something that has evolved over time' (cited in Bosker, para.8, 2010).

Despite Zuckerberg's claims, others predict that social media's demonstrated lack of respect for privacy boundaries may result in a backlash where users will disable their accounts to look for a more closed platform to connect with people they care about (Smith, 2012). In a recent school survey in the US (cited in Smith, 2012), it emerged that some students were choosing to deactivate their Facebook as a direct consequence of Facebook's privacy invasion and the problems private communications made public on Facebook can cause amongst peers (cited in Smith, 2012).Despite talks of a mass Facebook exodus, participation on social networks continues to grow and shows no signs of slowing (Arno, 2012). The future will be characterised by the continuing bridging between private and public, which as discussed, is currently visible in journalism, traditional mass produced media, blogs and other forms of participatory and social media.

In conclusion, we are now experiencing a second wave of literacy which is globally networked and largely underpinned by digital technologies. Forms of participatory media such as blogging require readers to be writers and