The Facebook and Twitter Community (3/21)

So before I arrived at college I only had a Myspace. I thought it really was the best thing in the world and couldn't ask for more. I loved wasting my time during my computer class senior year of highschool picking out a new background for my Myspace page or filling out a new quiz. I especially loved finding all of my friends on there because nothing was better than having a lot of Myspace friends. I still remember recieving my first Facebook invitation (back when you had to be invited in order to create a page) and decided to give it a try. I was bored after five minutes and didn't give it a second thought for months. Then summer 2006 rolled around and before I knew it, it was time to start getting ready for my first year of college. My best friend kept telling me that I needed to start up my Facebook in order to make "friends" at CUA. I really resisted leaving my Myspace page behind but finally made the plunge after she took my password and started friending people and working on my page. Facebook made it so easy to "meet" new people and get better aquainted with the people I was going to be living with.

Facebook definately became my new online community and it allowed, and continues to allow me to accomplish so many things that I would not have been able to with out it. Facebook actually helped my find my internship and allowed me access to their own Facebook page and learn more about their company and what they were looking for in an intern. Facebook groups have been made about everything from political candidates to people swearing to change their names if their Facebook group reaches over 1,000,000 members.

Now Twitter has made its way into the public sphere. Once again, I joined, hated it, and eventually learned to love it. Twitter allows someone to Tweet up to 140 characters worth of thoughts, which to some may seem rediculous, but it is surprising how much information a person can fit into such a limited space. I dont think that Twitter will ever reach a popularity level like that of Facebook but I definately think it has offered a new door to those looking to join an interactive online community.

Second Life..Just As Good As The First? (3/27)

According to Dwight from The Office, his first life is so great that he decided to have a second one. Unfortunately, I disagree. I think that the whole concept is a bit scary and strange. Even just starting with the name, "Second Life", what is so terribly wrong with your first life that you need a second one? I dont like the idea that Second Life gives this whole idea of escaping from reality and having a completely different persona online. After watching the tutorial on the creation of Second Life in class I knew that this new phenomenon was not something I wanted to take part in. Companies hold "meetings" at special locations in Second Life when the actual members are just feet away from eachother in the office. I dont understand the concept of having to get your avitar dressed and ready to go for a meeting when anyone in that online conference can look up and see you, dressed in something completely different. To an extent, I do understand the idea of using a program like second life for at-home jobs but the whole avitar concept and dressing and preparing your avitar seems a little redicuolous and a waste of time.

What Happens in Vegas...No Longer Stays in Vegas

So I really wanted to find a video or article on Social Networking and Social Media in the workplace and while I was searching I ran across a number of videos on YouTube about technological growth and I thought it was very fitting that this would be the final video that I blog about before we all head off into the technological abyss.



I really loved all of the statistics and it made me think of how all of this information is currently playing a major role in our lives and how it will further play a part in our futures. Our generation has become the guinea pig generation to see how social networking and technology will take part in the workplace and I am pretty excited to see how it all works out.

Are You an Addict?

So after class on Thursday I decided to do some further investigations into the world of gaming and internet addicts. It was kind of scary to see how much information and how many news stories were out there concerning addicts. One video that really struck me was a clip from the A&E show Intervention which usually documents the struggle and recovery of drug addicts and alcoholics, but in the case of Peter who is in his mid to late 20s and plays an average of 17 hours of gaming a day.



What I found most disturbing about this video was that at the end you see that Peter has returned from his month + of recovery and is still playing video games. It was so sad to watch because usually on Intervention the last closing minutes of the program show that the addict has recovered and is taking the right steps in order to stay clean but Peter is shown right back in front of the TV screen.

While I was looking around the internet at gaming addictions I came across an article and video on CNN.com about addictions to Facebook that I also found really interesting. The article explains how more people are becoming obsessed with the popular online social network and I really thought it was something I should address here because of all of the jokes my friends make about how I am addicted to Facebook as well.



The video is accompanied with an article which explains that the Facebook craze is not officially considered an addiction but is becoming a serious problem. Here are the "5 Clues That You Are Addicted To Facebook" that are discussed in the article :

1. You lose sleep over Facebook

2. You spend more than an hour a day on Facebook

3. You become obsessed with old loves

4. You ignore work in favor of Facebook

5. The thought of getting off Facebook leaves you in a cold sweat

So maybe I have a slight addiction considering I can relate to "symptoms" # 1, 2, and 4 but luckily I am not breaking into a cold sweat at the thought of getting off Facebook or stalking old flames but there are most certainly people out there that do.

IPad Update

So the iPad came out a few days ago and I thought that after our discussion in class on Thursday that it would be appropriate to blog about the release and reviews. In class there was a mix of students who thought that the iPad was great and others who didn't see why people loved it.

After looking up reviews, I came across similar comments as those found in class. David Progue, a journalist at the NY Times reviewed te device and instead of giving a general overview, he offered a review for both the "Techies" and then one for the average consumer. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/01/technology/personaltech/01pogue.html

Progue gives the pros and cons for each group of people. I think it was really interesting to read about how the iPad would be beneficial for each group and it's downfall as well. After watching the Apple promotional video in class on Thursday about how the iPad was going to change the world and change technology forever, it was refreshing to read a professional journalists opinion on how the iPad was really going to be recieved. I personally do not believe that the iPad is going to change the daily lives of society but I do think that it is a major stepping stone in the advancement of technology.

Should Software Be Free?

After our discussion in class I started to think more about the idea of software being free and where the ownership falls. I think that software should not be free for the public. Although I understand that some people want to create free and open software for the chance to show others their skills but in the long run, I believe that there should be a charge on software being used by the public domain. Personally, I feel that if I was spending my time creating some intricate piece of technology and it was a full-time job, I should be receiving compensation for my hard work. I don't understand why the same idea is held for creating a DVD but some people think that it shouldn't be held for software..

Video Gaming Mania

So after learning about how dying in internet cafes through out South Korea isn't really that unheard of, I decided to do a little more research on the whole video gaming craze currently taking place in such countries. I found an article in the San Francisco Chronicle (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/12/18/GAMERS.TMP) which discusses the video gaming phenomenon. The article specifically looks at the idea of the elite video gamers becoming instant celebrities. These teenage men and women are revered as local gods by their gaming peers. One gamer, Choi Yeon-sung, has 90,000 followers in his fan club. He also makes approximately $190,000 a year in winnings, when the annual average income in South Korea is around $16,000.

The article also reviews how not only are there are countless gaming cafes, but there are also places where people can go to watch these games being played live on huge screens. These viewings can easily bring in hundreds of thousands of viewers. Although, if you don't feel like leaving your house to watch a game, the article reveals that you could just watch the game at home on one of the TV channels that plays games live 24/7. Clearly, this craze is something that is not going to go away any time soon. The level of this addiction to gaming makes it feel like the whole country needs to be sent to an video gaming rehab clinic. I really wonder if this will ever become a problem here in the United States. I already thought that the younger generation was having enough complications with not wanting to go play outside and instead sitting at the computer and watching TV, but after watching the "Digital Nation: Life on the Virtual Frontier" I suppose that it could always get worse from here.