The Topic of My Conversation: Social Networking

Our group chose the topic of social networking and focused on the book, Go Tweet Yourself, by Janelle Randazza. She negatively judges the social networking sites and tells the readers her reasons for it. The book has a lot of sarcastic humor and I found myself agreeing with her most of the time.

It is now a time where even your grandmother owns a Facebook. Everybody has access to everyone else. Social networking is another way of communication between your family, friends, and even people you haven't met yet.

Erik Hanberg

Erik Hanberg has multiple occupations, such as being an author, executive director for the City Club of Tacoma, etc. He talked about the Black swan theory and how it can strike anybody at anytime. He also talked about the Red Paperclip and how a man traded a red paperclip in for a house. I think that Erik Hanberg is inspirational in the fact that he is able to be whatever he wants to be and able to take risks.

Scavenger Hunt

I felt that I did not contribute much to the scavenger hunt/group as I should have because the people with the computers did most of the work. It would have been more fun and interesting if I had a laptop. This exercise made me realize that I should buy a laptop as soon as possible.

Scavenger Hunt

The scavenger hunt was kind of difficult to do because I did not have a laptop with me. I felt that I did not contribute much to the group as I should have because the people with the computers did most of the work. It would have been more fun and interesting if I had a laptop. This exercise made me realize that I should buy a laptop as soon as possible.

Convergence

Convergence - to tend to meet in a point or line; incline toward each other, as lines that are not parallel. (Dictionary.com)
I read the definition. I got what it meant. I did not get it. Were we supposed to talk about the relationship between people and technology or technology and technology? People converge with technology using computers or cell phones. Technology converges with technology when cell phones are able to connect with computers to receive and send information.

Physical Documents vs. Virtual Documents

Virtual documents are less reliable than physical documents, unless it is verified by a trustworthy source. Anybody on the internet can produce information that can seem real, but it might not be. It is possible that people can forge physical documents, but that is not as common as virtual documents. Also physical documents are more private and can be seen by the people who are authorized to see it.

Vanity Search

Today I searched myself on Google and Yahoo. Surprisingly, a lot of people have my name. I found Facebooks, Twitters, and various professions with my name on them, but none of them was me. I could not find anything on myself on the Internet. I think that this is good because my identity won't be widely recognized by the people who search my name.

Mark Briggs

Mark Briggs is a successful author and founder of Serra Media. He brought up many interesting topics such as concerns of the newspaper disappearing due to the popularity of computers. He stated that print media will get smaller, but it will not go away. Instead, it will be filled by blogs. The presentation was interesting and I learned a lot of new things.

HTML

The HTML page that I made was not that hard and it was fairly easy. I thought it would be harder but the instructions on the handout were easy to follow. It was interesting to see the finished product on my browser. Even though I've learned a little bit about how to make a page, I realize the complexities that follow. It felt like I had to write a lot of codes to produce a few words on the page. If I didn't have the instructions, I would have been very confused.

Newspapers

Whenever I want to know what's going on in the world, I turn on the computer and type in any news station of my choice. Most of the time, I don't have to search for news. The news comes to me. Whether if I am checking my email or listening to the radio, I see it and I hear it constantly. This doesn't mean that I am fully aware of what is going on in the world, but I know the gist of it. It used to be where the only place where you could get official news would be from the newspapers, but now with the advancement of technology, you can get news from anywhere.

Mail vs. Email

I really like how email is faster and more convenient than regular mail. It is possible to send a message or a picture across the world in an instant with emails, but somehow it doesn't feel official when receiving important information over the computer instead of the mailbox. It is rare these days to anticipate personal letters coming from the postman, as you just need to turn on the computer, and your message will be there.