What's Up With That? (Cybervetting)

Cyber-vetting is a huge thing nowadays. Whether you're the one vetting or the one being vetted, you have an opinion on how wrong or how right it is. Lori Andrews moves for us to establish a Social Network Constitution, and though she has good intentions, I have to respectfully disagree with her and her proposal. 

As I had said in class, YOU are the one responsible for the way you portray yourself online, whether it's on Facebook, Twitter, etc. If you are doing something questionable (and of your own choosing, especially), then you should know how to gauge its internet-appropriateness. If you're a preschool teacher, you probably can deduce that it's a poor idea to post pictures from last night's rager. I'd like to think that companies have a right to check a prospective employee's Facebook so that can maybe get a better idea as to who they're hiring. If they have a picture of them-self with a pound of weed, then you probably don't want them to work for you, and you found out ahead of time!

Now I know that some will argue that it's a free country and that people should be able to post whatever they want, whenever they want. My response to that? Cool, go ahead! But if you know it may tarnish your reputation or get you in trouble, then either don't post it or make your account private. Professor Macek even brought up the idea of having two separate accounts, one for work and one for your personal life. That's a phenomenal idea. 

All I'm saying is that if you want to post something that might be seen in a negative light, just know how to keep it contained or private. That's precisely why all of my social media accounts are private and I only allow certain people to connect with me. I don't do anything questionable, but I just feel better knowing that I can let myself speak about my character and qualifications rather than my Facebook page. 

A Difference of Opinion

This week in class, we talked about utopian and dystopian views of the internet. Of the four articles that we read, each of the authors had valid points to make. However, as a "child of the internet," there are two points that I seem to stand opposite of.

The first is the idea that online literacy is a "lesser kind." I could see how the use of seemingly simplified language like LOL, OMG, and WTF are sort of destroying literacy (I find myself using this kind of language, and although I can't help myself, I feel kind of dumb doing so). However, I feel that there are areas of the internet where literacy is still live and well. I write for The Artifice, an online magazine for the arts. Here, any kind of literacy is frowned upon. Every article needs at least six approvals, and that's checking for content errors, grammar mistakes, and so on. This scrutiny, in my opinion, disproves some of the claims that literacy online is dead.

Beyond that, I disagree with the claim that the internet is ruining our ability to focus. In all honest, the internet has helped me to stay focused. I know that when I do good enough research or know what I want to be viewing, it takes a lot to break my concentration. If I want to be focused, I WILL BE, whether or not I'm online or not. I also find that the internet has helped me to learn how to multi-task. Right now, for example, I am working on the blog post, reading for class, and editing articles. The internet affords me the ability to do so many things that would just get messy and complicated in real life.

How do you all feel about these points? Do you agree or disagree? Let me know in the comments if you'd like :)

Am I addicted to Google?

G.R.E.A.M. Google rules everything around me, literally. I should be ashamed to admit this, but I'm not. As sad as it sounds, I honestly don't know how I would function without Google.

I use Google for so many things. Google docs is where is make my to-do lists, make outlines for papers, save images, and so much more. I use gmail to send and receive mail from others. I use YouTube to vlog on my website and watch videos. I use the search engine for just about anything, whether its how to spell a word or how to make something at my house.

Why am I so addicted? Because it is so easy to access,  and what's better than being able to have access to your documents and files and information in general? I love that I can save something through google and then pull it up on my phone, iPad, etc. Maybe its the convergent media major in me, but instant and easy access is so wonderful.

I can see how some might think Google is addicting and an invasion of privacy. I'll admit that I've used google to find personal things about others. People can certainly become reliant on google for certain things. I honestly think it depends on the person though. Even though I use google a lot, I'm still grounded in reality. It's different for everyone.

A blog post about a blogger being interviewed about blogging

I read the interview with Megan Reardon by Rebecca Blood and I learned a couple of interesting things.

I learned that Megan started her blog for personal use only. It's interesting that she chose to do that because most blogs today are created to make content for others. I have my own blog and I made it with the purpose of coming up with user-generated content. I think that just goes to show that blogs and their purposes have shifted over time.

I also thought it was interesting that Megan's blog centered on crafting. I find it hard to only write about one specific topic. Maybe it just depends. I find that it's hard to narrow them all down. 

Going off of that, its cool that Megan has such a high volume of readers. She doesn't update her blog very often and yet she still manages to pull in people to read the content that she's putting out. She also doesn't seem to really care about the number of readers that she gets each day. I think that is another thing that has changed a lot about blogging over the years.

Blogging now is really all about the readership numbers. I feel like bloggers today really do care about the amount of traffic their blog brings in. I can speak on that from personal experience,  since I actually get really excited when I have readers and comments!