What's Is On My Mind...

So this weeks assignment is to blog about what is on my mind.  Well, I have a lot going on these days but in relation to this class I have been thinking about starting my own "out of class" blog.  I have recently been accepted into a study abroad program in Ireland this summer, and I thought it would be a cool idea to keep a blog starting with the preparations this spring and ending with the actual trip.  The program is really cool, it's a documentary, storytelling, production class in which we will write shoot and produce our own series of short documentaries.  I am really excited about getting out to see the world, seeing as though I want to one day work for the travel or discovery channel.  I see endless opportunities with this experience.

The trip will be help in Letterkenny, Ireland, which is pretty far north.  It is a small town much like Athens, with a big art and "hip" presence.  If my intentions to start the blog come through I will make sure to attatch a link to this blog as well for whomever might be interested in following my adventures.  In the mean time here is a little sneak peak to where I will be living for 10 weeks this summer....

Thus Far,

So far in this class I have really enjoyed getting more involved in the creation and usefulness of social media. Having had to create my own blog and update it on a weekly basis has really caused me to care more about how I am portrayed on the net. Before I was not always sure how to incorporate my personality into social media. I also have gotten more comfortable with my writing and net surfing. I haven't really found anything too boring or nor important so far in the class.

This information is helpful in the real world because, entering into the Media industry is directly related to the information being learned in this class. I understand that it is likely that I will be responsible for social media operations in an entry level job. I hope to continue learning how to apply social media both in the business world as well as my personal life.

Commenting

In chapter 73 Brogan brings up the importance of commenting on blogs. He brings up the good point that when you comment or "like" something on a social network, you help to reinforce the author to put out more content that you enjoy. I guess the same idea can go for more negative comments as well, so long as it is constructive.

So in the spirit of commenting I left a few comments on some friends blogs:

Eric's Blog

Adrian's Blog

Mary's Blog

Blog Critique

Well since entering into this quarter and learning more about blogging I had never really taken much of a critical eye to blogs. I liked what I like. When I started looking a little deeper into the blogs I was looking at and why I seemed to like them I discovered a few things about myself as well as the blogger I was following. My first realization was that I liked blogs that had a lot of pictures, with funny or clever captions, and did not have a lot of text. I also quickly discovered that I really had no idea who these people were who were keeping me entertained and providing me with different photographs that I then would print out or share with my friends. An example of this would be one of my favorite blogs by one of my favorite and most fabulous celebrities, Beyonce. I was introduced to her "I Am" blog by a friend and immediately felt like I had a special source into the life of one of my "favorite people." It was not really until this blog assignment that I realized, it didn't take much to convince me it was Beyonce herself sharing her photos and thoughts with me. After looking at the blog closer I really could only find a little note in hand-writing-style font that is signed and hearted by Beyonce. Now is it really her posting all the fabulous pictures of herself living a fabulous life? (Only she could do this and it would be seen as a favor to all as opposed to a vain cry or glory) Well who/whatever it might be I love this blog because it is a giant album of exclusive photos and videos that are not only to highlight Beyonce but the art and beauty that seems to follow her around so naturally. For me, a picture says 1,000 words and I take her or whoever sharing their photos as a more believe approach than actually being lead to believe that she sits in front of the computer, spilling her innermost thoughts out to the entire world.

As for the design and structure of the blog, it is one of the most functional yet modern and unique blogs I have seen. My brother who is a web designer at UC even commented on the flow and design of the page. (I mean its Beyonce, c'mon). It is attached to her web site (Beyonce.com) under the I Am tab. After clicking I Am, you are then directed to her tumblr which maintains the same design without even noticing you are in a different web site. The site is then just a montage of her, what seem to be, personal photos. I haven't visited many other celebrity blogs, but if I were to say this has to be one of the best. (Jim Carrey actually has a surprisingly interactive and cool web page so check that out if you want to see a close second). So as I leave you with these thoughts, check out her blog at I AM and enjoy the video below, if you have not already been so lucky to have seen it 1094820 times already.

And for all you loyal Beyonce fans....

Wikis: Wack or Wonderful?

From our class discussion and the Brogan readings, I have been learning a lot more about the many uses of both blogs and wikis. Before taking a class on social media I did not pay much mind as to what a wiki really was, or how blogs could be used from something other than an online diary. In Brogans book he talks about blogs and wikis being uses in business as a way to create, using wikis, friendly collaboration while having a central resource of information pertaining to the company, and helps generate ideas and team spirit. Blogs can also be a helpful source for individual contributions that can help to generate new ideas.

As I learn more about wikis I am still deciding if I think they are something of use or not. I think that in terms of collaboration wikis serve a great purpose in a business sense because it can allow people from within the same company to share information and learn more about a company. This I understand, what I am skeptical about is wikis being used for fan sites or random information gathering. Not to say that wikis aren't a cool collaborative way for fans to team up and share their knowledge, but there is some skepticism in the fact that no every wiki is proof read or checked regularly. What I mean is that I do not see wikis as totally reliable sources when it comes to information gathering, but they are a useful tool when it comes to having a collaborative home base for a specific group of people.

Not ever visiting (knowingly) any wikis other than wikipedia, I choose to check out the mad men wiki since I have just recently watched the series on Netflix. When first arriving at the site I immediately saw its resemblance to the Mad Men page on AMC's website. They had trending topics posted about the new season, along with video clips and featured images of the cast. This is what I mean about not really trusting the wiki sites completely. It seems to take on a credible face, modeling itself off of the main Mad Men site that is produced by professionals and put out by the network, but I am not sure it deserves the same credit. Some cool things the wiki did have were pools on the sides of the site where you could vote on how you predict the new season will fair. Either way the wiki proved to be a useful site for gathering pictures of the cast and the show as well as links to other sites that discuss the series.

Here is a look at the wikia site and then the official Mad Men page on AMC's web site

wikia...

AMC....

you decide....

Out With the Old- In With the New

As I think about my actual use of social media, I immediately think of Facebook. Shocker right? But in reality I am hooked. It is by far my most frequented web site and could even compete for the lead consumer of most of my time out of class. How sad. So, WHY DO I LIKE FACEBOOK? Hm, good question. Well, there is the fact that it has almost every picture of my ever taken, as well of all the pictures of everyone I have ever met, and who doesn't love a good photo album. Aside from the pictures being entertaining, they allow me to keep tabs on people without even having to talk or in this case comment to them personally. For this use, being to keep up with friends, Facebook is a great tool and totally functional. If I want to upload an album I can do it in no time and my friends can keep up with what I am doing. If I want to look at my friends pictures all I have to do is click on the picture. It even has the home page that is customized to who's pages I frequent the most. I hardly have to do any searching myself!

There is one thing I would change about Facebook though and that is- age restrictions. I don't know about anyone else, but when I see a middle school kid pop up in my friend request, or a little girl I used to babysit posting pictures of herself at an 8th grade dance, I get a little creeped out. In my opinion it takes chat room promiscuity to a whole new level. Now kids aren't talking to strangers behind a cement wall, they are out there putting up pictures an allowing any creep to know anything about them. I would love to see Facebook go back to its original ways and put restrictions on who can access it. I haven't really formed an exact opinion as to at what age it would be appropriate to access Facebook, but I know that middle school is just too early. What ever happened to meeting friends organically like going out after school and romping around the playground?

Another obvious useful tool for Facebook is to stay connected and organized with the organizations and causes I am involved in. I must say that event reminders and inbox messages about club meeting or class changes are some of the main reasons I keep my Facebook running. Without them I would be totally out of the loop and missing out on a lot of important information. It is almost to the point that I feel it is a requirement to have a Facebook as a college student.

Going against what I was just arguing, I know that I had a Myspace in middle school, on which I posted pictures and personal content. But that does not mean I think it was the best thing for a 13 year old to be doing. Who knows what I posted on there that might come back to bite my in the ass. As for why I retired from Myspace and transferred to Facebook, the only explanation I really have is that, I wanted to fit in. Myspace just became old news and Facebook was where it was happening. To be totally honest I can hardly remember the functions of Myspace so its hard to think of something Tom could have done to keep it afloat...maybe pulled the fire alarm at the Harvard dorm the day the new site was being launched? Either way phases happen and others are left in the dust. Who knows what the next best thing is going to be. But as for Myspace, I think I am going to remain in eternal retirement.

As I mentioned in my last post my goal for this quarter is to embrace social media as something other than just "glorified spam." I realize that as a media major I should be actively involved in the social media world and wanting to spread my comments and opinions on anything and everything; unfortunately I am not one who particularly enjoys checking into these sites as often as I should. This could possibly be blamed on my lack of a smart phone although I do have access to twitter and facebook on my "dumb" phone, but I do not recieve notifications, I can just post on the sites through text messages (state of the arc stuff, I know).

As for my goals for this particular blog, I am really hoping to get hooked on blogging because I think it is something that can be very useful in establishing a web presence, as well as a good way to get in contact with other people out there who may have similar or even different opinions that myself. I think just by having a blog that I (although it is required for this course) am constantly looking at an updating, will at least put me in the proximity of this social media monster that I have been avoiding for so long. I am also hoping this blog will help me to get some feedback as to how I interact on the web. And when I say interact I really mean how I express myself via text and characters. I find it interesting to get other peoples opinions of how I am perceived on the web so I hope that if you're reading my posts that you give a little comment just to see what you think or just to say wazup.

In an attempt to learn more about the blogger site I added a few gadgets at the bottom of my blog in order to give my readers some more links to other interests I may have. I chose to do a list of blogs I am looking at (although I have not yet added any) because I feel that if a reader likes what I am posting, it is likely they will like some of the other things I am looking at. I also chose to add a headline reel because I find it important to stay as updated as possible with current events, so why not make it easer for my readers (as well as myself) to do so! I am still working out the placement and design of the blog, but for now, I think it works. It may even give you a reason to scroll down my whole blog!