Final Facebook Post

After interviewing some people about their thoughts on Facebook, I found myself coming up with more questions than answers. Because Facebook is fairly new and so popular, its reputation with our generation is going to continue to thrive. I was stunned to realize how many friends some people had...over 1000! It was also interesting to see that some college students didnt have Facebook and didn't wish to have one. The research that I conducted for this project was very field based, and I am glad I did it that way. Instead of looking up intellectual articles about this topic, I thought my best answers would come from the people who use it and interact with each other through it. Facebook is a cultural phenomenon that I will continue to research until it becomes no longer relevant...which I don't see happening anytime in the near future. So, if I'm not your Facebook friend already...look me up. Kelsi Pflueger (and i, not a y). Let's be friends. In a Facebook kind of way...

Podcasting

Once I downloaded Audacity, I was having a really difficult time trying to record something. I then realized that I don't have a mic....duh. Someone suggested to use headphones as a mic so once I tried that...I still had no luck. I am currently trying to make this work! I am determined to get it right because it is bothering me that it's not!

Back to Facebook

I was thinking about my research project for a little the other day and I've been coming up with some more topics. Facebook ruins relationships....Facebook stalking...Facebook for the older generation....I dont know. For some reason, I am really looking into Facebook as a research option because there is such an obsession with this new cultural artifact. I was almost about to delete my facebook the other day, but I felt like I would be lost without it. Terrible.

CauseWired

While there is a lot of reading to be done for this class, I can see where it is all becoming helpful. The website building book as well as the podcast book are helping me understand this technology better. Although these books are helpful, I still think I am getting the most out of CauseWired because I think that text is the most interesting. The chapter I just finished reading was about interest activism. This chapter was especially entertaining because I am working on an activism website for this class. It was nice to see how other organizations got started and how I could take examples from them to help spread the word about my activist website!

Build

The readings in Build are sooo boring. Maybe I can't find them interesting because I have no idea what they are talking about...or because I am terrible with technology. Okay, maybe not terrible, but not very good. While the readings are boring, I guess they are somewhat helpful now that we are going to be making our own websites. The chapter about interacting with your audience wasnt too bad because it explained ways to draw attention to your site. These tips were very helpful because if no one views your site, what was the point of creating one? Our website is going to be dedicated to autism awareness. I am looking forward to working on this project. I hope my group can come up with some really great ideas to make our website interesting!

Cyber Classroom?

The other day we tried to experiment with a cyber classroom. While I can see where this idea would be helpful for some students, I wasn't too impressed. I like to talk. I like to listen and respond. I think the cyber classroom took away from the back and forth banter that I'm used to in a classroom. The silence was awkward, everyone typing at once was hard to follow, the drawings were a little distracting, and it was just a little different for my taste. I think the cyber classroom would be a really good idea for people who didn't like to speak in class or who felt uncomforable, but I'm traditional. I'm always open to new things, but I like regular classrooms. HaHa But it was fun while it lasted at least.

So i was giving my research project some thought....and i reallly like the idea of facebook friends: are they really your friends? I know most of you that are familiar with facebook, are also familiar with facebook stalking. C'mon, show of hands? I know youre out there. I am "friends" with some people on facebook that I went to high school with and maybe talked to a few times in my life. Why am I "friends" with them on the book....because they had babies in high school and I wanna see pictures of them and see how they are doing. How creepy is that? Totally, I know. But what can I say...if it's on the book...it's fair game? Right? We're friends. Right?

Heralds of Change

"Indeed, America philanthropy now surpasses $300 billion per year, or roughly the size of the entire economy of Norway." That is astounishing. With the way our economy is operating today, it is amazing to see that helping others is still a priority to our society. Being a broke college student, I still try to do my part to help others. While I used to volunteer at the local YWCA, I had to stop because they closed the program due to lack of funding, which is truly a shame because most of the kids needed the extra help with homework and the childcare while their parents were still at work. I went shopping the other day and there were non profits lined all over the mall. I donated 5 bucks to Women in the Work Force because obviously I willbe apart of that some day. CauseWired provided a lot of examples of philanthropy still thriving, whether online or not, and it was really refreshing to see that it still exsists. While it seems that most of the donors are famous billionaries, other non money grubbers are doing their part as well. Hopefully, Americans and people all over the world can keep up with this trend.

Spare the Paperwork: (CauseWired)

This was an insightful chapter of the book. I completely agree with the author when he says it is hard for causes to grow on Facebook because people simply join the cause and never donate or move forward with action. I have clicked "join" to many causes, but have never gone back and done anything to generate for help or buzz. I also found it funny that he said its in our DNA to help people that is why Josh Ritter was so involved with the wildfires via twitter. It is actually shocking that non media people are getting news and facts out to the world quicker than reporters. It seems like anyone with a camera, phone, or computer can be a reporter today and get the facts out to the public. The pattern of this so called flash cause could potentially end up hurting a lot of worthy causes. It is up to us as a society to find which causes are going to make the biggest impact in the end and give them our full support.

class readings

Of the three books, CauseWired is probably the most interesting because it is relatable. Pretty much everyone on Earth has Facebook now, so it is nice to read a college text book that introduces Facebook as a means of global good doing. I am always getting notifications about "causes" on Facebook but I only join the ones I am interested in such as Breast Cancer Research and other womens or childrens health issues. Sometimes, I get request to join "the cause to buy so and so a plane ticket for Florida" and other nonese groups like that and I think they defeat the purpose of this application of Facebook.
The podcast book is also pretty cool. This class is only my second experience dealing with podcasts so this book is helpful. The graphics are nice because they break up some of the reading material. I don't like the building a website book because I am completely losttttt! That is not my kinda language! Overall, the books arent too bad. There is a lot of reading to do so it's hard to keep everything in order, but hopefully I'll figure out what the heck I'm doing on the internet!

I've been thinking a lot lately about what I want to do for my final research project. I've worked on two projects previously that had to do with Internet language and its effects on English speaking and writing. I don't know if I want to do another project on this topic, but it is really interesting so if I can think of a different spin, I might use this topic. Ttyl?

I also like the idea about the "changing nature of friends in an online world." What is considered a friend? What isn't? I think this could be a really interesting topic to explore...

So, I think I have found a social network suitable for this project. Its a writers website that anyone who writes can post their work and get feedback. I guess Im gonna give it a shot?

Online Social Networks

Okay, I was never a huge fan of online social networks until recently. I never had a MySpace, and honestly I think MySpace is scary and young girls should not be allowed to have one with pictures of themselves doing seductive poses in their bathroom mirrors. But, unlike MySpace, I am a HUGE fan of Facebook. I might be addicted to you....viewing it every hour or so? Yikes. What I don't like about Facebook though, like MySpace, now anyone can join not just college students. I defintely think its a little creepy that my grandmother and my 11 year old cousin are friends on the site. I dont know, maybe I'm being too silly about this. But, I think Facebook should have seperate sections for age groups. Yes, I think Facebook should segregate the ages! Highschool, College and Graduate, and then parents and grandparents lol :] Anyway, I love Facebook for plenty of reasons, but for our social network project, I think I am going to try out a site for writers and a site for retired cheerleaders (tear). Hopefully I can find something I enjoy as much as Facebook!

this is just a test

testing