The Future is Endless

Holly Swenson

Comm. 404

December 5, 2010

The Future is Endless

Hey guys! Class is almost done, kind of crazy I feel like this semester just started. I am graduating in two weeks as well so it really went fast for me! Well for me this last Blog is going to be a kind of wrap up of what I have learned in this class as well as reflections I have come across over this class as well as my college career. We discussed and did a lot of real life things that we as advertising students will use in the future. Blog’s, Twitter, Facebook, social networking, journalism, media outlets, and social media networks as well we all things we have discussed and mastered in class and what will be discussed in my reflection.

So Starting it off I really want to talk about social media. This was a very huge section in the class and pretty much what our class was all about. Social media has developed this world into what it is today. People are creating new lives through social media. With social media people are becoming successful with job opportunities. Social media is making companies more popular by getting out there and connecting with people on a very personal social level where they spend most of their time, in a lot of cases now social media is what it takes now to have success. Just talking about Facebook for a second, it has become huge! It is the most popular social networking sites as you may know but it really doing so much more for people in many different ways. People now can connect with others all around the world. People can stay in touch and see what family members who live far are up to. And for companies Facebook is great for screening future employees and also just getting to know future employees. Facebook is changing a lot it now has games and is going to have its own e-mail service. Twitter is also a huge social networking site that has just skyrocketed! People love it. It was a spin off of Facebook and people just loved it. Twitter is great because you can keep in touch and see what people are doing like celebrities or other public figures. Also companies post new events or arrivals to their company.

These social media sites have sculpted how we live our lives now. They are now unavoidable. Good or bad? I guess everyone will have their own opinion but what about kids who are growing up with these technologies and social sites as second nature, do you think they will care about the past and the “old” way of doing things were? I’m not too sure if they will. I mean why would they care if they have the new best technologies to look back at the past? Just something to think about.

Another strong topic in class was technologies. We talked about new technologies, how they are changing things, also where they will go in the future. Just the way cell phones have evolved just in my lifetime really amazes me. You can watch TV on your phone now! I mean seriously! Phones are now computers, and can pretty much do whatever you can do on a computer. My friend recently received a phone in the mail from his parents. It was a Nokia N900. Never heard of it before in my life. I guess its popular in Europe, well anyways I was messing around with this phone and its crazy! It’s a computer. You can browse websites exactly like a computer, download, you can even shut off the phone part of the devise to just make it a computer. It really was amazing just playing around with it because that phone really made me realize just how crazy technology really is and that wasn’t even that craziest that’s out there! I love it but it also scares me. We talk a lot in class about if certain technologies like Goggle TV or other recent technologies will really hit it off and make it. Its so hard to know what is good or not because they just come up the new and better thing a year later. This phone I was playing with is pretty much the top phone right now but they already are making an upgrade for it and changing it. So how do you know what and when to get something? That’s what’s so hard.

Something interesting we did talk about that I really didn’t understand that well at first but later it really made a lot of sense. Whuffle Factor! Whuffle factor is really interesting because it pretty much a track of your social networking life. It rates you and grades you on how you are doing socially. In the Whuffle book the author really focused on social capitalism and how certain companies are becoming “rich” in what they are doing online with their businesses. The opportunities are endless out there and not only just for companies. Everyone can use them and if everyone does the book discusses that they will then in the end become “rich” as well. 

The social media world has become huge and overwhelming to some. The only thing we really can do is just learn more and keep up with what we can. Our generation will soon be the ones who will have to be taught new things that we don’t now about, (which is really freaky to think about by the way,) but we just have to keep learning and teaching others who don’t know as well.

The future really is endless and this class has truly made me realize that. All these things we have learned about like Blogging, Facebook, twitter, learning how to connect them all together and what you can later do with that is stuff we need to know! Also learning about what’s all out there! There are so many things out there that I never thought would exist. Televisions are now computers phones are now everything/ and everything intertwines and works together. Its amazing. This knowledge will stay with me after graduation and will definitely benefit me in my career. Getting yourself out there in social medias is what we have to do now! Enjoy the social media ride!

The power of community social networking

Holly Swenson
November 21,2010



More Social Networking talk; The older generation is catching up!!

This week we continued reading about Whuffle Factor. There was a section in the reading that really stuck out to me and it started with an advertisement for social networking help.

I thought it was really interesting this person posted this ad as kind of making fun of social networking but it was pre-twitter and pre-Facebook. kind of ironic because of how much we actually use social networking sites and how much it really effects our lives.

The older generation is now using social networks!! I enjoyed this part of the reading as well because I like it that the older generation is trying to keep up with this crazy technological world. It talks about how some of the older generation is on Facebook to stay in contact with grandchildren and other relatives. For me, my grandparents are still not really catching on, they don't have a computer and barely know how to turn on their digital camera on, but a lot of my other older relatives are catching on and now have Facebook accounts. Its really nice because now when I'm away at school and miss something back home, they post pictures for me and then i don't miss out!

I thought it was really interesting because we are always talking about how you should really research what each social network is before you get one, for me all my relatives called me, I was their research. This made me think that a lot of people probably do this a lot, ask someone they know who has it. Just thought it was interesting because what if I hated it, then I would discourage them from getting it. For me I think you should do your own research and not really rely in other people but it was ok for me, I gave objective advice.

YouTube!! The older generation is using youtube as well. Its interesting because they were talking about in the reading how the older generation is using all of these social networks we use and are on youtube, but they are using it in different ways than the younger generation. The younger generation is using youtube to watch music videos, music, and other funny or other videos. The older generation are using it to post videos and communicate with their community and family with what they post.

I think its great. Everyone should use social networks, if they want, they way they want. Thats what's so great about them, they can be for anyone and all ages of people. Its connecting communities and families and bringing us all together.

For me, I wish my grand parents had some kind of social networks, or online of some kind because I don't see them that much and I would love to keep in contact more. I think they would love it because they would be able to know what all of us grand kids are up to. Well its not for everyone, and some people don't like change or new technology, like my grand parents! This reading was great! Looking and examining how and who is using all of these social networking sites we use. I really just want to know what there is to come, what's after twitter? Will Twitter stay? Just some things to think about.

The Whuffie Factor 1

Holly Swenson
November 14, 2010


The Whuffie Factor; Social Networking, Currency, and Reputation


The Whuffie Factor? What's that? Well, Whuffie came from Cory Doctorow's science fiction novel, Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom. The term Whuffie now has become a synonym for social capital. In the novel, Usual incentives have disappeared and Whuffie has then replaced money, which then provided motivation for people to do useful creative things. It states in the reading that a person's Whuffie is a general measurement of his or her overall reputation and its gained or losses according to that persons actions.  As it states in the reading "Whuffie is the residual outcome-the currency-of your reputation. You lose or gain it based on positive or negative actions, your contributions to the community, and what people think of you"


I thought this was very interesting. Unlike social capital Whuffie tracks your online social networking and other things you may do online. Really cool. Also in the reading it stated that anyone can see your Whuffie factor score for free. Good or bad? I guess its good and bad for many different reasons. I decided to do some outside research and found this quote that made me understand a little bit more what this is all about. "Whuffie recaptured the true essence of money: in the old days, if you were broke but respected, you wouldn't starve; contrariwise, if you were rich and hated, no sum could buy you security and peace. By measuring the thing that money really represented — your personal capital with your friends and neighbors — you more accurately gauged your success". Wikipedia.com. 


So what happens if you have a score of 0 or a really high score, what are the benefits or are there any? Well it turns out if a person has a score of 0 that person is as capable of giving and taking away Whuffie as someone with a score if 1,000,000. But I also found out that the person with 1,000,000 point score would be invited to parties and elite events, whereas the person with 0 would probably not even be allowed into reputable clubs or restaurants. When reading about this I really was surprised to find out people with higher scores actually get something for it, interesting. This also gives people incentive to higher their score also. 


So what are the advantages and disadvantages to Whuffie? Well in my research its like all economic systems. It might tend to favor popular speech at the dispense of public discourse. And it also talks about the concept of weighted Whuffie and how it helps make better decisions on a person-by-person basis, and then making it more flexible than rating someone by their bank account. Also, the Whuffie system keeps a public history of how each person's Whuffie was earned. Really interesting. 


So basically they want us to be online 24/7 now! It comes down to networking, getting your name out there talking to many different kinds of people and just realizing the possibilities that networking really has. The more connections and collaborations you have out there it will benefit you greatly and the better off you will be in the end. This is very important to remember. 


I enjoyed reading and learning about the Whuffie factor. I think its really cool how they created an entire separate economy and currency for social networks. This will definitely be beneficial for many companies in the future and also just for anyone who wants to find out what their score is or raising your score to get some of the benefits the top elite group gets.

Check out my blog and what i learned about News and Journalism and how it has changed

Journalism and News

Holly Swenson
November 7, 2010


Journalism and news, drastic changes over time!


Have you really ever thought about how we get our news now? or all the many different ways we can get our news? or how journalists have changed the ways they give us our news? i haven't really thought about it too much, so reading Briggs chapters were really interesting to me. 


There is a quote in the book i really liked, "It is often said that information wants to be free, but it is truer in the digital age that information wants to be analyzed, shared, synthesized, curated, aggregated, commented on and distributed." This quote to me really made me think, its so true! Before when we wanted to watch the news we had to wait until it came on TV at 5:00 and 9:00 news on channels 5, 9 and 11. There was no news online. Its so amazing to think now all the different ways to get news and from all around the world. 


When reading chapter ten in Briggs book i really enjoyed when he was talking about news as a conversation. it talks about how many journalists prefer news as a lecture but now they have adapted to the idea that the future of journalism means managing online communities and participating also in various social networks. It also goes into saying that the plain fact is that in the future journalists will have to develop these skills if they want to succeed in the future where the readers are also their writers. I thought this was very interesting because that is really what it has come to. Now you can even comment on news articles or other news that is posted online which in the book said that this has resulted in a lot of positive feedback with comments but also negative. But this is a great way to discuss current events that are going on in the world with others and really connect with people. This really beings people together and allows people to talk and converse about things that are going on, it could be very comforting to hear others comments about issues you feel strong about. 


The way they use social networking for relating news is really new and really seems to be effective. People are constantly on social networks, Facebook, Twitter, and Myspace ect. now there are news pages on these sites and they send you updates if you are their friend on what is going on and news that happens. I happen to be following CNN on Twitter and i constantly get posts about everything that is happening around the world even. i love it, its a way to stay connected with the news especially because i do not watch that much TV anymore, i think its really convenient i really enjoy it. 


There was another section i really enjoyed in the book, it was about how comments on news articles or just comments from the public has helped journalist with stories they are working on. This is really interesting to me because i'm sure it really does happen. If something happens in someone's small town they could send an e-mail or blog or even comment to a news journalists about something that has happened that is news worthy and they will get that news much quicker than they would without the person in the small town's advice. Its a way of showing awareness to the issue and letting journalists know what is going on in the world that they might not know otherwise. very interesting concept to think about. 


These chapters were great to read, i learned a lot. The way we receive news has definitely changed. For better or worse? Do you think now because the news is everywhere its overwhelming? I'm not sure, i really like how i get updates on twitter with what is going on in the world. its my way of keeping up with current events. i have realized when reading these chapters that social media really represents a new way to connect with people and communicate information. For reporters and journalists they always have to do that. A quote i really enjoyed, "Like the telephone and e-mail , social media is the latest change in how people are connecting and communicating. But the change is tactical, the standards and values of journalism do not change." 

Mobile Future

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!!
Holly Swenson
October 31,2010

Our Crazy Mobile Future!!

When reading over chapters 5 and 9 in Briggs book, chapter 5 really interested me so that is what I am mostly going to talk about in this blog. Chapter 5 was about mobile technology and the future of it. Now reporting has completely changed with our mobile phones we can capture something that has happened in a matter of seconds now instead of waiting for a camera crew to get to the site and then wait to set up, reporters now can use their cell phones and capture video footage and pictures very fast and conveniently if and when they need to. I thought this was very interesting because it really is amazing and so helpful for not only reporters but everyone to be able to all be mobile connected. reporters get footage quick if they need to with something that they always have, their phone, really cool.

seriously if I think about my parents first phone I think it might have been the size of my entire arm, it was huge! And could do nothing but dial phone numbers. phones have come a long way. Even if you think about the first camera phones, the quality of picture was horrible. There was no zoom, and the number of pictures that could even be stored on your phone was really low. Now the quality of picture is absolutely flawless, you can zoom, the camera quality is like an actual digital camera you would buy separate, it is truly amazing the improvements phones have made. Now because of these improvements we are using them for important thins like catching breaking news, or creating memories and sharing with others.

Also just the GPS function phones have now, you can be located wherever you are with your phone, and never get lost. Amazing. In the book he talks about how GPS will also change the way people contribute information. It also talks about how as it becomes normal for mobile devices to attach latitude and longitude information to a photo, video or text, people will be able to quickly and easily publish to sophisticated web sites that organize content geographically. I thought this was interesting because i really think about it in this way and it really will be amazing to have this much freedom and connection with the world, technology is unstoppable. The things technology is capable of and how it has changed this world is really amazing to think about, and terrifying at the same time.

I really enjoyed reading these chapters, they're really interesting. They bring but topics that we all should think about a lot more and really learn a lot more about. We have to keep up on all of this crazy new technology that is going on around us or we'll get lost!!

My Video Blog on Telepresence

Telepresence? What is it? How does it work?

Holly Swenson


Telepresence? I had no idea.


To be honest, when reading about this chapter about Telepresence in Grant's book, i had no idea what they were talking about. I wasn't sure if they were just talking about video-to-video calling, or something like Skype, or audio conference calls, i had no idea but i was really interested in trying to figure it out. I wanted to know more than just the book because the book is sometimes a little heavy reading so i looked online and researched more into Telepresence. I found out it is so much more than just Skype or video-to-video, it is really the next level to conferencing and really is amazing how it works.


Ok so Telepresence refers to a set of technologies that allows a person to feel as if they were present, give the appearance that they were present, or to have an effect, with Telerobotics, at a place other than the true location. confusing right!! yea i know. but reading on i learned that this technology can really benefit an industry. With doing business over telepresence, people sometimes drive or fly from all over the world to make meetings etc, with this new Telepresence technology you save with having to deal with rental car, plane tickets, flying expenditures, also just hurting the environment and raising your carbon footprint. With doing this it also improves the employees work and life and is a little more balanced for them which in turn improves employee productivity. so rather than tracveling long distances to have a face-to-face meeting now there is telepresence. It uses a multiple codec video system. So how it works is each person in the meeting uses a telepresence room to "dial in" and they can see/talk to everyone else in the meeting on a screen/screens as if they were in the same room. Huge cost benefits. Check out this site, Cisco designs and creates telepresence software and there is a great video talking about the architecture and explaining how it all works. http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps7060/index.html 


For a true telepresence experience, technologies are required that make the human sensory like vision, sound, and manipulation. With vision there is a field of view, and the viewpoint corresponds to the movement of the users head. This is how its different from television or just regular video-to-video, like Skype. In order to have this you have to have either a very large or wraparound screen, or small displays mounted directly in front of your eyes. In my research it shows that it almost gives a 3D sensation. When talking about manipulation its really interesting because it can be done in a large number of ways. To manipulate a remote object or environment typically, the movements of the users hands are sensed by wired gloves, internal sensors, or absolute spatial position sensors. what!! wow thats really crazy. Then it says that a robot in the remote location then copies those movements as close as possible, which is called Teleoperation. The more closely the robot re-creates the form factor of the human hand, the greater the sense of telepresence. 


I wanted to then find who has these Telepresence technologies, and how much they would cost to get one. It said that the for an all-inclusive setup including the equipment, network, and management with a mulitscreen telepresence suite, companies can expect to pay anywhere from $12,000 to $28,000 per month. But there still is more, because the monthly cost really doesn't quite show the actual bottom-line cost because you still have to pay for the room setup, and it said that in order to create a networked connected telepresence room, with absolutely everything, that holds up to 18 people costs $340,000 from Cisco and $349,000 from HP. Check it out, there is a lot more info about it here. http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2009/05/20/4190361.htm   Can you believe it! i barely could. I thought I would share what i learned because i was so shocked how much i costs, but i guess you are dealing with a lot of technology and equipment so it is understandable.

When researching about this topic, Telepresence i has absolutely no idea what it was let alone how much it costs or what it does. I think its really interesting and a great concept. I do agree with the fact that Telepresence will save people/companies tons of money and most of all time and convience. I think this technology will have much more surprises to come. In my research they also talked about the future and what is there to come with Telepresence technology and they talked about holograms and having actual people in front of you but no longer a TV or computer screen, a hologram. Insane. Seen it on the movies, never thought it would happen in my lifetime, crazy things to come!

Tiffany & Co. Social Media

Tiffany & Co. Social Media and the Impact. Holly Swenson Nicole Morris

Tiffany & Co. Social Media

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Tiffany And Co. Social Media

Holly Swenson

October 15, 2010

                          

Social Media, Benefiting or Hurting This Company? 

Tiffany And Co. You Tell Me... 

“The Diamond King,” Charles Lewis Tiffany introduced the engagement ring in 1848 in New York City.  Tiffany and Company became known for its diamonds worldwide.  Tiffany and Company not only has diamonds for both women and men but also jewelry, watches, fragrances, household items and other accessories.  Tiffany and Company reaches a very diverse audience using different social network sites and tools to increase their consumer reach and promote new products.

The Tiffany and Company’s website is for consumers worldwide to enter, it makes connections to a reach of different consumers.  The website features the Tiffany “teal,” color, it is very classy and clean, much like their product.  It is a detailed website to guide the consumer to exactly what they are looking for through descriptions and images.

             Currently right now 518,159 people “Like” the Tiffany and Co. Application on Facebook.  The Facebook account features Tiffany product’s being worn by celebrities, the promotion of new products, and where and when you can find Tiffany products on T.V shows and different red carpet appearances.  There is also a link straight to their website for the interested consumer, or potential buyer.  Their Facebook is filled with discussion and conversation as the company will ask the consumers questions such as “where would you like to see the new Tiffany store?”  Getting consumers to interact on Facebook seems to be one of the most successful tactics used by Tiffany and Co. as they have received a lot of feedback.  Video clips are also posted of product appearances and videos made by the company to promote new images.

            Tiffany and Co. has 6,622 followers on Twitter, where you can find constantly updated posts about new products, fashion show launches, and things going on where their product will be seen in the media.  Twitter is still new to a lot of companies in the social media, Tiffany and Co. being one of them.  So as time goes on they should continue to get new followers and new customers.    

            Tiffany and Co. has received a lot of attention and interaction with consumers using a blog with Wordpress.  The blog contains a lot of new and old product information and opinions.  Consumers also send their comments and stories about their engagement experience and product satisfaction for viewers to see, this makes Tiffany and Co. very relatable to many people across the world.   Some people ask questions and some need advice, this is a great involvement with viewers and target audience. 

            You can find the Tiffany and Co. T.V commercials on Youtube.  The commercials have no dialogue but do feature music and images of family, children and couples all usually during the Christmas season, which is the time you are mostly likely to see a Tiffany and Co. commercial.  These commercials present Tiffany and Co. as being very trustworthy and personable.  The commercials do not expose the product as much as they could. 

            The newest form of social media Tiffany and Co. has applied itself to is an application to the Iphone or Ipod called The Engagement Ring Finder.  This application is easy and allows you to design your dream engagement ring, letting the consumer pick the shape, cut, style and color of the ring so the consumer will get exactly what they want.  You can save your creation and even get the advice from a professional consultant all conveniently on your phone or Ipod.  It is a free application and is geared toward reaching a target audience and allowing people or potential buyers to see before they buy.   

Tiffany and Co. is making its way effectively in the social media and will continue to find ways in which they can be even more successful in the future.  Loyal consumers need to stay interested with their product.  And new consumers need to become attracted to the array of social media Tiffany and Company is taking part in.  

Knowledge is Power

Holly Swenson

October 6, 2010

Presentations Evaluation

Knowledge is Power

I thought all of the presentations were really great. I think we had a really good variety of subjects that were talked about and I really liked learning about each one. 

The one that stuck out to me the most was the Skype presentation titled Security and Skype. I liked it because I really like Skype and use it quite frequently so I really enjoyed learning about it more. I also never really thought about people hacking in and watching your videos and things like that while on Skype, I thought it was interesting because we really do need to be aware and careful about our security settings that we have on our computers. But the problem is that hackers will get into just about anything now, whether it is Facebook, twitter, or into your computer directly so its kind of something we just need to be aware of and prepare for. This presentation also stuck out to me because of how it looked visually. She did a great job with having the colors match the Skype color and really had me interested in reading what was on each slide. I also think its interesting just how many functions Skype actually has, and its free!! There was a question asked at the end of the presentation asking if Skype will have more positive effects than negative. I think it will definitely be more positive. This is a new way to talk on the phone, looking at the person you are talking; it gives you a feeling like they are there with you. Personally I use it all of the time. I have a friend living in Denmark and I talk to him daily and the reception is very clear and minimal pixilation. Now the new I Pod Touch and new I Phone has Skype capabilities, which is brand new to any phone. It’s great because you can then call someone else who has Skype on their phone or I Pod or call on their computer from your phone. I think this is a great feature that Sype and Apple have created.

I also enjoyed the presentation about Hulu titled Media Convergence for Online Videos. For me it really is amazing to think how far television has come in just my lifetime. When I was younger there were 8 channels no way to view anything online or anything like that. Now we have things like DVR’s or TVOs that record channels for you and also can just watch TV online with sites like Hulu and YouTube. This presentation was very interesting to me because I really wanted to know more about Hulu because I have used it before but really didn’t know much about it or what its all about. I liked when she was talking about how Hulu gained revenue by having premium videos paring them with high quality advertisements. This is smart because they are still getting advertisements in and also keeping their loyal customers with the high quality video viewing.

I thought all presentations were very interesting and I enjoyed listening to all. All of these things are very important for us to know in this field of work. The more we know the better we all can be in the work that we do. We are fortunately in the field where we can make a difference in the world if we want so we really need to know what is going on and how to use it. Knowledge definitely is power.

What we need to know about social networking

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What we need to know about social networking

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Comm 404
What you need to know about social networking

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Research Paper/Presentation

Holly Swenson

September 26, 2010

What you need to know about social networking

I chose this article for my report because I thought it was very interesting and I thought I could really learn a lot from reading it. It is called What you need to know about social networking and it just does that, tell you things people really don’t know about social networking and teaches you how to use them correctly and all there is to know about them.

First it talks about how social networking really is not just for teenagers that most may think but it really does span over many generations. The first social networking site was SixDegrees.com and was created in 1997. Then came more like BlackPlanet, Friendster, and MySpace. But today as everyone knows Facebook is the most popular. It is very interesting to me because out of these sites I have only heard of MySpace and Facebook. It states in the article that in the United States, the number of adults with a profile on a social networking site has more than quadrupled in the past four years. And also the time spent on social networking and blogging sites has grown more than three times the rate of the entire overall global Internet growth. When thinking about this it really comes into perspective that social networking is really that big, people from all over, rich, poor, celebrities, and even the president of the United States has used social networking. It puts it into perspective a little bit how large and how much social networking has really grown.

A section in the article I read talked about how social networking really has benefited in politicians because they use them and they actually connect better with their voters and can target them a lot better with their campaign. It states that more than 35 state legislative caucuses across the country are using social networking sites like Facebook, twitter, and MySpace. They allow them to have direct communication with their voters, legislatures are even using social media as a tool that can influence the debate, help build recognition, gain support, and motivate. I thought this was very interesting because I think that social networking sites really would help politicians and I think it’s a great tool for them to use, that’s where their audience is. It was interesting to think about this because I never thought social networking really would effect politicians like that, very interesting.

A section in the article I really enjoyed is where they give advice to others on what you really should know about these social networking sites before you set one up. They give eight things to know and go into depth on really what you need to know and all about the things you will encounter when setting one up. I think this is really beneficial and great advice for new users to these sites that really don’t know the little things like know the tools. For me, I really had no idea what it was all about when I set up my Facebook page. I did know certain things about it through word of mouth, but I didn’t know the technical side of it. Like privacy settings and the different tools that you use or even, just like they talk in the article, is knowing a plan for what I was doing on the social networking sites I was on. Its good to have a plan because keeping up with these sites like blogs and twitter you need to be on them everyday putting time in and updating your posts and things like that or else you will be out of date and the purpose really wont be relevant anymore. Also it could get overwhelming and all pile on. It soon becomes not that much fun anymore when it becomes stressful like that.

The thing you really need to know about all of these social networking sites is that just knowing the security risks and how you make your profile or blog as public or private as you want. I think there is a lot of problems with young teenagers signing up for these sites and they don’t really know how to block their profile in Facebook for instance, and then they write things on their page that they don’t want others to know thinking their profile was private. I think this article is really great because it helps those who really don’t know much about social media and all that it entails what it really is all about. I think that in the era we are in we really have to be careful what is put out there because it is so extremely easy to put it out there.

Overall we really need to research and learn more if we don’t know enough about social networking because it can be so much fun to use but also can be very complex. If you have the knowledge and know how to use these social medias correctly it can be really fun and can possibly benefit things like careers or research. Knowledge just needs to get out there about these things because this is what we are all about today, kids, teens, adults and even seniors. Everyone is involved now and it is growing like crazy. Knowledge is power and power can change the world.

 Works Cited:

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT Social Networking. By: Dorsch, Meagan, Greenberg, Pare, State Legislatures, 01476041, Jul/Aug2009, Vol. 35, Issue

The Growing Technological World

Blog post 3

September 19, 2010

The Growing Technological World

When reading the readings for today staring with Grant Chapter 6 I really kept thinking about my childhood and what we had for a video camera in my household. It was very large it recorded onto a VHS tape it was very heavy and it rested on your shoulder. You did not have a screen to view what you are seeing, you just look through the lens and while it is resting on your shoulder. My parents brought it everywhere! it is amazing to me to think about what we had back then to all the various options to video now. Cell phones, cameras, I-flips, recording onto a DVD or USB port access. It is amazing how it has evolved in my lifetime so far.  It is also very interesting to me to think about how television was back when I was a child. We had very minimum channels and that was it. No TV on the Internet on your computer, no cable, no T-VO, no DVR’s, and no dish network. It has evolved so much in a very short amount of time. But when I think about watching TV back then I never had a problem with the amount of channels we had, I loved the shows that were on. Its just funny to me to think just how different things are now, we just adapt into new technologies and new things going on around us.

When going on in the chapters if Grant thinking about the digital world and how all of that has come about and just exploded into this amazing technology in television development. There is no more antennas’ to move to get the right reception, no more snow when the connection just wasn’t right, this is what I had to do as a kid. Just the picture alone now of television on these amazing TV’s is just amazing. I always remember thinking as a kid god I hate messing with the antennas to get the right reception and never really having a good sharp picture even when watching movies. The quality of the picture today is just crystal clear; it makes television viewing so much more fun and enjoyable! I found a great site on the things happening with TV Technology and I found it very interesting http://www.tvtechnology.com/.Also just thinking about 3-D movies and how that just exploded in a short amount of time and has really expanded into many really great things. Now it is possible to buy a 3-D DVD player and you can buy a 3-D DVD and you can watch the movies you love in your own home and it will be 3-D. I personally have wanted this and wished for this since I was very young. I think its great. Since it’s still fairly new its expensive and there are not many DVD’s made in 3-D yet but there will be more to come, I’m sure of it. 

I really enjoyed chapter 8 because I liked the charts and how they showed the online video sources and the top online brands, ranked by time spent viewing per viewer. This was really interesting to me because I didn’t know much about a lot of them listed. Personally I didn’t know there were ten different kinds of online video sources. All I think of when I think about online video sources I think of YouTube.com, HuLu.com, and MSN. Also with the ranking of the top online brands chart was really surprising to me because YouTube.com was towards the bottom of the list and I thought they would be close to the top. HuLu.com was the first, which I am not surprised with that but it was a very interesting chart.

I also thought Chapter ten, talking about radio broadcasting and how people are redefining the term radio because it has changed and evolved so much into a generic term for audio entertainment supplied by terrestrial broadcast frequency, satellite, internet streaming, and so much more. When thinking about media convergence and just media in general for me at least, I kind of forget about radio. It is definitely still going strong with the satellite radios and XM Radio and all of the different kinds of music you can listen to on these new radio technologies. It’s just not in the media as much as the others. I do think the evolution of how radio has progressed over the years is very interesting and it really has made a transformation. i really wanted to research more into the history of radio broadcasting because I really don’t know much about it and I just was interested to learn more about it and there was one site that I thought was great and I leraned a lot. Check out http://inventors.about.com/od/rstartinventions/a/radio.htm. I learned a lot and I thought it was very interesting how it has developed.

I also enjoyed reading the chapters in Briggs. “It has been said that technology can become effective only when we start taking it for granted.” I liked this quote a lot because it makes a lot of sense. We have to take it for granted to really enjoy what it can become and what it is capable of.  I also enjoyed the chapters on blogging and when Briggs said that blogging has changed the world of journalism, it is very true and this is the first time I have thought about how blogging has affected journalism in that way. Blogging has affected more than I ever thought. I haven’t done much blogging in fact the blogs we made in this class was my first blog but it is interesting to think how it could really have a big impact on things and different forms of media. I learned about Microblogging. I have never known what that was before I read this chapter and I think it is really interesting and convenient for those who use it.

Overall I learned a lot from the readings it makes me think about a lot and just think about how much everything has changed so much! It’s amazing what we had back then to now. If we were in the past looking at the future to year 2010, I think we would all be very shocked and probably have disbelief in all that we have now. 

Holly Swenson

AAHHHH TECHNOLOGY!!!!!!!

Clay Shirky “Here Comes Everybody”

Reviewed by: Holly Swenson           

AHHH TECHONLOGY!!!!!!

Have you ever really sat down and thought about all of the technology that is around us that wasn't there not too long ago. Have you really thought about all the things on our cell phones we can do now and the development of the internet. Think about NEVER going on facebook or twitter or any other kind of social network again, would it be difficult for you? I know it would be for me. The way we can communicate with people all over the world with a click of your computer you could be talking and viewing someone in Africa. It is that simple now. There are so many new and amazing things out there. For an example I found a really good website that really allows you to keep up to date on  some of the things that are going on in this technological world it is http://www.cnn.com/TECH/  These things we are so used to and we don’t even think about it anymore we just do it. taking a step back and realizing how things are working now In this technological world is a really amazing thing.

In the book by Clay Shirky titled “Here Comes everybody,” he recounts how social tools such as facebook, blogging, wordpress and twitter, file sharing, and Wikipedia like group conversation and group action in a way that before they only could be done through being at an institution. Shirky talks about how that with the arrival of these new online social tools groups can form without such a time cost like it was before. I think this is also very important to think about because it is very true. Its amazing to me now to think about that and the point he makes in his book because its crazy all of the things we can do now. 

I wanted to research the actual definition of social networking because I really wanted to know what the official definition is and if it’s still true. On http://www.whatissocialnetworking.com/, they say “Social networking is the grouping of individuals into specific groups, like small rural communities or a neighborhood subdivision, if you will.”  I think this is really different than the definition I had in my head. To me when I think of social networking I think only communicating with people online, I would not think of neighborhoods and subdivisions. Interesting.  Its crazy how many people we can stay in contact with online through these social networks. I also think about my grandparents and how in the world they can keep up to all of this, nothing they have ever known or ever taught. Its easy for us to adapt because we were raised and learned on computers in school and it is just all around us our whole lives, but the older generation I think about a lot and just wonder do they know what’s all out there and what we are capable doing now. Its amazing to me.

Another thing I really liked about this book is when Shirky mentions the fact that the power of the web and its networks is that they make it extremely easy to form groups.  Joining facebook now is no problem, my dog has a facebook! When I was younger I really wanted a facebook but you had to be in college and have a college id to send to them to have them verify if you were In fact in college or not, then you could have a facebook. Myspace.com was a little easier to get but too had its disadvantages. For me I really was thinking about this book and thinking about all that Shirky has said and it got me thinking about what other kinds of social networks are out there. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_social_networking_websites shows a long list of other social networks I didn’t even know existed. It was interesting to see all that is out there and other options other than just facebook, myspace, twitter, and blogging.

I also enjoyed how Shirky’s book really has an interest in activism rather than others that don’t really express as much and are more for worried companies or CEO’s. In this book he really makes aware everything that is going on and doesn’t sugarcoat it.

I really enjoyed this book and I think I got more out of it than I thought I was going to. It made me think about the things I use everyday as my daily routine and how my parents did when they were my age. Its amazing. I think Shirky did a really good job at putting things into perspective. He paid very close attention to detail with everything he talks about and describes in his book. I really enjoyed his style of reading and understood it very well which I always a good thing when reading something for class, but I really enjoyed it. I liked Shirky so much and this book I decided to find out more about him and what he is doing today. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_social_networking_websites shows a really good biography of Clay Shirky. He is and has done some amazing things in his life. I really enjoyed reading his bio after reading “Here Comes Everybody,” it really gave me a better understanding of the author and where he is coming from and how he developed all of his knowledge on the subject. It was very interesting.

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Foreword-
By Jennifer Sizemore vice president and editor in chief, MSNBC.com


When reading the foreword in our book titled Journalismnext, i really enjoyed a lot of things that were mentioned. I  do not know much about journalism and i thought that some of the things she was saying really made sense and made me realize a lot more what is going on in the world of journalism. 


In the beginning of the article i  thought it was interesting when she was talking about how right now is a very exciting time for journalism. She is very true when she says that journalism is changing, and change is what news is, and without news you would have nothing to report. I thought that was very interesting because it is very true and really makes sense.


Jennifer Sizemore has a lot of experience in this field she worked at five different newspapers in five different cities before she moved to a website news job. I thought this was very interesting because that is a lot to accomplish and she seems very dedicated to what she does. 


Later on in the Foreword she talks about the false narrative about the end of print. She says that the narrative about the sudden end of print newspapers is wrong. She also says that from 1950 to 1970 daily newspaper per household dropped. By 2000 only 53 percent of households purchased newspapers. I thought this was very interesting because i thought the numbers would be a lot higher, i didn't realize it was that low and now 10 years from that i can imagine it has just gone down drastically from then. 


So why bother with all of this? Is there a future in a journalism career? asks by Sizemore, really makes you think because it could really go either way. She says yes, of course there is, a democracy demands free press, and a free press demands democracy. This statement is really why journalists do what they do and why they are still able to be successful in this career. 


Introduction- 

I really like her first statement, journalism is about people not technology. I thought this was very true and really something that needs to be thought about by journalists. I like how she explains that to survive in this crazy digital age she states in her first book that journalists must adopt a new way of thinking. I like how she is trying to make a difference and really taking it upon herself and teaching others what she has learned throughout her life. I think it is great advice for any journalist and nice that she is giving it because i really feel that statement she made is very true in the journalism world now. Change needs to happen in order to survive. 


Later on in the Introduction i really liked all the statistics she that were given. For example, one example that stuck out to me was, "Daily circulation totals grew from 3.1 million in 1880 to 15.1 million in 1900 to 22.1 million in 1910." I thought these numbers were very interesting and really shows that newspapers really are not going disappear. There still is hope for journalism. 


I enjoyed reading these two sections, i learned a lot about the world of journalism and the different things that are going on, and what needs to be done. I liked this author, i think she is doing really good things for her career and the people she helps and i enjoyed reading and understood what she was saying very well. 


Holly Swenson