Ally: Final Twitter post.

Well readers, the time of posting has now come to an end. Some of the things I found out about Twitter and what it is used for surprised me and some of them just confirmed my opinions of it. Twitter is a way for people to kind of live through others. Live through their pictures, their posts of their wonderful lives. But Twitter doesn't end there. Twitter is used for advertising, for job searching, for company growth, and so much more. I didn't realize just how well used Twitter is. I always assumed it was just celebs showing off their lives and others just being witty or wishing that they were showing off their own lives. Seeing the sites where you can job search through Twitter or the last post about the different uses of Twitter, those were the things I came across that really surprised me. It is a whole different world. A world to be more of yourself, to improve yourself, and a world to live through others, if that's what you want. All in all doing this research and even just simply poking around sites and other searches more in-depth about Twitter than I have ever done really opened my eyes to how much of a different world it is. Although compared to or with Facebook, they are very different and you tell by the way people treat them, even simply by what they post on each site. I hope you enjoyed the information that you saw on here, not only about Twitter but all of the other sites talked about as well. 

Last Pin

Ana Banana

Pinterest is my augmented reality and definitely for all of those other pinners, even if they realize it or not. Pinterest is where I spend at least an hour or more each day looking at other pinners' boards and repin the things that I love to my boards. Or when I'm normally just surfing the web and I like something and want to share it with the world I make sure to pin it. Pinterest is where my creativity grows and  my plans grow on how I would like my wedding or my future house to be. Pinterest is where someone can escape to and post all of their dreams and goals, just like when you would do a goal/dream board in school, where you would cut out things from magazines and make a collage out of the pictures and words, Pinterest is exactly like that, except without all of the mess of paper everywhere and the manual labor. Pinterest is where if you are forgetful and need a recipe or anything else, this is where you can save all of those great ideas so when you are ready to do it you can find it easily in your boards. Now that this project has come to an end, I have enjoyed looking further into what Pinterest is all about, and find out more about other pinners augmented realities. 

Ally: More on the purpose of Twitter

As I asked my lovely followers on Twitter I continued to do some more research on why people use Twitter. One of my favorite answers, that I personally agree with was that it gives a sense of being able to express yourself better than through Facebook. Honestly not sure why this is. Maybe because of the lack of thousands of friends. Maybe because you don't have your whole life posted and people tagging you in their lives. Just more room to express yourself through words.


I did find another article that I found very interesting on the different uses of Twitter.

Ally: Why Twitter?

Okay so I have been searching and searching, literally spending hours on why people use Twitter. First, I want to answer the question, myself....

Personally I use Twitter because it is cleaner than Facebook. Facebook seems to be more of a drama filled, high-school like, space. And I don't like that aspect of it. I like that Twitter is clean. You can only use 140 characters and to keep peoples attention you have got to be witty, be a celeb, or post interesting photos. At least to keep my attention you have got to do at least one of those three. But this is just my personal opinion.

Here is an article that a guy actually asked some people and got responses. I did the same and so far have gotten similar answers. If any stand out then I will post them on here. For now, read through this article, it seems to have everyone's ideas on why Twitter.

Megan: Tumblr Summary

Tumblr is, in fact, an augmented reality. People may not know it but they treat it as such.

Without making too broad a generalization, it has become clear that most people use tumblr to get away from the flaws and faults in reality. They surround themselves with things they enjoy and submerge themselves into discussion that often never leaves the bloggersphere/ tumblrverse. They're trying to live a better life. How else could they make friends half-way across the world? How else could they give their voice anonymously in order to provide help or ask for it? Users have the opportunity to gain fame through graphic design, or through roleplaying, or through fanfiction. They have the choice to personalize the way their blog looks, and they can decide what exactly goes on the blog and the dashboard. This they cannot do in real life; they cannot always be around people who understand them or their interests; they may not have the means to gain fame; they cannot completely alter the way they appear or what they see. Tumblr means freedom.

But this freedom seems to be limited to those between the ages of 14 and 25. Where do those younger and older find their freedom? Do the middle-aged have an augmented reality for this? Or, since augmented realities in the form of technology are recent, will it become generational and there will be different ARs for different generations?

At the end of the day, one fact cannot be avoided: blogs are more powerful than you think.

Megan: Tumblr survey

The results are in!

Read about the survey I conducted and my findings!

Kastle: Last Post! Summary of what i learned :)

 Facebook. An augmented reality in itself. A social network for a means of connecting with all your friends. Learning and researching all of the positive aspects (saving someone's life, keeping in touch with your faraway friends, etc.) and all the negative aspects (games, ads, tracking our every move, etc.) made me realize all of the information about this virtual realm that i was never aware of. If i had never done this project, i wouldn't be as cautious and aware as i am now of what goes on inside this website. Facebook affects our society more than i had ever imagined. It creates jobs, affects our economy, and everyone i know has their own profile through this website. I've learned many new things and the differing opinions of many people about this alternate universe including comments from my other group members. I've questioned, learned, realized, and informed other people about Facebook. I feel like I've made my other group members aware as well, and learned from their own social networks as well. This project has been a great experience for me!

Very Pinteresting :)

Ana Banana

so here are some facts that involve Pinterest! It is actually very interesting to see 

Kastle: Facebook Means Something To Us

Facebook makes our status's feel meaningful, if people like them or not. This social network has affected all of our lives in some way, and whether positive or negative, Facebook means something to all of us. What does Facebook mean to you?

Kastle: The Social Network

The invention of Facebook has become such a huge hit that a movie was made specifically about how Mark Zuckerberg came up with the idea. The synopsis of this movie, given by Rotten Tomatoes website tells us this:  
        Director David Fincher (Fight Club, Seven) teams with screenwriter Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing) to explore the meaning of success in the early 21st century from the perspectives of the technological innovators who revolutionized the way we all communicate. The year was 2003. As prohibitively expensive technology became affordable to the masses and the Internet made it easy to stay in touch with people who were halfway across the world, Harvard undergrad and computer programming wizard Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) launched a website with the potential to alter the very fabric of our society. At the time, Zuckerberg was just six years away from making his first million. But his hearty payday would come at a high price, because despite all of Zuckerberg's wealth and success, his personal life began to suffer as he became mired in legal disputes, and discovered that many of the 500 million people he had friended during his rise to the top were eager to see him fall. Chief among that growing list of detractors was Zuckerberg's former college friend Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield), whose generous financial contributions to Facebook served as the seed that helped the company to sprout. And some might argue that Zuckerberg's bold venture wouldn't have evolved into the cultural juggernaut that it ultimately became had Napster founder Sean Parker (Justin Timberlake) not spread the word about Facebook to the venture capitalists from Silicon Valley. Meanwhile, the Winklevoss twins (Armie Hammer and Josh Pence) engage Zuckerberg in a fierce courtroom battle for ownership of Facebook that left many suspecting the young entrepreneur might have let his greed eclipse his better judgment. The Social Network was based on the book The Accidental Billionaires by Ben Mezrich. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

I've seen this movie, and it was very interesting. It gives us, as an audience, a 3 dimensional array of technical images of how Facebook came to be. A way of understanding it all without even needing to read the book; the text. How do you feel about the Social Network? Does it tell the truth? Or does this movie deceive us into thinking a certain way? 

Megan: Bloggers

What better place to visit to get an idea of what people think of bloggers than urban dictionary!

Some of these are hilarious, some accurate, some offensive, all insightful as to what non-bloggers and bloggers alike think it means to be a blogger.

Blogger

"Term used to describe anyone with enough time or narcissism to document every tedious bit of minutia filling their uneventful lives. Possibly the most annoying thing about bloggers is the sense of self-importance they get after even the most modest of publicity. Sometimes it takes as little as a referral on a more popular blogger's website to set the lesser blogger's ego into orbit. Then God forbid a blogger gets mentioned on CNN. If you thought it was impossible for a certain blogger to get more pious than he was, wait until you see the shit storm of self-righteous save-the-world bullshit after a network plug. Suddenly the boring, mild-mannered blogger you once knew will turn into Mother Theresa, and will single handedly take it upon himself to end world hunger with his stupid links to band websites and other smug blogger dipshits." - Maddox any user of www.livejournal.com, www.greatestjournal.com, etc.

blogger
	A person with a laptop, an ax to grind, and their virginity Steven Colbert: "And in case you don't know a blogger is a person with a laptop, an ax to grind ... and their virginity"

blogger
	derived from weblogger, s.o. who keeps a weblog, a diary on the internet. You'll find plenty crappy bloggs on the net.

Etc. Scroll through the page(s) to get more ideas.

Do you agree with these definitions?

Ally: Twitter's top 100

Okay this I found simply wonderful. Twitter top 100 most followed. This put the idea that twitter is just a place for people to stalk, live through, and love the lives of celebrities. The majority of these top people are almost all celebrities with a few random news sources or ads thrown in there. But look at those numbers. Sweet Jesus that is a lot of followers Lady G. How does it feel to be the most followed individual in the world? Ashton Kutcher once shared her popularness but is now dropped to an embarrassing 18. That sucks dude. But really why do we do this? That will be in my next post. The why behind it all. Enjoy those numbers!

Ally: Twitter's numbers not so strong?

When reading a Forbes article on the idea that Twitter's growth is slowing I honestly wasn't too surprised. The article compares Twiiter's user numbers to that of Facebook when Facebook was Twitter's current age ( 6 years ). We all know that Facebook has taken off much quicker and stronger than Twitter did and is continuing to. Twitter's number of posts and the amount of revenue from ads continues to grow while the user numbers stay the same or even lessen. This makes sense considering that it is mainly the people that jumped on the original Twitter train that are creating the increase of posts and what not. But it is not quite as addicting as Facebook, it doesn't draw in quite the same audience.

Megan: Crossover

I just found this interesting, and a touch "ironic" since I found it on tumblr:

Three things you should read about Facebook

Three things:

1. Alexis Madrigal presents The Case for Facebook in The Atlantic. Key concepts: “classic market myopia,” the global mass and velocity of Facebook, and design momentum.
2. Robin Sloan on Pictures and Vision. Key concepts: “Facebook is the world’s largest photo sharing site,” and oh by the way Google Glass(es) is the tip of an augmented iceberg.
3. Oliver Reichenstein, Information Architect, on how to Sweep the Sleaze. Key concepts: Your users might be smarter than you think, and that dirty pile of buttons you crumble all over your content doesn’t account for that.

My take:

1. IPO drama aside, Facebook isn’t going anywhere. For better or worse (and some will say for worse), it’s now woven deeply into the fabric of the web. Take it away, and we lose our easiest, safest, most casual connections with our social graph. The lines fall away.

2. But it’s a mistake to get caught up in the devices and applications of the present. Data has value, and the tools to interpret it. Delivery systems will continue to evolve.

3. And although we may lean on crutches of interface to open channels of content into the sprawl of niche networks, to access the intersection of social graphs, eventually we can lean on our users as they pick up the next tool and the next. “If the news is that important, it will find me” does not depend on any particular network or Like button.

(Source)

Megan: F--k Yeah, Tumblr!

One of tumblr's rising trends has been the 'F--k Yeah!' Evolution, a movement elaborated on by an article at Mashable.

After the popularity of the original 'F--k Yeah!' (FY) blog, Fuck Yeah Sharks, in 2007, several bloggers decided to hop on that idea train and take blogging to a whole new level; it took about two years for the FY trend to go viral. Now there is likely a FY blog dedicated to just about anything. According to Mashable, between 100 and 200 FY tumblrs are created every day and there are about 100,000 in existence so far (with more than 200 dedicated to Justin Bieber alone). Some change it up slightly, opting to place "effyeah" or "fyeah" at the front of the URL.

Not only has this trend changed the way users access tumblr, but it has extended beyond the tumblr realm. Newspapers and magazines have caught on to the trend, mentioning them and occasionally adapting the tumblr jargon. The earlier forms of media, such as newsprint and cable news, aren't always able to keep up with the fastpace communication of the world wide web, and so they cannot ignore what happens on twitter and on tumblr.

A prime example is the fact that political satirists, such as Jon Stewart, mention open-source networks weekly (such as here or here). Occasionally he is more subtle, such as when he used the "dramatic chipmunk" to demonstrate apprehension of SOPA. (And guess what? Because Jon Stewart so often mentions tumblr, he has his own FY blog. Yes, indeed.)

All of this blogging with a creation of trends and language complicates how we as humans communicate and comprehend. And then there is the issue of worlds intersecting -- should what happens on tumblr stay on tumblr, or is it/ should it be yet another place to spawn creativity that is/ should be completely accessible to all?

Kastle: The Pros of Facebook Timeline

I got the Facebook timeline right after it started spreading onto everyone's profile pages. I really enjoyed having two pictures on my profile, it gave me a lot of options. I didn't however, enjoy all the ads integrated on my profile page. There are lots of pros and cons, and there have been many posts and complaints about this new layout. But i praise this new layout (after i added an add-on from Firefox to take off the ads from my profile). This website outlines some of the big pros and cons of the timeline design. What do you guys think of the new timeline? How has Facebook's integration of more technical images shown through within the last year or so?

Need an Idea for a Holiday Decoration

Ana Banana

So I hope everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend but just to let you guys know that Pinterest is a great site if you need ideas on how to decorate or fun cool ideas that are holiday themed. I personally didn't use any of the great ideas that were on Pinterest for Memorial day but i know ill be using it for 4th of July. And if you need any great ideas on basically anything this Pinner named LuxeFinds has SOOOO many boards and ideas to look at. Here are some of the ideas that were being posted on:

Kastle: Google+ vs. Facebook

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2012/01/21/facebook-vs-google-whats-best-social-network/ 

This website gives a good overview of the differences between Google+ and Facebook. They say that "With more than 800 million users, including 150 million in the U.S., Facebook is a must-have for connecting online. With a "mere" 90 million users so far, Google+ can't be a replacement for Facebook. But with great design and unique features, it makes a good addition. In fact, in a lot of ways Google+ is better. "



So which do you prefer? Google+ or Facebook? What is the difference in these two augmented realities?

Ally: Oh the distractions in Twitter world.

Okay, I know that this is not going to have any fun links, or silly videos, or entertaining photos. All text. So if you don't like reading random thoughts, stop NOW. I don't want to bore you to death and then hear you complain about it later. Anyways, here I am trying to find visually appealing or mind-blowing information on Twitter for you all, but instead, I get distracted by the one, the only, Twitter. Isn't that just the most ironic thing you have ever heard? Seriously. I just spent the last hour trying to find information but I spent about half of it simply clicking through twitter, looking at photos, stalking celebs, you know, the usual. Oh Twitter, you sneaky little SOB. I see you. I see what you did there.



Now for those of you who read through that completely random post, here are some interesting stats for you to read over. Does it apply to you, or someone you know? It's interesting.

Ally: Twitter Movie

Okay. We all know that every single thing in this world will get made fun of. Especially extremely popular things such as celebrities, movies, artists, and yes, social media sites. I simply typed in "Twitter" into the search bar on youtube hoping to come across some real gems. Let me tell you.... I sure did. Better yet, I'll show you. Here were some of my favorites....

Twitter Movie:

Twouble with Twitters:

Celebrity Twitter Overkill: 

Now this one isn't necessarily making fun of Twitter, considering it is made by the company, but it is still hilarious.... to me. 

Kastle: Facebook's mission statement

What do you guy's think of Facebook's mission statement? Does it live up to these expectations? Or does it damage your expectations? I think this mission statement clearly expresses what it wants, and shows that through everything you can do and accomplish through Facebook. 

Kastle: 7 Political Trends

Political trends have been catching onto the effect Facebook can have. So now they're trying it out:

Congress on Facebook

Members of Congress have taken to Facebook to engage with and enhance their interactions with constituents, by livestreaming and posting videos, sharing photos, andconducting tele-town halls to communicate with voters. Both Republicans and Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives have even held contests to encourage members to employ Facebook and other social networking sites to grow their followers and fan base.

Today, House members must have two Facebook pages — one Facebook page as an elected official, and one political page that represents their campaign efforts. The bifurcation can cause branding and communication challenges for constituents, so look for efforts to change the chamber’s policy.

Congressional Ads

Once the House approved the use of Facebook ads by its members, interaction between lawmakers and constituents has grown by more than 300 percent, according to a study byiConstituent, a firm that works with more than 90 congressional offices on ad campaigns.

Look for more congressional offices to follow the lead of Rep. Gregg Harper (R-Miss.), who uses Facebook ads to grow his fan base and incite action as specific pieces of legislation move through Congress.

Sponsored Stories

In 2011, GOP presidential contenders, including former candidate and former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, were already testing variations of sponsored stories. Now that sponsored stories will start appearing in news feeds early next year, the strong click-through rates by virtue of more targeted placement among fans receptive to the content will be that much more appealing to a broader spectrum of politicians.

Tabs and Tools

Campaigns have already started to customize Facebook tabs and tools and adapt them to their specific needs. For example, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney’s digital media director told us about a photo-uploading tool his team developed, and its decision to stream major events via its LiveStream and the YouTube tab on Facebook.

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich’s (R-Ga.) team created Wayin Newt and Wayin debates tabs on his page, and his page also features a Ustream tab for event coverage. Look for campaigns to push the envelope in terms of using new and existing applications to get the most from Facebook.

Streaming Video

Republican presidential candidates, such as Pawlenty, turned to Facebook to not only announce their campaigns, but also to hold town halls. Facebook has live-streamed events with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former President George W. Bush, executives from Davos, and other guests. Facebook even hosted a town hall with President Barack Obama at its California headquarters.

Voters can expect candidates to leverage Facebook to stream official events as the political season heats up in 2012. Streaming events is also a way to bypass the media filter and launch a dialogue between candidates and voter on Facebook.

Timeline

Facebook’s timeline feature is a powerful visual expression of an individual’s history. Our blog has addressed how businesses and brands could employ timeline on its pages once the feature becomes available to this audience.

That prompted us to consider whether timeline would benefit an elected official or a candidate. Would support for a past bill or piece of legislation come back to haunt a lawmaker in a campaign? In the end, campaigns should use whatever tool or resource makes sense, and that means using the timeline feature if and when it’s ever available to politicians’ pages. Controlling the message is core to any campaign, and that mantra would just be extended to a candidate’s Facebook presence.

Applications

As e-readers and new technologies become ubiquitous, politicians are adapting their message to these platforms.

The U.S. Senate only named Facebook as an approved technology just over one year ago. As Senate offices become used to Facebook, expect senators to leverage the platform in different ways. Some offices have already started; our sister blog, SocialTimes, covered theiPhone app launched by Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga).

The general public is starting to turn to Facebook to express their views during major events on the political calendar, making the platform one indicator of the health of a candidacy or campaign. Our coverage of the GOP presidential primary debates has cited news feed comments that give a sense of who won the debate, for example.

Finally, look for new Facebook mobile applications as the race heats up in 2012.

What do you think of these trends? Do you see other Facebook political trends in 2012?

Kastle: Social Gestures, a new trend on Facebook

On http://www.cnn.com/2011/12/19/tech/innovation/top-tech-trends-2012/index.html they discuss the top tech trends for 2012. #2 was directed towards Facebook:  Social gestures

In the social media realm, social gestures appear to be the leading trend of 2012. Launched by Facebook in September, this so-called "frictionless sharing" functionality removes the need to click a button to share media with your friends. Instead, everything you listen to, read or watch is automatically posted to your profile once you approve the relevant app.

If you've seen apps such as Spotify or Social Reader in your Facebook news feed, you're already aware of these features.

The trend makes sense for social networks: With 800 million people already on Facebook, its growth is bound to slow. But if sharing becomes automatic, the volume of content on Facebook will grow at an accelerated pace. There's a big problem, however: Users may be "creeped out" by all this automated sharing of their Web activity and grow suspicious of the apps using it.

What do you think of this growing trend? Is it a good or bad thing? Personally for me, i think that it's the start of something that could potentially go very wrong. Soon none of us will have any personal privacy in our life anymore if we keep connecting to Facebook. But i'm still willing to wait and see how far Facebook will go with it. 

Kastle: Facebook reaches 1 billion in April 2012

According to this website, Facebook went to 1 billion in April 2012. It's truly amazing how much Facebook has grown although many people complain about it and say it's a waste of time and people go on it so often. But the reality is that Facebook is continuing to grow in more ways than we know, including in the money area. Facebook is worth a lot of money. Facebook has gotten so many contradicting opinions and disses on the website and how it affects so many different areas of our lives. But Facebook is a part of us now, whether we like it or not. What is your opinion of Facebook? How has it affected us?

Pinterest has rules and see how fast it grew

Ana Banana

So when I first started to be a pinner I never saw these rules... well I dont know who did these but they make sense if they could have had these when you first sign up on to Pinterest. And im also amazed how fast Pinterest grew and big of a craze it is.

Kastle: Connecting with those far away

On this website 88% say that the internet brings people closer together like via Facebook and other Social networking sites. I've read many instances where Facebook is a great way to keep connected with people and their daily lives even if they're far away. Heck, i live an hour and a half away from my family, and my mom is on my Facebook every day to see what I've been doing lately. I have a pen pal in Europe, England to be exact and now i can keep up on her daily life. Most people have a Facebook now, so it's one of the best ways to find people. Keeping connected is a very important thing, as long as you use it wisely and don't overdo it. Who do you connect with that lives far away from you?

Pinterest and False Hopes

Ana Banana

So Hilarious!! This is exactly how I feel! I have found many recipes and other DIY stuff and out of those boards I have only done maybe like 5 things.

Kastle: Not Facebooking your problems

I just think this picture is hilarious, and also highlights an important point. Most people don't want to hear about your complaining, and your whining through Facebook. It's your problem, not ours. 

Kastle: How Facebook Saved their Life

I've been researching and seeing some articles about how Facebook saved their life, or someone who is close to them. In this article, this mother and son in this picture shared that Facebook helped diagnose a rare disease that her doctors initially missed that saved her son's life. It's such an incredible story. In another article: How Facebook saved my baby the same thing helped another mother find her son the right diagnosis. In another article: Saving a stranger's life this man clicked on a link on Facebook that led him to giving up his bone marrow to save a stranger's life. If he hadn't seen that on Facebook, the man would probably not be around still. All these heartwarming stories prove that although Facebook has had lots of negative feedback, there is still some good that comes out of having Facebook. Do you know anyone or have you experienced Facebook impacting your life in a positive way? How is this alternate universe any different from the reality we live in? Reality didn't save these people, the alternate reality did. 

Have you already pinned that?

Ana Banana

So I don't know how easy it is now to sign up for Pinterest, but when I first started you could ask for a request to get on Pinterest, which means that you couldn't officially get on Pinterest and start your boards or if you had a friend that was already a pinner then she could send a request for you and it basically would speed up the process so you could become an official pinner. So when I was waiting for my chance to have my own boards, I would see so many things that I liked/loved and didn't know what to do, so I just started to copy and paste it and save them in folders on my computer. but this picture that I found is so funny because you do think these things when you are going to post but don't know if you have already pinned...

Evolution of Social Media

Ana Banana

Found something else that looked hilarious!

People Who Use Pinterest

Ana Banana

Well when I first started Pinterest I definitely felt like the last post that I just did. But then a couple of months later I saw more people posting things that were related to weddings. So I started to re-pin things. For the rest of you Pinners, do you guys have a Wedding Board?

Pin Everything!

Ana Banana

This is exactly how it happened for me! lol

Kastle: Babies can be Facebook addicts from a very young age :)

Kastle: Is Facebook positive?

In www.positivelypresent.com this guy tells us the good about Facebook since this website is all about positivity anyway :P
             The Good

• Connecting with those who live far away. In the society we live in today, our relatives aren't a mere stone's throw away. They could be in different states, different countries, and sites like Facebook provide a great way to keep in touch with loved ones who are far away. Of course, there is always email too, but there's something about Facebook that allows for ultimate understanding of what's going on in someone's life. The pictures, the status updates, the postings all render a better picture of what's going on. For this reason, Facebook really is an amazing tool when it comes to keeping in touch. 
• More social interaction. For those who are less than super-social (um, like me), Facebook and other social media sites provide a great way to integrate more social interaction in their lives. Social interaction is key for human happiness; after all, we're designed to be social creatures. So, for those not as keen on the face-to-face stuff, Facebook provides an alternative way to get a daily dose of being social. And, for those who are super busy, Facebook is a great way to add some social interaction to a day that might otherwise not allow for it. 
• Keeping up-to-date on friends' lives. You might live only a few blocks away from your best friend, but life can get pretty hectic sometimes and it can be really hard to keep track of it all. Facebook allows you to stay up-to-date on whatever's going on with your besties without having to talk to them or see them every single day. Useful? Yes. Absolutely necessary? Probably not. While it might be nice to know that your best bud just saw an awesome concert last night, it's probably not a vital piece of information. That being said, it can still be a good way to keep current on what's going on with those you care about. 
• Opportunity to meet new people. Social networks like Facebook provide opportunities for you and others to meet new people, which can be a really great thing. By making new connections, you're not only being the social creature you've been designed to be, but you're also broadening your horizons and (hopefully) learning new things about yourself and the world. Meeting new people can be incredibly difficult, even if you're an extremely outgoing person, and Facebook is a great way to make connections -- and to do so with a little more background information about the person. You instantly have an opportunity to see what you have in common and to understand that person on another (albeit potentially superficial) level, making Facebook a great tool for making friends.  
• Ability to create large social network. There are plenty of people you probably would never call up and have a chat with, but you find them situated nicely among you friends on Facebook. This is one of the great beauties of Facebook; you can create a large social network without having to put in tons of face (or phone) time. Not only does this save a ton of time, but it also allows you to stay in touch with people who may be able to help you in the future. No matter what your needs might be -- a used couch, a job change, or a last minute idea -- if you have a large enough network on Facebook, there's probably someone who can help you out. Regardless of your age or interests, Facebook is an excellent networking tool. 
• Lots of great resources and information. Of course, you can always find information online, but sometimes there is information out there that you might not even know you are looking for and, on Facebook, it may present itself to you. On Facebook, you keep in touch with your friends and family and they might post some information or links that really interest you -- information you might otherwise have been unaware of. And it's all there, all in one spot, a tool to learn not only more about your friends and family, but also about the world of your social network. You can gain great understanding of those you surround yourself with (and, indirectly, of yourself) if you take a look at what's being posted on Facebook. 

Do you think of positive as more of positive or negative? What are your thoughts on it??

Kastle: POKE!

A lot of the things we do on Facebook we would never do in real life unless you wanna be REALLY annoying. :)

Kastle: Facebook creating jobs

The first positive aspect that Facebook has made it creating lots of jobs and boosting the economy, even in Europe. This article talks about the study done on the amount of jobs created and how Facebook has gotten there. Although Ana's previous post argues that people can be fired by use of social networking sites, and it's affected the workplace, Facebook also creates jobs. Many many jobs. They say that 182,000 new jobs have been created by businesses in the U.S. making apps specifically for Facebook. That is quite amazing what one website can do to make a difference in creating jobs for people who need it.

Social Media Sites at Work = Getting Fired?

Ana Banana

Are people that hooked up on all of these social media sites that they seriously can't just wait to go home and check these sites out. They rather risk their jobs and essentially screw themselves over a social media site. Well I saw this pin on Pinterest and it tells you different statistics and things on how a social media site can get you fired. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Kastle: Facebook.....

Kastle: Downsides to Facebook

I have now spent 2 weeks talking about the negative aspects of Facebook, and how it affects society and other forms of media as well. This website really outlines the most important downsides to Facebook networking, or really any social network in general. Facebook is an alternate universe with all it's nick nacks and special tools that make it it's own. Facebook still has troubles, worries, happiness, sadness, and all the emotions expressed in this universe. Facebook has it's problems, it's cracks that shows that it's not always a perfect little universe. Even it's your personal bubble, your bubble (your whole self) can get popped and ruined like in reality. What do YOU not like about Facebook? Do you have other alternate universes besides Facebook?

Kastle: Spotify

I have recently come upon this music player that connects with Facebook. Their slogan is "All the music, all the time" which proves to be very true. It has a very similar layout to Itunes, and with the free version of Spotify you can look up literally ANY song, and add it to your playlist. You can have multiple playlists if you like. But the catch is it's not free music, you can just listen to it. You can't transfer any songs over to your Itunes. Now this is a fun music site to use to listen to music, but there are some downsides. First, you have to listen to some ads after listening on Spotify for awhile before going back to your current song. Everyone can see what you're listening to through Facebook. It posts on Facebook whenever you're listening to a different song and shows how many times you've played each song. It's quite ridiculous in that regard, although on the main page of their website they claim, "Thanks to Spotify and Facebook, you can see and hear what your friends are listening to – just hit play on any music post. You can also share music with a flick of the wrist. Send it straight to your friends, or post tracks on social networks. It's how music should be." Personally i think this is NOT how music should be. Yes sharing is caring, but too much sharing is too much of an invasion of personal space. I would personally like my music choices to just be shared with myself. This augmented reality of Facebook keeps continuing to show invasion of privacy, and LOTS of sharing. In this website, it lists the downsides to Spotify, and also compares it to using it on your Iphone. They also bring up an important question: Do you think Spotify can replace your Ipod? Will soon everyone be using Spotify and we will get to see what everyone listens to? Is this an invasion of privacy?

Megan: HTML

It was only a few years ago when the thought of someone sitting behind a computer, constantly on the internet and fiddling with HTML, would be considered a bit ridiculous and geeky.

Nowadays it's the norm. Most high school and college students are extremely familiar with the processes of the world wide web. We at WWU cannot survive one quarter of courses without an understanding of blackboard and frequent access to the internet. They are a part of every day, if not every hour, of our lives. The generations who didn't grow up with computers (perhaps the prime example of the extreme growth of technology) have a harder time following and keeping up with all the intricacies involved in something as simple as blogging (simple to us, anyway).

Tumblr is not the only demonstration of our vast knowledge of technology; many blogging sites allow a great deal of personalization. Tumblr, myspace and livejournal give the user a great deal of freedom when it comes to designing the page(s). A user can design a blog in a short amount of time and reveal a lot about him or herself that way. Twitter and facebook are more restrictive; you can change profile photos and cover photos and backgrounds, but the template remains in place. With the latter sites, many users will want their blogs to look a certain way. They will scour the internet in search of templates (codes that dictate the presentation of a blog), and they can either take that template and use it as is, edit it and change anything from dimensions to colors, or learn from it and create an entirely new template.

In my own experience, I have learned quite a bit from the internet. I've been a part of the web for about eight years, and have since learned about graphic design and HTML. I only know the basics, but of what I know it all seems simple and similar to another language. I know this because if I were to right click this very blog and open the page source, I could understand a lot of the coding; my mother however would think I had stomped on my keyboard.

I ask this: Does personalization improve blog use? Is a self-designed blog such as tumblr more fun to use or does it have more appeal than facebook? Is it a good or bad thing that there are many like me who consider HTML another familiar language?

Guys Use Pinterest Too

Ana Banana

So if you thought that Pinterest was only for girls, well you are wrong! Many guys use Pinterest. So here are some "manly" Pinterest boards that you can follow and a small discription of what these guys like to pin on their boards. 

Tristan Walker – BizDev at Foursquare with great boards for books and technology

Adam Walker – FlyCanvas founder and SoCal surfer

Scott Monty – Global head of social media for Ford Motor Company curates for #BroPin and shares a variety of very classy boards, including Dress to Impress and Royal Warrant Holders

Evan Sharp – Pinterest cofounder with boards for anything from Crazy Star Trek Shit to Nuclear Beauty

Rich Rogerson – Newcastle graphic designer with boards for comics and World War II posters

Ben Golder – Fullbright Fellow in Spain with a penchant for architecture and robotics

Warren Quirk – Vancouverite with cool automotive boards

Justin Blumer – Wisconsin student with an eye for masculine design

Kastle: Accept your friend request from Jesus?

Churches seem to be finding more ways to incorporate Facebook as a way of getting more people involved in the church, and even to catch a young teenager's attention. In this article about creative ways that churches are using Facebook, they say that "According to the Bible, when Jesus spoke, he often attracted large crowds. Churches and religious organizations of all denominations now have a captive, potential audience approaching 1 billion people on Facebook. Talk about a sermon on the mount!

Churches that can adapt to the most popular current trends, including the use of social media as marketing tool, stand to spread their messages far and wide. If there was once a taboo around using secular techniques to attract an audience, these concerns appear to be less of an issue today." So it's not just about reaching out to people, they're also using it as a marketing tool and creating pages for people to "like" and find information about the hours, and upcoming events going on in your own church. Even using Facebook to vote your favorite individuals or groups within the church! But it seems to getting the word out a lot faster then the past. Is a church's involvement in Facebook good or bad?

Instagram Junkie

Ana Banana


So as I have said before, I am usually always late on the new technology website things. So I have noticed that a lot of people are using this new Instagram thing. And on Pinterest I just found a picture thing that is pretty funny that lets you know, How to spot a Instagram Junkie. 

Alison: Long Distance Made Possible

Long distance relationships can be a challenge. At least they’re not impossible to maintain like they used to be before the internet was invented. To say that our generation is privileged to have technology is well beyond an understatement.
There are many things that I am thankful for, Skype being one of them. Of all the online forms of social networking, nothing beats being able to see, hear, and talk to my significant other when he is half way across the globe. Appreciate the resources that are obtainable while you enjoy your loved ones.
What are you thankful for?

Ally: Need Job?

So apparently, if you are in need of a job, you can search through Twitter! Even though this economy isn't allowing for us all to get jobs, I guess there are enough out there that they have gotten to the point of posting it to Twitter with those lovely hashtags I posted about a couple days ago. Just go here. Type in what you are wanting to do in your profession and search away! I haven't played too much with it, but I am sure you can find some, um, interesting things out there. Enjoy!

Alison: Skyping into the Future?

I just finished talking to a friend via Skype who is in Italy! As long as both ends have a decent internet connect, then there isn't a problem with lagging images nor distorted sound. It's pretty awesome seeing someone in real-time when the sun is going down there and the sun is up over here in Bellingham. The time difference becomes more of a reality when you say 'goodnight' to a person during your personal afternoon. Other parts of the world are ahead of us- it's almost like Italy is living in the future! Hard to wrap my mind around the fact that it's Thursday somewhere while we're still trying to survive our Wednesday.
Anyway, whatever day it is for you right now, enjoy it!

Kastle: Addicted to Your profile

We all have one person who is always commenting and liking everything we post on Facebook. Haha. Yet another way that people can annoy us.

Kastle:The Reality of Facebook

My daily ritual of Facebook is something like that. Except every morning i also play my 2 Facebook games and use up all my energy :) If you have a Facebook, you would understand exactly what this little list is talking about. We all have our own rituals for Facebook. What's yours? Is it bad to be in the habit of going on Facebook often to see what your friends are up to? Most of us want people to get on Facebook to like our status's and looking through our newest photos. But why? Have we just become sucked into this augmented reality as a willing participant? All my life i wanted a Facebook but my parents never let me because of all the complaints and privacy concerns about it. I didn't get one until i was 18, which was about a year ago. Then i just became one of millions of people who had one. Conforming to the social standard. After a while, it wasn't so exciting to have anymore. I just had one because everyone else had one.

Megan: So far, so good!

{C&P from my tumblr post:}

I initiated a survey through my personal blog last night (I have more followers there, and I can circulate it better) and I already have 35 responses! For the most part, people seem to spend a lot of time on tumblr and they’re pretty happy with their experience here.

I think I’m also going to ask a few people unfamiliar with tumblr to tell me what kind of impression they get from the site, what they think of it and whatnot. That may be more difficult to do but it would better help me to understand the impression tumblr makes.

Part of me wonders if the anonymity is what makes tumblr feel so spectacular to people; the anonymous option keeps identities secretive and you don’t have to reveal your personal information when you’re making the blog, and the blog can contain absolutely anything. There’s a lot of freedom to it, freedom that doesn’t exist in reality. That is why tumblr can be argued to be an augmented reality. It is a place where you can be who you want to be. You can be the person who supports others who have low self esteem; you can be the person who is artistic with graphics/edits; you can be the person who is surrounded by people who understand your love of a fandom and look to you for your insight.

The fact that so many people spend time here and depend on their blog is only further proof that we are attempting to live better lives vicariously through the text and images on a blog.

If any of you would like to help me with the latter portion (an "outsider" view of tumblr), that would be great!!