Social networking is one of the greatest Web 2.0 tools ever invented. It all started when I got a Xanga account a few years ago. I used it as a blog and eventually got followers and created a profile. I even got to customize the layout and add graphic elements on my page. It was exciting for me. I tried to get all my friends to sign up for an account so we could all have Xanga sites and comment on each other's. I ended up with a few friends who had it, but no one really used it as often as I did. I've always loved being online and browsing websites, so the idea of having my own website was unbelievable to me! Eventually MySpace came along, and then the one and only...Facebook! Now, all my friends had Facebook accounts. Now, my wish of having friends together on a social networking site finally came true.
I actually have accounts to numerous social networking sites, but only a few of them I use regularly. Tagged, hi5, and My Yearbook are a few other ones I use besides Facebook and MySpace. Some words, terms, and phrases have become well-known and frequently used just because of social networking sites. MySpace users, can you define the top 8 (which can now be known as the top any number)? Does the word bulletin have a new meaning? Do you think of the name Tom differently? Facebook users, do you have a hard time distinguishing between the message board with which you write your friends and that structure you hang your pictures on at home? :) Twitter even has its own vocabulary posted right on the website. It's kind of amazing to think that just a few years ago these terms (or at least the new meanings of them) didn't even exist and now they're known nationwide.
Another interesting thing about social networking sites was mentioned in the book. It's a term referred to as the Kevin Bacon effect. It may be more commonly known as six degrees of separation. It seems like I have a friend who knows somebody who knows somebody who dates my cousin...or something like that. It's weird to see who is mutual friends with who. My best friend from high school is mutual friends with an old co-worker from the other side of the state. I am from a small, mostly rural region, though; I wonder if the same concept is as prevalent in more urban areas.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Week 1: From a family email address to my own personal websites
Hello, everyone! This looks like a very fun class; I'm excited to learn more about social media. What does everyone think of the "bible"? :) Looks thick, but full of information!
Social media is a term I learned probably within the past year, and after first learning about it, I realized that it was something I took part in every single day. In fact, I am doing so right now. I first experienced dial-up (remember that?) internet when I was probably in the sixth grade. My whole family of five had one email address that we all shared, and I used it to talk to my friends, even though I had just seen them in school. I was quite amazed by the internet, and ever since then, I've been an internet addict. Eventually I got my own email address, which I started to refer to as an "addy," especially when I was in chat rooms. I am not really sure why; I think it was because everyone else did. I quickly learned other new terms and acronyms like LOL and BRB among many others. I often had to ask someone else what the terms meant. Kids have it easy these days; they can use an online internet slang translator, which I still sometimes have to use even after ten whole years.
I consider myself lucky to have watched the interent grow from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0. It used to be slow and very limited. Now I can spend hours browsing all sorts of different sites. I also like that I am able to leave my own comments and opinions. I was always taught to never give out information over the internet, so I often feel like a different person when I'm on certain websites. I make up a nickname and different location in chat rooms and other sites that don't have a private setting. Social media really is a phenomenal thing. One of the things I look forward to most in this class is learning more about the tools that I have never used. I'm also looking forward to learning about RSS feeds because it would save me time to be able to have one. I want to know how to use them well and how they work.
Social media is a term I learned probably within the past year, and after first learning about it, I realized that it was something I took part in every single day. In fact, I am doing so right now. I first experienced dial-up (remember that?) internet when I was probably in the sixth grade. My whole family of five had one email address that we all shared, and I used it to talk to my friends, even though I had just seen them in school. I was quite amazed by the internet, and ever since then, I've been an internet addict. Eventually I got my own email address, which I started to refer to as an "addy," especially when I was in chat rooms. I am not really sure why; I think it was because everyone else did. I quickly learned other new terms and acronyms like LOL and BRB among many others. I often had to ask someone else what the terms meant. Kids have it easy these days; they can use an online internet slang translator, which I still sometimes have to use even after ten whole years.
I consider myself lucky to have watched the interent grow from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0. It used to be slow and very limited. Now I can spend hours browsing all sorts of different sites. I also like that I am able to leave my own comments and opinions. I was always taught to never give out information over the internet, so I often feel like a different person when I'm on certain websites. I make up a nickname and different location in chat rooms and other sites that don't have a private setting. Social media really is a phenomenal thing. One of the things I look forward to most in this class is learning more about the tools that I have never used. I'm also looking forward to learning about RSS feeds because it would save me time to be able to have one. I want to know how to use them well and how they work.
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