Are Social Networkers trapped in a superfical world?
Have we become self-obsessed/absorbed in Social Networking Sites that we have forgotten/choose not to look at the problems in society?
Are SNS’s a necessary/unecessary distraction from world events?
Do we feel the need to be closer to our friends at this time due to the type of society we live in?
Or has the social movement of online Social Networking made us forget the real world, thus becoming superficial and just plain shallow?
With reference to Richard Macmanus and Joshua Porter, are we now ‘designing more for machines than people’?
Even the author of the clip chooses to escape through lonelygirl15 !
Social networking – A haven for stalkers or employers?
There has been growing concern about facebook and other social networking sites regarding the access of an individual’s personal information by strangers. Reports have stated that some people have recieved anonymous phone calls by stalkers, thus calling into question issues of individual privacy. The collaborative web facilitated by sophisticated publishing language has created a virtual world where anyone can easily upload content to the web. However, this free and liberating cyberspace has become so liberating it seems, that people are no longer being stringent with their private details. We are constantly reassured about secure websites and ‘phishing filters’ but yet many consumers continue to buy products from the internet with credit cards or using online bank accounts.
Also organisations and employers are using such SNS’s to scope out potential employees prior to offering interviews or work. Social Networking Sites are now becoming part of the recruitment and selection process, determining whether applicants actually meet the shortlisting criteria!
Social networking, which began offline through face to face contact, has since transcended from the private sphere to an online public sphere through sites such as Facebook, Myspace etc and is now coming back full circle into the private sphere again because how you present yourself on such sites or through your blog could have a dramatic impact on your career. The way that you act or “perform” online could in fact cost you that promotion or even lose you future employment.
A Birthday Post
Another day older, so why haven’t I taken the day off?…
Well as I see it , birthdays come and go…there’ll be another one next year! I’ve decided to postpone my celebrations for a month until I’ve finished my MA to really celebrate and sleep off a 2 day hang over – now thats dedication and commitment to studying right??!
So as I’m here working out essay and dissertation plans, it struck me…I should write a post to commemorate this day, especially as i’m not out shopping or preparing for a wild evening…
Many may call me an obsessed student, crazy, or possibly even down right foolish, – however, I have my reasons and maybe i need to share these with ya’ll!
Time is of the essence when you lead a busy life…
working 2 part time jobs,
running a small business,
studying full time.
Each have their individual and full-on workloads, which I could go into but won’t bore you at this time!
Lets just say that finding time to:
- Film and edit a short pre-title sequence (when access to the multimedia suite is available!) whilst reading and researching to write a corresponding essay
- Update a blog with reflective ’stuff’ whilst reading to research and write a corresponding essay (as well as keeping abreast with weekly/bi-weekly written tasks)
- Conduct research (with primary school aged children, – managing the in-flux-nature/saga’s associated with this particular age group!), and then locate theories and write a dissertation (to incorporate/signify a whole year of study in a sophisticated manner!)
- Manage a youth club for young people aged 13 – 19 yrs (with all of the trials and tribulations associated!)
- Manage an out of school programme for children aged 4 – 11 yrs (with staff shortages, staff training, etc.)
- Plan/contibute (understandably) to management meetings/conferences
- Small Businsess administration (Tax/PAYE submissions, reply to client correspondence- phone/letter/email/fax)
- Fundraise (attempting to meet 3 funding application deadlines!)
- Deal with a dodgy Ball Cock (Ahem …in the toilet thank you!)
- Deal with a leaking boiler (can’t get hold of my plumber at all, hmm – I could phone other plumbers, but my plumber has better call out rates!)
….Sheesh, thats a lot to sort out don’t you think?!
Okay…sorry…I went there and told you what I said wouldn’t…
so here I am in front of the computer screen…attempting to multi-task!
On this note, I want to use this post to thank my family, god-children and friends for my cards, presents, birthday texts and phone calls as well as the ongoing support that you have all given/shown me over the years (feels like an academy award moment!)
Formal studies will soon be over and I will be free and devoid of academic stress!
Will my work ethic will ever change?…I doubt it, to get what you want out of life, you need to work hard and then play hard – Thanks for your patience and thanks for the space!
xx
Wikis – Wicked or Wack?
What are Wikis and how useful are they?
Firstly, Wikis are open source software applications which allow for ‘open editing’ enabling users to edit content written by other users, such like Wikipedia.
The concept of Wikis is both a liberating and exciting chapter in the read/write approach of user generated content, revealing the web to be a democratic space where ‘non technical’ authors march to the keyboards to exhibit their new found agency. However, there are downsides to this collaborative approach in making meaning, such as the posting of unreliable information and the deleting of another author’s contribution in the spirit of content modification. The question becomes then, how do these issues play out in social communities established through Wikis? Are silent hierarchies created between individual user/authors, or do these acts launch a series of knowledge wars?
In the context of education, Wikis seem to be a positive resource for educators and an accessible space for group work between students. Wikis can enable tutors to keep track of both the process and progress of their students’ group projects as well as add pointers, guidance and feedback or simply offer praise.
For people like me discovering the second generation internet through web 2.0, wikispaces has a great tour which shows the functionality of wikis and just how easy they are to create.
Time to Chill
Okay, so i’ve been hard at it, but there’s still a lot of things to do, particularly essays to write…
I’m about to take a minute just to chill and listen to some mellow musaq…
Blog Design
Designing how you want your blog to look can be an important decision, do you want it to say something about yourself and therefore represent an aspect of your character? Should your decision be based on fumctionality in order to house all the side bar widgets which may serve you well over time? Or should your design be based on simplicity, ease of use just to get your message across?
When deliberating these choices, I opted for all three! The design had to be sleek, not over the top, but aesthetically pleasing with a choice of widgets which would serve future entries but easy to use when posting entries and uploading images.
However, a number of functions are missing, which, had I’d designed the template would have included a visitor count, extended side bar widgets so as to post information/pictures in the vast, redundant space on either side of the blog and a feed which sends responses to replies left by others so as to keep the narrative continuous rather than flipping from blog to blog. Of course, I would need to have skills in using Javascript, HTML or even XHTML and other internet languages, which are currently non existent within my repertoire of knowledge!
When using templates, many bloggers probably experiment with initial designs so as to view the blog’s style, either by adding short posts or small pieces of information prior to adding a substantial entry. Decisions can then be made as to what needs to be added or discarded. Some templates are just too colourful, claustrophobic in their design or limited in what they offer. Others are simply “just not right” for who you are or what you want to convey.
Blog designs are an important feature when setting a path for communication, which is why the visual design chosen for this blog incoporates a cool header as the most salient feature to signify Digital Play. All posts incorporate either text, images and videos with hyertextual depth, thus serving as inter-textual references to highlight specific points. The semiotic text of this design provides an ‘explicit trajectory’ for readers to understand the information posted and establish meaning. However choice is afforded to the reader as to which post to read first, therefore the meaning text becomes unilateral so that readers are not confined to the linear order of the entries but can choose between mundane narratives and reflective narratives as well as themed or topical pages of interest.
