I know that Global Warming is talked about everywhere, but isn’t it sad that we will kill the planet before it kills itself.
You may be like me and sometimes wonder why you do things to help the planet because it doesn’t seem to change anything. However, if everyone changes at least one thing they do to help the environment… then that will have an impact.
What caught my attention was that there is so much about cyber-space that I did not even know about. For example, Haraway’s cyborg and how there is this evolution of female values and ideals that relate directly back to cyber-space. This has empowered me to not “shy” away from new technologies. I now want to learn how things work and know that I do not have to live up to that “feminine ideology”, I think women are people too and that they have the responsibility of a human being not as the “care giver”, “house wife”.
Another area that caught my eye was that there is so much to the Internet that I don’t even know. I think I am a little naive when it comes to what is on the Internet and the new tools that are available on there. I think by being forced to blog, now I know how to do it and now what it is about; therefore, when people talk about it I know what it is. Among other areas of the net such as second life and MUD’s.
I also will take with me a different view of sociology, and how people communicate and live their lives in cyber-space.
When thinking about how my own family has changed because of the internet use…it is not as drastic as those pictures pointed out today.
Changes in my immediate family are largely through my sister and her Webkinz addiction, where she will go on regardless if she has friends over or not. With her being on the computer, it effects the relationship I have with her, because I cannot relate to Webkinz. However, we can manage to find other things in common.
For my extended family, I think the Internet has kept us close together via sharing photos and chatting on MSN and emailing.
So overall, I do not think that the Internet has changed my family into a dis-functional one.
Hello,
When I was in Calgary on Monday and Tuesday, I noticed on the train that no one was talking every other person had headphones in their ears listening to music. This made me feel like an outcast because I didn’t have headphones in because I did not bring my nano on my trip to Calgary. This seems as though, people are conforming to rules that people do not talk on the train they just listen to music or read. It made me think that if this train were in cyberspace people would probably be more willing to talk, but I don’t understand why. I guess so their is not judgment involved however, I think that people would just judge other’s characters.
Anyways, back to my point, I think that people should learn to enjoy those around them because you can learn a lot for people and even a stranger. Sometimes that is the best advice…better than some lyrics.
Today I was going through potential articles for my paper and came across one entitled “Facebook acknowledges temporary glitch”. Ahh I read through it and on Tuesday (I believe July 31st), there was a glitch in the Facebook system that aloud free flowing private information onto the network; some messages were even sent to the wrong people.
After reading that I thought about how much information I actually have on my Facebook profile and messages that were sent. Luckily, I did not send any messages that day pertaining private information, however, I am sure there are people who did that could have caused a lot of grief for one temporary glitch. I think from now on if there is something important or private that I have to tell someone I am not going to do it through the Internet, because if it gets into the wrong hands there could possibly be embarrassment.
I think this article also made me realize how much I actually depend on the Internet to be working correctly and keeping my private information private.
Lastly, as a side note,there are some creeps out there. I think Facebook should have a nice way to tell someone that they have been rejected, so that you don’t have to keep clicking reject when they keep trying to add you.
When thinking about how fast this semester has went by it is just so crazy to think what we have learned in this short amount of time. At first, I will admit there I was wondering oh man what is this going to be like but now I think that it is kind of neat and interesting. I have learned so much and it has opened my eyes to a whole new world that I was oblivious to. I did not know that people live in other worlds (Second Life), which they can be themselves and be happy. However, I do not think that this class will change my use of the internet, I will remain a user who uses for the purpose of information.
I believe that from our experience today of online communities, that I would not want to be apart of them. I would not want to be “flamed out” or I would not want to have to deal with people that “flame out” other people. I think that people should be treated fairly until suggests otherwise. Even in the case where they are being deviant, they should be excluded or rejected rather than be “flamed out”, because being rejected and left out is (for me) more powerful than having someone take the time to write out nasty words to you. Although, I have never been in that situation where I had been deceived via an online community. It maybe that “flaming out” is like exclusion in reality… I don’t know and hope to never find out what it feels like to be “flamed out”.
Today we talked about the different kinds of research and the different methodologies for research.
First I have to say that when talking about qualitative vs. quantitative, I think that which direction you go depends on you research question and what you expect to get out of it. Some research topics cannot be done as good as others when doing qualitative and vice versa. This may also depend on the field of research that you are in, I am a Kinesiology major and there tends to be or that I have notice, more quantitative research. However, it depends on what you want out of your research.
My second point is about face to face vs. internet. I think that the point about medium or person is very important and deals with both. I am a social person who enjoys interacting with others, yet put me in an interview setting on the computer and I really don’t give a lot of information this is due to the medium. Both this methods also play the role of what your research question is and how long and how much you want to get out of your research. There is also the point that it depends on the people that you are dealing with. For example, if interview elderly people for their fear of falling, I would chose not to conduct my interview via the internet because they may not feel comfortable or have access to computer and/or internet use. Whereas, if I were to ask young adults about their physical activity level, I would chose to conduct the study via the internet.
I find research really interesting, I have only done one actual research report and it was a literature review, but it is so neat to find out interesting information and then be able to share it with others. In the class that I was in I also got Most Improved Presenter ahah… okay I am just a dork and excited about that ahah…. I think I should end this here.
Things are getting stressful… so here is something that I hope makes you laugh… I did 
Hello,
That podcast was interesting, short and sweet. I actually liked the music behind it. I can agree with many of the things Paul’s friends had said. My cellphone is my companion, it keeps me company by having people have contact with me. I can depend on it, for my alarm clock every morning or for a nap. It holds memories, text messages, voicemails and phone numbers. It even gives me the visual aspect, when people for me they come into contact by having their picture come up to say who is calling. It can give me space when I need, just by shutting it off or turning it to silent all. My cellphone comes with me everywhere, following me to school, shopping and comes as a partner to visit people. Sometimes my cellphone can interrupt a visit, which makes me feel bad and guilty. However, I can change this by having it sit in the car or at home and wait. It is also my personal alarm system, because 911 is just a phone call away and knowing that enables me to live a free life, by going for late night runs or be a hero in case of an emergencies. Sometimes, my cellphone has to get a makeover so that is when it gets an upgrade which is about every 2 years. When that happens it is like getting to know a new friend, different set up, different buttons. However, all it takes is some time and then we are like old friends. I am going to Florida and I think that even though this trip is to get away, I think that I will even pack it with me, so it can enjoy the vacation too.
This weekend, I wanted to see if I could avoid Facebook so that I could get some work done for school. I achieved the goal. I only checked it one last time friday and then did not check it until monday. I did not feel the urge to check it because I kept myself occupied with homework. This relates to the concept of keeping entertained, which I was. I did not even feel a sense of disconnection for the cyber world. This also gave me the idea that I don’t need all those social networks. So I decided to delete my myspace account, bebo, hi 5 and ringo and flixter accounts. I think just having Facebook ables me to not spread myself so thin so that I can concentrate on one and so many people have it so why would I need more than one form of networking. I got tired of repeating myself on all the different accounts.
I also personally like developing friendships in person rather than over the internet. This also goes for chatting, I would rather have a face to face conversation rather than via MSN. Even when talking on the phone conversations lack the 3rd component visual or nonverbal communication, which is important when trying to see if the person is trying to deceive you or how to interpret what they say. I guess I am kind of old fashion in that way or just prefer to look at people when they are talking.
Anyways, I just wanted to share and be proud of the fact that I avoided Facebook for the weekend 
PS I thought this was funny!
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