Jessica's Posts:
90's Child
I wholeheartedly agree with all of your comments from your
90's Kid blog post. This next quote stood out from the rest. Jessica states,
"Our cell phones have now become walking computers that inform us when
someone is trying to get in contact with us through many social media sites
like Facebook." People are always going on Facebook to see what's going on
in the virtual world around them instead of actually taking a look at their
surroundings. In the 90's we had to use a computer to connect to anybody or anything
online. Nowadays we can connect to any website or person any time of day
through our smartphone or tablet. I have no complaints with dial-up ever.
Dial-up is the driving force that sparked my interest in the online world.
Where would society be if dial-up never existed? Most people wouldn't know how
to use a computer, and people would actually have to talk with each other
through face-to-face interaction. AIM was by far one of the best ways to
communicate when the internet was new to us. Social media sites have changed
the people chat with each other. Now you can post information whenever you want
to instead of waiting for that person to go online so you communicate with
them.
Web 2.0
Web 2.0 is definitely headed in the right direction. As
Jessica mentioned, Web 2.0 definitely made the world wide web more personal.
Web 2.0 served as the gateway for allowing more people to interact with other
people online instantly. Sites and programs are constantly adding features
where you can make your experience totally unique. It's hard to think where Web
2.0 is heading at this point and time. Without Web 2.0, sites such as social
media sites and blogs wouldn't have taken off the way they have in the past
era. Who would want to use Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Tumblr if you
couldn't post your own content on there? It would be a dry and dull experience
for everyone. My first experience with Web 2.0 was with the introduction of
Myspace. With Myspace, you could make a custom layout where it would stand out
from everybody else's profiles. The only thing that was annoying about Myspace
was using the dial-up connection to use the website. If someone had user
generated content on their page, it would take forever to load their profile.
Without Web 2.0, Myspace wouldn't have been as popular as it was. With that
being said, it'll be interesting to see what Web 2.0 will be in the future.
Danger, Will Robinson!
Privacy will always be a major concern regardless of what
you're doing. With social media sites, people can access your information
whenever they want. Sure there's privacy settings in place, but what happens if
someone hacks into your account? By having direct access to your account,
someone can essentially do whatever they want to your account. Social media
isn't always like that. If that were the case, less and less people would stop
using the services all together. Social media has some positive effects as
well. A ton of companies rely on Facebook and Twitter for free advertising.
This is a great tool for any company who wants to get their name out there.
Jessica mentioned, "... younger generations...are always online or have
easy access to the Internet which makes advertising through these sites
key." If you know where and how to market your product, there's no way
that people won't at least hear about it. Anyone can use social media to
benefit them in the future. It's hard to draw the line whether social media has
more negative effects than it does positive effects. It ultimately comes down
to who you talk to. For the most part, people will say that you can't have one
without the other. One thing is for certain though, all aspects of social media
is here to stay.
Inspire Me!
This is the only blog post that I felt indifferent about.
Jessica mentioned how the videos inspired her. I'm glad that the videos
inspired you to make a better video. Some of the videos were good, but none of
them inspired me that much. I honestly felt that most of the students had
better experience shooting a video than I do. I have zero experience making a
short movie. Maybe that's the reason why I feel intimidated when I watch some
of the videos with better production values. I do agree with your statement
regarding the last self-portrait video. That video was done really well. That
video is much clearer than any of the other videos because the creator uses
objects to describe himself. Whenever you use objects in a video, it's easier
for people to relate with your main point because those objects are familiar.
That's a better idea to aim for instead of making an obscure video where you
confuse the viewer. All of the videos were different so that made them easier
to watch. If all the videos were trying to portray the same thing, it would've
been a chore to watch. The videos you chose had very little text because too
much text can hinder the experience of any video.
Lauren's Posts:
What We Have Learned to Know And Love
Lauren's title says it all. The internet is something that
has become a part of our daily lives for better or for worse. All of us grew up
in the 90's, and we know how slow dial-up was. It's amazing to see how far we
have come in terms of how the internet affected us. Instead of having internet
access in one remote location, you can get online virtually anywhere. This post
reminds me of the first time that I had to beg my dad to put internet service
on my cellphone. I didn't really need it at the time, but it blew my mind that
I was able to connect to the internet wherever I had service. I couldn't
imagine my life without internet. I constantly talk to people at work, and it
boggles my mind that they don't have internet in their homes. The way we used
to do things have drastically changed because of the evolution of the internet.
Here are a few things I want to mention; sending and receiving mail, shopping,
communicating with others, and compiling research, applying for college and
jobs, and even taking classes. Technology has changed all of those previous
items and made them more efficient. Instead of waiting for, "You've got
mail," you can check multiple email accounts in that same amount of time.
Web 2.what?
Lauren mentioned how Web 2.0 allows you to conference anywhere
in the world at any given time. As soon as I read that statement, I instantly
thought of this video that I watched a few years ago for one of my classes. I
forget the name of the video, but there was a company who would host work
meetings through a game called Second Life. Second Life is a game where you can
create a three dimensional representation of yourself and interact with others.
This company mentioned how convenient it was to have these meetings online
because they didn't have to physically leave the house, and they could all
attend this meeting at the same time. Without Web 2.0, none of that would be
possible at all. Web 2.0 allows people to interact with internet websites and
web based applications like never before. If Web 2.0 didn't come into
existence, a lot of people wouldn't even know how to use the computer at all.
Long gone are the days where you could a view a static website, and it
would never change. Whenever you view a site nowadays, there's some way to
interact with it whether it's sharing the site through Facebook or Twitter. Web
2.0 has yet to reach it's full potential.
Social Media? I Don't Even Know Her
Lauren stated, "...social media and social networking
we are isolating ourselves from the real world and living real lives outside of
the internet." I slowly feel myself heading in this direction because I'm
always connected to internet applications whenever I leave the house. I can't
leave the house without my cellphone because I feel that it's detrimental to my
well-being. I try to think back to the days before technology took over my
life, but nothing much has really changed since then. Growing up my mom didn't
want me going outside too often so she would pacify me by buying me videogames
and action figures. By constantly having those items available, I didn't see
the need to go outside. I wonder how my life would've turned out if I went
outside....Most of my friends go out quite often, but most of the time I'd
rather just spend the day with my girlfriend or be lazy around the house. I can
still interact with them through a text message or Facebook. Social media has enabled
us to be a part of someone's life without actually physically being there. This
can disconnect us from our friends. Social media allows us to be connected 24/7
but are we really connected? Social media is by far one of the most popular
concepts to date, and it's not going anywhere anytime soon.
The Self Portrait Effect: "You will regret that cell-phone self-portrait in the bathroom mirror one day.
I agree with your statement regarding "Life is a
Ride." That's my favorite video as well. I watched that video first, and I
didn't think that the other videos compared to what the author was trying to
display. It reminds me of a reflection video because he shows you many aspects
of his life before and after the incident. The author didn't let the event ruin
his life, but he persevered through the situation. That takes a lot of
determination because most people would've thrown in the towel, and gave up on
life completely. I don't know why this next comment stood out to me the most.
Lauren stated, "I am ready to get started on our own self-portraits and
trying to produce something that can be almost (keyword being almost) as good
as those videos that we have watched." This statement brings the point
home that most of us are thinking. Most of the class is inexperienced when it
comes to shooting and producing videos on this type of scale. I only enjoyed
two of the videos that we had to watch, and wish they inspired me to make a
better end product. The videos you mentioned sold their idea well, and that's
all the audience can ask for.
