Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Small Change


Gladwell, M.(2010, October 4). Small Changes;Why the Revolution will not be
Tweeted. The NewYorker, pg 42

In Gladwell's writing, "Small Change: Why the Revolution will not be Tweeted," he talks about a protest by students in North Carolina back in 1960. After four African American students performed a sit in they were happening more throughout the south as far as Texas. These acts were performed long before facebook or twitter was invented. Gladwell is pointing out that our way of communication is changing because they did not all gather and discuss this protest on social networks. They got together in person and then protested. On top of that the author is showing that our way protesting has changed to where we can now do it online. We can post anything and the social networks changes the way people can protest a certain way of speaking to their concern. I support that statement because according to Gladwell, "The new tools of social media have reinvented social activism." He gives plenty of examples like, how Iran would not have confidence to stand up for freedom or democracy.
Gladwell has a big point of how twitter and facebook is to build around weak ties. You have 'followers' or 'friends' on these social networks to help you stay in touch. That's how it is social media is changing our society.

Tim's Post "Police Using Social Media"


In Tim's post, "Police Using Social Media," he has a video included and it lets viewers know that cops are even involved in social media. Tim says in his blog that, "The police are able to search for these people their trying to catch through social media websites and are even able to follow them through twitter if the person tweets." His statement basically summarizes the whole post, but I think that is a great idea. The man in the video says it really works and they have caught a guy in 30 minutes. The social networking websites that the cops use are like internet police reports filled with description and pictures. On these websites citizens can even help the cops if they know of anything or just be aware of these people. Tim really covered the main idea and he let's everyone know that, in a convenient way, cops use social media just like everyone else.

Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube Terror


ReferencesWeimann, G. (2010). Terror on Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube. Brown Journal Of World Affairs, 16(2), 45-54.

The article is letting readers know that social media networking such as Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube are used as communication services for terrorists. They use the social network to chat amongts each other to plot attacks and other tactics. Each one can be used like Facebook to monitor military personnel and Youtube to spread news that can be on videos. From this article you can tell that popular social networking can be used by terrorists for bad. They can retrieve information about the government, people, places and use all of that to plot on another social network. They can gather almost anything with the internet up and running. Once something is up on the internet it can be seen by the public and can be used against us just like how terrorists use social media.

Monday, November 21, 2011

Inmates and Facebook


Thompson, D. (2011, November 21). Inmates Harass Victims via Facebook - Technology & Science - Security - msnbc.com. Msnbc.com - Breaking News, Science and Tech News, World News, US News, Local News- Msnbc.com. Retrieved November 21, 2011, from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45391607/ns/technology_and_science-security/

In the article, by Thompson, he informs that inmates have been smuggling smart phones to access facebook. With facebook the prisoners send out threats, messages, and retrieve information about whoever. This problem has actually increased. Correctional facilities located in California have confiscated 12,658 phones just in the past 10 months of this year! There are serious consequences for those who sneak phones into prisons. Inmates caught can lose up to 180 days of early release, but there is no added time to there sentence. California legislators approved a law giving anyone else who smuggles phones into the jail for anyone can receive up to 6 months in jail. There have been murders, threats, and strikes because of inmates on facebook. The article let's us know for sure that the social media can be used in many ways. It's an open resource for anyone to use including inmates. Facebook is so big that cyber bullying could be done to even a higher degree. This article just shows how big social media is being dangerous and hurting people.

The Relationship with Facebook and Students


Kalpidou, M., Costin, D., & Morris, J. (2011). The Relationship Between Facebook and the Well-Being of Undergraduate College Students. Cyberpsychology, Behavior & Social Networking, 14(4), 183-189. doi:10.1089/cyber.2010.0061

In an article written by Costin Kalpidou, it tells the study of how facebook can reflect on ones self esteem and attitude in college. This study was to find if facebook can give a postive result with social adjustment. It was also used to see if it would give a negative result like lowering self esteem and emotions. The informative writing was to show the effects of facebook, a social network, can bring. Costin is trying to show that the use of social media can bring good and bad effects because in the results of the study, facebook was shown to gave low self esteem to underclass men, but showed postive social adjustments to upperclassmen. The results were to be thought of postive later in life. When most people think facebook is bad like cyber bullying, there are some benefits. A lot of people use facebook and in the writing it disproves that users all around the world are not effected much by self esteem and attitude. It can actually all help in the long run.

The Effects of Twitter on College Student Engagement and Grades


Junco, R. R., Heiberger, G. G., & Loken, E. E. (2011). The effect of Twitter on college student engagement and grades. Journal Of Computer Assisted Learning, 27(2), 119-132. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2729.2010.00387.x

This article by Junco, tells us that college students using twitter can effect their grades. In the reading it also tells about a semester long study to find out if using twitter, a type of social networking, hurts the engagement and grades of college students. 125 students participated in the survey. Their was an experimental group who used twitter for types of academic discussions. Then their was a control group. It turned out that the experimental group, the group of students who used twitter in this experiment, had higher grade point averages for the semester study and a great increase in engagement than those who were in the control group. The writer claims with this study that twitter and other social media networkings can actually help students to engage in their learning. With all of what Junco writes, he disproves the thought of what most people tink. He writes he lets readers know that social networking is big and can effect students in a bad way, but it may actually be good for students.

9 of 10 Teens Witness Cyber Bullying.


Kang, C. (2011, November 8). Nine of 10 teenagers have witnessed bullying on social networks, study finds. Retrieved November 21, 2011, from http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/nine-of-10-teenagers-have-witnessed-bullying-on-social-networks-study-finds/2011/11/08/gIQAPqUq3M_story.html


In this article from the Washington Post, it tells that 9/10 teenagers has witnessed bullying on social media such as facebook. That is a high number. This article is informing to all that an aweful amount of teens tend to cyber bully. In the article it says, "Of the teens who said they witnessed cruelty online, 21 percent said they joined in on the harassment." Amanda Lenhart, a co-author of a report, "Teens, Kindness and Cruelty," is mention and states that bad behavior and bullying from children have been around, but this type of bullying is different. The article goes on and experts say, cyber bullying is different because they are cruel comments amongst peers. When one bullys online it gives them that feel of an 'alternate ego' because it's easier said online than how you would rather speak face to face with one another. There are some restrictions on facebook like users being able to report comments and photos disliked by them, but that can't stop all of the bullying. Other sites can even sign in anonymously which is a problem that really can't be solved. This article informs about the many teens that witness and involve in cyber bullying on the social media. I feel that this way of social networking can is changing us because so many people can just get online and say hurtful things to anyone. It can be anonymous and not everyone would say the things they would in person than they would online. That is how it changes people and they way they interact with one another.

Xbox Live Features With Social Media - free post


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwcuxXT4X-8


Xbox 360 is a video game console that can be played online, also known as xbox live. On xbox live you can play with millions of players from around the world. You can chat on youre headset, video chat, and even send messages. That on it's own is already social media, but not only that xbox live allows you to go on facebook and twitter straight from your xbox. Netflix is also included so you can download movies and watch them from your gaming console. That is amazing how you can instantly do all these types of social networking on an xbox. You're xbox is not just to play video games at home, but you can take it to a whole different level with gaming online. You don't even need a computer because you can access all sorts of social media servers right on you're xbox. From this video he says, there is over 200 million subscribers and that is so many already involved in social media from xbox live.

Blogging - Free Post

For this assignment we are supposed to post blogs to express how we feel and summarize relating topics for social media. Everything we publish on blogger is open for the entire world to see online. I think it's fascinating how big social media is and how just about anyone can access this information. As soon as I post this everyone can see in online. It's instantly on the web with a push of a button. I feel comfortable with blogger because I use facebook and it's basically the same thing except they're are shorter posts on facebook.

Sunday, November 20, 2011

"Games" by Steven Johnson


Johnson, Steven. (2011). "Games." In 50 Essays (3rd ed., pp. 196-201). Boston: Bedford.

Steven writes in this essay, "Games," about the comparison of reading books and video games. Also he explains how gaming is good rather bad, which is what most people seem to disagree. He supports this statement by explaining how books isolate readers, where games engage the young people in complex social relationships with others. Not only that, but gamers can connect with others online now a days with xbox live just like I do. He gets information from Dr. Spock about how bad video games can be like how it can promote aggression and violent responses to conflict. That's what most people think about games, but Johnson thinks differently. With Johnsons idea he thinks differently as to what Marie Winn has to say in her essay, "Televison the Plug-in Drug." Winn thinks television ruins quality family time and it changes the whole aspect of being together as a family. It distances individuals, but Johnson tells how one can play video games and become interactive and new study show that heavy gamers have improved skills compared to non-gamers. Now video games has become so big that families do play together and you can become interacted with games on kinect or wii. Steve has some cons about video games, but he thinks overal games are good.

"Where I Lived and What I Lived For" by Henry David Thoreau


Thoreau, H. D. (2011)."Where I Lived and What I Lived For". In 50 Essays (3rd ed., pp. 403-409). Boston: Bedford.

In his essay Henry Thoreu explains how he enjoys life as it being simple. He really goes over this matter because in the essay he says, "Simplify, simplify," and "Simplicity, simplicity,simplicity!" He makes it clear that our life is complex now a days with railroads and such with the advancement in society. He asks, "Why should we live with such hurry and waste of life?" He comes up with examples of everyday life and concludes we should slow down to have only the neccesities of life. Thoreu thinks we should not need railroads and asks, if we were to stay home and mind our business, who will want railroads? Henry's thoughts can relate today in the world because social media is a big part of society. Social media proves his point of moving too fast. A text or and email can be recieved in less than a second no matter how far you are away from that person. Thoreu's idea of, we wouldn't need railroads if people just mind their own business is similar as well, because social media is out there with facebook or even blogger and faster than a train on railroads. The internet is way faster to retrieve any information about anyone or anything.

Saturday, November 19, 2011

"Television the Plug-in Drug" by Marie Winn


Winn, M.“Television the Plug-inDrug”. 50 Essays. Ed.SamuelCohen. 3rd ed.
Boston:Bedford, 2011. pp.447-438. Print.

In this essay, written by Marie Winn, she tells how television is affecting
families in some ways. She claims tv is like a drug, which makes the title
appropriate. Before tv was not as big as it was today. There were only a few
channels and not everyone had them. Now watching television is like a ritual
and it’s isolating kids from their parents. It gets as bad to where kids won't
even make eye contact when speaking because they are watching tv. This whole
concept has a similarity with this whole idea of social media, because when
kids are texting, on the computer or caught up in any type of social media they
are distancing families as done with television as well. Tv is taking the real
quality 'family time' out because it's becoming like a ritual to sit down as a
family and watch tv. Things are not the same as they were. She proves it with
some facts like 60% of families watch while eating a meal, or 78% in family relationships
do not speak while watching tv except during commericals. She is basically
saying families are not as close as they use to or may be due to this 'drug’ television.
This essay just informs all that tv is like a drug and is causing affects in
family relationships.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

CIA and Social Media



Dozier, K. (2011, November 5). Tweets, Facebook help CIA build world picture. Anchorage Daily News, p. A1.

This article’s topic is the CIA Open Source Center’s use of social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook to track events and trends around the world. The author’s purpose is primarily to inform the public about this new tool the government uses to monitor emerging international news and measure the effectiveness of American foreign policy. The article claims that social media has changed the political and informational landscape in the Middle East. The CIA, for example, knew through their monitoring of social media, that the uprising in Egypt was coming but they were powerless to do anything about it. At the same, even though internet access in some poor nations is limited, the CIA has a powerful new information-gathering tool that rivals traditional methods. Dozier supports her claims with current case studies and interviews with CIA Open Source Center Director Doug Naquin and a CIA spokesperson, who assures us that this technology is not being used to spy on Americans. This article demonstrates that Facebook and Twitter are key resources for following fast-moving crises and news around the world.