Its a Hardknock Life

Will this remodel ever end???  On Wednesday I came to find that the wires had been attached wrong to the electricity in my room, so it was not safe to turn on the lights at all.  And, the pilot light went out on the hot water heater, so I had no hot water for a shower (and still don't)!  Thursday one of the workers supposedly "fixed" the electricity, but when I got home, I could not turn off the bathroom light, could not turn on the bedroom light (but the fan worked) and when I flipped both of the switches the bathroom light would dim... So, on Friday a REAL electrician can in... He was confused (never a good sign) about what the non electrician had done to my wiring.  Seems that a wire went "missing" somewhere in the wall... Took the electrician two hours to find it and get my electricity figured out...  BUT, that's not where this story ends, oh no, the electrician then decides (thankfully) to point out that the wiring near the hot water heater is not up to code, it has to be a special type of 'cgi' wire (or something like that).  So, great, the risk of shock has not been diminished, just moved across the room.  Oh and I still don't have hot water, because the igniter is broken... 
There is a point to all of this... I still have a couple of days to work on genealogy, but I'm not getting very much done because of contractor interruption and general remodel stress.  I'll see if tomorrow (Sunday) when the construction isn't going on, I can get some real work done (but again, there is plenty of work in my other classes, not that its an excuse)...  I did get my paper ready for Thursday on MSNBC, and posted the links to some of their sites. ;)

MSNBC sites

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/

http://www.facebook.com/msnbc

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29164160/

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8132577/

Wiki Sandbox text

'''Social Media Project''' The Valentine family line goes back farther than I have been able to trace.  I started with myself and then went through my dad back to his great-grandfather, thats when I hit a wall.  Seems that nobody knows whether he is French or German.  The town he is from is right on the border between the two and the region was in turmoil while he was alive.  My dad has been trying for years to come up with more information about him, but to no avail.  I do not think I am going to have much luck either.  Over the weekend, I sat down with my dad and added several family members in various lines of the family.  My dad is a walking encyclopedia of family history, and has provided me with plenty of information about the family.  I do not know how much he knows about all the family lines, but as long as he is capable of feeding me information, I am going to keep ''leafing'' out the family tree.  ''is this 300 words yet?''  I do not want to put up specific family info on a public site, so I am '''not''' making this ''through'' like the instructions say.  Anyway, I am now tracing any and all of my family lines as far back as possible.  My mom's side of the family might be more difficult to trace because the genealogy buff on her side is my grandmother and she has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's, so she is not always coherent.  So, I am going to try to catch her on a good day to see what she knows, and try to fill in the rest myself.  Of course, my dad has information about my mom's family too, so maybe he will have enough to suit my needs.

Busy, busy

Oh dear, it's the start of another week, I've been neglecting my genealogy...  This last week has been a nightmare, between mid-term papers, and a whole house remodel, I'm at wit's end.  I don't know which way is up anymore, and the last thing on my mind has been updating this blog.  I know, bad form, but seriously the whole house is in disarray! I haven't been able to get into the kitchen to cook since last Monday, and Taco Bell gets old (I'm vegan and Taco Bell, and Subway have the only fast food I can eat).  There is a thick coat of dust on everything, the cats leave incriminating tracks all over the place...  The contractor is working on my bathroom, I haven't had a mirror since Thursday morning, I'm sure I look as bad as I feel,  The constant banging of the hammers has given me the worst headache I've ever had, and somehow I'm supposed to get all my schoolwork done... Nuh uh, not happening, something had to be cut, and the genealogy blog was it! Next week, maybe the contractor will be outta my room, he's supposed to be done by Thursday, but you know how that goes ;) So, I have NOT forgotten to update, I just ran out of time, and desire to work on this blog.

Seriously, this is clean compared to my feet this last week!!!

Question 5

            There are far more senders and messages in the world now than before social media, or even the Internet.  The Internet changes both who is sending and who is receiving these messages.  Twitter has shortened the message considerably.  By only allowing 140 characters, Twitter forces users to say what they mean and mean what they say.  Twitter became a huge phenomenon and has since waned, however many still use it as a mass texting service.  Sites like Facebook and Myspace have changed the way society looks at friendships.  Life is not a popularity contest, yet many now treat it as such.  The messages we send out over the Internet can reach far and wide, and cannot be taken back.  We have to be aware that everything we say whether good or bad may reach those who the message is about.  Some companies have found the value in this and use social media as a way to communicate with their customers.  Some have found that they are not well liked, while others have used complaints to make their products better.  Without social media, these companies might have never known that they were doing something wrong, till sales dropped, and even then they would not know exactly why.  A face to face conversation is private, and intimate, since only those who are present for the conversation ever hears it.  With social media this is not the case.   Anyone, anywhere can access the conversation at any time, forever.  Even if the account where the conversation took place is deleted there are ways to find it long after you think it is gone.  There are contextual clues to the meaning of our words that are lost on the deaf ears of a computer or phone screen.  Many texts unintentionally convey the wrong message because the receiver misunderstands.  Using symbols, “emoticons”, and shorthand like “lol” help to assuage these misinterpretations, however once something has been mistaken it can be difficult to fix.  The channels that we now use for communication are vastly different from those used just a few years ago.  By moving to a more connected Internet life we have distanced ourselves from intimate one on one situations, to open forums where anyone with Internet access can see and hear our most private thoughts.  That is if you are foolish enough to put them out there.

            The assignments for Thursday were nerve-wracking.  I felt like I was missing something by having to wait for “tweets”.  I thought that it was difficult to concentrate in my other classes because I was worried about checking my email for instructions.  I think that this midterm has been a clever use of social media, and I appreciate what you can do with it; however I do not want to go through this again.  There was something I felt like was missing, because I was thrown into the library all alone with this looming deadline and vague instructions.  If the email had been waiting for me, which I found in my other email account, I think I would have been more comfortable with the assignment.

Question 4

            Virtual Class – I am taking an online class this semester, and have never met the instructor, so I know what it is like.  If this class was only online and I had never met Dr. DeMars, I would probably think he was crazy.  This class requires a certain amount of face to face meetings, or else I think we, the students, would be more overwhelmed than we already are.  In my online class I feel like I am missing something and often forget that I even have the class.  Online classes are good for simple, easy to grasp concepts, like history or some English courses.   This class with its unique, constantly changing perspective would be difficult to teach in an online only setting.  This class has many facets that are not so cut and dry as “Columbus sailed the ocean blue…” and needs the interaction that actual class time brings about.  Holding class in Second Life might seem ideal then as an alternative to face to face class times, but I feel that there is a disconnect between teacher and student because of the barrier that the computer screen literally and figuratively creates.

            The basics I learned about Second Life – I set up my Second Life account when I got home on Thursday.  I named my avatar Sociere Elegy, and picked the “Goth” looking prefabricated avatar.  I started messing around in the game at eleven o’clock that evening.  I was surprised that I did not see any other people at that time.  This game supposedly has millions of players around the world, and I was the only person playing that night.  I thought that maybe it was just the location I was in, but no after moving around I still found nobody else in game.  Maybe, it was just a bad day, so I got back online several times over the weekend, guess what still no other players!  The game itself was rather easy to control, with simple controls that are common in the gaming industry.  However, it was slow to load and would crash after thirty minutes or so, requiring a complete reboot of my system.  I bought a system specifically designed for running games and other large programs, so I found this very irritating, and am sure that others who have older or weaker systems would find this game difficult or impossible to load and play.  I found it particularly frustrating that you have to pay real money to get an in depth experience from the game.  Everything costs real money except for the privilege to download the base game, which makes it very obvious who has just gotten started, or does not have the money to waste on the game. 

Educational Second Life - After playing for several hours, albeit in brief spurts between crashes, I have decided that Second Life is not the ideal environment for learning, or teaching.  There is a technological gap that many do not have the resources to cross, and even with a powerful system I still had problems.  The environment of Second Life is cartoonish and I feel that this would detract from the environment that a classroom in the game would try to create.  Second Life has been known to be hacked, just ask Hillary Clinton about that.  Anyone with a little know how could disrupt the class or even shut the whole game down.  Which is another point against Second Life, it is a game.  While I am all for a fun learning experience, I do not think that an online game is the right place for conducting a serious class.  What if a student decides to show up naked?  It is just a game and the avatars themselves are not real, but where do cross the line between just a game and real life.  Many people have lost everything they have playing this game.  I believe that nothing compares to having a real face to face conversation, and using an avatar as a mouthpiece just does not cut it.  Colleges should be replacing class time with game time.  If an instructor is hell bent on using Second Life, it should be in addition to the classroom.  Unless a school is going to provide every student with their own computer capable of supporting Second Life, it is not feasible to move to online only college experiences. 

Question 3

Dr. DeMars was on vacation on some remote tropical island, with a frosty beverage in his hand.  He was laughing maniacally at the misfortune of his 453 students, and applauding his clever use of social media as a way to induce stress and fear in his students.  Or, he was holed up in his office twiddling his thumbs waiting for somebody to catch on... Even if he decided to play hooky, it did not matter because his students had about all they could take.  All Dr. DeMars needed was access to a computer with Internet capabilities, or even just a smart phone and he could wreak havoc on his young, innocent students.  By setting up my Twitter account to forward all of Dr. DeMars' tweets to my phone I could keep up with his diabolical plans and stay abreast of the latest scheme he had concocted.  Then, I arrived at the Gee Library and sat down and accessed the social media avenues I needed in order to thwart his plans.

            By using social media we have unlimited access to each other, students can keep up with changes to their classes.  Teachers can quickly reach all of their students with important updates, and exams can be conducted remotely.  By creating an open workspace the Internet has freed up the process of taking exams and allows students to access resources so that their responses are well thought out and intelligent, at least that’s the plan.  The test process on Thursday was very different from a traditional exam.  Since, we, the students, did not know what was going on till we got our emailed instructions, there was quite a bit of apprehension.  There were constant distractions due to the nature of the library and focusing on the task was difficult at times.  However, despite the differences Thursday was like any other exam.  There were questions and a time limit within which we had to construct our answers.  We could have had class in Second Life, that would have been really different.  Or, we could have posted our answers entirely through Twitter.

Mid Term Blog 2

Second Life could be used as a part of social media by incorparating a companies brand into the "islands" on Second Life.  Companies, especially small ones, could use Second Life as a way to introduce themselves to potential consumers.  By using Second Life they could interact face to face with consumers, even if it is an avatar's face.  The biggest problem with using Second Life is that many people are not tech savvy enough to use it.  Even, as the blog says, the younger generations who have grown up with technology all around them may not be comfortable with navigating around the (100) virtual world that is Second Life.  I find the idea of personal interaction online very interesting.  Instead of just words on a screen, in Second Life you have an actual character, with sound and visual interest.  The virtual world is just like the real world, they both have distractions.  Making your company stand out in the virtual world is just as important as making it stand out in the real one.  On page ten of The Social Web Analytics Ebook they suggest shaping the conversation by starting your own blog.  This could also be said of Second Life, if a company starts (200) their own Second Life account they can shape the conversation about their company.  Instead of just talking about the company, users could actually visit them.  The company can moniter whether or not users are interseted in what the company is doing (pg10).  By having a Second Life island you can adjust the schedule of other users.  Hosting parties or seminars that are only available on Second Life can spark interest in other facets of your social media presence.  Each individual user of Second Life has their own agenda, and voice.  They have their own channel, and can send messages however they wish, be it good or bad (300) for the subject of that message(pg12).   Social media outlets provide users with a voice, that can be used for good or bad.  While many use their voice for good, there are those who use theirs for slander and spreading incorrect information (pg22).  By having a Second Life account you can moniter these potentially detrimental voices and provide a source for reliable information.  The people on Second Life are joined by the program, yet seperated by their own intents.  Second Life is the new wave of social media interaction, and needs to be recognized as such by companies.  If a company wants social presence and interaction, they need look no farther than Second Life. (400)  Companies can directly moniter Second Life users by being in continual contact with these users(pg20). 

Mid Term Blog 1

Social media is important to businesses as both a form of advertisement and way to communicate with consumers.  Ralph Lauren used their sites as a way to connect consumers with the brand and make itself known to others.  Heather's company, C280, was more of a social media site than a business website, they helped foster not only a connection with the business, but with other people who shared the same passion.  American Airlines does not use social media thoughtfully.  They use the sites from a strictly business perspective.  Southwest Airlines on the other hand got it right, balancing both the (100) business and personal aspects of social media.  The NFL does not allow players or others associated with the league use social media during or near game time.  This creates a disconnect between those involved in playing and those who enjoy watching.  They are not creating interest in the game and by limiting player access creating discord and discontent amongst fans.  Several of the companies we discussed in class used their social media sites, usually Twitter, as a way to allow customers to ask questions and get real time answers.  Even if the company did not respond, other consumers could see the (200) questions and be of potential help.  Most of the companies used their social media sites as two way conversations, however some, like American Airlines, do not use the sites effectively.  They have flaws that could be easily smoothed out, if they would compare their sites to others, like Southwest, who seem to have gotten social media right.  The one thing I noticed that none of the companies discussed in class had was a wiki.  I do not know if they are outdated or just too much, but some of them, like C280, might benefit from having a wiki.

American Airlines (300) uses its name on all of the social media sites it uses.  This has not always been the case, the Twitter account they had was @aairwaves.  This told users little about who they were receiving "tweets" from.  By changing the name to @americanairlines they have increased their Internet presence.  Ralph Lauren uses "Pink Pony" as its online moniker, I can see where this causes confusion amongst those who search for them.  The NFL seems to be afraid of what players might do or say on their personal social media pages.  They are concerned that information might get "leaked" that could be of potential (400) harm to the franchise.  The Internet is public and information spreads like wildfire.  They are probably smart to ban the use of social media before, during, and after the game.  American Airlines does not have a blog.  They are very secretive about what is going on in the company.  By limiting access to them, I feel they are losing out on a potential windfall that social media could bring them.  Googling American Airlines brings up their website as the first link, however I did not find any of their social media sites in the first few pages of results.  They need (500) to improve their Internet presence by improving the social media they use.  Many of the companies used links on their main sites homepage to link to their social media sites.  American Airlines did not use such a strategy.  It is as though they do not want to use social media.  The only way to find their sites was by using their websites internal search bar, even then there were several "hits" that had nothing to do with the social media sites.  If American Airlines own search engine cannot properly find their social media sites, how are big search engines supposed to find them?

American Airlines Social Media Sites

http://www.facebook.com/aa

http://twitter.com/AmericanAir

http://www.youtube.com/americanairlines

http://www.flickr.com/photos/36159194@N07/

New Site

http://www.familysearch.org/

My dad told me about this site, he uses it quite a bit.  I know when it has been a slow day at the office by the amount of paper he brings home...  Way to save the environment Dad... ;)