The virtual world is sucking in more and more people into it. People participate in the virtual world to escape the hardship and cruelty of the world. As United States finds itself in a recession, more and more people are losing their jobs which means they're more people at home with not much to do. So, they gravitate towards the world that can give them comfort and an escape into a world that resembles a utopia. The article, "No Budget, No Boundaries: It's the Real You," illustrates the mind-set of people today. Mandy Cocke indulges herself into the virtual world and assumes the name , Vixie Raynna. Vixie Rayna denies herself of nothing; she buys everything she desires regardless of cost. In the virtual world, money is not an issue. However, in real life Mandy does not spend frivously because she doesn't make as much as she used to. So, she lives vicariously through Vixie and gets whatever she wants since she can't get it in real life.
The virtual world could be used to do virtually everyhing one can do in the real world - from buying properties to hanging out at a virtual lounge; from connecting to friends to shopping, etc.
The advantages of the virtual world is the networking factor - the fact that you can connect with people and make new business contacts. People can get educated about products and services through the virtual world.
A major disadvantage is the loss of privacy. Someone can put information you don't want exposed on the internet for all to see.
Virtual world foster creativity by allowing people to connect with people they otherwise would not have met, and joining heads together to share and exchange ideas. The virtual world has made it possible for people to connect with people from all over the world so we get exposed to different cultures and the way of life of others and ultimately we get inspired and ideas are created.
The entire world will go virtual and less real. In other words, plastic - a fantasy world filled with people who don't want to deal with reality.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
COMPARING TWITTER WITH BLACKBOARD DISCUSSION
There is not much room to work with in Twitter. One is allowed to enter a maximum of 140 characters which is usually not enough unless you're writing a simple "hello" or you're writing to know the time and place of an event. And for that reason, it forces one to get creative with words. It's hard to keep to the 140 characters and still write your message effectively. However abbreviating words can do the trick if understood by most folks. For instance : I wil c u 2moro is I will see you tomorrow. So in a nutshell, one has to get creative in order to use a maximum of 140 characters to convey a message.
Blackboard on the otherhand, gives room for freedom. You are allowed to write as much as you want and is more intimate in terms of your article being available to only your classmates as opposed to twitter that is open to the public.
I think I prefer blackboard only because I have the freedom to write as much as I want to with no limitations, and can write in a way that all students understand and appreciate my writing and subject. Twitter has a lot of limitations and thus forces one to be creative in writing a message. The problem is not everyone can handle the limitations of Twitter
Blackboard on the otherhand, gives room for freedom. You are allowed to write as much as you want and is more intimate in terms of your article being available to only your classmates as opposed to twitter that is open to the public.
I think I prefer blackboard only because I have the freedom to write as much as I want to with no limitations, and can write in a way that all students understand and appreciate my writing and subject. Twitter has a lot of limitations and thus forces one to be creative in writing a message. The problem is not everyone can handle the limitations of Twitter
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
SOCIAL NETWORKING
The new technology has grown into an octupus that cannot be controlled - It has evolved into a tool that is used to connect with people from all over the world. And it is used in all facets of the business world. It's a phenomenal tool that is used to market people, events, and products. Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, etc are tools used to connect to people from all walks of life, and it is also used by companies to inform customers of their products or services. Companies also use these tools to get feedback on their product from the customers. It's a great marketing strategy in which they use to improve their products.
Twitter is a social medium that people use to connect with friends or people who share the same interest they do. It's a micro blogging platform that people use to publish short messages of less than 140 characters through different mediums like cellphone, IM, and the web. The popularity of Twitter has grown to astronomical levels and corporations are aware of this and thus want a piece of the goldmine. So more corporations are investing in this tool by communicating with their customers on Twitter and pasting the link to their site on there. Companies use Twitter as a traffic generation tool - putting links within profiles can direct customers to their site.
Twitter is the new way of hiring people. More companies rely on Twitter for recommendation of a person who could be a good fit for a position that needs to be filled. It's a great way of hiring freelancers and people who can get the job done. Employers are also known for communicating with their employees via Twitter, and is also used to set-up meetings. One of the benefits of Twitter is that you can use it to develop and maintain relationships with people who share the same interest with you.
Although Twitter has a lot of benefits, It has its flaws. Because it is known for immediacy of messages, sometimes, it could help spread information about a person that could be detrimental to the person in question. For instance, In Obama's interview with ABC, Obama called Kanye West a "jackass" for interfering with Taylor Swift's win; he said it off camera. However, some of the employees at ABC overheard and twitted it immediatey which eventually caused some eyebrows to rise. So Twitter does have a dark side to it because it robs people especially celebrities and public officials of their privacy. On the flip side, It could bring attention to a good cause with a sense of immediacy. For instance, in the Daily News article, "Twitter used to help land plane with aid for Haiti earthquake victims," it reads that Twitter may have saved lives in Haiti during the earthquake when a cargo full of medicine was blocked from landing at Port-au-Prince due to congestion. This information reached Twitter users immediately, and thus users reacted immediately by demanding that the plane be allowed into Port-Au prince. So this is a good example of how the Twitter can benefit society - its power of immediacy is a benefit to all. http://www.nydailynews.com/fdcp?1286907760362
I believe more and more people will become less independent of the traditional media and rely more on Twitter, Facebook, websites, etc for their news and whatever interest them. The social networks have evolved into a " one-stop shop," for any information desired - from the news to fashion - to health and education and to celebrity gossip. I think the social network media will be used more among friends, acquintances, etc to communicate than the telephone or cellphone. It will be our main vehicle for doing business and connecting socially with friends and people who are like-minded.
Twitter is a social medium that people use to connect with friends or people who share the same interest they do. It's a micro blogging platform that people use to publish short messages of less than 140 characters through different mediums like cellphone, IM, and the web. The popularity of Twitter has grown to astronomical levels and corporations are aware of this and thus want a piece of the goldmine. So more corporations are investing in this tool by communicating with their customers on Twitter and pasting the link to their site on there. Companies use Twitter as a traffic generation tool - putting links within profiles can direct customers to their site.
Twitter is the new way of hiring people. More companies rely on Twitter for recommendation of a person who could be a good fit for a position that needs to be filled. It's a great way of hiring freelancers and people who can get the job done. Employers are also known for communicating with their employees via Twitter, and is also used to set-up meetings. One of the benefits of Twitter is that you can use it to develop and maintain relationships with people who share the same interest with you.
Although Twitter has a lot of benefits, It has its flaws. Because it is known for immediacy of messages, sometimes, it could help spread information about a person that could be detrimental to the person in question. For instance, In Obama's interview with ABC, Obama called Kanye West a "jackass" for interfering with Taylor Swift's win; he said it off camera. However, some of the employees at ABC overheard and twitted it immediatey which eventually caused some eyebrows to rise. So Twitter does have a dark side to it because it robs people especially celebrities and public officials of their privacy. On the flip side, It could bring attention to a good cause with a sense of immediacy. For instance, in the Daily News article, "Twitter used to help land plane with aid for Haiti earthquake victims," it reads that Twitter may have saved lives in Haiti during the earthquake when a cargo full of medicine was blocked from landing at Port-au-Prince due to congestion. This information reached Twitter users immediately, and thus users reacted immediately by demanding that the plane be allowed into Port-Au prince. So this is a good example of how the Twitter can benefit society - its power of immediacy is a benefit to all. http://www.nydailynews.com/fdcp?1286907760362
I believe more and more people will become less independent of the traditional media and rely more on Twitter, Facebook, websites, etc for their news and whatever interest them. The social networks have evolved into a " one-stop shop," for any information desired - from the news to fashion - to health and education and to celebrity gossip. I think the social network media will be used more among friends, acquintances, etc to communicate than the telephone or cellphone. It will be our main vehicle for doing business and connecting socially with friends and people who are like-minded.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Social Networking Sites
Facebook, Myspace, Friendster, and Twitter are all social networking sites that have gained enormous popularity over the years. Social networking has become a permanent fixation for a lot of people, and it seems virtually impossible for people in the world to live without it. For a lot of people, especially the younger generation, living without the social network sites in the world we live in today would be like depriving a human being of oxygen - it is our connection to the rest of the world.
Each of these sites has its own specifications and differs in many aspects. All of them are competing to be the most visited site. Although each of them has its benefits and uses, I prefer facebook because it's more user friendly, and gives the subscriber a sense of control. The features on facebook encourage subscribers to engage in fun activities on the site. These features include poker, and various games. Facebook has millions of subscribers with more than 350 million subscribers compared to Friendster's 100 million subscribers. I noticed that Facebook has a great tagging system, and user-friendly applications. As a Facebook subscriber, you control who views your book by inviting or declining people who want to be friends with you. If you invite the person to view your book, the person gains access to everything you want them to have access to. However, if you don't invite them, they will not have access to your book. The ability to limit viewers gives the subscriber a sense of control. Also, Facebook does not clutter the site with advertisements which in my opinion is a breath of fresh air. The lay out of the site is easy on the eye - not much going on- and that to me is a breath of fresh air.
Myspace on the other hand, is purely a social networking site where people socialize with friends and interesting people. Myspace is usually used to market brands, products, artists and promote events. You could listen to one's songs or view an artist work on there. Myspace is good marketing tool; however, Twitter and Facebook can boast of more subscribers and traffic to their sites. Messages sent out on Myspace are longer than the others especially Twitter. In all fairness, it's easier to personalize your profile in Myspace than twitter.
Although twitter receives heavy traffic, and can boast of 190 million users, it has less connectivity options and applications than Facebook. Twitter is more disorganized than the other sites. However, it is very easy to use. Twitter is multi-lingual and thus available to people from all over the world. Twitter is a networking site, but also a micro-blogging site too. People go on there to share their views, opinions, experiences and expertise with their fellow tweeters. It's a great place for companies to communicate with their customers to get feedback on their products or services, and ultimately use that information to improve their products.
Friendster, the last and surely the least, is not as popular as twitter, facebook or even myspace. Facebook is newer and better than friendster, so people tend to gravitate towards facebook. Friendster needs to come up with a way to drive traffic to their site and then keep them there. When I logged into frienster, It felt like I was on an island all by myself with nothing exciting to do. They have to make it more user-friendly and come up with activities that will motivate subscribers to spend more time on the site. I had a hard time logging in because the site didn't recognize my email nor password even after entering my information correctly. I couldn't log out of friendster fast enough, and besides, a lot of people I know are not familiar with friendster. So, they have a lot of aggressive marketing to do if they want to be elevated to facebook status.
Each of these sites has its own specifications and differs in many aspects. All of them are competing to be the most visited site. Although each of them has its benefits and uses, I prefer facebook because it's more user friendly, and gives the subscriber a sense of control. The features on facebook encourage subscribers to engage in fun activities on the site. These features include poker, and various games. Facebook has millions of subscribers with more than 350 million subscribers compared to Friendster's 100 million subscribers. I noticed that Facebook has a great tagging system, and user-friendly applications. As a Facebook subscriber, you control who views your book by inviting or declining people who want to be friends with you. If you invite the person to view your book, the person gains access to everything you want them to have access to. However, if you don't invite them, they will not have access to your book. The ability to limit viewers gives the subscriber a sense of control. Also, Facebook does not clutter the site with advertisements which in my opinion is a breath of fresh air. The lay out of the site is easy on the eye - not much going on- and that to me is a breath of fresh air.
Myspace on the other hand, is purely a social networking site where people socialize with friends and interesting people. Myspace is usually used to market brands, products, artists and promote events. You could listen to one's songs or view an artist work on there. Myspace is good marketing tool; however, Twitter and Facebook can boast of more subscribers and traffic to their sites. Messages sent out on Myspace are longer than the others especially Twitter. In all fairness, it's easier to personalize your profile in Myspace than twitter.
Although twitter receives heavy traffic, and can boast of 190 million users, it has less connectivity options and applications than Facebook. Twitter is more disorganized than the other sites. However, it is very easy to use. Twitter is multi-lingual and thus available to people from all over the world. Twitter is a networking site, but also a micro-blogging site too. People go on there to share their views, opinions, experiences and expertise with their fellow tweeters. It's a great place for companies to communicate with their customers to get feedback on their products or services, and ultimately use that information to improve their products.
Friendster, the last and surely the least, is not as popular as twitter, facebook or even myspace. Facebook is newer and better than friendster, so people tend to gravitate towards facebook. Friendster needs to come up with a way to drive traffic to their site and then keep them there. When I logged into frienster, It felt like I was on an island all by myself with nothing exciting to do. They have to make it more user-friendly and come up with activities that will motivate subscribers to spend more time on the site. I had a hard time logging in because the site didn't recognize my email nor password even after entering my information correctly. I couldn't log out of friendster fast enough, and besides, a lot of people I know are not familiar with friendster. So, they have a lot of aggressive marketing to do if they want to be elevated to facebook status.
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