Exposed

Last class we touched on the topic of being exposed on the Internet. Well I know I talked about it. After talking about Danah Boyd's chapters and conversations were flowing, being exposed on the Internet came up in our class discussion.

I know I mentioned how it was scarier for me to put all of my information on the internet. When I signed up for Facebook my dad warned me not to put too much information on my profile. He would scare me into thinking that someone can search me on Facebook and based on what I posted, someone could find out stuff about my life. He would also scare me into thinking that people could find me based on what I posted as well. Because of this, I have always been more conscious of what personal information I have posted on the Internet.

This sparked the debate of whether or not people are more afraid of stranger danger or being exposed on the Internet. I was surprised more people were scared of stranger danger type situations and not being exposed on the Internet. In one second, someone can hack your computer and gain all the information that you have entered on it. That to me is scarier than walking downtown with my group of friends.

So I'm curious about the specific reasons people have that make them more afraid of stranger danger type situations and not being exposed on the Internet?

Social media is now a requirement to survive

In my marketing class this term we have been assigned a group project. Part of our project is to create a product that can be mass produced that is aimed towards a specific target market. In one of the requirements for this project, we have to plan for social media.

As I thought about this, it is second nature at this point in time to make social media a part of a marketing project whether it is for school, or in the real world. Then I thought about how the social media presence for marketers and advertisers is so much more demanding now than it ever has been.

Marketers and advertisers have to spend so much time and energy focusing on this one aspect (social media) to make sure that society is aware of products and services. It used to be so simple: put an ad in the paper, hang up a poster or request a radio ad. Social media presence for companies that want to market services and products is so much more demanding and if companies do not take that seriously, no body will know about them and they will make no money. If a company doesn't have a social media presence, the company mine as well not exist.

Social media is so important for companies to survive in this economy. It never really occurred to me until I started this marketing project and I wanted to share my thoughts :)

Have a good rest of your weekend!

Make it a rule: Privacy matters on social media

I am totally behind this idea of making a social media constitution. Students and employers should not be monitored by their teachers or bosses for what they post online.

Social media is meant for posting pictures, articles, beliefs/opinions etc. You are sharing those things with the people you associate with socially. There will be people who won't agree with what you post and that starts conversation. But I could state the same opinion out at a public place with my friends and still get the same reaction. The only difference is that one interaction was online and one was in person. But they were both social interactions. I wouldn't, however, be penalized for by a boss or teacher in that interaction that was in person. So why should I be penalized for it online? 

People go out on Friday nights after work. People go out on the weekends. Why should people that are over 21 that are working be punished buy their boss? They are out with friends and are over the legal age to drink. What is the problem of posting a picture with your friends at a bar? Or at a Cubs game? Or Hawks game? Or any social gathering that there may be alcohol? That is part of being social, so naturally people will now share aspects of their social lives on social media. 

I also think that people have social lives and work lives and they are very different. People don't act the same in a professional setting as they would at a bar with friends. The social standards are different as they should be. So why are people punished for that? I don't want to act like I do at work when I'm out with friends. I want to be able to separate work from my personal life. Adults should be able to act professional work and should be allowed to have a fun social life outside of work. As long as it doesn't affect your work life, I don't see the need to judge someone by what they post on social media.

I am going to stop myself here. I have a lot to say and have said a lot already.

Community

Today in class we talked about online and offline communities. Both of them have benefits while also having some setbacks as well.

Online you can be anyone you want to be. If there are people lacking in your life that you can talk to, chances are there are people online going through the same thing of something similar that you can talk to about it. From there, relationships and friendships can blossom. It's a new outlet for people and in most cases it can be a good thing (I'm excluding the people that lie online).

What I found interesting about the offline communities was people who live in heavily populated areas don't know their neighbors. After thinking about that, it is so true. People who live in the city never get the chance to know who else is living in their building. The city is a place that is so fast paced that sometimes people don't have the opportunity to get to know their neighbors.




I find that to be a shame because I grew up on a great block and go to know all of my neighbors and most of them are some of my closest friends. They have shaped my life so much and I couldn't imagine my life without them. So it's disappointing to hear that people who live in environments such as the city that never get to know their neighbors.

Oh, I also like Friends. Sorry if this video spoils anything for those who haven't watched the show.

Since we are encouraged to write blogs about things pertaining to this class outside of our blog prompts, I came across something today that I would like to share with all of you.

I have a group marketing project this term and we met for the first time to start our work. While conversations were flowing one of my group members enlightened me about these "BBW" Instagram accounts. "BBW" stands for Bath and Body Works. On these accounts, young tween girls are making videos about the newest and latest products that BBW offers. They rate them and recommend them to their followers and talk about them. Some of the accounts that my group member showed me had hundred of followers and this is what the girls are into now.

My question is: Do any of you know anything about this? This is the first time I am hearing about this and I find it so weird. These girls are putting so much time and effort into these videos when I think they could be doing something more valuable. Maybe that is me just getting to that age.

Look it up and I would like to get some feedback on what you think.

happy blogging everyone! see you in class :)

Can we hide from Google?

If you are anything like Dwight. K. Schrute from The Office, you may believe that computers, or Google know what we are doing at all times and we can't hide from technology. To an extent, this is true.

I just think it depends on how much you put out there on the Internet. If you have accounts linked to Google, they probably do know what goes on. They could find out your bank statements, what you shop for online, what statuses you post on Facebook, and what videos you look up on Youtube.

You have as much privacy from Google and the Internet as you want. If you don't want something to be found by someone searching on Google or by Google, don't put it there.

I told you I liked The Office.

Google Take Over

Google does not control our lives. We are our own person. We control what we do in life. Everyday we make our own decisions. Google does not tell us to get up, go to work, go to class, to use their search engine to quickly look something up, or anything else for that matter. We do that all on our own. Google has simply created a resource and made it available to us that we as a society, choose to use as frequently as we do. Google has obviously done their job by providing a service that people continue to use day in and day out. They are a business and their product is something that our society has gotten used to. Because of that, Google keeps moving forward providing us with further resources that we can use. 

If anything, it is our fault that we have let it go this far. Google wouldn't be where they are today without the use of their customers (us). To those of you who believe that Google has taken over our lives, you should be looking at our society and not Google.

***

I do, however, think that we are addicted. But how can we not be? Google is so resourceful. As a college student, I am totally addicted. I Google stuff for school daily. When I don't understand a concept from my textbook, I go to Google to see if I can find something else that will help me understand that concept. I'm out with my friends discussing politics, entertainment, music and movies. If we have a disagreement or need clarification, someone Google's it. 

Like it or not, Google is the way of the world. Get used to it. It's not going anywhere. 

Reactions to bloggers who blog

I read the interview of Megan Reardon. Right off the bat I liked what she had to say about blogs. She likes that blogs have a personal voice and I feel the same way. Blogs are meant to be more personal and you should be able to hear the tone of voice in the person's writing. And once you start following certain blogs, readers can start to pick up on what they will say about certain topics they discuss on their blog.

Reardon also pointed out early on in the interview that she started her own blog so she can reference ideas later when she needed. That is exactly why I like Tumblr and Pinterest. I can always go back and look through both of those accounts to see what I have saved or liked.

Reardon didn't have any previous writing experience and that just proves that anyone can write and express their thoughts. As you keep blogging and as you keep reading blogs, you will become better at writing as you progress.

Overall, she was interesting to read about and it makes me eager to start blogging myself.