HW 13: Blogs Will Change your Buisness

"Blogs Will Change Your Buisness" written by Stephen Baker and Heather Green talk about how all companies have some sort of blog whether it be so promote the company or an employer talking about the companies secrets.I think that the impact of blogging on buisness is more important then the impact of bligging that is not buisness related. I feel this way because if there is a blog written that talks about the good qualities of a company and basically promotes what the company stands for and makes a good name for the company, their buisness will most likely be imprved. Likewise, if a blog is written about how the company is unfair and the products are not worth the money and basically trash talks about a company or a specific product, the company will decrease in popularity. My discussion on the impact on blogging of buisnesses is in fact addressing the larger matter of companies having to watch their employers and make sure that they have a code of privacy that protects people form talking about their upcoming products,of personal company issues or anything that the public should not be informed about."Potential customers are out there, sniffing around for deals and partners. While you may be putting it off, you can bet that your competitors are exploring ways to harvest new ideas from blogs, sprinkle ads into them, and yes, find out what you and other competitors are up to" (Kline and Burstein, 223). Basically every company has secrets that need to be kept within their employers because if customers find out the entire buisness could go downhil depending on what the company is hiding.

HW 11: Making Global Voices Heard

I looked at Jeff Ooi's Blog (http://jeffooi.com) which interested me because his website is said to have become popular because he dares to criticize the Malaysian government. Ooi talks about how the Malaysian government does not listen to the citizens concerns about the way the media works. Jeff Ooi's blog is written in a an almost note type of blog, instead of writing out paragraphs and stories, he states basic points about things that he thinks is important. In the interview, MacKinnon states that he questions and bash on how the Malaysian governments ignores the thoughts and concerns of its own community. Of course many others will probably disagree with the assertion that Jeff Ooi's blog is different then what it is said to be. To me, his blog seemed to talk about many different topics, however government regardless about the Malaysian was not a very big subject in his recent posts. People that disagree with my previous allegation, may say that he writes about many issues going on in the world that are a cause and effect type of thing although the blog may not have to do with the immediate Malaysian government, or any of government for that fact. Nevertheless, both followers and critics of Jeff Ooi will probably suggest that regardless if he talks directly about issues with the government that everything he talks about can make a difference in the world because if people are being persuaded by what he is saying then they can make a different to their government personally then by Ooi trying to do it over a blog.

HW 9: Punching Holes in Old Faded Mirrors

After reading "Punching Holes in Old Faded Mirrors", and interview with Arianna Huffington I feel that I can relate to her the most with the statements that she makes. Huffington says, "But with blogs an enormous amount of people have become their own reporters. They are driven not by the assignment desk but by passion. When they decide that something matters they chomp down hard and refuse to let go." (Kline and Burstein, 344). I agree that in blogging when people write they write about things that they care about, unlike reporters who are often told what to write about even if it is not something they care about because my experience as a college student is that when you are forced to write something that is not important to you, you do not try as hard to write a good essay or do well on a test. Huffington says that blogs are now a vital news source in our country, maybe even more then the news on television. " We thought this vitality would come from a five-hundred-channel universe, but what we ended up with was the same conventional wisdom endlessly repeated." (Kline and Burstein, 345). I disagree with Huffingtons view that the news is not as vital because the same covers stories are often just repeated on every channel because, as recent research has shown althoghut newspapers and television are not as popular as they used to be back in the day thousands of people still get their news from these sources. Huffington makes many points that are easy to disagree or agree with depending on a person perception and how they want to interpret what she says in her interview.

HW:7 My So-Called Blog

I think children should be able to express themselves on their blogs without having to worry about if their parents are going to read them. There are some things that children can talk to their parents about and some things that they can't, so they go to their friends to talk about their issues. Shy kids may have a hard time talking to their friends about something personal such as their depression or parents divorce so they write it on their blog so they do not have to have a face to face conversation with anyone that may make them feel uncomfortable. In "My So-Called Blog" by Emily Nussbaum, many of the kids write personal things on their blog that should not be written, I think under certain circumstances parents should be monitoring what their children say online however I do not think that they have the right to spy on their children and read what they write unless the child knows that they are doing it. Children need certain boundaries when it comes to using the internet depending on their age just to make sure that their children and others are being safe and not causing harm to themselves or others. Many of the children talk about personal encounters and problems on the internet to fit in and so that others will read their blog and comment and maybe somewhere down the line they will become friends. Emily herself writes "As the reality television stars put it, exposure may be painful at time, but it's all part of the process of "putting it out there", risking judgment, and letting people in." (Kline and Burstein, 352). Blogging lets the children know that they are known by others and that they are being listened to. On sites like LiveJournal, and Blurty, the children can read anyone’s blog even if the two are not friends besides on the internet. According to Emily, "It's a drama heightened by the fact that the journals are linked to one another, creating a constant juxtaposition of posts among the students."(Kline and Burstein 355).
What is all comes down to is that children do need to be monitored but only on a certain basis. The children do not need to have their parents going online and reading each blog that is posted because although the children are writing on a public journal/blog, they must be writing about things that they are not comfortable to talk to their parents about so reading each blog is like reading their diary.

HW 6: Semester Long Research Paper

The three social computing technologies that I am interested right now are, social networking services, instant messaging, and text chat. I find social networking services a fun way to talk to your friends, things like facebook and myspace are almost like e-mail and instant messaging except it's more fun because you can look at your friends pictures and see what they have been up to. If you have not seen a friend in a long time because they went away for the summer or went to college or moved these services are a fun way to see what they have been up to and how they are doing. Instant messaging is an easy way to talk to friends and family without costing money or taking up a lot of time. People can talk online while they do something else, it's hard to be on the phone or talking to someone in person while you are writing a paper because you have to answer back immediatly and forget what you were going to write down. On instant messaging you do not have to answer back immediatly but you can also just talk to them whenever you want. Text messaging is a big thing with teenagers today because we like to be in constant contact with our friends incase something funny or serious happens that we need to tell them but we cannot talk to them on the phone or in person because they may be in class or at work or just doing something where it is not okay to be on the phone at that time.

For empowerment of marginalized groups I am most interested in overcoming racism and overcoming sexism. I am interested in overcoming racism because I grew up in Framingham, MA which is a very diverse town, however other towns may not be as diverse so when they do come to a town like Framingham they sometimes have a different attitude towards people of other races because they are not used to being in such a diverse region. Sexism is an issue although it is not as big of an issue as it used to be. Sexism still exists today but in different ways that people do not notice as much but it does still exist.

I think I will start looking at the US and North America to find out about the technologies because both countries are very technologically advanced.

HW 5b: "I Blog, Therefor I Am"

"I Blog, Therefore I Am" written by David Kline, discusses that because blogging has become such a large phenomenon that it may possibly take over the mainstream media. I do not deny that blogging is getting more popular everyday but I disavow that it will ever be so popular that it will take over mainstream media. Kline observes that since the 1990's the amount of people reading the newspaper has declined rapidly, but people are still getting their news and important information from media. Blogging is not something that people do as a job or as something that they must do in their everyday life, but it is something that people do for fun. The mainstream media does involve people whose job is part of the media and it is something that they must do everyday to make a living so I think that it would be impossibly for blogging to completely take over the media. Since not as many people are reading books and writing as much as they have in the past, Kline believes that people will start to use "Netspeak" instead of using proper spelling and grammar, however; language classes will still be taught to people of all ages so I do not think that people will just stop using correct english when reading and writing. Anything can be put on the internet, so there is a possibility that anything a person reads on the internet could be false. Kline insists that all companies may come to a downfall if they do not have a blog because of how much attention blogging has been getting. Blogs are a good way for people to talk about their opinions and beliefs that have over something they heard on the news or on the radio, if blogs are going to become a way of getting our news and information we cannot be sure that it will all be truthful.

HW 4: The Voice of the Customer

Greg Thomas believes that "Great brands are always built on promise" as he says in "The Voice of the Customer" in Blog! How the newest media revolution is changing politics, business, and culture. In my room, I have a bottle of Febreze to make my dorm room smell good. Febreze has a website that they use to give people information and sell their products. The Febreze slogan is "Febreze: it's a breath of fresh air" and they declare that it will add simplicity to your life. They claim that it will add simplicity to someones life because as soon as it is sprayed the room will smell fresh and amazing and all it takes is one spray of the bottle. They say that the smell of the fragrances and fresh air will welcome anybody into the house because it just has that fresh aroma and that no matter how bad the smell was in the beginning, Febreze can handle the job and get rid of the stench. Febreze however is not made to just cover up the odors but to get rid of them completely. "Make your space the place to be!™ With Febreze products, you can keep the air and fabrics throughout your home smelling fresh and inviting."

I think that Febreze does do a good job of making a room smell nice and clean but the smell does not last as long as they say it does. The room defiantly smells good after you spray it and it is a very easy way to make something smell nice, so it does add simplicity although depending on how bad the smell was in the beginning they may have to spray a few times to completely deodorize the room.



The Frebreze website:
http://www.febreze.com/en_US/febreze/home.do

HW 3: Toward a More Participatory Democracy

In Blog! How the newest media revolution is changing politics, business, and culture written by Dan Burstein and David Kline, they talk about how a person just simply expressing their opinion about a political debate or election in a blog can change the voters opinions as well. In the chapter "Toward a More Participatory Democracy" it states that a well written and explained blog can change the votes of thousands of other people. I think that it is amazing that just because one person expresses their opinion in a blog that others are able to read and comment back with their own opinion, has the power to change other peoples opinion. Although people may read these blogs as just something to do in their free time, often after they read it they start to question and/or agree with what the writer was saying. Of course people that read the blogs and those who don't are still getting information from other sources of media, however; people that read the blogs are the voters that actually engage in political discussions rather then those who just believe what they hear on television or a radio.

Hw 2: Bursteins 12 Key Ideas

Dan Burstein and David Kline write about 12 key ideas in Blog! How the newest media revolution is changing politics,buisness and culture. Bursteins sixth key idea is "Blogging is going global". Basically saying that it is not just a select few amount of people that are using blogging. I can relate to this because when I think of blogging I think of text messages. Everyone uses it, adults,teenagers and children all know how and often use text messaging whether to just ask a quick question or tell someone a story without having to actually communitcate. A lot of people write blogs while they have some spare time at work or just hanging out at home as a way of communicating and that is what texting is to me because I have to be constantly talking to people and having some sort of conversation. In blogging people can comment back and they can have a casual conversation over the computer as many people also do with cell phones.