This week I joined iVillage and Foodspotting, which are two interest-based communities that I wanted to explore. These two sites have been a little more challenging and not as interesting as my current en devour with Pinterest.
Setting up my profile for iVillage was extremely easy. I just had to follow the steps, add a picture, and answers a few questions if I wanted to, and adjusting my privacy settings. The privacy settings are not as indepth as most sites. You have two options in three categories---either make you profile, pictures, and like available to everyone or no-one. It was as simple as that. Although this may seem nice, I have grown to not enjoy it because I believe most people choose to not share anything with anyone, which takes away from the "community" aspect of the site. I have had extreme difficulty in finding anyone who allows me to view their profile. However, I can still communicate with them via responses on articles. So in a way, users are still interacting.
The entire site is like a million different magazines thrown into one. You can find articles on almost anything and there are a lot of add-ons such as contests and iVillage rewards that enable you to connect with other users and unlock different things throughout the site. iVillage also connects with the outside world through their rewards. iVillage rewards are earned by subscribers in various different ways, such as by posting your opinion on articles or participating in contests. These rewards unlock new content and site experiences that one would normally not encounter unless they are active throughout the site. I earned a point just for logging in for the first time! The fact that you have to be active to earn points pushes users to connect.
Due to the topics that are available on iVillage, such as pregnancy or hair and make-up, a vast majority of the users are females. This would make sense, however, since it is an interest-based site!
My experience with Foodspotting has been not so user-friendly. I found the site through google when I was looking for a site that related to food because I enjoy finding delicious recipes online. Creating a profile was difficult alone. During the process of creating your profile, you can add your favorite foods and meals so that it connects you with those types of recipes. However, if I wanted to add something that was already a "choice"---such as when you begin to type a friend's name into Facebook and it automatically pops up---it would allow me to save it at all! I had to pick something that was already there. For example, I wanted to put down Strawberry-Mango Moscato as my favorite drink and that was not a choice and it would not let me save it as a new one so now I do not have a favorite drink at all. After my difficulties of creating my favorite food's list, the difficulties continued when I went to add my favorite restaurants. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner restaurants, all of which were not ready-made choices. So now, I have no favorites in that category.
After this I went to find places and people to follow. How this site works is that you can find specific dishes that people ordered at restaurants and they post these pictures, places, and meals on their profiles. Then other people who like those same types of dishes can find and follow them and ideally go visit that place to eat that delicious meal! As you can see, this entire site is about connecting with the outside world. However, in my searches, most of the places were more highly populated areas like California and New York. I have yet to find any places or foods that are in Maine. Therefore, this site has been rather useless to me.
Hopefully the more a I browse through the sites, the more I will figure out and learn to enjoy them and gain something useful from them!
7.23.2012
My Weak Spot
Pinterest. For someone who spends as much time on it on daily basis as I do, I do not need to elaborate further on how great and what meaning that one word holds. However, for those of you who are not Pinterest Freaks, I will continue.
This is my weak spot---sadly. I tried extremely hard to stay away from this site because I knew I would love it and not be able to stop. However, I was persuaded by, well, every single one of my friends. It is the simplest of social sites and that it something that I think I am drawn to most. It is also a complete woman's site. Although this is not a requirement, I can not say I've ever seen a man post pins before. The moment when I decided I would become a part of this site was when I was at my friends house and she had made the most beautiful tapestry wall art I have ever seen. I asked her, "how did you ever come up with that," (knowing that she lacks almost any artistic ability one could have) and she said, "I saw it on Pinterest and it gave me directions on how to do it." Boom. That was all I needed and within minutes I was sitting on the couch looking at Pins of art projects.
Pinterest is something that I am drawn to because, in my opinion, it leaves all the gossipy, talky, silly stuff out. Not that I do not participate in that on other sites, but I enjoy having just one where it's just about me in the simplest way. I also have the application for my phone, so I can look at Pins whenever I am bored or have some free time. Pinterest also is more than just the site itself. If you like something, you can click on it and it will usually bring you to another site so you can either learn more about it, or learn how to do it. My Pins can reflect anything I choose---my interior decorating sense, the clothes I would love to own, the art projects I will some day complete, the wedding dress I will find, the food I like. It is everything about me without me having to write one word. It's fantastic.
This site is probably one of the only sites that I enjoy and utilize into my daily life. It gives me dinner recipes, art projects, and outfit ideas that I have all executed in real life. All of my friends are on Pinterest. Although I will say that most of my favorite things have come from other people's profiles that I have searched. It is also the only site in which I am not afraid to interact with someone I don't know or share my profile with them. I feel this way because it is so simple and it makes me feel safe in the sense of the onlien world.
I would say, in my experience, there are no leaders or power structures. I can't think of one instance or one individual that I would say "leads" Pinterest. Everyone is equal in the fact that power is not what Pinterest is about. It's about sharing your interests with the world. There is no drama, no wording, no bashing, no dating, no statuses, no nothing. Just you and your Pins.
Besides Pinterest and all of the common social networking sites that our class is involved with, I can not think of any other online community that I actively participate in or observe. To be honest, I do not know why. I think it's something that I have never had the urge to find. Before this class, I already had a Facebook and Pinterest that I actively participated in on a daily basis, so becoming a part of something more was not something that striked my fancy---or something I had time for unless I never wanted to put my phone down. I go on Pinterest at least ten times a day for varying amounts of time depending on what I am looking for. Whether I am just browsing or I am looking for a specific idea such as a hair style, I would say I am currently addicted.
This is my weak spot---sadly. I tried extremely hard to stay away from this site because I knew I would love it and not be able to stop. However, I was persuaded by, well, every single one of my friends. It is the simplest of social sites and that it something that I think I am drawn to most. It is also a complete woman's site. Although this is not a requirement, I can not say I've ever seen a man post pins before. The moment when I decided I would become a part of this site was when I was at my friends house and she had made the most beautiful tapestry wall art I have ever seen. I asked her, "how did you ever come up with that," (knowing that she lacks almost any artistic ability one could have) and she said, "I saw it on Pinterest and it gave me directions on how to do it." Boom. That was all I needed and within minutes I was sitting on the couch looking at Pins of art projects.
Pinterest is something that I am drawn to because, in my opinion, it leaves all the gossipy, talky, silly stuff out. Not that I do not participate in that on other sites, but I enjoy having just one where it's just about me in the simplest way. I also have the application for my phone, so I can look at Pins whenever I am bored or have some free time. Pinterest also is more than just the site itself. If you like something, you can click on it and it will usually bring you to another site so you can either learn more about it, or learn how to do it. My Pins can reflect anything I choose---my interior decorating sense, the clothes I would love to own, the art projects I will some day complete, the wedding dress I will find, the food I like. It is everything about me without me having to write one word. It's fantastic.
This site is probably one of the only sites that I enjoy and utilize into my daily life. It gives me dinner recipes, art projects, and outfit ideas that I have all executed in real life. All of my friends are on Pinterest. Although I will say that most of my favorite things have come from other people's profiles that I have searched. It is also the only site in which I am not afraid to interact with someone I don't know or share my profile with them. I feel this way because it is so simple and it makes me feel safe in the sense of the onlien world.
I would say, in my experience, there are no leaders or power structures. I can't think of one instance or one individual that I would say "leads" Pinterest. Everyone is equal in the fact that power is not what Pinterest is about. It's about sharing your interests with the world. There is no drama, no wording, no bashing, no dating, no statuses, no nothing. Just you and your Pins.
Besides Pinterest and all of the common social networking sites that our class is involved with, I can not think of any other online community that I actively participate in or observe. To be honest, I do not know why. I think it's something that I have never had the urge to find. Before this class, I already had a Facebook and Pinterest that I actively participated in on a daily basis, so becoming a part of something more was not something that striked my fancy---or something I had time for unless I never wanted to put my phone down. I go on Pinterest at least ten times a day for varying amounts of time depending on what I am looking for. Whether I am just browsing or I am looking for a specific idea such as a hair style, I would say I am currently addicted.
7.19.2012
Week of the wiki overload.
Throughout the past few days I have set up a wiki in order to create a website on Susan Komen with a few other students in my class. Setting up the wiki was quite possibly the easiest thing I have done thus far for one main reason: the wiki website gave me a step by step tutorial in which I could interactively learn different tools and ways to build my website. This was amazing. It made it easy to do just about anything. Of course, I am sure that there are things that I am still unaware of, but the tutorial provided all the basics. Also, being able to actively click and follow the tutorial gave me a visual memory which has definitely helped. There were a couple of things that I feel I would have never figured out, or maybe I would have, but it would've taken me hours. So overall, I have had a great experience with wiki and I think I will learn to really love it in terms of the convenience of the site for working in groups.
I made the editing settings for group members only right now. I did this because, well, I don't want anyone else to be able to have a say in what goes on our group's page. Maybe later on it will get changed, but I think that is what's best for now.
Searching for information on Susan Komen has also been extremely easy. She is an icon to millions---the breast cancer billboard. Finding someone who doesn't know at least her name and the foundation she created is rare---specially since they have the Walk for the Cure, which pulls in millions of people as well. There are numerous Facebook pages for her, her Walk, her foundation, and I am beginning to think for "fake." There are so many that it leads me to believe that someone else has created a page just for her...kind of like a celebrity.
The wiki space has been time consuming. There is so much about her that it's hard to read through everything and make sure you're finding facts that are from a reliable source. Then, deciding where and how you want to put it on your page in a way that's readable to the viewer is a whole other ball game. I do enjoy adding pictures though, because I think it is a good way to break up all the words. I have always felt that wikipedia pages were rather boring to look at, so I am hoping that my groups page will be a little more exciting than the usual. However, I have found that it's hard to make it look "nice" because it's kind of like a word document. You can't add a picture and arrange in which ever way you please, there are guidelines. So this is something that I think will annoy me throughout the process.
But give me another week or so and then you can be the judge!
I made the editing settings for group members only right now. I did this because, well, I don't want anyone else to be able to have a say in what goes on our group's page. Maybe later on it will get changed, but I think that is what's best for now.
Searching for information on Susan Komen has also been extremely easy. She is an icon to millions---the breast cancer billboard. Finding someone who doesn't know at least her name and the foundation she created is rare---specially since they have the Walk for the Cure, which pulls in millions of people as well. There are numerous Facebook pages for her, her Walk, her foundation, and I am beginning to think for "fake." There are so many that it leads me to believe that someone else has created a page just for her...kind of like a celebrity.
The wiki space has been time consuming. There is so much about her that it's hard to read through everything and make sure you're finding facts that are from a reliable source. Then, deciding where and how you want to put it on your page in a way that's readable to the viewer is a whole other ball game. I do enjoy adding pictures though, because I think it is a good way to break up all the words. I have always felt that wikipedia pages were rather boring to look at, so I am hoping that my groups page will be a little more exciting than the usual. However, I have found that it's hard to make it look "nice" because it's kind of like a word document. You can't add a picture and arrange in which ever way you please, there are guidelines. So this is something that I think will annoy me throughout the process.
But give me another week or so and then you can be the judge!
7.13.2012
Social Networking and Me
Tweeting and Blogging. What do I think about them? This I am not quite sure about yet. I think that in time, when I think about what I want to talk about more, I will enjoy them. But in the past and currently, I do not really enjoy them. There is no particular reason that I feel this way. I do not disagree with them or think that they are "stupid." What I feel when I am using my time to update my statuses and tweet and blog my thoughts is, "I really would rather be doing something else." I know that I have always used Facebook, however I think that in order for me to keep up with all these social networking sites, I would genuinely have to be on my phone or laptop 24/7. This is something that I don't agree with. My life is about spending time with my friends and myself, enjoying the outdoors and the world. I don't want to turn into the person who can't go an hour without picking up their phone to make sure they are up to date with the world.
In comparison to Twitter and Facebook, I enjoy Facebook more. I enjoy it because it is more about pictures and not necessarily just 'tweets' or 'statuses.' I like to add pictures because I like to share them with my friends and family that I don't necessarily see every day. It allows me to keep them up to date with what's going on in my life and they enjoy it as well. I have never been to constantly update my status with my every move or thought, and this is basically what Twitter is. Therefore, I enjoy it less.
I make all my privacy settings viewable for friends and followers only on Facebook and Twitter because I think it's important to protect yourself. Yes, it is unlikely that you may come across a dangerous person, however, that is not a risk I am willing to take. Just as I would lock the door to my apartment before I leave, I will lock my Facebook and Twitter when I am not around and allow only those I chose to view them.
I have never used my Facebook or Twitter for anything other than enjoyment. It has been more for friends and family than it has been for job searching or communicating with people outside of my "circle." I think my statuses and wall postings say only positive things about. They are usually my friends and family telling me how much they love and miss me, or a status about a great day by the pool with them. Rarely do I complain over the internet, so I would hope that people would infer that about me as well. Having such positive things throughout my Faceobok should show other people that this is who I am. I am a person who loves her life and everyone in it. I would never think that my Facebook would hinder anyone's opinion of me, whether it be a future friend or employer. I think it would show that I am a happy, outgoing individual, which would only help in getting a job in the field of my interest---dental hygiene. You need to be a people's person, and I think my Facebook expresses just that.
In comparison to Twitter and Facebook, I enjoy Facebook more. I enjoy it because it is more about pictures and not necessarily just 'tweets' or 'statuses.' I like to add pictures because I like to share them with my friends and family that I don't necessarily see every day. It allows me to keep them up to date with what's going on in my life and they enjoy it as well. I have never been to constantly update my status with my every move or thought, and this is basically what Twitter is. Therefore, I enjoy it less.
I make all my privacy settings viewable for friends and followers only on Facebook and Twitter because I think it's important to protect yourself. Yes, it is unlikely that you may come across a dangerous person, however, that is not a risk I am willing to take. Just as I would lock the door to my apartment before I leave, I will lock my Facebook and Twitter when I am not around and allow only those I chose to view them.
I have never used my Facebook or Twitter for anything other than enjoyment. It has been more for friends and family than it has been for job searching or communicating with people outside of my "circle." I think my statuses and wall postings say only positive things about. They are usually my friends and family telling me how much they love and miss me, or a status about a great day by the pool with them. Rarely do I complain over the internet, so I would hope that people would infer that about me as well. Having such positive things throughout my Faceobok should show other people that this is who I am. I am a person who loves her life and everyone in it. I would never think that my Facebook would hinder anyone's opinion of me, whether it be a future friend or employer. I think it would show that I am a happy, outgoing individual, which would only help in getting a job in the field of my interest---dental hygiene. You need to be a people's person, and I think my Facebook expresses just that.
The News: Important and Everywhere
I recently subscribed to CNN's multiple social networking sites, as well at their traditional website. From Facebook to Twitter, these sites have enabled me to stay up to date on the news in a way I have never been able to before this. In the push of a button, I can go to CNN's Facebook page on my cellphone and read an up-to-date news article along with thousands of people's comments and opinions. I can also easily access the full article by the link that is always attached to the Facebook post. Their Twitter page is similiar, in the way that I can quickly access their page and read about current issues. However, I do not personally like Twitter in comparison to Facebook because I feel that I can not read other people's posts and opinions as quickly and as organized as I can on Facebook. On their website, of course, there is every article ever written. While this is nice because you can find anything you are looking for, I find it mind boggling and hard to navigate because I don't know where to start.
Being subscribed to CNN in these ways is something I have learned to thoroughly enjoy. It a way to keep me informed of what is going on in the world in a way that connects with me. Growing up in the technology era has definitely pushed me away from wanted to pick up a news paper every day and read. Therefore, this form of micro-blogging is something I am drawn to, and it makes me a better person by keeping myself informed of current events.
As much as I agree and enjoy this form of micro-blogging journalism, there are many journalists who are against it because they believe that using social networking sites can be inaccurate in misleading. They are concerned with the fact that it allows anyone to comment whatever they please, which can lead to rumors and inaccuracies about the news. On the other hand, there are individuals such as Alfred Hermida, who disagree with these opinions and suggests that, "the institutionally structured features of micro-blogging are creating new forms of journalism. I suggest that micro-blogging presents a multi-faceted and fragmented news experience." This, I agree with. People will talk regardless of whether there are places to type their opinions on or not. Rumors will spread and people will believe inaccurate information for as long as the news is around. What I think micro-blogging journalism does is allow people from around the world to join their opinions and talk about them. They can debate, express, and inform others of their views on the news and join together, which I think is an amazing thing.
Being subscribed to CNN in these ways is something I have learned to thoroughly enjoy. It a way to keep me informed of what is going on in the world in a way that connects with me. Growing up in the technology era has definitely pushed me away from wanted to pick up a news paper every day and read. Therefore, this form of micro-blogging is something I am drawn to, and it makes me a better person by keeping myself informed of current events.
As much as I agree and enjoy this form of micro-blogging journalism, there are many journalists who are against it because they believe that using social networking sites can be inaccurate in misleading. They are concerned with the fact that it allows anyone to comment whatever they please, which can lead to rumors and inaccuracies about the news. On the other hand, there are individuals such as Alfred Hermida, who disagree with these opinions and suggests that, "the institutionally structured features of micro-blogging are creating new forms of journalism. I suggest that micro-blogging presents a multi-faceted and fragmented news experience." This, I agree with. People will talk regardless of whether there are places to type their opinions on or not. Rumors will spread and people will believe inaccurate information for as long as the news is around. What I think micro-blogging journalism does is allow people from around the world to join their opinions and talk about them. They can debate, express, and inform others of their views on the news and join together, which I think is an amazing thing.
7.07.2012
Technologically-Not-Advanced
Although I already have a Facebook, Twitter, E-mail, and was born and raised in the technology era, I can't seem to get this blogging site straight. Currently, I have TWO blogs and profiles. This is because I had to make a new e-mail account with google separate from my UNE e-mail and therefore had to re-create my blog and profile. However, (although I have hit the delete button at least five times) I can see on some other bloggers profiles that my old blog and profile is still there. Hopefully this will resolve itself. But for now, I thought maybe this would clear up some confusion...maybe...for those of you who are seeing double of me. So please try to find me on THIS one and comment on these blogs.
Bye!
Bye!
My First Blog
Hello! I was having trouble with my e-mail, configuring my UNE and g-mail accounts, so I had to start all over! So hopefully, this will be my final and official blogging site.
My name is Amanda Monty---Mandy preferably---and this is my first blog! I am 21 years old and I am a recent dental hygiene graduate. I work at a pediatric dental office and will be returning to school in the fall to continue my education in hopes of getting my doctorate in education. My ultimate career goal is become a dean of a dental hygiene program.
I would consider myself as a rather outgoing person. I talk...a lot...so I am told. I love the summer season the most, so currently I have been living outdoors doing whatever I can to keep busy and out of the house. Currently, I am working full-time and going to school part-time, so I have been pretty busy.
I am looking forward to this class because I am excited to learn about different aspects of social networking and I am interested in seeing how I feel about them. I have never though of doing anything such as a blogging, simply because I am not one to share all of my thoughts of feelings over the internet. However, I feel that it will be an interesting experience and I hope to gain knowledge and connections with my classmates and the world.
I did not have any trouble setting up my profile or finding a few people. However, as you may have noticed, I had trouble finding and starting this blog! Now that I have found it, I also found the layouts and everything else that comes with it, thank heavens. Although I thought I was doing pretty well with the site, now that two hours have passed and I am just now posting my first blog, I will have to admit that I had trouble navigating myself to the blogger page. My profile is set up and compete though! I chose my layout because I feel as though when you first enter my page, your eyes tend to fall towards the left. So I thought it would be a good idea to put my about me on the left, followed by my posts in the middle. I chose the color theme because I am very much an environment person and I believe that the environment you place yourself in reflects your daily mood. Although this is just a website background, my beliefs stand. When I found this color scheme, it relaxed my mood. Therefore, the choice was simple.
After browsing around this site, I have come to the conclusion that blogging can be helpful in many ways. I always have had a rather negative outlook on them for no particular reason other than I have never actually given them a try! I think that in terms of my profession, blogging would be a positive way to stay connected with others who share the same interests as I do within the dental field. Perhaps I will come across dental societies or groups within this site and I will be able to learn from them through their posts and links.
I was able to find the privacy settings, and for this site, I have made everything public. My reason for that is because that is the point of social networking! Also, because I am so unfamiliar with this site, I want to enable people, specifically my classmates, to find me easily and in return, share my posts and blogs with them easily.
Have a wonderful day.
My name is Amanda Monty---Mandy preferably---and this is my first blog! I am 21 years old and I am a recent dental hygiene graduate. I work at a pediatric dental office and will be returning to school in the fall to continue my education in hopes of getting my doctorate in education. My ultimate career goal is become a dean of a dental hygiene program.
I would consider myself as a rather outgoing person. I talk...a lot...so I am told. I love the summer season the most, so currently I have been living outdoors doing whatever I can to keep busy and out of the house. Currently, I am working full-time and going to school part-time, so I have been pretty busy.
I am looking forward to this class because I am excited to learn about different aspects of social networking and I am interested in seeing how I feel about them. I have never though of doing anything such as a blogging, simply because I am not one to share all of my thoughts of feelings over the internet. However, I feel that it will be an interesting experience and I hope to gain knowledge and connections with my classmates and the world.
I did not have any trouble setting up my profile or finding a few people. However, as you may have noticed, I had trouble finding and starting this blog! Now that I have found it, I also found the layouts and everything else that comes with it, thank heavens. Although I thought I was doing pretty well with the site, now that two hours have passed and I am just now posting my first blog, I will have to admit that I had trouble navigating myself to the blogger page. My profile is set up and compete though! I chose my layout because I feel as though when you first enter my page, your eyes tend to fall towards the left. So I thought it would be a good idea to put my about me on the left, followed by my posts in the middle. I chose the color theme because I am very much an environment person and I believe that the environment you place yourself in reflects your daily mood. Although this is just a website background, my beliefs stand. When I found this color scheme, it relaxed my mood. Therefore, the choice was simple.
After browsing around this site, I have come to the conclusion that blogging can be helpful in many ways. I always have had a rather negative outlook on them for no particular reason other than I have never actually given them a try! I think that in terms of my profession, blogging would be a positive way to stay connected with others who share the same interests as I do within the dental field. Perhaps I will come across dental societies or groups within this site and I will be able to learn from them through their posts and links.
I was able to find the privacy settings, and for this site, I have made everything public. My reason for that is because that is the point of social networking! Also, because I am so unfamiliar with this site, I want to enable people, specifically my classmates, to find me easily and in return, share my posts and blogs with them easily.
Have a wonderful day.
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