Internet Communities

Well, I have never really used discussion boards, or internet communities to any great extent, mostly because I don’t have the time to keep up with them.  I hate the logging-in part and I hate that you have to create a new username/profile for each one.  Who can keep track of all of those?  Especially because it seems like each site or group has it’s own requirements (i.e. so many characters, this many letters, that many numbers, ect.).  And then, nobody really tracks whether or not these profiles are accurate and/or used on a continuous basis.  I can’t tell you how many time’s I have had to join, in order to access their information and then have never logged-in again. 

But in the spirit of this project and because I really have been meaning too, I joined a mom’s group with a focus on saving money and time.  Mostly I was interested in all of the hype about coupon’s and how much you can save if you know how to do it. 

So I set out, you have to apply to join the group and it said that the administrator would be notified (via e-mail) of your request.  I was granted access within 24 hours (via e-mail), but somehow it felt like there should have been a cerimony or at least a group song.  Maybe ridiculous hats or a special handshake…just kidding! =)

Anyway, what suprised me was the amount of information that was posted every single day.  In one day there were almost three new pages of posts, there was no way I could keep up on everything.  

Overall, people seemed friendly and helpful.  I didn’t have any outside e-mail contact with anyone (afterall, I didn’t even know them), nor did I do any instant chatting.  But what I did do was read posting and respond.  I was able to learn a lot about the art of coupon clipping and it was amazing how much time people can spend tracking sales patterns.  At one point, someone actually posted a reward for their coupon binder that they had lost in a local grocery store the day before.  They were willing to pay money to get back the coupon’s that were going to save them money…seem like an oxi-moron if you ask me!?!

Anyway, I didn’t really experience any issues or problems.  A few times there was question about whether or not a posting was accurate or ligitament.  But that was usually resolved by the administrator deleting the original post or the original poster clarifying what they ment.  I didn’t really experience any “arguments” or negative interactions, mostly everyone was there to help each other out.  And I got a few good deals (although, the time it took may have actually cost me money….).

What bothered me, like it talked about in our readings, is the anonymous nature of these communities.  I have no idea if these people are telling the truth and if they are not, I have no recourse to hold them accountable.

Thank You Letters: Snail Mail vs. E-Mail

Well, I can’t really remember the last time I wrote someone a letter, little lone sent it?? Nor can I remember the last time I really thanked anyone for what they had done for me…how sad is that!!

Anyway, I chose my two candidates:  one that I talk to on a pretty regular basis, so e-mail was the perfect option, the other, I haven’t talked to in quite some time, nor do I think she has access to e-mail, so snail mail was perfect for her.

As for the differences, length is the biggest one!  On the compuer, via e-mail, you can type on and on, go back to edit, re-write, add to and delete with no problems at all.  You can even save your draft to finish later.  That’s not the case with long-hand.  In order to change something you practically need to start over.  For me, I roughed out what I wanted to say on a piece of scratch paper and then set to writing it for “real”.  But even then, I think I went through three or four copies before I finished one without mistakes.  And the length was no ways near what my e-mail was!  It takes considerably longer to write a letter long-hand, than it does to type one out.  Not to mention that I haven’t written that much in years, so my hand started to hurt almost instantly…has it really been that long?  Aside from a grocery list or a quick note, I don’t think I really write a whole lot anymore…hmmm?!?

As for a response, e-mail was almost instantaneous and we were able to go back and forth some to share stories, memories, and to re-inforce topics or points.  Within a couple of days, we had expanded on the conversation, shared much more than what was in the original letter, and moved on (note: the only reason it took a couple of days was that we weren’t on-line chatting, but e-mailing back and forth, checking-in only in the morning, night and on breaks). 

My long-hand letter on the other hand, I still have no idea if she’s received it?!?!  First it took me some time to write it (mistake free) and in pretty, legible handwritting, then I actually had to go buy a stamp at the post office (I got lucky with the hours though, sneaking in just before they closed on Saturday).  Allowing a few days for travel time (they said usually it gets there the next day, but allow two for sure), time for a response, and travel time again for it to get back to me…maybe by next month??  No just kidding, I should hear back by next week, but still, if we wanted to go back and forth a little (like in my e-mail thank you), we’d be at it for months!  Or, hopefully one of us would pick-up the phone and call!

In our readings from Wood and Smith, they say that the more people talk on-line, the less they talk off-line (or I might add, in real life)!  We are of a day and age that wants instant results and gratification for our actions, no one has the time or patience anymore to send a letter long-hand and wait for a response.  In fact, there’s research to support that because of this ease in communication on-line, and I might add, for what’s easiest, our social circles are actually growing smaller and I would agree.  The person I sent the long-hand letter to, though she’s dear to me, communicating with her is harder since she’s not on-line (and doesn’t own a cell phone), therefore I don’t talk to her very often and essentially she’s not in my immediate social cirlce anymore: not because I don’t want here there though!

The ability to communicate on-line has definitely changed the way that we communcate with the people in our lives and though it’s great to type out a quick note, send it off, and check that to-do off your list, isn’t it also great to see that card or letter in your mail box…or does anyone even remember what that looks like anymore?!?

MySpace, really?? Because EVERYONE can see it!

So many people utilize this site on the Internet that it’s almost scary! For the longest time I resisted the temptation to join the crowd, but last summer I feel pray. The reason, you can’t access its information unless you’re a member (tricky huh?).

Anyway, I had my 10-year high school reunion coming up and someone had said, just post on the MySpace page: really, a MySpace page for a High School Class? Well, to my surprise, almost every high school class has a page and not only that, so did most of my old friends and many of my current ones. I had no idea!

That night I must have spent four hours or more reading up on all kinds of people from my past. Alarmingly, these people had no idea that I was even looking at their stuff (that is aside from the locked profiles that I will explain in a little bit). I found out things like who was having a baby, who had gotten divorced, and who the new spouse was! I was able to look at previous year’s high school reunion pages and follow person, after person, after person, until I had so much “good” gossip that I didn’t know what to do with myself?!?!

My pet peeve with MySpace is that you can’t access their database of people unless you’re a member, which I had no intention of ever being. The plus to having to become a member is that they do offer an option for a private profile, so that only the people you grant access to can see you’re information, but still I would rather not have any part of it. Honestly, I don’t have much of a page, but I have been amazed over and over again at the wealth of personal information that is available on any number of sites.

I’ve read things that I know for a fact to be a lie, like on my ex-boyfriend’s page, under Status, he listed single after we’d been together almost 2 years!! I also noticed that you don’t necessarily have to post the information, but if someone else does, it doesn’t take much to put two and two together. For example, I looked up an old friend of mine, whom I knew was married to another friend of mine. Her page said nothing about a husband or children, but his page totally listed her and had pictures of their family. It’s funny how something as simple as a caption to a picture, “Me and so and so at Disneyland last month,” can give you so much information, if you just take the time to read it.

Overall, I don’t like the idea of MySpace for myself or for anyone I am involved with (I don’t let my sister or my boyfriend post pictures of me or my daughter), but on the other hand, I did find it to be very useful in tracking what’s been happening with the people I know. Is it the right way to keep up on people, no I don’t think so. If they were that important to me, I should probably take the time to call them or see them (even better)!

You just never know who’s looking at your stuff on-line, whether right or wrong, with good intentions or bad, I think that you should be EXTREMELY careful with what you post and read for that matter on things like MySpace. It can be a distorted reality, which you as the poster have no control over who sees, reads, or what they do with that information afterwards. Personally, I think that if you’re going to post something on MySpace (and not make your profile private, at the very least), you might as well hang a banner on the highway for all passer-byers to see…you’d achieve the same result!

In our reading’s this week, Wood and Smith have a cartoon, “On the Internet, nobody knows you’re a dog!” (pg. 62). My response to that is, they will if they spend enough time looking (like in the case of the falsely posted Status Comment or the seemingly harmless picture captions explained above). In that same chapter, page 71, they list some tips for on-line information judging: Who is the Author? What possible biases (and I will add motives) might they have? And when was it posted? These rules are great for surfing the web, and with a little modification, they can be excellent reality checks for things like MySpace.

So Much Cooler Online – By Brad Paisley

WOW, I couldn’t stop laughing at how perfect all of the characters were, yet at the same time shockingly realistic!

The “star” of the video was a short, balding, over-weight, nerd dressed in ratty cloths, living in his parent’s basement apartment. His parents were both played by older people straight out of the 50’s. His mom wore a house-coat/robe/dress (something for all occasions I guess?) and her hair was the typical curly bob of the 50’s (she reminded me a lot of Mama on that show Mama’s Family…any one remember that?). Anyway, dad was played by a handsome man, in his own era I am sure: very conservative and old-fashioned. One of those couples that wanted you to think the husband made all of the decisions, but in reality it was only if his wife thought they were a good idea.

What was being portrayed on-line was that the “star” was tall, dark and handsome like Brad Paisley, but in reality he was exactly the opposite. In this video the whole scene was portrayed in a light fashion (for entertainment purposes), but the reality is that it’s not always that way! People can act or display a COMPLETELY different image though the strokes on their keyboard, than what exists in reality. True, this ability to change one’s self or morph into something that you’re not, can give you more courage and strength and when these things are applied in a good, positive way like in the video it’s great! By the way, he did get the girl in the end of the video: his high school sweetheart!

However, these same ego-boasting qualities are often used in negative ways to deceive and harm others. People, especially internet predators, use these exact types of deception and corrosion to lure children into harms way and it’s this warning that I would hope people remember when they watch this video or hear this song: an entertaining reminder, of a very serious lesson!

Like in our readings this week from Wood and Smith, so much of relationship building is lost with on-line communication: emotional responses, gestures, facial expressions and attitudes all the way down to cleanliness and hygiene habits can NOT be observed, processed or evaluated through on-line communication and this is where I think we run the risk, as a society, of putting to much importance or trust in CMC. CMC skews our reality too much by the lack of information it offers, which is ironically supposed to be one of its features (increased information)?!?!

As for the video, I think Brad’s done an excellent job communicating an important message to people through music. And I just hope that people can see past the entertainment value in it and really listen to the true message: who or what’s behind those words on the screen may NOT be what or whom you think it is!

If you’d like to see this video, click So Much Cooler Online.