Thankyou!

Professor Hendron, Just wanted to say thanks for a great class. I really enjoyed the topics, I loved writing my own blog for the first time,he and most of all-it was really interesting to read and learn about all these different perspectives. I definately think this is one of the most interesting classes I have taken at JMU and it has been the subject of many of my conversations haha. And I know I made this clear before, but I especially loved learning about the flash mobs which I had never heard of before! In fact, I shared the idea of the flash mob with my mom. She loved it! And now, she has coordinated a flash mob for a convention that her company is hosting next week at the Gaylord Opreland Hotel in Nashville Tennessee. Pretty cool stuff. Anyways, thanks agin for the class-really enjoyed it!

Epilogue: "Unlearning"

Well a simple but classic example: If you had to send a message to someone far away, you use the postal service. Now you can send messages through email, facebook and aim chat. Probably one of the first things that my generation learned in seventh grade was that you could have conversations with the opposite sex (and remember, in seventh grade when boys and girls are shy to talk to eachother-this was a big deal) through instant messenger. I am willing to bet that 90% of my generation LOVED instant messenger becuase it gave you an easy, unintimidating way to talk to your crushes! This may seem like a childish example, but Im willing to bet that this realization to my generation was like the discovery of the cell-phone to the modern day businessperson! In addition to this, you can have "pen-pals" through the internet. Anytime you enter a chatroom-it's like having a pen pal! Someone you don't know, but you can talk to about yourself and/or about your common interests.

Chapter 11; Merchants

The rating systems that Amazon and EBay uses are real. They are real people giving real testimonies; it is not a thought-out commercial. The comments are "nuts-and-bolts" straight up feedback. Although this system, which in many ways reminds me of folksonomy, is probably not 100% representative of the true characteristics of a product, I think that for the most part, it works. For instance, my Dad bought a playstation off of EBAY from a seller who was rated by others as a legitimately reliable seller-unfortunately, even though my dad had that suppossed re-assurance....we had problems with the Playstation. However, what makes me look past his example? Well, the reason is because EBAY is a very recognized term. Pretty much anybody you run into on the street is going to know what you are talking about if you mention the word EBAY. Why? Because EBAY is well-known because alot of people use it because nine times out of ten, it works!!! The same philosophy holds true for Amazon.com. If people are posting comments and testimonies to this website, most of them are probably accurate or Amazon.com would not have the success that it has. I have personally had great success with Amazon; I used it to purchase my Shirky and my Abelson Books for a lower price than Barnes and Noble!

Chapter 11; Shirky; Wisdom of Crowds

I would caution them to double-check the source itself. Crowds can be very persuasive. People generally like to get along with one another and be included; sometimes though, you have to step back and use your own thought and judgement to make sure that whatever you are taking part in or whoever you are taking advice from is aligned with your philosophies. Take for instance the infamous "kool-aid" incident...those people just went along with whatever Jim Jones and everybody else there was doing without logically thinking through it. Now granted, that is an extreme example, but it does point out the danger of going along with everybody else and not thinking for yourself. However, one the other hand, when you are a part of a good crowd that is interested in benefitting eachother and somehow adding value to society, amazing things can be accomplished! Take for instance groups who form to raise money for cancer by participating in marathons. The overall objective of the group is adding value to society and doing good for people who are sick: it's a pretty safe bet that gathering information from a "Walk for Leukemia" website is going to be a healthy place to speak with others and gather information concerning this topic. However, even in groups that do good, it is always best to re-evaluate and think for yourself. Sometimes people get so caught up in something that it can impair their better judgement. We are given our reasoning skills and judgement so that we can not only help ourselves, but also help others.
When looking to a socialized website or resource, I would pay attention to the values, philosophies and objectives of the group in general and I would especially pay attention to thier overall repuatation. Reputations are often very telling.

Shirky Chapter Nine FOAF-Style Network

Professional benefits of a FOAF Style Network? You are able to make so many more connections online than you could possibly make in person. This will provide for getting your name out there. People can become familar with your professional activity and accomplishments before they even meet you. It will connect you to many more people, giving you more opportunities for networking and professional experiences. As long as you are professional of FOAF network, the benefits will be significant!

Chapter Ten: Try and Fail

Shirky talks about how most websites that are invented or launched will ultimately fail, mostly because there are so many other websites being created that serve similar or same purposes and the competition is intense for who will come up with the best website.

The internet is a good example of where a "try and fail" theme is laced throughout the internet and its millions of websites. In middle school, I know that during Physical Education classes we were given different games or exercises that we had never done before: every student had to try whether they succeeded or failed. I specifically remember a physical education class my sophomore year of high school where we had to run a 5K around the track. EVERYONE had to participate, no matter how skinny, fat or athletically challenged you were, sitting out was not an option. It was o.k. if you had to walk, but regardless, you had to participate. I think this is a great example of "try and fail" because we werent graded on our performance but rather whether or not we started and completed the task at hand. For those of us who had never run a 5K, now we knew where we stood in the scheme of things when it came to running, stamina and speed.

Middle schools and high schools should design more classroom exercises to encourage kids to try things. Their grade should not be based on their ability but on whether or not they tried the task at hand. Dont get me wrong, there is certainly a time and a place for being graded on ability-that is inevitable. But if you want people to try more things, minimize the consequences there will be for failing, instead focus on the positives generated from trying in the first place.

Print vs. Online Media

I generally feel more inclined to trust print media more than online media. I enjoy it more as well. Most of the time, I spend so much time looking at a computer screen that the last thing I want to do is read off of the computer to recieve my news. Ironically enough, my homepage is cnn.com. I probably trust print media more just because it has always been around whereas the internet and online information is a fairly recent development. Maybe it also has to do with the fact that printing companies must pay for their product to be distributed and consumers must pay to recieve the information. Whenever there is an exchange of money involved, products just seem more valuable; whether they are or not is a different story. In the course of my day to day life with how busy I am, I do get most of my news from online...but if I had all the time in the world I would prefer to recieve most of my news through a magazine such as Newsweek or Time. I also enjoy reading the Breeze. :)