"You're Friend's With Her?"

"Not Really...Just Facebook Friends..."

Lately as I have been wondering around my usual places on the web, I’ve started to notice a change. Everything is getting way to personal.  Facebook statuses read more like an entry of a diary then an update on someone’s activity. Maybe that’s why Twitter limits you to 140 words or less…

I don’t know if it is just me, but sometimes its bothersome to think about how much I know about someone who I have never really spoken to a day in my life. Weekly I see Facebook break ups, make ups, fights and inside jokes. Why are we so open over the internet? If you wouldn’t say these things to someone’s face, why would you say them for the world to see?

All of these things I think are causing a rift in the connections and interactions outside of the internet in our generation today. For example, you meet someone you like. Next step? Not actually talking again, not planning a next time to hangout, no. Next step is to see if he’ll add you on Facebook. Yep, that’s the true test.  

Maybe without these social networking sites we would try harder to make connections with people in the real world and not be some consumed by the one on the screen.

"I Don't Know, Google It"

We all have media habits. I know some people who will just automatically go to their Facebook App when they open their smartphone. I know others who will continuously refresh their email multiple times within minutes. And then there are the people like me, the ones who Google EVERYTHING. In fact, I “Google” so much that the term itself has changed from a noun to a verb in my vocabulary. 

I went to Australia over D-Term and since the internet down under would cost me an arm and a leg, I was internet-less for those two weeks. This was really a reality check for me. If I wanted to do something on a free day here at home I would just Google places around me. If I needed directions, Google Maps. But there I was left to figure it out on my own, which frustrated me. I realized then that I was way to dependent on these services. When I came home I was ready to admit it, I’m a Google addict.

This never seemed weird to me though, well that is until we talked about it. After class I couldn’t help but be amused by the idea. I took an informal poll with my friends and family that day by simply asking them, “if you wanted to know something how would you ask someone to look it up?” My results were interesting to me. When I asked friends or family closer to my age, they all said that they would “Google it,” but when I asked older people they said they would ask to look it up. 

Maybe media is subconsciously overtaking our generation?

"I Cannot Pretend I Know What I'm Doing"

A Blogger's Response

I skimmed my eyes up and down the pages of all of the interviews on the list. I finally found one that caught my attention; it was the interview with blogger Megan Reardon.  She is a blogger blogging about crafts. I immediately became interested in this girl. Not just her interview but also her personality, story, and her blog. Her responses to the questions reminded me of something I would respond with myself.

When asked why she blogged Reardon didn’t have some big response. She wasn’t trying to change people’s opinions, she wasn’t trying to strike emotion, she was simply just blogging to remember things and record crafts and activities she has done and would like to do. I liked that her purpose was simple. She was just blogging for herself, not the attention of others. A lot of blogs I have read before I feel have come off whiney or screaming for attention and comments of others. Reardon is just there to preoccupy and satisfy herself. She even has gone out of her way to delete comments that others have posted on her blog.

I liked that Reardon fills her blog with images also. I feel like you only have a limited amount of time to perk the interest of a person. This limited amount of time decreases even more when it is on the internet too. With the click of a mouse that person can be on some other webpage in seconds. Visuals attract the eye much faster than a word could. Reardon fills each blog post and tutorial with her own photography. She doesn’t brag about this either though. When complimented and asked about her photography skills Reardon responded with, “Honestly, I cannot pretend to know what I’m doing.”

I enjoyed how normal Reardon came off. She wasn’t claiming to be worthy of any kind of attention.  She wasn’t even quite sure if she’d read her own blog. When asked the question she answered by saying “Huh. My immediate response is no… Can I say I would check in on the site every few weeks but not read it regularly?” It makes her seem very relatable to me. I feel like if I read her blog I wouldn’t have to be struggling to keep up with her. I feel that this was the perfect blogger to get me excited about starting my own blog.

She brings it all back down to earth.

Pick something you’re passionate about, and go with it.

New term, new blog

First day of my first blog (yay!) more to come!