Before interviewing three different people I already knew there was going to be a big difference in how the different generations use the internet. Growing up with the internet as a common daily tool makes it easier for someone in my generation to learn rather than someone who grew up without it and doesn’t know how to depend on it.
For someone who is 18-35 I interviewed my roommate, who is 22. She mainly uses the internet for social purposes. Most often she uses Facebook and Myspace and occasionally uses instant messaging. I asked her when she uses email, and it was soley when dealing with school, as in emailing professors or advisors. She admits that the internet makes her life much better because it is so convenient and reliable. Sources at her fingertips for writing papers, and keeping up socially makes it something she uses daily.
For the age range of 36-60, I interviewed my mom. My mom is 51 and all I knew is that she used the internet to email me on a daily basis. My mom said she can only use email and Google. She uses Google because its her homepage and she knows how to search for things. All other things are a lost cause. She said that the internet has helped her communicate because she has her own business and has to talk to people on a regular basis and its easier for her to send someone a quick email rather than to call them all the time. She thinks that the internet is a useful tool but wishes she knew how to use it better.
The generation above mine I feel is either completely on board with the internet or completely lost. It is split into people who are stuck in their ways and people who are want to jump on board and get on the fast track of the internet. N
Lastly, I interviewed my grandma. My grandma is 74 and lets just say she isn’t ‘educated’ on how to use the internet. For Christmas a couple years ago my uncles bought her a computer. She hadn’t used one before then. Until last year she didn’t even have the internet. She had some sort of internet that only allowed email but you couldn’t do anything else on it. The only reason she got the internet was so others were able to use it when they visit her. If she was able she would never use the internet. Technology has made her life more difficult and she thinks its ‘a pain in the rear-end’. I try to regularly teach her something about the computer or how to use the internet. While I am so used to using the internet on the daily basis I cant imagine life without it. She on the other hand doesn’t know what its like to rely on the computer like I do.
After interviewing the different generations I wasn’t surprised at all. It didn’t really teach me anything new because I already knew that older generations struggle more with the internet. It makes me wonder what I would be like if I grew up without the technologies that I have today.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Blog Six
Joining an online community was quite an experience for me. I didn’t think that I would really be interested in being a part of an online community. I was watching the Today Show one morning and they were talking about the online community ‘ivillage’. So I looked it up and decided to join.
Ivillage is an online site that offers message boards, blogs, has articles, advice, ect., that all relate to health, fitness, diet and cooking. These are all things I am very interested in and enjoy learning more about.
To be accepted all you have to do is sign up online. There are no discriminations and anyone and everyone can join. While this community is focused towards women, men are not discouraged from joining. To know that I was formally accepted I started writing on and responding to message boards and blogs. I was completely out of my comfort zone talking to and offering advice to people I have never met in person. While I felt akward at first the community has really been a great support for me. I learn new cooking tips, fitness ideas and more everyday when I sign on.
I haven’t been exposed to many disagreements while participating in the community. The closest I have come to this is when someone disagrees with someone else’s idea for a new diet or fitness idea. Most of the disagreements are easily resolved when the parties talk it out and do formal research to see who is correct. The site also has columnists who write for the articles and they can be written to for advice and they help resolve conflicts.
Online communities also offer an outlet for individuals who may have interests or want to be a part of a group that they may either be ashamed of or don’t want a lot of people to know about. Being online no one has to know who you really are so you have are able to have a safe identity.
Joining this community I have felt like I joined with other users who have the same goals and purposes for joining. We all want to better ourselves and each other so it is beneficial for us to be in the community. Overall I have gotten a lot more out of joining then I thought I would have. My roommates are appreciating the new recipes I have been trying out! The community allows us to interact and communicate with each other when it might be more difficult in the real world.
Ivillage is an online site that offers message boards, blogs, has articles, advice, ect., that all relate to health, fitness, diet and cooking. These are all things I am very interested in and enjoy learning more about.
To be accepted all you have to do is sign up online. There are no discriminations and anyone and everyone can join. While this community is focused towards women, men are not discouraged from joining. To know that I was formally accepted I started writing on and responding to message boards and blogs. I was completely out of my comfort zone talking to and offering advice to people I have never met in person. While I felt akward at first the community has really been a great support for me. I learn new cooking tips, fitness ideas and more everyday when I sign on.
I haven’t been exposed to many disagreements while participating in the community. The closest I have come to this is when someone disagrees with someone else’s idea for a new diet or fitness idea. Most of the disagreements are easily resolved when the parties talk it out and do formal research to see who is correct. The site also has columnists who write for the articles and they can be written to for advice and they help resolve conflicts.
Online communities also offer an outlet for individuals who may have interests or want to be a part of a group that they may either be ashamed of or don’t want a lot of people to know about. Being online no one has to know who you really are so you have are able to have a safe identity.
Joining this community I have felt like I joined with other users who have the same goals and purposes for joining. We all want to better ourselves and each other so it is beneficial for us to be in the community. Overall I have gotten a lot more out of joining then I thought I would have. My roommates are appreciating the new recipes I have been trying out! The community allows us to interact and communicate with each other when it might be more difficult in the real world.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Blog Five
For my ‘academic paper’ I chose the subject of online relationships because we were discussing it in one of my other classes and I thought the research could be interesting.
Before actually doing any of the assignment I knew the information I was going to find was going to vary by the different sources and types of information I got. And I also knew I was going to have trouble finding the right types of sources. The library and I don’t have a good relationship. I tend to get lost and confused when trying to find journals and books that are supposed to be in places they are not. While my first opinion was that the information I got was going to vary, I ended up proving myself wrong.
The hardest part for me was trying to find appropriate internet sources. So much of what is posted online is completely opinion and is not credible. This is where Postmans’ idea that information is a disease may be taking effect. People believe to easily and the internet can definitely take advantage of those types of people. While this is true, it is also true that the internet is a great place to find information because its limitless, so much information is out there for us to look at. While trying to find online sources I made sure to look up journals and credible sources. The information that is online is more up to date and a lot of it is new research that is still being looked into.
I thought that the information I would be finding in hard copy would all be back dated information that no one has looked at in years. I was wrong. A lot of the things in the library were all recent and heuristic. I found journals that were in the library and the information seemed similar to the information I found on the internet.
My life changed by having to get up off the couch and find the information because I absolutely hate searching for the library. I have had too many bad experiences searching for a journal that is no where to be found, and not finding the right sort of information. To be completely honest I was dreading this assignment. In my opinion this assignment has shown me that I can find just as relevant and credible information on the interent as I can find in a University Library. The internet is a great tool and I will continue to use it rather than wandering around the library.
Before actually doing any of the assignment I knew the information I was going to find was going to vary by the different sources and types of information I got. And I also knew I was going to have trouble finding the right types of sources. The library and I don’t have a good relationship. I tend to get lost and confused when trying to find journals and books that are supposed to be in places they are not. While my first opinion was that the information I got was going to vary, I ended up proving myself wrong.
The hardest part for me was trying to find appropriate internet sources. So much of what is posted online is completely opinion and is not credible. This is where Postmans’ idea that information is a disease may be taking effect. People believe to easily and the internet can definitely take advantage of those types of people. While this is true, it is also true that the internet is a great place to find information because its limitless, so much information is out there for us to look at. While trying to find online sources I made sure to look up journals and credible sources. The information that is online is more up to date and a lot of it is new research that is still being looked into.
I thought that the information I would be finding in hard copy would all be back dated information that no one has looked at in years. I was wrong. A lot of the things in the library were all recent and heuristic. I found journals that were in the library and the information seemed similar to the information I found on the internet.
My life changed by having to get up off the couch and find the information because I absolutely hate searching for the library. I have had too many bad experiences searching for a journal that is no where to be found, and not finding the right sort of information. To be completely honest I was dreading this assignment. In my opinion this assignment has shown me that I can find just as relevant and credible information on the interent as I can find in a University Library. The internet is a great tool and I will continue to use it rather than wandering around the library.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Blog Four
When I first started this assignment I wasn’t sure how excited I was. It seemed too intense and emotional to write a letter to people who have impacted my life. However, I’m glad that I actually did it!
For the email, I decided to write to my mom. We communicate on a regular basis using email so I thought it would be appropriate to send her the email telling her she had impacted my life. I personally feel that writing an email is much less formal and less personal then writing a hand written letter. I think that my email was more short and too the point. I even used emoticons because I was writing to my mom. If it were to someone I wasn’t as close with I probably wouldn’t have felt comfortable using emoticons.
The best part about sending an email was the quick response I got back. Later that day my mom had written me an email back telling me how much she appreciated the email and that she wanted to get together soon. Her email was short and to the point. I don’t think people use email as often for long serious messages. Maybe some do, but I never have and I don’t think its as effective. But I also don’t think that CMC is the best way to communicate something serious. In my opinion face-to-face always seems better for that.
For the hand written ‘snail mail’ I wrote a letter to my best friend Amanda who moved from Corvallis to Portland last year. It was a really great way to get my thoughts down on and really let her know how great of a friend she has been. Most people don’t have chances like these to let people know how much they care about them. The letter turned out to be a lot longer than the email I had written. I think the letter showed more nonverbal then the email possibly could. Type, font, serif ect., all effect how the letter is read and it was easy to change what I was trying to express with how I wrote.
The response to the snail mail is still coming. Letters I think take more thought and take longer than an email you sit down and write really quickly. There might not ever be a response but I’m okay with that. She let me know she got it. I don’t think a lot of people use back to back snail mail. Most of the time it is interrupted with telephones and computers. She did call me the day she got the letter and told me how much she appreciated it. I don’t know if she will officially write me a letter back but the assignment was overall worth it.
For the email, I decided to write to my mom. We communicate on a regular basis using email so I thought it would be appropriate to send her the email telling her she had impacted my life. I personally feel that writing an email is much less formal and less personal then writing a hand written letter. I think that my email was more short and too the point. I even used emoticons because I was writing to my mom. If it were to someone I wasn’t as close with I probably wouldn’t have felt comfortable using emoticons.
The best part about sending an email was the quick response I got back. Later that day my mom had written me an email back telling me how much she appreciated the email and that she wanted to get together soon. Her email was short and to the point. I don’t think people use email as often for long serious messages. Maybe some do, but I never have and I don’t think its as effective. But I also don’t think that CMC is the best way to communicate something serious. In my opinion face-to-face always seems better for that.
For the hand written ‘snail mail’ I wrote a letter to my best friend Amanda who moved from Corvallis to Portland last year. It was a really great way to get my thoughts down on and really let her know how great of a friend she has been. Most people don’t have chances like these to let people know how much they care about them. The letter turned out to be a lot longer than the email I had written. I think the letter showed more nonverbal then the email possibly could. Type, font, serif ect., all effect how the letter is read and it was easy to change what I was trying to express with how I wrote.
The response to the snail mail is still coming. Letters I think take more thought and take longer than an email you sit down and write really quickly. There might not ever be a response but I’m okay with that. She let me know she got it. I don’t think a lot of people use back to back snail mail. Most of the time it is interrupted with telephones and computers. She did call me the day she got the letter and told me how much she appreciated it. I don’t know if she will officially write me a letter back but the assignment was overall worth it.
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