Mobile Payment Plans Coming Soon

“The mobile phone will eventually take over your wallet, replacing your credit cards, cash and coupons. But it could be some time before this new type of transaction becomes an everyday reality.”

Google will soon begin  to allow customers to make mobile payments with an Android phone is just one of a string of similar things consumers will hear about over the next year. Others are expected from Apple, Microsoft and Nokia. There are also the big banks, who are heavily invested in this service. For example, MasterCard offers PayPass, a service that allows people to tap a small device against an electronic reader at checkout; this technology is expected to be integrated into mobile phones soon too.

Pros:

-        Convenience with fast transactions

-        Printed receipts will not be misplaced or lost

Cons:

-        Lack of phones with the right built-in payment technology and the small number of merchants with the right tools to perform these transactions will clearly slow mobile payment growth.

-        “Google Wallet Is Not About Mobile Payments” that it would take some time before the right payment products become available and are adopted by the public.

-        Stolen devices will result in privacy issues

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recap

When I started this blog back at the beginning of the quarter, I had intended to try out different social medias and blog about my experience using them. Although I strayed from that plan of action I feel like I learned a lot more by immersing myself in one social media that was new to me and getting a feel for it. I picked Twitter. When I started this blog I was dead set on not getting a Twitter, but a bit into the class I realized it might be a cool thing to try out for my blog and useful for my personal life. It's been about a month or more since I've had my twitter and I've really enjoyed it. This blog also helped me explore different aspects of the impact of social media. It made me think about how prominent social media is in our culture and the impacts its having on our society. The one regret I have during this blogging experience is not getting a LinkedIn and blogging about my experience using it. Just like Twitter, I think a LinkedIn account is going to be something important for me to have, so it might have been fun to have blogged about my first times using it.

Psychological effects of Social Media?

Its your birthday and you log onto Facbeook. How many people have posted a happy birthday on your wall? A few, 10, 50, 100, 150, more? It sounds childish but how many people acknowledge your birthday on Facebook can make or break a birthday. In away it means you're well liked and people care, but it also means you have a lot of friends. Something most people strive for. But what happens if not that many friends wish you happy birthday on Facebook? How do you feel? Sad? Yeah, I would. I know on my birthdays I look forward to reading what people wish me happy birthday and what they say. Most of them are the generic "happy birthday!" and others more personal. But when good friends of mine don't wish me happy birthday on Facebook it kind of hurts-- sort of like a slap in the face saying they really don't care that much. Instances like this, that are experience through social media can be damaging to ones self image.

So that brings me to my question. Are there psychological effects of social media from sites like Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, and other social networking/media sites?

On our social media sites, we all want to post ourselves in the best light possible. We choose the best looking profile pictures, post on peoples walls to seem popular, carefully scan through and untag any unflattering picture, and the list goes on and on. But there has to be psychological effects from using these sites. Like comparing ourselves to other people we know. I doubt most people would admit it, but most people have had that moment while creeping friends profile pictures and feel a little less pretty. Maybe its a girl thing, but i'm sure the same could happen to guys. That can't be healthy to our self-esteem or confidence.

Yeah its natural to compare ourselves to others, by nature we are jealous and competitive, but social media sites almost take it to the next level by giving us a place out of the real world to continue our competition and comparing in a virtual world.

For example, the cases where girls have committed suicide after something embarrassing or hurtful happened on a social media site. It's a really powerful tool if you use it in the wrong way.

In a way though we are putting our selves in these positions to get our feelings hurt or feel left out. We choose to be apart of these sites that allow us to be exposed to ways for us to get emotionally hurt. We are posting up our lives for others to judge. Everyone is judgmental, so when we expose our selves like the way we do on social media sites, we are basically asking for it.

I like social media, I think the pros of them definitely outweigh the cons but I really think there are heavy psychological effects that can come from them. And we should definitely try to be aware of them, or figure them out so we can try to avoid the nasty consequences.

Reddit

Check out reddit, a social news website.
Users can post links to stuff on the internet, and vote on links making them more popular or not.
There are sub-committees such as "random" "funny" "politics" and some more interesting/strange ones such as "aww" "trees" and "atheism."

The links and articles seem very random- but kind of interesting.

I think this one's kind of funny click here (currently ranked number 5)

This is what a Trillion dollars looks like...

No more Middle Class in America

It is not hard to see why our economy is stagnant with this type of taxation happening?



NO MORE MIDDLE CLASS: article from the WSJ about taxation

What is the incentive to make more if the gov't is just going to tax more?

Is this encouraging any type of positivity within our society?

Cool Twitter Story

So as you all already probably know, diplo, a DJ, played for us here at SCU last night. Earlier in the week the house Moontower used their twitter account to tweet diplo to try to convince him to play at an after party at their house after the concert. The goal was to get a lot of people to tweet the same thing to diplo to try to convince him. I don't know the exact number of people who tweeted him, but diplo tweeted back to the house's twitter saying '@The_Moontower lets doo thiz'. Days leading up to the concert and the day of people kept tweeting diplo to do it. Diplo actually ended up coming out to the house to the party following the concert. All because of twitter. He even tweeted about it saying 'in someones house somewhere in cali' with a picture (below). SO COOL! Shows the power of twitter for sure.

(Diplo's Picture Tweet- inside the house)

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Smart WAY of thinking!

TED Video: Lets teach our kids to be entrepreneurs


A different way to raise our kids?...

Stumbleupon.com is a great website to find sites or common interests you may can search for about anything from random technology to sports to any type of hobbies through user generated recommendations!

Investing for fools?

Linked In Investment Article

"However, at the end of the day, a stock must be weighed on the basis of its fundamentals. LinkedIn is an important company, but it's not as valuable as today's investors think."

How much is our market perception based by the media... aka WSJ, BLOOMBERG, NYTIMES, and buys, sells, short buy analysts who we think they know what they are talking about...?

Look at the financial statements for most companies on Wall Street and justify stock prices based on our recession economy being funded by the gov't and the federal reserve... It's scary how we will face another recession at the middle to end of summer...

Traveling Back in Time...

Today I decided to venture back to the world of Myspace. A place I spent a lot of time on as a 14 year old high school freshman. I have not been on in years, but never managed to fully delete my account. Yeah I deleted all of the content on my page, but my picture still shows a smiling 14 year old "Bri." I remember last visiting my Myspace page a year or more ago just to see how the content of the website had changed since the fad of Facebook. To be honest, it took me 3 tries to get the right password. I pulled up to the page and I found myself completely lost by its layout, but not so surprisingly a lot of it looked similar to Facebook.

According to my profile, on August 4, 2007 I set my mood as ":) happy." That was 3 and a half years ago. I only have 84 friends- compare that to my 1,003 Facebook friends. Wow. I also noticed my "top friends" on Myspace are people I haven't talked to in 1-2 years, and definitely none of them would make even my top 50 friend list now. The last person to write on my Myspace was 3 years ago vs. the last person to write on my Facebook wall was about an hour ago. Instead of Facebook's "news feed" Myspace calls it a "stream." Real clever Myspace...I wonder where you came up with that idea...

The competition between Facebook and Myspace isn't much of a competition at all. Myspace doesn't even compare to the power Facebook has. Which is sad in that Myspace virtually allowed the same thing that Facebook did except in a less elite or privatized way. I think Facebook lured so many users in with is exclusivity of needing to be 'invited' to the site by someone; where as Myspace was open to anyone and everyone (where anyone could pose as anyone they wanted to). Even though now Facebook is open to anyone, the fact that it started as private and turned public made people want to be apart of it even more. For example, I remember when I took the shift from Myspace to Facebook. It was the summer before my sophomore year in high school, and a senior invited me to be part of my high school's network. There were still under a hundred or so people on it so I felt really cool. Soon it opened up to more people, and pretty soon my friends and I weren't using Myspace anymore-- and it became almost like this out of date piece of fashion.

Fads come and they go. Popular for awhile, then fall back into oblivion trying desperately to climb back up. Who knows what will happen to Myspace. Will it stay? Will it go? Myspace is like an awkward middle schooler trying to be like the most popular girl in school (Facebook); no matter how much they attempt, they will never be the same.

Social Media Etiquette

In face to face relationships we generally retain some basic etiquette's; like looking people in the eye, not interrupting when someone else's talking, trying not to make rude facial expressions, etc...
But in the social media world the same etiquette we use in the real world doesn't always apply; and there's a whole new set of etiquette rules to follow by. Are you being polite when using social media?

Check out these guidelines


Social Media Etiquette Guidelines

Social Media Revolution

This video is crazy. It says a LOT about social media and how it's changed our world

iPhone 4s

 According to Forbes, the anticipation for the launching of the iPhone 5 in September, can be a big disappointment. Why you may ask?  Analyst Peter Misek tells the site that a device called the iPhone 4S is actually set to debut. Misek claims the iPhone 4S will be the “renovated” version of the iPhone 4. The new perks  “include minor cosmetic changes, better cameras, A5 dual-core processor, and HSPA+ support.” According to the article, the iPhone 5 should have been announced summer 2011. The disappointment comes from the "knock off" version of Apple’s current product to a slightly beefier version of the iPhone 4. What a letdown. “We heard about larger screens and a possible new design with tapered edges.” So if you’re a camera lover and waiting for an A5 processor and for a 8 pixel camera then the wait is worth your time for the iPhone 5.

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What's the Buzz?

"Your cell phone may be killing the honeybees"

Bee researcher Dr. Daniel Favre is concerned with finding the sources that may be dwindling the world's population of honeybees. Favre believes that as mobile phone users, we may be destructing the bee colonies. Favre proved his theory based on several studies he performed. Favre placed mobile devices under beehives. While observing the bees, the researchers found how the insects reacted when the phone was shut off, in standby mode, or active. Favre’s team discovered that when the phone was transmitting a signal, the bees buzzed wildly, letting off or “buzzing” noises that are not normally used during swarming. The bees in the study did not actually create a swarm, and within minutes of the phones being deactivated the hive had calmed down. Favre concluded that  if cell phone signals are causing the bees to act chaotically, it could lead them to abandon their hives.

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Online Dating

You see it almost everyday on TV; some commercial of a "happily" married couple who met on an online dating site such as eharmony or match.com. The statistics say that one in five relationships begin on an online dating site. So what is this saying about our society and how we are meeting future mates. It shows how serious social media is having an impact on not just our social lives, but our futures and how we meet our boyfriend/girlfriends or future husbands or wives. 

I think there's been a lot of focus on how social medias have affected our relationships in general, but less emphasis on the impact its having on on dating and marital relationships. If 1 in 5 relationships begin on an online dating site, thats 20% of all relationships. That's a lot of people meeting on an online dating site, and a bit scary. It shows that less and less people are meeting in regular social interactions; such as how our parents or grandparents met. There's no longer that funny or cute story of how you and your significant other met that you share to everyone. Now when people ask "oh how did you two meet?" 1 in 5 respond "on an online dating site." 

Online dating sites are really impacting how relationships begin, and how we meet our partners is changing. The change between meeting them in the real world/everyday life to finding them on the online world. 

There are positives to the invention of online dating sites, but it also poses some important things to consider and take note of. For example, on an online dating site you get to choose from tens to hundreds of potential matches, review their profiles, and critique them really hard while comparing them to others- trying to find the perfect one. Your seeing only what the site allows you to see, and you don't get to really experience their personality up close. It's easy to misjudge someone who could potentially have maybe been the love of your life, if you had met them in person first. It's like shopping online for clothes but instead its real people to go on dates with. Strange, but things are evolving so fast these days nothing seems strange anymore. 

Although, it does allows a lot of people who don't have time, or the confidence to interact and meet people in random public places firs,t a chance to find true love. 

I think the fact that so many people are meeting on  online sites like eharmony and match.com says a lot about how we use social media, not just as a way to keep in touch with friends but as a way to meet people romantically. The possibilities are evolving because of social media 

Facebook Update

Facebook has recently added a new perk to its social media site. The site now allows you to tag pages in photos:

The new feature  for photo tagging  is favoring for big corporations and celebrities. We can all now, tag photos with a product, logo, brand company, or Facebook group pages, similar to the way you tag your friends in photos. Facebook comments that a Page can be tagged anywhere that someone can view a photo in the photo viewer. These photos appear on the Photos tab on the Page, and wont show up on the Wall. The page can be tagged by anyone on Facebook, not just people who own the photograph. For now, the feature is restricted to pages that fall into the People and Brands and product categories.We'll see whats next.

social networking with music

iLike

a social music service. Check it out!

Social Media: helpful or harmful to our relationships

Does social media make our relationships more fulfilling or does it harm them?

It's an important question considering the vast implications social media and technology have been having on our society and our every day lives. Our face to face interactions are dwindling as we replace them with Facebook chats, text messages, tweets, and other social media communication tools. With so many ways to communicate the level of closeness in our relationships seem to be lessening. Superficial almost. The term "Friends" on facebook is very vague taking into consideration how many of those people are actually just 'people you know' 'people who go to the same school as you' or 'mild acquaintances.' All of these relationships are very superficial, and in context with social media you think you have more friends then you actually do.

Social media can also create more casual relationships. You message a friend when you want to see if they are free, or you comment on the picture they just posted because it popped up on your news feed or you re-tweeted their tweet because you thought it was interesting. People aren't going out of their way anymore to call friends up or stop by their houses or dorm rooms; we replace the old, yet normal, ways of interacting with friends, with social media interactions. These social media mediated relationships are not as deep as friendships pre-social media when to talk to a friend you needed to put in actual effort-- not just type a 160 character text message or a quick "hey what's up" instant chat message.

However social media can have positive affects for our relationships. For one, social media can help improve relationships that are affected by distance. For example, after graduating from high school all my friends and I went separate directions: West Coast, the South, the Midwest and the East Coast-- literally scattered all over the United States. Physical distance has obviously posed a challenge when trying to keep in touch. No longer could we drive and meet up at a local restaurant or stop by each others houses to hangout. We needed to utilize social media sites and technology even more than we previously had to keep up to speed with each others lives. In this sense, social media has provided us with a way to maintain some sort of connection with each other despite our busy lives. I would not have time to write my friends letters every week detailing my life, like my Mom had to do when she and her friends moved apart decades ago (pre-social media and much of our technology). Me and my friends, and everyone else, have the luxury of utilizing social media to positively improve relationships that physical distance affects.

Social media has its plus sides and its downsides, depending on how we use it. It will be easy for society to slip into the routine of allowing social media to cheapen our relationships, but if we are aware of its implications I think we can for the most part use it in a way that connects people more positively and enhances our relationships.

comScore: Facebook Now Serves One Third Of Online Ads In U.S.

 Although we try to avoid them... they are everywhere. Advertisements before youtube videos, at the bus stops of every corner, driving down the freeway... ahhh the pandemic! Even if we think we have avoided them, turns out they're in our home... at least our Facebook homepages. Facebook is so large that it now accounts for about one out of every three ad impressions in the U.S., according to the latest statistics from comScore Ad Metrix. comScore estimates that 1.1 trillion ads were screened to U.S. Internet users, and 346 billion of those were on Facebook. Talk about overload. What's even more creepy is that the ads seem to be relevant and some what of significance to our lives and or internet usage. Talk about stalking, well at least they are getting sneakier in luring us in.



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Throw Down: iPod Vs. Spotify

If you hate using Apple's iTunes to synchronise songs on your iPod or iPhone, the music streaming service Spotify stands strongly against iTunes as a reliable contestant and rival. "It is debuting a new version of its desktop and mobile application for all of its users, including the ad-supported "free" users, which will synchronise tracks from their computer to iPods, iPhones and Android phones." Whats the downfall? Spotify's new iPod syncing feature is only limited to premium subscribers, it's evident that the company's announcements is meant to attract users who are potential paying tiers. The video above debriefs the whole new deal and new thoughts about it.

Did You Know 4.0

A VIDEO teaching wisdom and intelligence any HUMAN can learn from...

Love is wise, Evil is foolish...

;)

Decline in Education=Decline in ...EVERYTHING! The Future is for those who PREPARE 4 it!

Spending so much $$$ but on the right things?

In the right ways?

Is gov't too involved? Privatization anyone */?

Where will the CUTS come from?

Read:!

The Main Reason why America is Losing Its World Power

America Needs to reevaluate how it's allocating the many resources we have at our disposal and continue to invest in our younger generations futures ... We are a country of immigrants and we need to make sure we keep our public school systems top to bottom world class... and right now most do not have the necessary resources, properly qualified and trained teachers, or simply the funding to educate our future work force...

We also are incentivizing job growth with all these regulations... RIGHT? NOT! ^

BTW look a little closer... its a China store... hmmmmmm interesting...?

In 2010 the headline of the Huffington Posts article read as this: U.S. Falls In World Education Rankings, Rated 'Average'...

President Obama claimed his second term in the Oval Office with his speech last night ...

We shall see what is to come and if spending can be cut, many less spent on military, and investing more in EDUCATION and getting social security fixed and while providing universal healthcare!

Blackberry vs. Iphone

Someone is already always thinking of the best and brightest solutions, but the people that actually can plan, organize, and carry out the actual execution are the people that are leading the start-up generation of new age business.

Too Little Too Late 4 RIMM

Rimm the maker of Blackberry just announced its introduction of a new touch screen blackberry to run its new operating system.

The problem is, "innovation isn't required if you get to play off
of other folks ideas. And that is exactly what happened"... - Zach Spire

Technology and information changes and travels too fast in this day and age ...

Also, with the highly anticipated launch date of the new 5G Apple Iphone (that will be only available on AT&T for its first year) expected in early FALL, watch as it generates the typical media storm frenzy like with most other Apple products before they launch... but will it be interesting to see how long it takes Verizon, now that it has access to the Iphone to win out the SmartPhone service provider battle

Iphone 5G Rumors

Keeping in touch

Over 4,000 tweets sent PER SECOND during obama's speech about Osama Bin Laden's death.
The speed that news travels now because of social media is crazy. So fast. If your in sync with social media it's almost impossible to miss out on the curent events of our time. Not only is it away to stay in touch with friends, social media connects the world on information and keeps everyone in the know.

Not So Safe

Social media has opened up an entirely new playing field where face to face and everyday quarrels and confrontations can now take place online. Where one another can threaten each other behind the barrier of the computer. But the things that are said online don't stay online, and get dragged into the real world.

In Chicago, a 14-year-old boy has been charged with attempted murder and aggravated battery after shooting at a 12-year-old. The two had been involved in an argument on Facebook, posting threats on each other's' Facebook pages. The two boys were part of rival gangs. Now friends of the victim are threatening, on his Facebook page, to get revenge on the shooter and his friends. 

Social media is being used for more than just being social. Its opening up the outside world to the online world, but still equally as dangerous.

The Article

"Technology" Animated Video

Rewired Book Review

After taking a Sociology course, I have been introduced to the book "Rewired: Understanding the iGeneration and the way we learn" by Dr. Larry Rosen, Ph.D. Dr. Larry D. Rosen author of Rewired, speaks of the cyber infested world in which the younger generations occupy. Not only does Rosen limit himself in communicating his concerns with wired sickness we possess, but he states the unfortunate disadvantages of beings wired robots. Because we are raised with technology, an emerging problem is how we are learning with and through such technological advances.  Our learning capabilities extend to a dependency of being wired. Rosen argues, “The iGeneration is being raised in a world where technology affords more opportunities for effortless, instant communication. This is an important communication transition and has implications for both understanding this generation and implementing new learning strategies.”(Rosen 55) Rosen argues that adopting mobile learning instead of a continuing static classroom environments will help out in the long run. 

 Picture: http://www.renaud-bray.com/ImagesEditeurs/PG/1059/1059912-gf.jpg

The Internet is Forever

I was watching a Criminal Minds episode (called "The Internet is Forever") this past weekend, and it was about a serial killer who used the internet to find victims on social networking sites. Super relevant considering our obsession with social media these days. And it actually had some alarming truth to it. Everyday people post their day by day events on Twitter or Facebook, or any social networking site of their choice. People can use sites like foursquare to 'check in' to different places in your city, or on Facebook use 'Places' a feature that lets you share where you are to friends. People post status's saying "going out of town for the weekend!!' or "heading off to Florida for some relaxation," Basically saying "Hey criminals I won't be home, come rob my house or abduct me and no one will know I'm gone." And that's what happened in the episode I watched... The serial killer chose girls he found on social networking sites, and once he abducted them he put their status as something along the lines that they were gonna be out of town. No one suspected their absence to be weird because of their post on their social networking site.

One of the victims mom made a comment about how she didn't know her daughter had gotten a promotion, when she asked her about it she told her "MOM, I posted that on my wall a week ago!" She assumed her mom had seen it on Facebook like everyone else.

I think we all forget the implications that can come from using social networking sites so frequently and sharing every bit of information of our lives on there. It can be a real safety issue, which I think the Criminal Minds episode was trying to convey. We're so naive that whatever we post on the internet can't harm us, but it can, and if fell into the wrong hands could be fatal. You would never put a sign on your house saying "Gone on Vacation," but people post status's on Facebook all the time about how they will be away for the weekend- leaving their house empty and unoccupied.

There are some really smart and technologically intelligent criminals and people out there who can hack computer systems and gain information about people and information that people intended to be private. But the internet is anything but private, despite all the security these sites lead you to believe they have... The internet is forever. Social networking sites and social media are not as private or safe as you may believe.

Beats by Dre

"People aren't hearing all the music. Artists and producers work hard in the studio perfecting their sound. But people can't really hear it with normal headphones. Most headphones can't handle the bass, the detail, the dynamics. Bottom line, the music doesn't move you. With Beats, people are going to hear what the artists hear, and listen to the music the way they should: the way I do."

 - Dr. Dre

 In their official website, we see that music producer Dr. Dre promotes a new consumer product, Beats. The newly available headphones have been quickly adopted by artists such as Jennifer Lopez, Diddy, LMFAO, Pitbull, and Lady GaGa.

Because a diverse group of artists have launched the promotion of the headphones, Beats have been a highly demanded commodity. All of these artists have subtly advertises the headphones in their music videos. The repetitive product placements have made the headphones more openly accepted and demanded. The earphones are designed with an easily-identifiable logo for its own brand headphones.  After all it isn’t the headphones you are buying, it’s the logo you purchase. A great comparison would be our very dear Apple products and the need to have the white bitten apple on your laptop and mobile device.The easy-remember logos make people tell apart branded merchandise from others on the street or among similar products easily. In contrast, some other main world headphone brands, for example, Sennheiser and Audi-Technica, lack such a sharp logo. Headphones brands like Skullcandy are overly exaggerated in design and lack simple designs.

Lady GaGa, for example, has worked in collaboration with Dr. Dre in producing Heart Beats. Monster Beats have successfully combined fashion and rock with its headphone brand tightly, attracting a lot of young consumers who pay attention to fashion and trends. The influence of celebrities should not be discarded. When you see that Kobe wears the Monster Beats Studio on the press conference after the game, I think you could not neglect that and you will absolutely go to find out what the product is exactly.

But is the $200 retail price really worth your money? Multiple people have stated and reviewed otherwise...But if your trying to boast of your expensive fashion wardrobe… then Beats are the way to go. After all, the logo is what you are buying.

Picture Credits

Product Sale

The ASIAN Century

5 largest Chinese Banks prepare for more regulation

China has learned from the United States and much of Europe in respect to the financial systems.

The reason why the US and countries such as Greece and Ireland are struggling so much is because they did not properly allocate resources to responsible individuals.

The systems we used and are still using did not and do not enforce keeping a high enough % capital on hand and let the banks loan out too much money into risky loans. (ie bigger returns and profits for their stocks)

China saw the meltdown of 2008 and as its booming economy gears up for many loans and finances new and upcoming entrepreneurs that do not have credit yet, it wants to make sure the banks have plenty of capital on hand and enough to loan out but keep everything in check.

Running Away From Technology

Running away from technology... or should I say with technology. With the introduction of the Nike + iPod running shoes, athletes have the ability to put a sensor in their Nike's built-in pocket shoe designed to connect the receiver to an iPod or MP3. Once connected, the runner is completely and wirelessly wired up. The runner can program the iPod to record and customize workout regimens. The iPod can provide the time, distance, pace, and calories burned with the single tap of the screen. What happened to the simple, old sneakers, watches and our rhythmic breaths.... guess that wasn't good enough.

Day 5: My Twitter Experience

So i've had a Twitter for about five days or so now. And I can't say I hate it. I'm following 22 people, have 7 followers and I've made two tweets. Not a lot...but not too bad for a few days.

What I've liked so far about my Twitter experience is that I get news updates from the New York Times, Huffington post and other sites about interesting things or news going on in the world. I feel a lot more informed, and I think it's going to definitely help keep me in the loop.

I've also downloaded the Twitter app to my blackberry and have used it to post tweets or check my feed and see what's up.

Thanks social media, I don't know what we'd do with out you.

Weekend in Indio

Left Santa Clara early Wed. afternoon set out for the 3-day Coachella Valley Music Festival. As a Los Angeles Native I had ventured out to palm springs numerous times but never to camp in the desert heat.

It was quite the weekend... with artists ranging from Mumford and Sons to Kanye to AfroJack anyone could find a great set to listen to in a mellow musical atmosphere.

The amount of international and non-californians at this event was extremely surprising to me...because people were flying in from all over the world, (our camping neighbors were from Australia, Canada, and England) where as I have lived in Southern California all my life.

The eclectic group of individuals that journeyed to this magical place was in for a treat of live music, amazing carnival rides and art pieces, and a few special celebrity guest appearances ( Paris Hilton, Danny Devito, and Paul McCartney to name a few)

I was especially shocked at how many people had been numerous times and everyone I talked to was always jumping with joy to hear I was losing my Coachella virginity!

To say the least, I highly recommend this world renowned music festival to anyone who enjoys people, music, and having fun * be aware of the heat though, it was 100 degrees all three days!

#twitterbadforrelationships

So after getting a twitter and picking different things I wanted to follow, mostly news sites and entertainment things, this article popped up on my twitter feed about twitter. It came from the huffington post, and says that twitter users generally have shorter lasting relationships than non twitter users.

Interesting.
Unfortunately they had no way to figure out who was dumping who. But my guess is the significant other of the person who used twitter was the dumper. Why? Maybe because their boyfriend/girlfriend spent so much on twitter and tweeted too much about their life or their relationship that it drove a rift between the two. Who knows tho.

The World Unplugged: Media the Emerging Drug

“I was itching, like a crackhead, because I could not use my phone.” - USA

"Media is my drug; without it I was lost” - UK

So how long would you last? In a recent global study 1,000 students from 10 different countries of 5 different continents were asked to “unwire” and “unplug” themselves from media usage for a total of 24 hours. Students from the UK, USA, Latin America, the Middle East, Asia, to Europe all seemed to share the same treacherous experience in solidarity. After “unwiring” the students were then asked to report their personal experiences.The study categorized the unique responses into fifteen findings:

1. Students’ ‘addiction’ to media may not be clinically diagnosed, but the cravings sure seem real – as do the anxiety and the depression.

2.  A clear majority in every country admitted outright failure of their efforts to go unplugged.

3. Students reported that media – especially their mobile phones – have literally become an extension of themselves. Going without media, therefore, made it seem like they had lost part of themselves.

4. Students around the world reported that being tethered to digital technology 24/7 is not just a habit, it is essential to the way they construct and manage their friendships and social lives.

5. Students construct different ‘brand’ identities for themselves by using different communication tools to reach different types of people.

6. For many students, going without media for 24 hours ripped back the curtain on their hidden loneliness.

7.  Many students, from all continents, literally couldn’t imagine how to fill up their empty hours without media.

8. Mobile phones function both as this generation’s Swiss Army knife AND its security blanket.

9.  What is ‘news’ to students, ‘news’ means ‘anything that just happened’ – worldwide events AND friends’ everyday thoughts.

10. We no longer search for news, the news finds us.’

11. ’140 characters of news is all I need.’

12.  TV is all about escape.

13.  Across the world, students depend on music not only to make their commutes to school and work more tolerable, but to regulate their moods.

14. Email is not dead:  it just skews older – and is for ‘work.’

15. ‘Simplify, simplify.’  Across the globe, some students turned out to be Transcendentalists-in-the-making:  they noted that they ‘were able to revert to simple pleasures’ when they gave up all media for 24 hours.

The study designers encouraged others to participate and abstain from such electronic influence in the hopes of realizing and reflecting on our addictions. As part of courses, multiple institutions have begun to request technological abstinence as a part of their course assignments. So I ask you... how long would you last? Can we really go on a "media diet" or is media our diet.... or for that matter our drug?

 Picture: http://www.healthcareos.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/pharma-social-media.jpg

Tweet Tweet #icantbelieveimabouttogetatwitter

So I'm about to give in to the one thing I whole heartedly thought I would never do...

Participate in Twitter.

When the Twitter craze started years ago the whole concept seemed very egotistic and self-centered to me. Why would people need to tell the world what they are doing or what they are thinking. How stupid. Who really cares what you, as not a very significant person in the scheme of the world, has to say. And personally, I don't really care if you just had a delicious meal or that your attending some concert tonight.

As well, Facebook already had the concept of "posting a status," so why would you need a site that devotes itself to solely posts when that feature is already mixed in with your Facebook account. It really puzzled me.

In a sense I understood a little bit how it could be useful for businesses or news sites that allowed people to stay up to date on events or what is new. But having everyday people get involved in tweeting to the world or friends seemed weird to me.

Part of my confusion might have been because I never really knew anyone who used Twitter, so it seemed pointless for me to get one. None of my immediate friends were doing it so why should I do it either. Now though, a lot of my friends have hopped on the Twitter train and they're having a lot of fun doing it. They tweet funny messages and follow other friends or celebrities. I feel really left out, since I can't read any of their postings since I don't have a twitter.

I'm also seeing it as a useful tool to get updates on news entertainment, and other events or important things I should be following- and it allows an easy way to do that.

My feelings for Twitter have changed, and I'm interested to see how it works and if I like it or not. Part of me is reluctant to get one a.) because I don't know what my username would be and b.) because I don't want to be just a follower following what is trendy (though deep down I want to try it out). I feel a little bit like I'm following what society wants me to be doing, following the norm that is growing out of Twitter. Soon I could be addicted to yet another time wasting social media that I feel a compulsion to check. Maybe it will make me feel left out when I see friends Tweeting about fun stuff they're doing or have done. I don't know. Maybe I'll love it and it will add to my life. Who knows! I guess I'll find out and see.

"F-Commerce": Facebook and Fashion

With 600 million faithful users, retailers have slyly managed to sprinkle their influence on the Facebook crowd. Retailers are starting to discover "F-Commerce", or Facebook Commerce as a potential supplement for retail sales. With big retailers like eBay and Amazon, we see the increasing connections with Facebook to market their products and to globally connect their merchandise to the US and to the 70% of users who are from outside of the US. Retailers have learned to integrate with Facebook by providing shopping via Facebook sites and by allowing users to "connect with Facebook" through their sites. The fashion forward Facebook users are now being exposed to different trends through paid advertisements on their profiles and through the main sites of each retailer. Not bad for business, but talk about annoying advertisers.

http://fashionablymarketing.me/2011/03/facebook-commerce/

FOMO

FOMO = Fear Of Missing Out

We've all been there. When you log onto Facebook and you see new fun pictures of your friends doing something cool together, or peoples status's, or the parties that your friend got invited to on Facebook but you didn't. They can all provoke a sense of feeling left out, and the fear that we are missing out.

This article raises some good questions regarding our usage of social media sites and how it's affected us to feel left out more often (FOMO).

http://gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/12/do-social-networks-make-you-feel-left-out/?ref=technology

These next few years are crucial to the trajectory of our country's economy (domestically and globally)...

Gov't (Democrats and Republicans) Cannot Agree on Anything!

Interesting how both sides are so far extreme one way or another, yet they are supposed to be working together for the best interests of the "people".

Winklevoss Twins and Facebook

I thought this was pretty fitting to the topic of my blog considering Facebook is one of the top social networking sites.

The Winklevoss vs. Mark Zuckerberg lawsuit has come back into the spot light recently. The Winklevoss twins and another classmate had signed a settlement awarding them $65 million (cash and Facebook stock). However now they have taken the case back to court arguing that Facebook gave them false stock value. Yesterday though a judge ruled that their settlement cannot be undone. The Winklevosses and classmate should have gotten a lot more- since now Facebook is valued at over $50 billion. They could have been entitled to more money. According to the New York Times (read first article below), their settlement is now worth around $200 million dollars.

Articles
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/12/technology/12facebook.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=winklevoss&st=cse

http://money.cnn.com/2011/04/11/technology/winklevoss_facebook_lawsuit/index.htm

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/poll/2011/apr/11/facebook-mark-zuckerberg

Keepin' it Hood

      Talk about obsession… As we find ourselves wired and dependent on the technologies we carry, we have simultaneously created a duel sense of paranoia and obsession. Our privacy is openly jeopardized as we use different mediums of technology that record, and store what consumes or time and what we peruse through. It seems like as we have become paranoid of who potentially views what we do or what we say. As a defense mechanism, we have found ways to conceal our screens from the public eye. Hence the “Computer Hood” was created.

          Oh boy, the ridiculous “computer hood” was created to have a more private and engaging technological experience. The black cotton hood stretches over a computer monitor or any cellular device. The hood is composed with lycra lining which blocks sunlight and is thick enough to be soundproof. An individual wears the hood over their heads and wraps it around their bodies and onto the their phone or computer screen. The fabric has a retractable USB allowing sound to travel to speakers located in the hood. There is a voice activated microphone located in the back of the hoodie and an audio locator that records music from the outside and saves it as MP3 file on the desktop.

Stylish? I think not. We can, however, see that technology to some lesser or greater extent is influencing what we physically wear. What we choose to wear, in this case the computer hood, is promoting a statement of our sense of selves. We are obsessed with our gadgets and paranoid… 

 Picture: http://www.gearlog.com/2007/04/clothing_for_embarrassmentfree.php

Wired Through Clothing

As wired natives, our self-concepts have been shaped by the technologies that have become tangible to us. We breathe the currents of technology and we feel a constant urge to carry technology as a vital component of our identity. Living in a 'Wired Nation' we are bombarded with statements, statements that claim that technology should become our own personal statements. As a result, we have now started to incorporate technology as a vital element of our sense of selves. Our open acceptance of technology has stimulated a wired culture in which we choose to carry, wear, and identify with technology. And once we unwire... we lose a sense of who we are.

Intro

Social Media and the internet are such a big part of our culture now and there are so many different sites out there that it's almost become overwhelming. 

I'm Briana. I have a Facebook, I used to have a myspace in the 9th grade, and thats pretty much the extent of social media sites I've actually used. But I know there are tons and tons of new and upcoming websites that allow for social and professional communication or expression. 

But I feel pretty out of the loop... so for this blog I am going to explore many different social media and internet sites and blog about my experience in using them. I'm not sure if I'll follow that exactly, but I'm going to explore the internet for new sites that provide interesting things and currently popular social media sites that I haven't ever used before. With technology being one of the main forces that drives our economy, culture, and way of life it's going to become really important that we are knowledgeable about social media  sites and other important websites. 

THE WORLD as we knew it

Goodbye continental, country, state, and local boarders and welcome to the world of connectivity where everyone can be anywhere anytime. Our generation is currently in the process of changing the global climate of communication and the way in which the world is moving from a snails pace to like a G6. The way I grew up and the way in which I communicate with my peers is something that my parents, grandparents, and my kids will never understand. The amount of time my peers and I will have spent in front of a computer screen by the time we pass away who knows when (with healthcare only improving) will rival the amount of sleep we received in our entire lifetime. Globalization is such a BUZZ word but when people really debate it, I sit back and chuckle. "Globalization is a terrible thing! Our country is losing paying jobs to people all over China and India and it's ruining the American way!" A popular and ignorant argument heard from Americans again and again. The truth, the big secret everyone needs to wake up and smell the global coffee is: WHO CARES IF GLOBALIZATION IS GOOD OR BAD! IT DOES NOT MATTER, IT IS HAPPENING!!! and if businesses, governments, and humans do not want to accept it and learn to adapt and use it to their advantage ... they will go the way of many bankrupt companies, they will be trillions of dollars in debt like the US gov't, and they will remain ignorant in the Western Culture bubble! The world is a great place but getting smaller everyday and people should be excited to experience new cultures and new ideas where with collaboration, respect, cooperation we can all make the world a better place!