Trisha's Blog

The article "Twitter Serves Up Ideas From Its Users" from The New York Times  explains how new media allows users to further innovate the technology that they are using. For example, everyone is  familiar with the @ feature on twitter and other platforms, which allows users to directly refer to someone. When you put @ in front of someone's name, Twitter creates a hyperlink to that person's Twitter page. I was surprised to learn that this feature actually originated from the users themselves. Before Twitter adopted this feature, users would put an @ symbol in front of someone's name when talking about them. Twitter saw how popular this was and decided to make the @ feature that creates a hyperlink to the users account. Users also came up with the name "tweets" for twitter posts. The idea for the hashtag feature also did not come from twitter employees. In fact, twitter initially rejected the idea for the hashtag feature when it was proposed by a user. Ho

I downloaded the Sims app on my phone. I was able to choose an avatar and customize her skin color,  hair color, makeup, and clothes to make her more like me. In the virtual world, I had my own home that I could customize, but in the beginning, there were only a few options available for furniture. However, I quickly discovered that I could get a job as a barista at a coffee shop. In the image below, you can see my virtual self at work. I can earn 30 simoleons, the currency that the game uses, if I work one shift. I can then use my simoleons to buy items to customize my home. The game fosters creativity by allowing users to do whatever they want in their virtual lives. I can choose to go to work, chat with other avatars, or spend time decorating my home. As you play the game, you unlock new features and earn money that allow you to further customize your experience. Therefore, you can create whatever life you want.

Virtual worlds can be used to create simulations of different situations people in many different professions may face. For example In the  Wall Street Journal  article “Avatar II: The Hospital,” Stephanie Simon describes how virtual worlds are used to prepare medical professionals for emergencies. For example, emergency room nurses can be trained to handle a crowded emergency room during an earthquake or a blackout by working through the scenario in a virtual world. The technology fosters creativity by allowing hospitals to create many different virtual situations that can be altered in real time. According to the article, medical schools are also using virtual worlds to train medical students to do techniques they traditionally practice on mannequins. An important benefit of virtual worlds for hospitals and medical schools is that it is a low cost way to train medical professionals. Virtual training is lot less costly for hospitals than hiring actors to play out the scenario. Additi

A twitter discussion is similar to a blackboard discussion in a few ways. First, you can create an original post to share your point of view. Second, you can also choose to add on to an existing post. This is similar to the retweet and comment feature on twitter. On Blackboard, each discussion usually has a question or topic that you are supposed to focus on. However, on twitter you are free to write a tweet on any topic you want. In-class discussions are similar to blackboard and twitter discussions in the sense that people also share their opinions and others have to chance to comment on what they said or offer their own idea. However, in-class discussions allow people to have face to face contact with the people they are talking to. In my opinion, this might sometimes limit what people might say to each other. Many people find it much easier to say polarizing things when they are doing it behind a screen. Ultimately, all three methods offer a way for people to share their views and

I compared Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Linkedin. One thing I noticed about all of them is that they all serve as a way for people to share information about themselves with followers. They also allow users to communicate with a large number of people from all over the world. While your followers or friends on these social media platforms can only include your family and friends you know, you also have the opportunity to connect with millions of people you’ve never even met. One thing that stands out about Linked-in when comparing it to the other three platforms is that it is meant to be a professional platform. Instead of posting about their personal lives, most people will post information related to their careers. Instagram is primarily meant to share photos. While captions often accompany the photos, it seems like most people strive to express themselves through their photos on Instagram and not as much through words. Twitter offers shorter posts, while Facebook allows users

Social Networking makes it easier to connect with people. For example, in the article, “Social Networking Technology Boosts Job Recruiting,” Langfitt explains how Linkedin has made it much easier for recruiters to identify and contact candidates for jobs. With hundreds of thousands of profiles that detail users’ job experience, recruiters can quickly search for potential candidates and reach out to them. Additionally users can get input on topics, such as business-place issues and workplace developments from many different people. Linked-in and social networking in general have proven to be a much more efficient way for people to connect. It saves people the time of having to keep track of names and numbers on paper and then call people individually. Social networking also allows users to feel more connected to their friends and families because they can gain insight into the little things they are doing at the moment. In “Being There,” Heffernan describes how Facebook statuses show w