Chapter 7: Going Mobile

When I went to Japan, taking the train was the best (cheapest) way to travel and I remember there wasn't a single person on their cell phone (or keitai's) probably because it's a 'no-phone zone'. I doubt anyone would obey such a policy if dart trains have the same rules in America. We are allowed to talk in the train, so why not on the phone? There will definitely be complaints, the rule just won't last very long here.

But as far as courtesy goes, people should have their phones on either vibration, silent or just simply turned off. I work at a testing center and always tell the students to turn their phones off before giving them their tests but some just won't listen! Just last week we had a student who kept texting in the middle of taking her test. My co-worker told her a number of times to turn it off and finally brought in the student's instructor to handle things. It got pretty ugly when they confronted her as the she began to yell "Damn police need to mind their own F-ing business!!!", disrupting the other students trying to take their tests. I definitely know how teachers must feel when student's phones go off in the middle of their lectures and have to deal with the ones who have the nerve to actually answer in class (we also had some students do that at the testing center). Seriously these people have no common sense or are just inconsiderate of others! If it's in a train it's okay since no one really needs to focus on anything compared to when they're in a class or taking a test.
Though..I text all the time at work..but that's why I got a touch-screen phone so I can type without making much sound.

Inbox and Spam

For every email site, there's an option to send messages in your inbox to the spam folder. Does that really work? Well, despite the fact that I still get junk mail in my inbox every now and then, I'd say yes. Because before, when this option first became available, I paid no attention to it. I kept deleting all ad messages day after day, and I keep getting similar messages so there was no end to this. Of course, my spam folder remained empty and that got me thinking, if I get rid of say this nursing ad message I keep receiving every week, will it really keep it in the spam folder? And send all it's followers down in there too?
After some weeks of trying..BOOM! No more nursing messages! I open up my spam folder, and there they are sitting in a row like a good little pack of puppies.
And now I think: Thank god for the spam folder!

Chapter 4: Instant Messaging

I had no idea, until I read this chapter, that "pos" stood for "parent over shoulder". Man that could have saved me a lot of trouble if I was aware of this useful acronym.
Not that I was always talking about non-parent-approved topics, but having the need to minimize each chat window whenever I felt a presence or heard footsteps was always such a pain! A lot of time can be saved using these acronyms and I used a lot as a grew up with the internet (except for "lol", oh, I NEVER used that term..I despise this one..for some reason)
In highschool, I misspelled/combined so many words we use commonly, just to fit the pronunciations they would have when we say them in a speedy manner. Like "Would you" or "did you" to "wuja" and "dija" or just "ja". I thought I was so cool because no one else got to this point, making me feel kind of special (now I just feel as dumb as ever). One person complained on how I typed, saying it was immature and not readable. This was on a fan art website so I thought it wasn't a big deal and continued on (maybe he was jealous that I was able to come up with such words?) until I grew out of it. Seeing more and more younger kids use them made me not want to use them anymore or else I'll feel like I'm at there level, when in real, I'm actually a lot older, mature, and knowledgeable than they are, therefore I must not talk like them. I still use acronyms every now and then, but only when im typing with one hand (usually eating with the other), or am in a hurry. And I limit to using them for when I text, and occasionally IM-ing.

the exchange of mii's on the wii

When I first got my Wii console system, I was so excited to create the "mii" characters, one for each family member and friend. Then I heard that we can connect with other Wii owners and exchange messages and mii's, I thought, how can this be possible? It's like a cell phone, only it's not..It's really fun to see how your friends have created their version of your mii and to see their reaction of the kind of mii's you made in imitation of their looks and personalities. You can share wii numbers with anyone around the nation (not sure about being able to do it with outter countries), even with online friends you haven't met before.
Man, there really is no limit to this Wii!

Using IM's, E-mail and twitter as students

Back then, when students were sick and had to skip some school days, it was a pain in the neck for classmates to walk all the way to where the sick student lived to deliver missed assignments and lecture notes. But now, we have the internet, a wonderful thing called emails that can send messages to people with attached documents and images which is way less troublesome and time-consuming. I am so glad I was born during this era of technology.
Though I found it funny how most of us ended up showing up to class even after all the messages Dr. J sent us about class being canceled.

Online courses

I have never taken an online course (because of all the bad reviews I read about how instructors care less about their online students than about their normal lecture ones) but I think it's a great way for students to be able to take classes who live far from school or have temporary family issues for the semester, but especially students with kids. What I also like about it is that since I am a shy person who doesn't really like to speak out in class (in fear of asking stupid questions), I love online class chat sessions (like the one we had a few weeks ago) because, for the first time, I felt like I was a part of the classroom, I actually participated in conversations. It was really interesting, especially the whiteboard drawings we did, though it caused some distractions. It was a great experience, great way for us to interact with one another as students and teachers.

Chapters 8 and 9, Communication and Technology

First let me mention how glad I am that Dr. J assigned us these two chapters before assigning the research paper, for it was after reading them did I decide to choose their subject as my topic! Thank you professor!

This might sound pretty similar to what's written in my research topic blog but it's about the impact the media has made on language. As technology evolved, life has is now so much easier and convenient for us that it has become a huge part of our life. We have grown accustomed to it that we (at least the majority of the youngsters) can't imagine life without it. Our social lives have changed greatly as well! Internet users have so much friends (online) and can interact with them anytime through instant messaging either online or by phone, all while staying indoors all day. But that's not all you can do while sitting on your but 24/7, you can shop and even order lunch/dinner and have it delivered straight to your door with just a few clicks. What does all this have to do with our language? Well, too much convenience can be a bad thing, it can lead to laziness (which is a sin in Christian beliefs, as I hear); specifically when sending messages. Why do you think so many acronyms, net lingos, and so many alternative abbreviations exit now-a-days? We've gotten so lazy in even our writings. The real con is the habit that is born from this laziness. Before we know it, we're using all those "short-cuts" in our formal writings for school or job letters. I have personal experience, and it was quite the embarrassment on my case. It started out with just a "Hey" as a replacement of "Hello", and now things may be getting out of hand. Let's hope more and more people start to realize this and be more careful when they write.

What I found interesting in my blog research

The first part was pretty much what I wrote as a comment in the convergence site but just in case I was supposed to post it as a blog, I'll put it up here.

Judging by what I saw in most comments (of various blogs), people seem to love using blogs as a source of arguments about common topics. I barely see any “Oh, wow I didn’t know! Thank you for telling us that!” but more “No I disagree, you don’t know anything!” then curse words get mixed in, turning the topic into endless arguments.

I often have minor health issues like slight pain here and there that sometimes concern me to the extent where I just have to look up the cause online. What I usually come across are blogs written by people with similar problems who are either going through it and asking for help or have already gone through it and is posting for future reference. Either way, it helps me greatly not only thanks to the author of the blog, but also all the comments that suggest cures and preventions through they're own experiences as well. I think blogs are great sources of information, not to mention free!

Topic for my research paper

I have an interest in all the various types of impacts the media has on people. But there's too many to cram into a 6-page paper so I'm narrowing it down to a specific 'branch' which is something that not much people realize since it's become too much of a habit, "How the media is changing our language".
In just one generation, it has become so easy and convenient communicate that even a couch-potato can be considered social. But thanks to all of accommodation with the new media, people have become lazy when messaging each other. This is where the "globespeak"(http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3125891.stm), internet acronyms, comes in. So many words have been have been shortened that even the most common greetings like "Hello" and "Goodbye" have been made obsolete. Standard American English (SAE)is slowly being replaced! (Crossing the Digital Divide by Barbara Monroe, pg. 50)
This is only part of the argument I am trying to improvise. I also believe this linguistic change is starting to affect the way we write, be it cover letters, stories, reports, blogs, basically anything that requires formal English.
When I wrote my first blog in this class, Dr. Johnson, I would have left it as that unnoticed. Now, I am being extra careful with words and hope to get rid of this unnecessary tendency, at least when typing. As for texting, well I don't really see the need to be formal since text methods by phone aren't really used when talking to formally important people like your boss or professor. So I'll probably stick with the acronyms just to be able to text faster.