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.

First time meetings at Conventions

I wouldn't say I'm against this whole thing with people being friends with people only through the web and never meeting in real life until the day of the whatever convention but from what I saw on Frontline, these people need to get a life! They talk about how long they stay sitting on their computer chair all day playing online games without breaks like they're proud of it, which I think is ridiculous! I know as an ATEC student I should probably be proud and supportive of all this especially since I'm more of an indoor than outdoor person but still I believe there are limits to how long you keep yourself glued to your computer. Hello people, it's Spring now. Get up! Get out! Enjoy the awesome weather of Texas! No sarcasm!

This week's Frontline: Digital Nations

The first thing I recall from this video is the part where the army uses video games to recruit kids as young as 13. Now I do believe this is a progressive way to get children interested in joining the army but why at such a young age? I mean, I don't think kids are dumb enough to not be able to differentiate between the game world and reality and think it's okay to go out there and start shooting people. There are many similar first-shooter games out there but they are rated for older audiences for a reason, at least I believe so. Kids should stick with playing more peaceful, bright, colorful jolly games instead of those violent and aggressive ones the army is having them play because kids can just get brain-washed so easily and can be sensitive to what their minds absorb and bloody war games should the last thing they should be thinking about. You don't want to hear you're kid saying, "I wanna shoot people's brains out!" when asked what they want to be when they grow up. If you ask me, I'd be on the rebelling parents' side and yell out whatever it was that was written on their posters.
The second part is the Korean kids gluing their faces to the computer screen in the gaming center all day. I think it really has caused a serious disorder and more psychiatrists should acknowledge its threats so more parents can be aware of it as well. I'm not too sure if the camp idea is helping much because according to what Frontline was showing us, all those kids were thinking nothing but of going home to their beloved computer games. But what they're teaching the second graders (especially the song) is a good start and hopefully the next generation's kids will find better ways to spend their childhood lives than just playing games all day.

Culture Convergence Conclusion

I must admit I did quite a few skimming through some of the chapters because it was just getting way too redundant! I wasn't really surprised to see the same concept of how great collective intelligence is in the online world rephrased for the last time in the book's afterword and conclusion.
The only difference I see between each chapter is that the author just uses a different example just to support the same idea over and over again. And like someone had mentioned in class, the reader most probably would've been able to understand what the author was trying to say in just one paragraph for each chapter. Yes, the whole the book could have been summarized in just one chapter.
The only thing I learned pretty much is that there are some CRAZY fans out there that will do anything to get their hands on almost any type of information. Jenkins did more than a good job with his supportive examples to express his thoughts on that.

blogs online

I took an ethics course last semester and remember reading that social networking all started with blog sites. A whole bunch of people gather to talk about politics and current events and such by posting and commenting blogs. But how do those people find those blogs? Through google and other search engines, of course! Whenever I need to look up something like "What's the best way to get soap scum off of tubs?" or "What's the best way to deal with brothers and sisters-in-law?", I am usually led to some interesting blog posts that written by people who went through similar problems as me and most of the time they are pretty humorous! It is really an excellent way for people to share ideas about common facts and wonders.
Not that that is why I created a Blogger account(it was a required for some of my classes).

chapter 5, Growing Up Online

I do believe that the president of the PTA (I think it was) is a bit paranoid but considering possibilities of online bullying that lead to kids committing suicide, parents should keep track of their children; not to the point where they ask for account passwords but to at least have a chat with them every now and then just to make sure they're not secretly living a miserable life. It's definitely hard to stay in close contact with teens keep track of them will most likely irritate them and might cause them to drift away from the family but as a parent, you must be responsible of your kids' actions and is your duty to help lead them on the right path.
If I had a teenage kids, I don't think I'd let them keep a computer in their own room because I know as teens, they'll probably lock themselves up in their rooms never participating in family activities, but at least I know they're not chatting with Lord knows who all day. I don't want to be a lousy parent and rather be a proud one. Kids these days are much smarter than we think but there still are naive ones that can seriously use some parental guidance. Based on what we saw in class today, I think "To Catch a Predator" is a great starting point to show young teens what they may be getting themselves into from too much online chatting!
I hope I don't sound TOO much like the crazy mom..