Class Twittering

Professor Boutros suggested in class that next year she was going to have students twitter throughout class. I think thats pretty cool...think about it. Students will get to communicate online and offline with the same people in the same proximity. Not only will this portray citizen and participatory media, students will also have to multi-task which is a big part of innovative technologies today. I think you could also make students purchase webcams as well so that they can vlog during class lol. You could have an array of networking technologies going all at once. It could be the technological classroom of the future, really. There might even be a few hackers in the class who could demonstrate there hacking procedures for a presentation on hacktivism. All students could be required to be on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Blogger, and the next social networking site thats going tobe established by first semester next year...almost guaranteed. Talking may not even be necessary...it would make your job a lot easier Professor Boutros! Students will truly experience the depths of citizen media while in the classroom...chucklechucklechuckle.

Why Networks Matter: Online and Offline

Networks are crucial in our lives in order to maintain and build relationships, whether it be with friends or to promote ourselves for job opportunities. Who you know, and how you them, plays a key role in finding a career and establishing yourself in the workforce. As I reflect on the social networks Ive(ps the apostrophe button doesnt work on this library CPU) developed over my life it makes me think of which form of networking is most effective. Obviously, meeting someone face-to-face and leaving a good impression is a great way to develop recognition and build a network, but Ive realized that as Ive gotten older the internet and online communities have continued to play very important roles in establishing social networks. People Ive had lectures with, played intramurals with or against, or people Ive seen out on the town have added me to Facebook and the relationship started from here. Had they not added me or had I not added them, I possibly would never have talked to them again. Im not saying that the relationships with these people are only on Facebook, Im saying that it was because we found each other on Facebook that lead to more face-to-face talking and getting to know each other. Posting event invites online leads to face-to-face meetings, and if one friend adds you the odds are two of their friends know you and are going to add you afterwards. I do thank Facebook greatly for the friends Ive made by using their social network, and I think the best thing about Facebook is that it can initiate a relationship by simply letting someone know that you want to be their friend.
Ive also heard of companies asking to see Facebook profiles when people are applying for jobs, which is kind of crazy but maybe thats whats going to happen as our technological society continues to develop. In conclusion, who you know and how you know them is going to play a big role in distinguishing your career and Online networking can definitely contribute to the size and success of your social networks.

Record Labels threatened by Online Communities

Social networking and participatory media pose a very strong threat to big record labels across the globe. The ease of accessibility and low cost (no cost) of listening to music online has become dominant for music listener's around the world. Specifically MySpace, YouTube, and uTorrents or other forms of torrents have prospered significantly in the past 5-7 years. Online listener's interact with one another as to what downloads are good and bad, and can display their thoughts in a a comment box. One of my favourite bands, Wilco, used the internet strongly to their advantage in 2005. Their album entitled Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was shunned by their record label Warner, so they decided to take matters into their own hands and release the record via the internet. It was a huge success, leading to a 30-city tour and a large increase in the band's fan base. Jeff Tweedy, the band's front man, displayed his thoughts in the following quote: "“The audience is our collaborator. We should be encouraging their collaboration online, not treating them like thieves,” (Tweedy, Wired, 2005). Wilco has continued to use the internet for many different purposes such as live webcasts, bonus songs and concerts, and they released their last album A Ghost Is Born over the internet 3 months before it's commercial release. Metallica believes otherwise, condemning online listener's and online music communities, labelling online listener's as theives. Who do you support....Wilco or Metallica?