Applying New Knowledge

I was at work today and my manager asked me to apply a concept that I learned in class to a technology that can be used in the store. I work for a cell phone company so it wasn't that hard. I made up this whole presentation about portable web 2.0 applications. Which, in essence, is just using web 2.0 on your cell phone. I used a PDA to pull up youtube and wikipedia. What makes the whole experience portable is because you can access these applications from anywhere you can take a cell phone. My manager was pretty impressed with my ability to make a really complex topic sound really simple. I pitched my presentation to lots customers and they were able to understand what web 2.o was. At my job we position web 2.o as just Internet access. Now we have a whole pitch that makes it more appealing to the customer. I convinced three customers to add the feature to their phones and they have 30 days to try it out. This reminded me of media convergence. The fact that all these forms of media and technology can be condensed into one device is pretty cool. My manager's request was also quite similar to the activity we did in class were we had to find videos about web 2.0 and its many uses. Im pretty sure if I tried I could apply web 2.0 to any aspect discipline or industry

project progress

I decided to work on my project a little more today. I am trying to figure out how I can get my wiki to jump to certain spots on my page like the girl who presented to us page. i think that this would be a cool feature. It would allow people to jump to a certain spot on the wiki to edit or if they are looking for something to do a particular night. As far as information goes I am slowly gathering it. I have decided to stick to the places on my concept map and allow others to add to the finished project. I have decided to announce my project on facebook the week before finals week. That way people can use it to find something to do during finals week if they needed a break. Don't know how well it will go over but hopefully people will add to it and it can be used by other students for years to come

Random Post

I know we are not supposed to post back to back so consider this one a freebie but I was going through some of the other blogs on the site using the "next blog" link and I came across the most interesting and diverse blogs. I know we did the exercise in class were we tried to find links between our blogs and others but this time around I was just being nosy so I got to look at the blogs differently. In four or five clicks I saw a postcard collection, a stupid american fansite, the growth and development of a handsome little boy, and much illegal activity promoted by a Hispanic gang. Only in the blogosphere would these people/things be lined up together. I would have to say the that most interesting ones were the one dedicated to the people who believe americans are stupid. It was a picture of the evolution on man that had man going from a ape to a pig over the course of five generations. I guess that would be poking fun of our domestic weight problem and obession with fast food. There was also pictures of people and their pets that were actually pretty fun especially one with this big buff guy holding a tiny little puppy. The whole site was in a differeent language so no telling what was really being said but the visuals said it all. There were also a lot of exclamation points. I guess to show passion.

Also the blog of the Hispanic gang was different. They had pictures of drugs and guns just posted on the net like it was legal, free, advertisment. I couldn't believe that they had that stuff up. It was pictures of people posing with guns, throwing up signs, and everything. What I couldn't understand was why would they have a blog? Real gangster wouldn't put their business out their like that. So that begs the question of whether or not that was a real gang blog. It was up to date but in Spanish so I wasn't sure what it said but it was interesting to say the least

Actor Network Theory

I have read this piece twice and I still do not completely understand the meaning of this theory. The chapter is written as a Q&A interview between a student and professor. The professor seems to be talking in circles and further confusing the student. The Professor describes this theory as a negative explanation to structures or the way things are shaped. It does not set out to explain existing shapes or structures but should be applied to new ideas. There seems to be a big play on words and nothing is as it seems. Maybe that was done on purpose as a way to apply the theory as it is being explained. If it doesn't anything but does explain everything then my guess makes sense. I believe that the purpose of this reading was to encourage thinking outside of the box. It promotes that idea that everything doesn't fit into these perfect structures and can't be easily expected. As I was reading it seemed like every time the student was getting closer to an understanding the professor confused him more. There was a constant challenge to revise his thinking and stop trying so hard to apply this theory. But like the reading said it isn't so easy to throw tradition out the door and try to apply these new concepts. ANT tries to do that but because it is so hard to understnad people don't want to deal with it. Its focus on the "effect" and "following of the actors" leads to a whole other line of thought that we just aren't used to. I can see why it is so hard to apply this theory. Effect is the byproduct of a situation. It would be pretty hard to apply a theory to something that hasn't even happened yet!

Blogging and Literacies

As someone who considers themselves as a "blogger" I never really took time out to think about all that goes into this process or how it is improving my writing skills. The piece "Blogging and New Literacies" helped to put this process into perspective. I agree with the fact tha virtual communication is aiding in most people's writing. I, personally, am more aware of the words I use and how I want to persent information. As the reading said many different aspects go into a blog post and you havr to be cautious of what you write. Also you are taken out of the traditional student-teacher relationship because a blog is public. Therefore the audience expands as well as the number of critics. This also makes a person more cautious of their work.

The reading points out four benefits of effective blogging. 1. is that blogging encourages fluency in writing. Students want to do it more because it is fun and not views as school work. 2. Encourages cooperative learning, students can review each other's blog and provide feedback. 3. Encourages critical thinking, bigger audience means greater preparation for assignment. 4.Encourages perfomance-based learning, allows students to think as they write and improve or develop ideas....writing inproves as blogging improves.

These points make sense because any time you seat down to write whether it is in a classroom or a blog you want to present the best work possible. I believe that a blog is better because it takes the pressure off and allows you to be critiqued by your peers instead of just your teacher. It is obvious that this idea of educational blogging as taken off. I have blogged in four classes to date and I can see this idea becaming a requirement in many other classes

Update

So I am probably the last to put my concept map up but I just came to an understanding of what I wanted to do. I have taken on a big project so I have to map out how I want to present this info. Previously I said that I wouldn't visit the spots that I wanted to get info on but I have to because talking over the phone was effeevtive. Also I have decided to include sport/recreational spots as well. This inclusion was a result of my mother thinking that I am turning into a drunk, which of course isn't true.

As I was doing my concept map more and more ideas came to me. I wonder how my project might have been different if I did my concept map first..who knows. I actually figured out how to post my map by going to Nawal's blog and reading Anne's comment to her post about not knowing how to post it. I guess my classmates can help me even outside of class. Because I remembered that Nawal posted that I was able to learn how to do it as well. This reminded me that we have a wiki help page on our class wiki. I checked it but there wasn't anything new on it. I thought about posting Anne's instructions but it seems like everyone already has their map up. Oh well....maybe people will start using the wiki page more as projects go on

Concept Map...Finally

In the Field Research

As I stated earlier I tried to call different places to get information about their specials. I did not have much luck so I decided to drag my good friend out in the rain to visit area bars. We visited Tellers, Sky Hi, and the Heidelberg and got some pretty good info. As I predicted in a earlier post the managers were happy to share info after I told them that I was going to be using the info for a class project. Although I did not get any thing free I did get happy hour prices at all the locations even after happy hour which was a good perk. I should have started this project earlier.

progress so far

Last night I called some local bars and hang outs to get current specials and deals that they were offering. I ran into many problems because most places did not know. I started making phone calls around 5 yesterday and I don't know if that was a bad time because I had a hard time getting information. I thought that calling during the week would be better than on a weekend because it would be last crowded, also with everyone gone for spring break I figured that I could get some some good info but I guess not. My new plan is to call early afternoon like around 130 or 2. If I keep running into these problems I might have to visit the differeent businesses and look and see what they have posted on the wall. I know for a fact that "Trops" has a big Happy Hour poster on the wall that would come in handy!

Lost without Connection

The plan for Spring Break was to spend a relaxing week in St.Louis working on my project and getting other work done. Well we lost our internet connection at my moms house so I was lost without a connection to the web. I haven't gaot any work done so I will be returning to Columbia tomorrow. The new plan is to play catch up once again to try to make up for hours lost. I have however ran my idea pass a few MU students and they think its a great and much needed idea. This has made me more confident about my project. I have decided to veto the idea of visiting every spot and just focus on providing the information. It was a good idea but a but much for what I am trying to do.

Project progress

Somewhere along the line my project has finessed itself into like three other projects. Actually I am just playing with the idea of changing my project. Everyone in class thought it was pretty cool but I would wonder how it would function as a blog instead of a wiki. This was my first variation. I considered doing a blog and call it "Consuming College Town, USA". Instead of just doing a wiki and posting information I would actually visit these different places and do reviews on them. This thought sparked another thought. To put a spin on it I would only visit restaurants, bars, etc. that were exclusive to Columbia such as Shakephere's and Shaky's. That way I am giving outsiders a look into Columbian cuisine, sort of like virtual culinary tourism. Im not sure if i will change my project or not. Actually going to these places would take up alot and time and money that I don't have. I wonder if I would get them to give me free meals by telling them its for a class project. If I could convince owners of that I would surely change my focus.

Too many thoughts at once!!!

I have spent the past 30-35 minutes trying to sort out th thoughts in my mind. Going into this project I was sure that I was going to create a fanpage for my favorite sitocom. As I began to search for resources I came across a site that had the same exact focus and was done pretty nicely might I add. Plan B was to create a wiki for recent grads to use to post job listings, interview skills, resume links and examples, etc. However, this is a pretty popular topic so I couldn't think of anyway my page would be different from the million of ther pages that are out there. Plan C was a comprehensive "things to do" page foe the MU student. I wanted to create a web page including all the bars and resturants that college students frequent. It would be aons stop page that broke down specials, scene, musics, etc. all by day. I feel as if this is going to a mighty task to take on but it seems to be the most unique idea that I have. So the latter part of class was spent brainstorming how I could obtain all the info I needed and how to condense it into this website....now if only i knew how to create a website :(

Where's My Inspiration :(

So I have logged into my blog everyday this week and I just couldn't find anything to blog about. I had gotten used to trying to blog everyday and all of a sudden I had nothing to say. I think that the fact that we got our reading late had an effect on that. Also that class was cancelled might have something to do with it. I feel as if new nothing is new..which is impossible when it comes to WEb 2.0. So I guess this purpose of this post is to just express my recent disattachment...is that a word? Oh well its a blog, any word is a word....likeabilityness is a word...i just made that up of course. See I need inspiration. I know you all don't want to read a week worth of crazy Quetta tangents, do you? Can't wait for class Tuesday

Web 2.0 Media

I my quest to find interesting web 2.0 media a came across a very diverse set of videos. I guess that goes to show how diverse Web 2.o is. I noticed that many were made by your average person and very low quality. Most were just personal thoughts and ideas on how to use or become wealthy with applications. I believe that most American think that web 2.0 is a pretty profitable business from blogging to online businesses, many videos were tutorials on how ro make money. The video that I liked the most Aaron posted to the class blog. I thought it was a pretty cool video that actually showed all you can do with the applications. I'm kinda mad he posted it first. So i guess my second runner up would be this video. I liked this video for two reasons. One, I had never considered the impact of web 2.0 outside of the business realm and two I had never associated podcast with web 2.0. I thought that this assignment was going to be easy but most of the videos on web 2.0 are junk!

WIKIMANIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I went home this weekend for a much needed break and all I heard about was HBO's The Wire. I have never and will never watch that show. Its about drug dealing in B-More, MD. Everybody I know watches the show. So I told my brothers and parents about the wiki I found last week dedicated to the show. First they were like "wik-a-what"?!?!?! But after I explained to them what it was they got excited. Each swore they could find something that was wrong or that they could add. So as a family we got online and found the wiki. For about two hours they were going through the pages, following links, and all that great stuff you can do with a wiki. My brothers were calling friends asking them if they knew certain facts that were on the wiki. It was a crazy sight to see. That was probably the most time my family has spent together in a long time. After all that I still refuse to watch The Wire. On a higher note, the wiki knowledge is spreading!

More Changes

So I know we were supposed to make changes to our wiki pages but after i looked at mine's I really didn't see anythink that need to be changed. I played around with the site a little. You know how blogger has the next blog feature..well our wiki has a similar feature called "random page". I didn't know that. I clicked it a few times and most of the pages were school related since it is the University's wiki but I still thought it was a pretty cool feature. I also played around with the special pages. I wasn't really sure what to do on it so I uploaded a pretty picture of some pink flowers...my fave!! After I had ran out of things to do on the class wiki...well for today...i decided to make some changes to my blog. I had told myself weeks ago that I would do so and since there's no time like the present I said "why not?". I think I pretty happy with the changes. It seems brighter and reminds me of Spring. I found some really cool pictures to add and the picture of me is darn cute if I do say so myself!!! The cool part about this is that in the process of finding images I came across a really cool blog . (By the way I just learned how to link words...Yay!) I saw a picture I really liked on flickr and wanted to more about the photographer. Well one click led to another and I found the blog. You gotta love technology :) As I said in my previous post..my passion has come back

Feeling Pretty Good!

I feel like today was one of the best classes in a while. I felt as if I was productive and actually understood what was going on. Josh's presentation was the best. He was confident in what he was presenting and funny as well!!! I really like the idea of having a help wiki because I have a hard time working with some of the applications that we use. With the wiki I can ask for help outside of class and get a response anytime which will be helpful in the upcoming weeks with projects and all. I have a renewed love for Web 2.0!!! Oh yea and it's official....I'm addicted to wikis...I think :)

My #1 happens to be Top 10!

When I began to search for wikis I had a hard time finding a subject that I was well informed about. Each page I went to I learned more than I could add. I visited wikis dedicated to Law and Order( SVU of course!) hip-hop, Old Navy, and truffles…just a few of my favorite things. Each page was so well designed and researched that I was intimidated by the amount of knowledge these people had on the page. Here I call myself a fan of these things and I could not think of one thing of substance to add. Also in my search I think it is important to talk about the things I happened to stumble across. First there was EntreWiki, which a “paid wiki site for Entrepreneurs who are looking for Money Making Business Ideas” as the descripation says. I have a real problem with this. Wikis are supposed to be free site for people to go to get and give ideas…again FOR FREE!!!! Secondly I was playing around with the search engines on wikiindex and did a people search. 116 pictures popped up of who had profile on wikiindex. I was amazed at the diversity of the people. Although they were prominently male, they ranged in age, race, and nationality. For example one man looked well over 70 and appeared to be Middle Eastern. Fascinating!!! You never know where your information is coming from. In my search for a wiki that spoke to me I also came across several wikis that I thought would be of interest to my friends and family members. For example my cousin is a project manager and there was a wiki for that. My partner and most of my friends are HUGE Wire fans…yep they have a wiki as well!! So my journey in wikiland ended when I found the wiki Top Ten http://top10.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page. It’s a wiki that lists the Top Ten…..well EVERYTHING! Songs, Bush quotes, cities, reason to call off work, I love it! I decided to edit the Top Ten love songs of the 90’s page. I wasn’t sure how to add links, lyrics, and all that fancy stuff so I hope someone comes behind me and edits my post. I’m starting to think that wikis are way cooler than blogs!!!

I'll Wait

So today...and most of the semester I have been playing "catch-up" on blogging. I have decided that it makes more sense to blog after class than before because I have a better idea of what I'm blogging about. So for today I plan to analyze a wiki page after I hear what our guest speaker has to say. Maybe she will give us some advice on what to look for and how to find mistakes or determine if something is false...i don't know. but at least now I have some questions to ask?

Lady Dee's Blog

I came across this blog by accident. I was actually looking for a site to conform some celebrity gossip. After a few clicks I came across Lady D’s page. http://www.layddee.com/ At first glance it looks like a regular gossip blog but it has a few things that I have never seen on a blog. First, it contains a few ads but not so many that it takes away from the overall visual appeal of the site. Second, it contains a scroll box that lets you pick which post you want to go to with having to read all the way down. Another interesting feature is the chat box which allows you to chat live with Lady Dee if she is online too. Lady Dee also is in the business of self- promotion as she has links to her MySpace and a Blog Radio show that she does. I also find it cleaver that other bloggers with similar topics can link their post to Lady Dee’s blog as well as links from youtube. This is all contained in the blogosphere.
As far as what this blog’s function is, it is clear that it is a gossip blog. However it is very classy. Lady Dee reports on actresses philanthropy works, celebrity deaths and deaths of loved ones, as well as everyday out-on-the-town goings on. In m y opinion she isn’t trying to get rich or famous off of this blog. I didn’t see any “you saw it here first” statements that many “trying to be famous” blogs have. It seems as if the people who read this blog are pretty diverse. I say this because she covers a diverse set of topics. However I noticed that most of her posts don’t have comments. It seems to me that this blog is more for herself than anybody else. What I also found out about Lady Dee is that she has a second blog. http://allthingsforwoman.blogspot.com/ which is dedicated to Women’s Month. Maybe creating blogs is her thing?