Week 1 Participation

This week, I completed the following tasks for class participation:

• Completed all week one assigned readings.
• Set up my individual blog and posted three entries (this makes four).
• Subscribed to all of my classmates' blogs and the official class blog. Now all new entries appear on my Blogger Reading List.
• Read all classmate blog entries and posted five responses.
• Posted four discussion board messages. Although I read quite a bit of content, I hope to get more involved in the boards next week.
• Resurrected my Twitter account to follow the class Twitter (webclassfsu). I would appreciate if someone could confirm this is the correct account-- I was uncertain because the content is not current.
• Downloaded a Twitter application to my cell phone so I can receive class tweets quickly.

Wishing everyone a wonderful Independence Day holiday and looking forward to next week!

Social Networking Increasing Productivity?

This week, Dr. Dennen posted an article on the class blog which explained recent findings that social networking releases oxytocin, the "cuddle hormone." As someone who works in the mental health field, I decided to delve deeper into the subject of if/how social networking increases happiness and overall well-being. My subsequent search led me to stumble upon a blog called "Wired for Success" that is part of the Psychology Today website.

One posting on this blog discusses a recent research study that aims to uncover whether social networks can increase happiness and productivity. James Fowler at the University of California found that in a social network, happiness spreads among people up to three degrees removed from one another, and even that your own personal happiness can cause a positive chain reaction to occur among your networks. Unfortunately, sadness can also spread through social networks, although not as quickly.

The research is particularly interesting when considering application to workplace productivity. Many employers believe that allowing access to social networking websites (e.g., Facebook, Twitter) detracts from productivity because it potentially takes away from company work. However, research shows that happy people are more productive people. So, could we then deduce that social media increases happiness, which then increases employee productivity?

The prevalence use of social media in the workplace as a method of developing positive relationships as well as a business strategy is growing. In my workplace, I use social media to connect with constituents and community partners, but I am the only person in the office who is allowed to do so. All other employees are restricted from using social media.

I'm curious to know-- how many of you out there in cyber space have access to social media at work? Do you feel that it increases your personal level of productivity?

The End of Newsprint?

As I was reading this week's assigned chapters from Here Comes Everybody by Clay Shirky, chapter three triggered my memory about a recent article from the Tallahassee Democrat newspaper. (Ironically, the only reason I had stumbled across this news article was because a Facebook friend had posted a link, not because I had actually been reading the paper.)

The title of the June 23rd article read, "Today, we announce a historic change in how we do business." The basic premise of the article was that effective June 30th, the Democrat would be asking website visitors to pay for a subscription to access online news content. I wish I could link back to the article from this blog, but since it is now July I can't view the article anymore without paying for it. The online comments in response to the article were particularly insightful into public opinion, because there was a very tangible divide between those who supported or opposed this decision. Those in support felt that the fees were reasonable (only $9.95 per month at most) and that journalism companies are selling a "product" that the public should have to pay for just like any other business or manufacturing company.

I tend to side with the other half of the divide that opposes this decision, and here is why. In the past, I always used the Tallahassee Democrat as my immediate go-to news source for local information and now I can't. But just because I've been a loyal supporter in the past doesn't mean I'm willing to start paying for their service; it just means that I'm going to start looking for free news elsewhere, such as television broadcasting, TV station websites, radio, local bloggers, Facebook updates, word of mouth, etc. And, I'm probably not the only person thinking about doing this.

In chapter three, Shirky reflects that many media outlets did not intially conceive of the Internet as competition to traditional journalism. However, mix up an economic recession with exponetial social media growth and cheap-to-free constant Internet access and you have a perfect storm for not only competition, but also potential to become completely obsolete. Today, anyone can be a journalist and publisher in some sense and news is becoming more and more accessible.

Shirky asks, "What happens when the costs of reproduction and distribution go away? What happens when there's nothing unique about publishing anymore, because users can do it for themselves?" One answer seems to be that local newspapers will disintegrate because there is simply no longer a need or demand.

I fear for the future of the Tallahassee Democrat. What do you think?

Week 1 Prompt Response

I am a regular user of Web 2.0 technology. Beginning in 2003, I signed up for LiveJournal (LJ), an online community where users can keep a virtual journal and participate in community groups and message boards created around common interests.

Following LJ, I joined MySpace and Facebook, but have since deleted my MySpace due to lack of use. At the time that I created my Facebook profile, the website was exclusive to college students, but has since (obviously) expanded to include a much broader audience.

About two years ago, I began a blog through Blogger. Since that time, I have created and maintained five different blogs (including this one), three of which are currently still active. I have also migrated one of my blogs over to Wordpress, who I find to be less user-friendly than Blogger but which possesses some features that Blogger lacks, such as their "Freshly Pressed" home page and built-in statistical analytics.

I have a Twitter profile which I tend to use in periodic spurts. It's been difficult for me to catch on to the Twitter craze, perhaps because so few of my friends use the site.

Recently, I joined Foursquare and it has developed into my latest obsession. Foursquare is a location-based social networking website and application for mobile devices. Users check in at venues using a mobile website, text messaging or application. You are awarded points and badges based on your check-ins. I use my smart-phone application (go Android!) with GPS capability to check in.

At work, I maintain Facebook, Twitter and Myspace pages for my office. I also regularly use Wikipedia, LinkedIn, YouTube and Flickr as information resources but do not have my own accounts.

So with that said, I wouldn't classify myself as a Web 2.0 leader or follower, but rather somewhere in the middle. On the Diffusion of Innovations curve I would probably be considered part of the Early Majority. There are usually a chunk of very tech-savvy people ahead of me and I scramble to catch-up, but I am never last in line either.

In this class, I hope to learn more about Mashups, Second Life, and other social networks that I am not currently utilizing, as well as how to use these networks to effectively communicate information to facilitate learning.