Thing #8: Online Notebooks and writing prompts

So I looked around on my Google Play story (the app store for Android if you’re an iPhone user) and I decided on Penzu. I really liked the layout and how user-friendly it was. But the real reason why I chose it was because I really wanted to try my hand at using this type of app for my phone since, unlike my computer, I carry it everywhere with me. Also, it seems to come in handy because I find myself sometimes throughout the day without my regular, old fashioned planner and desperate to find somewhere to jot down some notes.

Other than this app I have never really used a notebook besides for class. There have been times when I would go on vacation or somewhere interesting and I would keep a personal journal which I do find handy. For example, when I went to Israel a few years ago I made sure to take a spiral with me so I could write down anything interesting that I did. Remarkably, I forgot about it until this past winter break but when I found it and read it I was amazed to see that I remembered so much. Overall, I plan on using this type of thing –either digital or old school- more often.

Thing #7: Making Multi-media stories with Storify

When I opened Storify the first news story immediately caught my attention: “Chinese Military Linked To Cyber Attacks On U.S. Sites.” I found this story to be really interesting because I had been hearing a little bit about it over the past day or so and I wanted to learn a little bit more about it. The story claims that the Chinese army has apparently tried to hack into US companies and business including the New York Times, Bloomberg, and the Wall Street Journal. Not surprisingly, the Chinese government has denied the allegations as “groundless” but the painting is on the wall. Overall, this is rather disturbing but when you think about it, I am sure the United States is doing similar things to the Chinese.

After messing around on Storify I decided to have my hand at my own story. I decided to post something about the Chicago Blackhawks and theirrecent hot streak. I actually really liked using the website because it was very user friendly and I was able to include sources from multiple places that I wouldn’t have been able to do otherwise. In terms of writing this in comparison to an old fashioned news story, I found this method to be much more enjoyable. It was far less time consuming and if you have a simple idea for a story, the ability to grab bits from various social media sources makes crafting the story itself very simple. It also gives you the chance to include the ideas and comments that average people have from places such as twitter or facebook which allows a news story to have a more meaningful impact.

One really interesting aspect is that you can use other peoples tweets in your story. Personally, I don’t know how I feel about it because I like to keep what I am saying to my “Followers” but at the same time we have to realize that social media is meant to be social so it really wouldn’t bother me too much if my stuff showed up elsewhere. Plus, there is probably a way to turn off that feature if I really wanted to.

Of course there are given limitations to these types of stories, most notably being that anyone can make a Storify story about any topic they want and they have the right to include nearly anything they see fit. With that in mind, it is quite clear that people can probably fabricate anything they wanted –which isn’t any different than anything else on the internet already.

Thing #6: Social Bookmarking and annotating

I have never used social bookmarking before but I think it is an interesting topic –especially the fact that Diigo in particularly saves everything to a cloud server which seem to be gaining popularity these past few years. The type of sites that I bookmarked besides the one from the University of North Carolina was specifically the Huffington Post. I get a lot of my news information from the HP and sometimes I find it hard to relocate specific information that I like or find interesting because the site is updated so frequently. For this instance I both highlighted info that I found interesting as well as trying my hand at annotating. However, one thing that I found rather annoying is that any sticky-note that I write is only private meaning I am the only one to access it. Therefore, I can’t really share a comment with other people.

Overall, I think that a Diigo account could help with my studies in college because I could focus my energy on highlighting information online rather than transcribing it in a notebook or word processing program. By using this method, a lot of time can be saved and I could possibly even be more productive in research and paper writing. I would go as far as to say that is would even be more useful in other, more research intensive classes due to the fact that so much info can be stored and saved quite effortlessly.

In terms of professional use for Diigo, the application of it can be endless. I think I would find it to be quite useful when working in groups or small teams –especially due to the collaborative nature of many jobs today. For example, I can find a piece of useful information and instead of copying the link or taking notes myself and emailing it to co-workers, I can just use Diigo and share it effortlessly. This seems to be the next step in social media and social utility and I am excited to see where it goes.

Here’s a link to my Diigo library

Thing #5: Twitter

I don’t really use Twitter too often but I do follow an eclectic group of people. Some of the people that I follow include political commentators like Anderson Cooper, Chuck Todd, Rachel Maddow, and Keith Olberman. I also follow the Huffington Post, MSNBC, and a ton of my friends and other random Tweeters like Pimp Bill Clinton and OMGFacts.

In terms of using Twitter, I can see it being used professionally in a lot of very useful means. For example, one of my good friends has started using social media (particularly Twitter and blogs) as a means to promote himself and his business endeavors. His blog is called 5280 Ethos (@5280ethos on Twitter) and he works as a freelance sports writer in Denver. He has told me about the professional uses of Twitter and uses it as his main means for getting his information out to the public. Therefore I know that it will be extremely useful and powerful in the business world. Overall, I think I will keep using Twitter more and more because it seems as if it is becoming a legitimate source of information and possibly income and this term is the perfect opportunity to refine my skills with social media.

Thing #4: Digital Mind-Mapping

My Mind Map

Using a visual brainstorming tool was a unique experience. I have never visually mapped out anything through a digital medium so the experience was quite new. I really enjoyed how interactive the website was which allowed me to ignore any petty information and focus on the task at hand. 

Although there would seem to be many situations where this tool would come in handy, I think it is best applied when used for planning out what needs to be done. I personally have only made checklists with tasks listed on it but I could definitely see myself using a program like this one far more often. 

Thing #3: Finding great blogs, RSS feeds, and Google Reader

I really liked setting up the RSS feed and Google Reader since both of these are new to me. It was surprising to learn that these services existed, especially since I would consider myself quite tech savvy and understand the internet pretty well. I think that these could be effective for professional applications because it seems like a perfect way to stay connected to any business interests you may have and it could also help someone stay on top of their game and organized (very important).

Since signing up with Google Reader I am subscribed to three very different blogs. The first is actually my internet homepage -The Huffington Post. I like this page because I seems to have some of the best news info available at any given time, plus it is updated constantly. Another site I am subscribed to is the Laughing Squid. This site has a bunch of updates on nearly all topics and is very modern and current. A final site I am subscribed to is Life Hacker. This site is great because it provides tips and hints on how to do things that will make your life better -all though the use of simple household means.

As a blogger, I would say that besides exploring new blogs and the blogosphere, one of the most important aspects of it is commenting on other peoples blogs. This is important because it really gives the host blogger a sense of what is working for their site and what is not. Without good feedback, a person may not continue his or her blog and you could possibly loose one of your go to sites as well.

Thing #2: Adding media, using gadgets, and labelling your posts

Since most of us are about to graduate from Coe in the next three months, I thought it would be important to include a link to my LinkedIn page here. If you are not familiar with LinkedIn I would suggest checking it out. The website is a great resource for professionals looking for networking and/or employment opportunities.

But if you're too lazy to explore it on your own, check out this video. It's a tutorial on what LinkedIn is all about and why it is so useful: 

 

 Customizing and labeling you blog is the best way to allow it to stand apart from other blogger's pages. For this blog, I took the time to change the layout of the page which included a new background photo, a search bar, and other minor changes which impacts how a visitor perceives the page.  The way I decided what to add resulted from an exploration of other successful blogs and an understanding in what they contain how they are different than the thousands of unsuccessful blogs. The labels on my blog correspond to what I thought would be most useful. I think the only way to make sure that this blog is living up to it full potential is by hearing feedback from visitors as to what would make their visit more enjoyable or productive.

Thing #1: Getting Started

I have been using Web 2.0 for quite some time now. I believe I was a freshman in high school when I first got Facebook. Since then I haven't really ventured too far from Facebook even though I try to use it less and less. For my journalism class in the Fall of 2011 I was required to get a Twitter account but I rarely use it. I do see the value in both of them but it is my personal choice to limit my use. I think the reason behind these feelings is because even as a 21 year old I have noticed a complete obsession with social media by my peers and because of this I have made the decision to use it as little as possible. However, my fraternity has a Facebook page that we try to keep updated because we know that a lot of people get their information from said source.

In terms of what interests me about Web 2.0, I would have to say it is the complete ability to create whatever you want -especially in terms of blogs. I really enjoy the Huffington Post and the blogs found on that website as well as various food blogs which is where some of my key interests are. Something that I would like to learn is how to use the Web 2.0 for productivity besides Facebook and Twitter. I think there are some great alternatives out there but I just need help finding them.