What Will People Do With Blogs Next?!

Yesterday when I was reading the news on CNN.com, I came across a fascinating article that really showed how social media is revolutionizing our society. The article, “Death at 25: Blogging the End of A Life,” described how 25-year-old and cystic fibrosis pantient Eva Markvoort used a blog to reach out to the world. Markvoort blogged about her terminal and incurable disease for nearly four years.

She used the blog to tell her story, show her suffering, and to reach out to others; some of whom also had the disease that causes mucus to build up in one’s lungs. She used writing to communicate with others, funny pictures of

Markvoot and her friends making silly faces for her blog

herself making faces to show how she was still in good spirits, and videos of her vomiting, coughing, and receiving IV’s to show the brutality of the disease.

According to the article, patients blogging about their dieases is becoming a more common thing to do. I think this is a great thing and a very positive and helful way to use social media tools, such as blogs. Patients who are currently undergoing treatments for certain diseases or who are suffering certain affects of diseases are able to tell others who have the particular disease what it is like to suffer. It allows those with a certain disease to learn, teach, and most importantly, not feel as though they are alone.

It truly is amazing that social networking tools, such as blogs, are revolutionzing something as serious and hard to deal with as death. Death is viewed by many as a taboo. Markoort’s mother even felth uncomfortable with her daughter’s openness about death and the disease. Blogs, like Markoorts are making topics like death, no longer hard to talk about. They are allowing people to connect during extremely difficult times in their lives.

I wonder what other good could come from using bogs?!

I Found It!

Blogs never interested me. I love to write and I love to read but I never really got interested in the whole concept of blogging. I figured no one really reads blogs, so what would be the point of writing my own? Also, if I wanted to know about a current event or something going on in the world, I would read a news website, not a blog. If I wanted sports commentary or play-by-play analysis of a game, I would visit a sports website. I guess I really never though I had a use for blogs–there was always a website that I could go to, to find the information I was looking for.

I’ve read hundreds of blogs about a variety of topics, but I never came across one that had me reading it religiously.

Then I attended the blogging conference in March at St. Rose College and realized that the blogging world is huge! I was so surprised to see that there was such an interest in blogging in the capital region! It fascinated me and motivated me to continue my search to a find a blog that I would read on a daily basis.

As a graduating senior, much of my time is consumed searching for jobs. I practically live on job boards and job websites. The other day is was job hunting on websites such as Monster.com and Craigslist  for jobs that involve a large amount of writing, such as reporting. I came across an advertisement on Craigslist looking for those who are “smart, pretty, and awkward.”  Thinking that this was an interesting and rather different advertisement, I clicked on the link and read the description of the job.

Smartprettyandawkward.com is a blog that has daily entries. Each entry includes advice of “how to be smarter,” “how to be prettier,” and “how to be less awkward.” All of the tips is geared towards young women like myself. The blog provides relationship advice, friendship advice, family advice, fashion tips, dieting tips, pretty much anything a young woman would be interested in. It also has links to different clothing or recipe websites.It also gives inspirational and touching quotes to live by. The blog is written in a light, funny, and cheerful way.

Needless to say, I have become addicted to reading this blog! Not only do I read the daily blog entries, but I also have spent hours reading the archives of the blog that have been accumulating since the blog started three years ago! I never know what I am going to find on the blog, and that is what keeps me coming back for more! I wonder if there are other blogs out there like this one….I guess I will have to continue searching!

Oh, and the job post was looking for a summer intern to write for the blog. It would have been the perfect ((and most amazing)) job for me, if it was full-time!

Will Twitter Replace Traditional News Outlets?

I have to admit, I was not thrilled when I was told that I would have to create a Twitter account for this class. I figured Twitter was another social networking fad that would soon fade into the crypt of social networking websites.

I honestly did not see the point in posting my thoughts or some other sort of information in 140 characters. I assumed no one would read my “Tweet” and I did not think there would be anyone out there who had “Tweets” that that were interesting, entertaining, or informative–I sort of just assumed that most people used Twitter to tell others what they were up to. I figured Twitter users told their “followers” where they were or what they were doing.

I never realized how versatile Twitter was until I started using it myself. As a result of using Twitter, I have become more knowledgeable and educated and much more up-to-date on things occurring in the world. I follow numerous news anchors, such as Anderson Cooper and Larry King. By following these people, I am able to get my news faster. What I like most is if a news anchor ‘Tweets” about something, he or she usually includes a link that allows his or her followers ((like myself)) to read more about the event occurring. Its almost as thought Twitter is a more concise news outlet that allows users to get even more information about an event or happening if he or she chooses to do so.

I am an avid watcher of Larry King’s show, “Larry King Live.” I have been watching his show since I was in the seventh grade. I do not think Larry King is a particularly good journalist–he rarely asks the guests on his show hard or controversial questions. The reason why I love watching “Larry King Live” is because he always has extremely

Larry King

interesting guests. His guests includes politicians, philanthropists, television and movie stars, and singers. If there is a high-profile case, he has someone involved in the case either such as a witness or lawyer. I love to see who he has on his show and often, I have planned things around his show so I would not miss one of his interesting guests!

I recently noticed a pattern with Larry King. He seems to always ask his guests if they are on Twitter or if they “Tweet.” If they do, he asks them when they started using Twitter and why they use it. If they do not, he asks them why they do not. Larry King also always asks viewers to “follow” him on Twitter and to send a “Tweet” his way if they have something to say.

I find Larry King’s constant Twitter talk fascinating. It seems like he is using it as another news outlet. Many other news anchors or talk show hosts have Twitter accounts. I am really curious to see how many people start turning to Twitter as a source of news and to see if  Twitter is going to become a dominant news outlet!

A few weeks ago, I wrote a blog entry about the Organ and Tissue Donation Campaign my Communication class was putting together. Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness month began on April 1st and my class’s campaign went into effect on April 6th, when classes resumed for spring break.

While the campaign has only been going on for less than two weeks ((12 days to be

The Theme of Our Campaign

exact)), it has been extremely successful so far. Our goal is to get 1000 people to sign up to be donors by the end of the month, and we are well on our way with over 750 donor cards signed!

One of the more successful ways our class has been able to disseminate information and facts regarding Organ and Tissue Donation, tell people when and where are events are taking place, and reach out to students on campus has been through the Internet. The “Web Development/Viral Marketing” team has been made the Internet a vital tool in running a successful campaign.

The “Web Development/Viral Marketing” team’s job is to create a website , Facebook “person,” and Twitter account. The website contains our campaign objectives and goals, general information and facts about Organ and Tissue Donation, and lists our events. The Facebook “person” has hundreds of “friends” who attend our university. This allows the class to easily dispense information regarding Organ and Tissue Donation, create invitations for the events we are hosting, and post pictures and videos that will help get our campaign message out. The Twitter account allows our class to reach an enormous amount of people. Our Twitter account is not only following many people, but it also has many followers! This allows us to share facts and advertise our events to hundreds, maybe even thousands of people.

This past week, I spoke to one of the girls on the “Web Development/Viral Marketing” team about the three websites her group is in charge of. She told me that her team put the least amount of effort and work into the creation of the website. She then pulled up the website to show me how little work they did on it. I asked her if this is because her team was not familiar with HTML formatting or because they did not have time. She told me that her group decided to put all of its efforts towards the Facebook and Twitter accounts. She explained that since the campaign is geared towards students at our university, she wanted to make sure the Internet aspect of the campaign was also geared towards students. She believed the best way to do so was to work tirelessly on the Facebook “person” and Twitter account, not the website. Her team assumed college-aged students were more likely to go on Facebook or Twitter instead of a regular website.

I cannot say that I was surprised that the “Web Development/Viral Marketing” team put its efforts towards Facebook and Twitter. Social networking sites are extremely popular with college-aged students and seem to be replacing the traditional website. I think this was definitely a smart move of the team, and I am curious to see if other classes working on this campaign in the future will take the same approach. After all, it has proven to be extremely successful so far!

Social Media and College Roommates

My final project for class is going to focus on how many college students and those post-college use various social media and networking sites to find their roommates or apartment mates. Many friends of mine found their roommates through social networking websites such as Facebook, Urroomsurf or Craigslist.

Since I cannot film or write about a family member in my final project, I figured I would write a blog about my brother, Zachary, who is currently searching for a college roommate. He was actually the inspiration for my final project, so I think I should pay credit where credit is due.

Zachary is a senior in high school and is attending Binghamton University in the fall.

Zachary's Facebook Picture

He decided to attend Binghamton University when he got accepted to the university at the end of February. He was directly admitted into the School of Management and plans on majoring in Accounting. While Zachary is very driven, hardworking, and studious, he also happens to be a social butterfly. Everyone who knows him knows that he is always the life of the party.

For Zachary, finding a roommate is key because he needs to be living with someone who will study as much as he will during the week, but at the same time, will not mind having many people over to hang out or party. He needs an equal balance.

When I was a freshman, I was in the Honors College, and thus, was placed in the Honors Dormitory. This was a terrible experience for my because while my roommate was very studious and studied hard, she also partied hard and did a few drugs. She partied every single night of the week to the point I could not study or sleep in my own room. Zachary wants to avoid a situation similar to what I had.

Zachary has taken matters into his own hands. He joined the “Binghamton University” network  as well as the group “Official Binghamton University Class of 2014” and has actively been “friending” other incoming Binghamton University freshman on Facebook. He sends messages to these guys and has conversations with them to see if

they will be compatible as roommates.

In addition, Zachary also joined the Facebook group, “Find a roomate for Binghamton University’ 2014.” Members of this group have the opportunity to fill out surveys so other people can know about where they are from, what they are majoring in, which dormitory and type of room they want to live in, if they study, if they party, if they smoke, and what their hobbies are. This is a great way for Zachary to see if he has anything in common with these guys. If Zachary finds someone similar to himself, he sends them a message and begins talking to them. He is very determined to find his roommate using Facebook!

Using the social networking tool, Facebook, Zachary is going to hopefully avoid the problem I had freshman year with my roommate.

Technology Really is Amazing

When I got out of one of my classes early yesterday, I figured a good way to kill the spare time before my next class was to catch up on the news.

Since I have multiple news applications on my BlackBerry, I find myself constantly

BlackBerry

checking the news. I have the CNN application, the Associated Press Application, and the New York Times application on my Blackberry. What is particularly useful to me is that the Associated Press application allows me to store my zip code and get local news. Even when I am at school, I can be on top of what is going on at home. This is really awesome because the Associated Press gathers my local news for me from the same newspaper I interned with and wrote for this summer, The Bergen Record!

I definitely think since the news is on my BlackBerry, I am more knowledgeable and up to date on what is going on in the world. Thanks to the mobile news, I am always on top of breaking news, even if I have been in class for a few hours straight.

It might seem as though this blog entry is just about me bantering about how great it is to have the news on my phone. However, I actually want to talk about a story I read yesterday when I read the news on my phone yesterday between classes.

I read an article yesterday on CNN, titled “Florida Girl Rescued From Swampy Forest Four Days After Disappearance.” The story was about 11-year-old Nadia Bloom, who

Nadia Bloom

disappeared from her home four days earlier. The young girl is said to be mildly autistic. She had been riding her bike and taking pictures of nature and eventually got lost.  She was found in decent condition. Although her shoes were missing and her body was covered in bug bites, her vitals were good.

Nadia was found by a man named James King on Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. King was part of the Bloom Family’s church and had been helping look for Nadia. King called the authorities from a cell phone to tell them that he found Nadia.

What I think is fascinating about this story is how the authorities were able to locate both King and Nadia in the middle of the swampy forest. Anyone who has ever been in a forest knows it is extremely difficult to pinpoint a location–the trees look the same, and the ground looks the same. By using King’s cell phone to track down his location, the authorities flew a helicopter around the area in order to find his exact location. He was finally located when he climbed up a tree and waved toilet paper back and forth.

We discussed in class a few weeks ago the disadvantages of Twitter tracking our location. This is especially true  for journalists breaking a story in a very competitive atmosphere. However, in the case of  Bloom, the ability for King’s cell phone to track location is extremely advantageous.

I wonder if this ability to track people via cell phone will become more common? Imagine all the missing children that could be located if they were equipped with some sort of tracking device!

Facebook As A Method Of Contact

The main reason why I use Facebook is because I am horrible with the phone. I never

Facebook

call my friends from high school when I am at school and I never call my friends from school when I am home for vacations.

I do not know if I am horrible at staying in touch with my friends on the phone because I am too busy doing many things or because I do not want to get into a long phone conversation or text message conversation. Regardless of the reason, if it were not for Facebook, I would not be in good contact with my friends.

For me, Facebook lets me contact a friend without getting into a long conversation. For example, my best friend graduated from college last year and now lives at home. Every time I am coming home for a weekend, I write on her Facebook wall, I tell her I will be around. As the weekend approaches, we then make plans via text message or over the phone.

Another example of how I use Facebook is that if I want to say “hello” to a friend or see how he or she is doing, I write on a person’s wall. This way, I maintain contact with friends without spending a long time doing so. For example, one of my friends from high school is extremely busy–busier than me! She takes 21 credits a semester, is in two singing groups, and is always practicing. Since she and I both have very little time, we write back and forth to one another whenever it is convenient, via Facebook.

This semester, I have found Facebook very useful because it has allowed me to keep in touch with my friends from college who are studying abroad in Spain, Australia, and Israel. Since they are in very different time zones, it is hard, and expensive, to get in touch with them over the phone or webcam. Facebook has allowed us to write back and forth to one another at a time that works well for both of us.

What I like most about Facebook is that it has helped me maintain contact with people who I might not have been able to stay in touch with. My Facebook friends include people from preschool, high school, college, sleepaway camp, my jobs, and internships, leadership conferences, and those who are just acquaintances. When I

The Picture That Led To The Contact

first created a Facebook account four years ago, I was “friended” by a girl I went to preschool with. While she and I never spoke on Facebook, she recently “tagged” a picture of us and some other girls from our preschool graduation. As a result of this “tagging” we recently all got back in contact.

I think Facebook is a great social media tool, if not the best tool. It allows people to stay in touch with one another, make friends, and disseminate news. I am curious to see in the future if another social media tool will be as successful as Facebook.

Blogs and Online Shopping?!

A few days ago, I went online to look at the new spring clothes my favorite clothing brand, Free People, is selling. As I was clicking away at the different pages to view the new spring dresses and skirts, the words “BLDG 15 blog” caught my attention.

While I have been on the Free People website many, many times, I had never noticed

Free People

that the website had a blog! . According to the blog’s archives, the blog has been published since October 2006! It is written by those who work for Free People. I guess I never paid attention to links to blogs or other social media tools until I began taking this class.

I still cannot get over the fact that my favorite clothing brand has a blog! As soon as I noticed the blog link, I clicked on it and immediately started to read! It really is a fantastic blog! Not only is it interesting to read, but it is fascinating to look at because it is interactive through quizzes, polls, videos, and links. The blog also provides links to the clothing brand’s Twitter account, Flickr account, a Youtube video that was filmed in the office, and a link to the brand’s Facebook page. If someone likes a skirt shown on the blog, she can click the link and is sent to the website to purchase the skirt! It criss-crosses online shopping and blog reading!

Even though there is a great amount of content on the website, yet, it is not overwhelming. The blog entires include those considered to be “lifestyle” entries or “fashion” entires. They are either about clothing trends, clothes that the brand just released, or things that are occurring around the Free People office. Pictures and links are published in every entry. The blog entries are not super long, which can be good for someone who wants to read the blog but does not have a lot of time on her hands.

I am so glad I found this blog. Its a great read that catches me by surprise every time I go to read its newest entry. I am really glad I found it because I am more up-to-date on what is going on with my favorite clothing brand. I am even following the brand on Twitter. I wonder if other clothing brands are going to start publishing blogs?

When it comes down to it, I think the “BLDG 15 blog” really hits the nail on the head. The purpose of blogs and other social media tools is to inform, educate, and spread knowledge. While the blog is not necessarily spreading the most important or education form of knowledge, it is spreading fashion information, proving that social media tools are of great importance and should be valued.