Twitter is the latest in the social networking site craze, apparently. I've heard of it, but don't know anyone who uses it, well until I finally created a site for myself. Then I found Valley News Live on there. According to this article, Twitter has even changed the face of politics and now may even be changing Hollywood. As a matter of fact, the whole reason I decided to check out Twitter is because I heard it was so huge that it caused Jennifer Aniston to leave John Mayer, due to his Twitter fetish.
I don't know if any of you have Twitter accounts, but I don't really understand the appeal. It reminds me of an incredibly short blog (one that is too short to even make a relavent point anyway) mixed with a Facebook status update. I don't Tweet much, but if it ever does become a trend around here, I'm sure I'll on the bandwagon (just like I did with Facebook, MySpace, myYearbook, Tagged, hi5, Xanga...).
In an attempt to be unbiased, here is a blog entry by someone who loves to hate Twitter. This blogger calls Twitter a waste of bandwidth. Here is her/his thoughts: "Why do we think we’re so important that we believe other people want to know about what we’re having for lunch, how bored we are at work or the state of inebriation we happen to be at this very moment in time? How did society get to the point that we are constantly improving technology so that this non-news can reach others even faster than a cell phone, a text message, a blog, our Facebook profiles?"
I am one of those who likes to be reached and likes to reach others, but Twitter seems as though it is crossing the line. Seriously, after everything I do, I'm not going to write a Tweet, narrating my life! I guess that's what Twitter wants you to do, though.
Now, I can understand why people blog and even why they use MySpace and Facebook. Blogging allows for hyperlinks to other articles and blogs as well as an in-depth conversation, not limited to a mere 140 characters. Facebook and MySpace allows for picture sharing and comments and the ability to join groups and causes to unite with others.
One other thing that annoys me not only about Twitter but the entire lingo of the internet is the abbreviations, acronyms, and poor grammar. On Twitter, you may have no choice but to use abbreviations and acronyms to get your thoughts into the 140 character limit, so those of us who do not understand what AYCOOYM means probably will not even want to read your Twitter update, anyway. BTW (by the way), AYCOOYM means: Are you completely out of your mind? Yes, that may just be the questions for Twitter fanatics.
Oddly enough, I have a tough time posting my comments to 100 characters in this class, but on Twitter, when I was answering the question "What are you doing?" I needed more characters!
Any thoughts on Twitter? Do you see it becoming a craze here in North Dakota?
Monday, March 30, 2009
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Blog 10 (The Flood of '09)
This is a link to one of many articles found from The Forum about the flood updates. This may be a very common blog topic not only in our class but in the entire blogosphere. Also, people all over Facebook who aren't from around here are talking to me and other friends about the flood. This article talks about the town of Linton, ND being evacuated. I was quite young in the flood of '97, but I remember how awful everything was. My hometown, Cooperstown, isn't close enough to any bodies of water that it flooded too bad. It kind of shocks me how these towns are flooding so bad that they need to be evacuated already.
If you read the article, you will see comments written by others. The idea of these comments relates back to an idea discussed in another class (that I am also blogging for) talking about Web 2.0 (social media and a more interactive version of the internet). This pretty much means that readers are able to not only read the article but to also show their viewpoints. If you read these comments, you can see a clash in some readers' views, causing what I think is sarcastic comments. Even though arguments can break out from comment enabling, I think it's important that the readers are able to share their ideas. The internet is a new and growing form of communication, and this way people are able to talk with others, maybe not even from around here. Do you think that comment enabling on news stories is a good thing or a bad thing?
After I write this, I am going to go out sandbagging, as I'm sure most of you are doing right now. It's scary to think that our classes were cancelled because that is how desparate we need those sandbags. I went up there last night for a few hours and got a lot done. It was great to see many people from the community out volunteering. Some people say they do not understand why we live in North Dakota. Obviously, the weather is awful at times, but what about the people and the community. From some previous blog entries I've read for this class, I am aware that not everyone is as giving as we are.
Moreover, I think it's great that the community is keeping us informed with the latest information on the flood. I refresh the Forum's homepage as well as the road report's page many times throughout the day, checking to see the latest updates. It's amazing how just a week ago, many of us weren't even thinking of the damages that can, will, and are being done.
If you read the article, you will see comments written by others. The idea of these comments relates back to an idea discussed in another class (that I am also blogging for) talking about Web 2.0 (social media and a more interactive version of the internet). This pretty much means that readers are able to not only read the article but to also show their viewpoints. If you read these comments, you can see a clash in some readers' views, causing what I think is sarcastic comments. Even though arguments can break out from comment enabling, I think it's important that the readers are able to share their ideas. The internet is a new and growing form of communication, and this way people are able to talk with others, maybe not even from around here. Do you think that comment enabling on news stories is a good thing or a bad thing?
After I write this, I am going to go out sandbagging, as I'm sure most of you are doing right now. It's scary to think that our classes were cancelled because that is how desparate we need those sandbags. I went up there last night for a few hours and got a lot done. It was great to see many people from the community out volunteering. Some people say they do not understand why we live in North Dakota. Obviously, the weather is awful at times, but what about the people and the community. From some previous blog entries I've read for this class, I am aware that not everyone is as giving as we are.
Moreover, I think it's great that the community is keeping us informed with the latest information on the flood. I refresh the Forum's homepage as well as the road report's page many times throughout the day, checking to see the latest updates. It's amazing how just a week ago, many of us weren't even thinking of the damages that can, will, and are being done.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Blog 9 (The Money's in McDonald's)
According to this article, Coke and Oreos are not the compaines to be investing in right now. "Grocers report that customers in record numbers are going for the generic house brand, priced at up to a dollar less." Last week I bought an entire box of cereal for 54 cents from Target. It didn't taste nearly as good as the leading brand, but it was edible...I think. I buy generic if I think its quality is good enough for its price. All in all, I generally prefer the leading brand, but if the generic brand is almost as good (and probably at least a dollar less), I usually grab the generic brand.
If you scroll down this article, you will see many familiar brands. Apparently the generic brands are taking over these leading brands. It kind of seems shocking to me to hear that even brands like Johnson & Johnson and Coca-Cola are suffering. When I worked at a grocery store three years ago, those were some very popular brands that made their way down the black revolving belt many times a day. So why are people going for generic brands? The article states this: "In similar eras in the past, it's turned out that consumers downshift into lower consumption modes quite rapidly and with remarkable ease, and even start to pride themselves on developing an upside-down view of luxury."
Also according to the article, some companies might not see as much of a downfall. Family Dollar and McDonald's were two familar names. This makes sense to me because of the low prices of their product. This article states that McDonald's was just one of two DJIA companies to soar in the stock market in 2008. According to Owen, “You’re more likely to encounter a McDonald’s than a Burger King or Wendy’s on your way to work, which gives it a tremendous advantage in the breakfast category." This isn't true in Valley City, but in other cities, I can spot the golden arches from a mile away....
So does this mean we should all go invest in McDonald's? A recent survey of franchisees by New York City found franchisees worried that rising labor and raw product costs will crimp margins. According the survey, franchisees also believe business will be only fair to good through the first six months of 2009.
If you scroll down this article, you will see many familiar brands. Apparently the generic brands are taking over these leading brands. It kind of seems shocking to me to hear that even brands like Johnson & Johnson and Coca-Cola are suffering. When I worked at a grocery store three years ago, those were some very popular brands that made their way down the black revolving belt many times a day. So why are people going for generic brands? The article states this: "In similar eras in the past, it's turned out that consumers downshift into lower consumption modes quite rapidly and with remarkable ease, and even start to pride themselves on developing an upside-down view of luxury."
Also according to the article, some companies might not see as much of a downfall. Family Dollar and McDonald's were two familar names. This makes sense to me because of the low prices of their product. This article states that McDonald's was just one of two DJIA companies to soar in the stock market in 2008. According to Owen, “You’re more likely to encounter a McDonald’s than a Burger King or Wendy’s on your way to work, which gives it a tremendous advantage in the breakfast category." This isn't true in Valley City, but in other cities, I can spot the golden arches from a mile away....
So does this mean we should all go invest in McDonald's? A recent survey of franchisees by New York City found franchisees worried that rising labor and raw product costs will crimp margins. According the survey, franchisees also believe business will be only fair to good through the first six months of 2009.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Blog 8 (Writer's Block)
Well, the semester is half-way over and if writer's block hasn't sunk in for you yet, you're lucky. I like to write, but I know that even the best writers experience writer's block. I have quite a bit of writing assignments for my classes, so I often find it hard to find a topic on which to write. These blogs are acutally more easy to write than our news story assignemnts, probably because we don't have as strict of guidelines to follow.
Purdue's OWL site lists many different scenarios in which people experience writer's block. They suggest physically stretching to relieve stress-caused writer's block. I think this is effective because it's relaxing. Being relaxed can inquire thought and thus writing. One of the best tips on Purdue's site that I often use is this: "Force yourself to write down something, however poorly worded, that approximates your thought (you can revise this later) and go on with the next idea." I use this when I know what I want to say, but I don't know how to word it. I often find that coming back to my work after a while, even a day, helps me revise my writing.
For those of you creative writers, here is an intersting website that takes a slightly different approach to writer's block. Languageisavirus.com generates words, characters, phrases, etc. for people who may be stumbling on, say, a character's name in a novel. It also gives random titles to stories. Some of these may be a little whimsical or unuseful, but you never know what kind of creativity the site may spark. You can have fun with it too, go to the site and click on Cut up Machine, type in a random phrase, and click "Cut It Up." See what kind of crazy sentence you may get.
This website states some causes for writer's block that are very familiar to me. One of them is neglecting my writing. Sometimes I put off assignments and end up later sitting down to write nothing. The site suggests just writing ten minutes a day can be helpful. I think that works because it gives me a break and allows my creativity to develop and recover. They also mention the concept of perfectionism. That can be an issue to me, but I don't necessarily consider it writer's block. If I'm worried about perfecting my work, I must have writing intuition at that moment. They mention just a change of scenery can be a cure for any cause of writer's block. That can be so true to me.
Do you have any suggestions for writer's block? What do you think is the best cure for writer's block?
Purdue's OWL site lists many different scenarios in which people experience writer's block. They suggest physically stretching to relieve stress-caused writer's block. I think this is effective because it's relaxing. Being relaxed can inquire thought and thus writing. One of the best tips on Purdue's site that I often use is this: "Force yourself to write down something, however poorly worded, that approximates your thought (you can revise this later) and go on with the next idea." I use this when I know what I want to say, but I don't know how to word it. I often find that coming back to my work after a while, even a day, helps me revise my writing.
For those of you creative writers, here is an intersting website that takes a slightly different approach to writer's block. Languageisavirus.com generates words, characters, phrases, etc. for people who may be stumbling on, say, a character's name in a novel. It also gives random titles to stories. Some of these may be a little whimsical or unuseful, but you never know what kind of creativity the site may spark. You can have fun with it too, go to the site and click on Cut up Machine, type in a random phrase, and click "Cut It Up." See what kind of crazy sentence you may get.
This website states some causes for writer's block that are very familiar to me. One of them is neglecting my writing. Sometimes I put off assignments and end up later sitting down to write nothing. The site suggests just writing ten minutes a day can be helpful. I think that works because it gives me a break and allows my creativity to develop and recover. They also mention the concept of perfectionism. That can be an issue to me, but I don't necessarily consider it writer's block. If I'm worried about perfecting my work, I must have writing intuition at that moment. They mention just a change of scenery can be a cure for any cause of writer's block. That can be so true to me.
Do you have any suggestions for writer's block? What do you think is the best cure for writer's block?
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