Documentary

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWQssDFuV5E

The argument for my documentary was if Facebook could help people from losing friends, especially since many have just left home for college. I chose this topic mainly because many of the friends I talked to everyday in high school, I have not heard from since I left for college. So I thought with this topic I could see if other students were having the same problems as me. I wanted to find out how they were using Facebook to get out and meet new people or as a crutch to stay inside their dorm rooms.   

I think my documentary succeeded in getting my point across at the beginning so there was no way to miss the whole reason for it. Also, I was able to interview people who were able to prove me wrong because I thought everyone would be having this problem with balancing old friends with new ones. I had some pretty nice shots of the library, but I wish I had more time to get some other shots to add variety to the documentary.

I think my narration was the best way to present my topic because it allowed the documentary to flow and allowed the viewer to be led to what I want them to see and understand the point I was trying to get across. I think I might have fell short in the creativity in my layout. I usually take a very long to get my desired product in a project, but because of the time constraint I had to accept what I had with little time to change much if I did not like it. I feel like I could have made it perfect, or my idea of perfect, I had more time for trial and error to get something I went all out on.

Even though I did not have a lot of time, I still like the way my documentary came out. I succeed in getting some good shots of places were students would typically use Facebook and good interviews with students who felt comfortable enough to share their personal info on camera. I am glad I was able to achieve a simple way to get my idea across while keeping the viewer entertained with some lively music and ok transitions. They were only ok because Windows did not have much of a variety so that area was left a little bare. Overall, I feel like my documentary on Facebook and whether or not it could help keep friends was a success.

Shooting Schedule

For my documentary, I plan to start shooting on Monday since I will only have one class that day. I want to get shots of places where people are usually on facebook like my dorm and the library.

Tuesday through Thursday I will interview my subjects on how they use facebook to stay in touch with their friends. I will ask them questions like how often are they on facebook, if they always talk to old friends do they feel that facebook keeps them from going out and making new ones, if not do what has facebook encouraged them to get out and do.

Also, I will add some narration to it because I think it will help the documentary flow and will be a great way to start it.

Proposal Final Draft

For my documentary, I am going to determine how UK freshman use Facebook to keep in touch with friends back at home or at different colleges. By now I believe that all college kids have made some new friends in their two months in college, but no matter who they are, I know they haven’t forgotten their olds friends.

 

The audience for my documentary is UK students who use Facebook as their primary way to keep in touch with their friends and family. The purpose of my documentary is to remind students to not only make new friends while in college, but to also remember their old ones.

I plan to get some shots basically anywhere people use their laptops with an internet access. So I will probably get some in my dorm, the student center, outside of classrooms, and especially at the library. I will try to get some interviews with students who traveled from far off and compare it to a student from Lexington or close by.

 

Since many UK students are on Facebook, I think my documentary will be able to relate to my audience because everyone has at least one Facebook story. Hopefully my documentary will be able to open some eyes to how much Facebook keeps students in touch with old friends.

Proposal

For my documentary, I am going to determine how college kids use Facebook to keep in touch with friends back at home or at different colleges. By now I believe that all college kids have made some new friends in their two months in college, but no matter who they are, I know they haven’t forgotten their olds friends. I am probably going to find out that many students are up to date with their friend’s lives because they use Facebook as a way to procrastinate on homework or to relax in their down time. And for those who don’t use Facebook to keep in touch with their friends, they probably use twitter or one of the many other social media websites online. I think there might even be a small percentage that actually sends letters through the mail, who knows.

The audience for my documentary is college kids who use Facebook, but maybe I can use some professors or graduate students in my survey. I guess anyone could be the audience of my documentary as long as they use Facebook to keep in touch with friends away in different places. The purpose of my documentary is to find out how people use Facebook to cope with being away from their loved ones for extended periods of time.

I plan to get some shots basically anywhere people use their laptops with an internet access. So I will probably get some in the game room of Haggin, the student center, outside of classrooms, and especially at the library. I believe that nine times out of ten the people I interview will already be on Facebook so finding people to shoot shouldn’t be too hard.

I also want to find out how college kids react when their friends post themselves doing something crazy. I think it will spur the student to go and get involved with something on their own campus. Or maybe they will see their friend’s activity and have to scold them on their behavior. I have got a couple of those friends. Also, there are a lot of different pages on Facebook to like so maybe some students have friends who changed during their short time at college already. Since many college students are on Facebook, I think my documentary will be able to relate to my audience and hopefully be able to open their eyes to how much they really use Facebook to keep up with old friends while making new ones at college.  

Dark Days

The documentary “Dark Days” was a great documentary that made its thesis very clear to me from the very beginning. I didn’t know much about homeless people, but this video did a very good job showing the struggles that the homeless go through. The video is shot around the lives of four main homeless people and basically gives them a chance to tell their story. I think it is safe to say that their own stories are the narrative for the entire documentary. It starts off by each homeless person telling how they got down there and the reasons were never good. The bulk of the story is just the homeless people surviving. They just went from day to day doing different stuff to make money or fix up their homes until they were finally able to move out.

The documentary had many characters, but they were all built up in different ways. The main way was through their own stories which they told themselves which were all filled with emotion. It was clear that the bad decisions they made in their pasts is what caused them to end up underground and speaking it aloud usually came with solemn looks and tears. For me, this shows the characters as not only homeless, but people who are striving to survive in the world like all the rest of us. I think that juxtaposing their current living situation with their past mistakes really establishes a good pathos and evokes sympathy from the viewer.

Overall, this documentary had way more shots than the other two we watched combined. I could understand many of the shot selections like the shots of the different homes from the inside then seeing what it looks like outside. This leaves you with the impression of how they got their homes to look as well as the do. There were also shots of the tunnels to show the filth that they constantly live in, but then would contrast it with a shot of them living comfortably in their homes. This concept was furthered by the constant shots of rats and trash, but that wouldn’t affect them because they were used to the rats and they used the trash to make a profit. However, not all shots made sense to me. For example, the shot of where they took dumps and how they cleaned it out. The shot was eye opening but it was very unnecessary. To me, it didn’t serve a purpose past showing how nasty homeless people can be. Another example is when Brian was taking a shower. It was just another unneeded shot because we were already told that they didn’t have running water in the beginning. Most of the shots did make since and further the point of the documentary.

Between the documentaries we watched I think this one got its point across the best. They all had characters that had something to overcome, but this one was most relatable because we will meet more homeless people in our lives than the world’s largest record collectors or NBA draft picks.  

Proposal Ideas

My ideas are how Facebook keeps you in touch with your friends, how people use facebook to procrastinate, or how people don't protect their facebook.

Remix Video

Video Games

I do not know whether video games could ever be considered as art, but I most definitely do think that games tell a better story than oral stories, literature, and films. I have been playing video games since I was younger and I still do now. Though video games have evolved over time, they all revolve around a main character that has some obstacle to overcome.  This is where the story for a video game comes in and the ideas of the creators are conveyed to the gamers.

When I was younger, I played simple video games with basic story lines that were easy to understand. No matter how many times I played the same game, I would experience the same joy as when I first played it. The depth of the story never really mattered because I was just glad to play the game. As I grew up, the type of games I played changed as well. Now, the most vital thing I look for in a game is how entertaining I think the story will be. For example, take Grand Theft Auto IV.  The main character is Niko Bellic and he is a fresh off the boat immigrant that wants a new life in Liberty City.  This is what Niko says at first but as you play the game and the story develops you find out that what he really came to America for was revenge. His life in Liberty City and all his adventures, whether he was helping or killing someone, is the story that the gamer must unfold and there is no dull moment in between. The game is so complex, that depending on what actions you take the story will take a different path and every play through will be different.  Another great example is the God of War games. These games by far are my favorite because they connect me with a world of Greek mythologies that I would have never known.

In God of War, the main character is Kratos and he is a servant or slave, depending on which side of his wrath you find yourself on, to the Gods of Olympus. In each of the games Kratos is faced with task set upon him by the Gods usually delivered to him by Athena. He is always reluctant to do what they ask but always ends up swallowing his pride. He hopes that they will hold up their end of the deal and forgive him for murdering his family, but after repeatedly not getting what he works for he turns on the Gods of Olympus and does what he wants after becoming the new God of War. This angers all the Gods of Olympus and causes Zeus to interfere. He tricks Kratos into becoming mortal again and kills him all in the beginning of the second game! The rest of the series is Kratos’s attempt to get back at the Gods of Olympus and ultimately killing them all for their lies. Though these games are very violent they do have a very entertaining storyline behind them that should be experienced.

For me, video games have provided me with the best stories I’ve ever experienced. They are more entertaining than any piece of artwork or book I have read. They keep you interacted at every point and with the games today every time you play through the story you will experince something new everytime. I would for sure pick a video game story above any other any day of week.

Music Tracks

The first song I'm choosing is "This Thing of Ours" by Maybach Music Group because it has a mellow beat that will complement the tone of my speech. My second song is "2.0 Boys" by Eminem because it is more upbeat and will keep the audience more intrigued with my speech.

Snapshots

This is the first image that is shown in the song. It lets the viewer know that Nas dedicated this song to his daughter.

This is when Nas's daughter looks up to see her smiling parents. You can tell Nas is the more excited of the two.

 

 

As his daughter is learning to walk, Nas is there with his hands out to catch her and is very happy when she makes it to him.

 

This scene is from his daughter's third birthday and her innocence in the scene is being contrasted by Nas's lyrics about her during her awful phase.

This scene shows Nas out with his daughter while he flirts with some random woman. He accounts this with why his daughter is so attracted to gangstas because her dad was one.

  In this scene, Nas's daughter is coloring while he is in the booth making music The distance between them in this shot represents them actually growing apart.

Even though he is arguing with his wife in this scene, he is able to put all his anger aside and go to his daughter when she needs him.

His daughter is older now and the scene suggests that their relationship has changed. She can only see her father now through tv which explains her later actions.

Since Nas isn't really there, she continues doing bad things with the bad boys she's attracted to. The climax is when she and her friends get pulled over.

 Nas has to have a talk with his daughter so they can reconnect. Throught the lyrics he lets her know that he only does what he does because he wants the best for her.













In the final scene, Nas is waving goodbye to her as she leaves for greater things. When she looks in the window she smiles as she remembers everything her dad had ever done for her.

Music Video Analysis

Most of the music videos I watch usually do not have very much substance and focus mainly on the benefits of being rich and flaunting it. However, the artist Nas always has very meaningful lyrics and the music video for his song “Daughters” brought the song to life.

The video is mostly shot from the first person view of Nas’s daughter through the many stages of her life. Other pictures also flash during the video that complement the lyrics as they play in the background. The video starts off with his daughter crying when she is born and then she is in a crib as her parents stand over her. They look happy as all parents do when they have a new baby, but Nas, as the father, is the most ecstatic. Next, she is a baby learning how to walk and she is stumbling towards Nas and he smiles as he catches her. The rap begins at this point and his lyrics are basically about the bad stuff that his daughter does and how he thought she was raised to be different. He starts with how mad he was that his daughter was talking to a boy that was in prison, but calms down when he remembers how he never hid how he really was in front of her so he could not blame her. Nas knows that he has been away on stage for most of her life and has not always treated the women in his life with the utmost respect, but that is just how he is. Even though she may want a bad boy, Nas knows how they are and how they because he was one himself, especially of who he is now and how famous he has become. The scene in the back is of her third birthday and it contrasts her innocent nature then to her bad boy crazy ways now as portrayed through his lyrics. His daughter is now 17 and Nas states how he has a problem with her, probably the “awful phase” he mentions at the beginning of the song.  As she continues to do bad things, Nas reflects on how he thought he was being a good dad by being her friend and not too strict on her, but does not understanding what is going through her mind when she does bad things. In the end, his daughter is caught drinking and smoking by the police in a car driven by some bad boys she knows. This is where Nas finally fathers up and sits down to talk to his daughter. He says he is not trying to ruin her life, but she is his daughter and he ultimately only wants the best for her.

I really like this video because it has a good message behind it to all men who have daughters. I myself do not have any kids right now, but I plan to one day. Nas made it really easy to sympathize with his feelings about his daughter through his lyrics and brought the rhymes to life with the video which is why I thought this was a great video.

TIB Rough Draft

Growing up, I remember always asking my mom all sorts of questions all beginning with “Can I go” then insert whatever lie I had to tell her so I could go do bad things with my friends, and her answer which was always the same “No”. At one point, I got the courage to finally ask her why she would never let me do anything with my friends. She just looked me in my eyesand told me she knows that I was lying and what I really was going to do. That day she told me that I was too different from everyone else to be doing the same stupid things so I had to hurry up and become more responsible. Ever since then, I have tried to be responsible in all aspects of my online life, especially when I am on Facebook.

With so much information readily available on the web, you don't want your personal info apart of that group.  The one site in the world that knows the most about me is my Facebook page. For me, Facebook is like a gateway to an all access world of my friend’s day to day lives, but it can only protect me if I lock the gate after myself.  It has my photo, my hometown, and my date of birth, basically everything short of my social security number on it. With all of that personal stuff on the internet, I believe that to be truly responsible, I have to protect it from anyone who would try and misuse it.

However, I did not always think like this. When I first got online, the last question I could have answered was how secure was my profile. It had got so serious that my sisters had to pull me aside and tell me to quit putting my business online for the whole world to see. But me being young and stupid, I did not even bother to listen to what they told me. I just went about my business and enjoyed my Facebook thinking that nothing bad could ever happen.

Unfortunately, the next day my profile was hacked and I didn't know what was going wrong. I decided to leave it alone till the following day and by then the hacker had destroyed my page. The next day, I was told that my profile was hacked because there were a lot of pictures of bad things on there and nasty comments that were left. It took me awhile to get my profile back and when I did, I finally saw how irresponsible I had been.

Even after that incident, I can still be found on Facebook from time to time, but in a more responsible manner. Now I keep all of my info more secured with the enhanced privacy settings so that only my friends or certain people can see what I'm doing. Hopefully, I can transfer some of those responsibility skills to my actual life.   

TIB I Didn't Like

The "Books at All Costs" speech is the one that I find myself having nothing to relate to. I myself prefer not to read books in my free time, but Kristin Kelly the author worships books like they are her personal saviour. I have no personal problem against those who like and read books, but Kelly has forced me to hate book lovers, or at least if you do to the same extent she was talking about. Her opening statement is that she advocates buying really expensive books. I have problems with reading books given to me so I find it completely outlandish to pay heavily for one. To me it just is not worth it, but to Kelly she would spend all she had on a book. She even preferred to own many paperbacks over just one ebook. I only had to read the first line and I was already doubting if I would finish the rest of it.

The rest of the essay is basically the same shameful behavior. The personal account she told is when she left her house one night to go buy a $300 book. I could not believe what I was reading. At this point I was really thinking that this lady is delusional and wanted to stop, but I went on anyway. Kelly goes on to compare books to slices of heaven and how she will love to pass them on to her kids. If I just really had to purchase books, I would have just gotten an ebook and called it a day. I really did not like this speech though it did make sense since her over the top love for books is why I did not like Kelly's speech.

TIB Everyone Deserves Respect

The This I Believe speech I chose was by Vint Cerf. He is man from McLean, Virginia and he is credited as the “Father of the Internet”, but that is not why I was interested in his speech. The main focus of his speech is that everyone, no matter who they are, deserves your utmost respect. Cerf begins his speech with a personal story about his acquaintance with an unusual limo driver he once had. Cerf was feeling sorry for his driver because he thought he was just an older man that could not retire and had to keep working, but he turned to be the direct opposite. He was a retired CFO of some corporation and he became a chauffeur so that he could talk to different people and stay in touch with the modern world.  He even gave Cerf some advice that prompted him to write this speech.

He used this advice to branch out and connect with new people just by simply talking to them. He found that if he was simply patient and gave people the time of day, they would be glad to allow him to see into their lives and share their experiences. When he speaks on disagreeing with some of the people he meets, his point really resonated with me. Cerf states that “respect doesn’t mean we have to agree, but we should disagree in a civil fashion” and that just blew me away.  When reading that statement, I can just imagine all the times I disagreed with someone and was nowhere near polite; then remembering a later argument that went one thousand times better simply because I had learned that lesson of respect. Employing that idea in every argument made life easier because the argument would never get out of hand and tempers would never flare out of control. I, like Cerf, believe that it is impossible that you can show someone earnest respect and not receive the same back.

Cerf talks about how some people think that the internet dehumanizes us, but truly how it’s just another way to communicate. If you are arguing with someone through the web, just get on the phone so no one gets the wrong meaning of what was said.

The Wonderful Xbox

Introduction

I. Attention Catcher:

What do you do with your free time?

II. Listener Relevance Link:

Everyone loves to enjoy their free time.

III. Speaker Credibility:

I have been playing videogames since I was 10 years old.

IV. Thesis Statement:

I can't imagine my life without my Xbox 360.

V. Preview: It is entertaining, it has a lot of games, and you can go online.

Transition (optional): The Xbox 360 is a great gaming console so let me explain to you why this is so.

 

Body

I. First Main Point
The Xbox is a very entertaining gaming system.

Listener Relevance Link: When you play a game, don't you want to be entertained.

   1.  I can watch all my DVD's in HD.

   2.  Listen to my music.

   3.  Can get on the WiFi and watch Netflix and Hulu.

Transition: Not only is the Xbox a great source of entertainment, but it has so many games it would blow your mind.
 

II. The games are the most vital part of the Xbox 360.    

    1. There are so many games and different types to choose some.
    2. You can download full games or demos permanently onto your Xbox.
    3. As you play, you can unlock achievements for performing certain actions.  

Transition: If you can afford it, the online capabilities are amazing.

 

III. The online play is what connects you to the whole world all through your Xbox 360.

Listener Relevance Link: We live in a social world so why not make some new friends while you utterly beat your opponent. 

      1. The best part of the Xbox is the ability to play online with friends and others across the world.
      2. You can also make purchases online through the Xbox marketplace.
      3. Connect constantly so that your games and Xbox are always up to date.

Transition: Obviously the Xbox 360 has multiple functions that will take your free time to the next level.

Conclusion

I. Restatement of Thesis: Without my Xbox, my life would be so boring I could not bear it.

II. Summary of Main Points: My Xbox is so wonderful because it is so entertaining, the games are challenging and never end, and getting online connects you to the gaming world.

III. Clincher: So if you don't have anything to do, why don't you get an Xbox and experience its endless possibilities.

I could not imagine my life without my Xbox360

I.Entertainment
1.Watch DVD's
2.Listen to music
3.WiFi Capable
II. Games
1.Various games
2.Downloadable demos
3.Unlockable achievements
III. Online play
1.Can play with friends
2.Make purchases in Xbox marketplace
3.Update your games for more content
IV. Reliable
1.Long play times
2.Rechargeable controller batteries
3.Impact resistant frame

My Social Identity

Imagine a kid with a fair amount of friends that he sees on a daily basis. He spends the majority of his time with his friends. They do not do anything bad they just hang out. Then this new websites comes out and all his friends are obsessed with it, but he refuses to get on to it. He still hangs out with his friends from time but this “Facebook” has changed their whole dynamic. He does not see the big deal about it but he makes an account just so he can see what is up with all the commotion.

 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/facebook/9442899/Facebook-adds-save-for-later.html

Facebook was started by a guy named Mark Zuckerberg who attended Harvard. There was a lot of controversy the site in the beginning, but now he is the sole owner.  There was a movie about Facebook’s beginning which did a real good job of telling Mark’s story. Facebook started as something that was just for college students to talk to one another and share experiences, but now is a global website that many people are a part of. I think that it has drastically changed how we all use the internet. It has introduced us with people from all around the world, most of whom we would have never met in our regular life. It allows us to be friends with different people of different races and learn about different cultures. I myself have never befriended anyone I don’t know because that is just weird to try to talk to someone online you do not even know. In my book you are supposed to leave strangers lone, but not everyone online would follow those rules. I think Facebook has done a great job of maintaining its message of staying connected with friends. However, many of its users do not always share the founder’s sentiments.

Social media websites like Facebook, Twitter, and countless others are what are enthralling this generation. Some would say that this has a negative effect on us while others have only good things to say. Whichever sideyou find yourself on, by now your curiosity has forced you to at least visit one of these sites.  I know what you are thinking; I have heard about it and everyone around me is on it and rambling about this and that and how great it is, but I am going to stay away because it has nothing for me. I know this because this was my first reaction to Facebook. I kept hearing about how everyone is on it and it was going to consume your life as well if you get on, but I was determined to be the odd man out. That mode of thinking, however, did not last very long. According to Facebook, I became a member in 2010 but to be honest I could not remember if you paid me. I like Facebook and I think that it is a cool site, but I never understood the hype. I most definitely would not say that I am a diehard Facebook fan; I am just an average user that uses it to talk with my friends. Facebook has been my only online social identity and I did not understand its’ true function until I came up to UK. If you do look me up, I rarely upload pictures because I am not a big fan of being photographed so that is why my profile picture is of my favorite NBA team.

 

Facebook was always been just something for me to do when I was bored so I have never understood why people are so addicted to it. I did not have internet at home so I would only get to check my Facebook when I went to the library. I would usually just check my messages and friend requests nothing too major. If I was really bored, I would look at my friend’s profiles and comment on their statuses.  I was never the one that wakes up at three in the morning because my phone buzzed from a Facebook alert because one of my friends, who was an obvious an insomniac, like a picture I took a month ago. Or at work procrastinating because my friends uploaded a new album and I had to go through each and every picture and “like” all the good ones. I was never like that and I cannot really understand how anyone gets like that.

                               http://www.buzzle.com/articles/pros-and-cons-of-facebook.html

The biggest problem with Facebook today is the security of your personal info. If you sit back and think about it, you put more on your Facebook than on any other site. To be honest Facebook probably knows more about you than all of your friends combined. Most people are not cautious of what they put on Facebook because they do not think about who is looking at their profile. I keep my profile locked down like Alcatraz with only certain people who can see certain things. I do not really trust the ads and other stuff they put on Facebook because I do not want anyone stealing my identity. I can see myself getting furious if I had to prove that I really am me so I just stay away from anything asking for my personal info. Most users do not know how the companies on Facebook use the info they make available on their pages. Most legislation is real lax with online laws so you better protect your personal info before you end up with nowhere to turn to. If users would actually learn up on the different ways to keep their profiles safe from online predators, then the negative attitudes towards Facebook would change.

Facebook still remains a very popular site with billions of users and I am one of them. Over the years, I have never changed my use of the site. I just check it when I get bored. Now that I have a smart phone I can check it on the go no matter where I am. Facebook is a great site that I would recommend to anyone who wants to keep up with old friends. Just stay away from anyone you do not know is my best advice for any new users. It’s a great site with a lot of good things on it you just have to look in the right places. I would not say that Facebook has been a big part of my life until now that I have left all my friends behind, but Facebook is what I use to stay connected to them. Facebook is still something I enjoy in my free time and no matter what happens I think I will always be on Facebook.

Sources:
Pros and Cons of Facebook
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/pros-and-cons-of-facebook.html

History of Facebook: The Beginning of Social Networking Revolution
http://suite101.com/article/history-of-facebook-a217306

Facebook Users Share and "Like" Too Much
http://www.pcworld.com/article/255100/facebook_users_share_and_like_too_much_report_says.html

9 Reasons Why You're Hooked On Facebook
http://allfacebook.com/nin-reasons-why-youre-hooked-on-facebook_b38349

Rough Draft

Social media websites like Facebook, Twitter, and countless others are what are enthralling this generation. Some would say that this has a negative effect on us while others have only good things to say. Whichever side you find yourself on, by now your curiosity has forced you to at least visit one of these sites.  I know what you are thinking; I have heard about it and everyone around me is on it and rambling about this and that and how great it is, but I am going to stay away because it has nothing for me. I know this because this was my first reaction to Facebook. I kept hearing about how everyone is on it and it was going to consume your life as well if you get on, but I was determined to be the odd man out. That mode of thinking, however, did not last very long. According to Facebook, I became a member in 2010 but to be honest I could not remember if you paid me. I like Facebook and I think that it is a cool site, but I never understood the hype. I most definitely would not say that I am a diehard Facebook fan; I am just an average user that uses it to talk with my friends. Facebook has kind of been my only social identity so that is why I chose it for my essay.

Facebook was started by a guy named Mark Zuckerberg who attended Harvard. There was a lot of controversy the site in the beginning, but now he is the sole owner.  There was a movie about Facebook’s beginning which did a real good job of telling Mark’s story. Facebook started as something that was just for college students to talk to one another and share experiences, but now is a global website that many people are a part of. I think that it has drastically changed how we all use the internet. It has introduced us with people from all around the world, most of whom we would have never met in our regular life. It allows us to be friends with different people of different races and learn about different cultures. I myself have never befriended anyone I don’t know because that is just weird to try to talk to someone online you do not even know. In my book you are supposed to leave strangers lone, but not everyone online would follow those rules. I think Facebook has done a great job of maintaining its message of staying connected with friends. That concept was something I did not understand for a while until I came up to UK. I mean I see my friends everyday so why do I need to get on Facebook to add them. If I was already friends with you in real life I did not see the point of getting on Facebook. Luckily, I did get on and I am glad for it.

Facebook has always been just something for me to do when I am bored so I have never understood why people are so addicted to it. I did not have internet at home so I would only get to check my Facebook when I went to the library. I would usually just check my messages and friend requests nothing too major. If I was really bored, I would look at my friend’s profiles and comment on their statuses.  I was never the one that wakes up at three in the morning because my phone buzzed from a Facebook alert because one of my friends, who was an obvious an insomniac, like a picture I took a month ago. Or at work procrastinating because my friends uploaded a new album and I had to go through each and every picture and “like” all the good ones. I was never like that and I cannot really understand how anyone does get like that.

The biggest problem with Facebook today is the security of your personal info. If you sit back and think about it, you put more on your Facebook than on any other site. To be honest Facebook probably knows more about you than all of your friends combined. Most people are not cautious of what they put on Facebook because they do not think about who is looking at their profile. I keep my profile locked down like Alcatraz with only certain people who can see certain things. I do not really trust the ads and other stuff they put on Facebook because I do not want anyone stealing my identity. I can see myself getting furious if I had to prove that I really am me so I just stay away from anything asking for my personal info. Most users do not know how the companies on Facebook use the info they make available on their pages. Most legislation is real lax with online laws so you better protect your personal info before you end up with nowhere to turn to. If users would actually learn up on the different ways to keep their profiles safe from online predators, then the negative attitudes towards Facebook would change.

Facebook still remains a very popular site with billions of users and I am one of them. Over the years, I have never changed my use of the site. I just check it when I get bored. Now that I have a smart phone I can check it on the go no matter where I am. Facebook is a great site that I would recommend to anyone who wants to keep up with old friends. Just stay away from anyone you do not know is my best advice for any new users. It’s a great site with a lot of good things on it you just have to look in the right places. I would not say that Facebook has been a big part of my life it has just been something I enjoy in my free time. No matter what happens I think I will always be on Facebook.

Sources:
Pros and Cons of Facebook
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/pros-and-cons-of-facebook.html

History of Facebook: The Beginning of Social Networking Revolution
http://suite101.com/article/history-of-facebook-a217306

Facebook Users Share and "Like" Too Much
http://www.pcworld.com/article/255100/facebook_users_share_and_like_too_much_report_says.html

9 Reasons Why You're Hooked On Facebook
http://allfacebook.com/nin-reasons-why-youre-hooked-on-facebook_b38349

 

The Wonderful Google

I agree that this article has some good points on how the internet has changed our minds and the way that we think, but I think it has gone a little far when it says that we are dumb because of it. I mean so what that we do not spend as much time with our nose in the books looking up something.  Why should we? We have a tool that does it for us and makes things faster and more efficient. I do not know about you but I have never thought being more efficient was or ever could be a bad thing. Having so much knowledge at the click of a button is just a luxury of the age we live in. We should not blame Google and other related sites for making us lazy or stupid. If anything, using another outdated source like a book is just crazy and a waste of time. This new age requires that speed and precision so why not find info instantly on Google.

As far as not being able to retain attention on long walls of texts, I do not consider a fault. I mean the author mentioned how he has noticed this change in himself and his friends as well, but it is understandable. With so many things that occupy our day, who has the time to just sit down and focus on reading a long text? We need what we are looking for now and without the hassle of looking at filler. If Google is making me stupid I and everyone else can and should only say thank you.

The Rhetorical Situation

I have to say that that was the most over the top article I have read in a whole. There were not any real specifications to this so I am just going to tell you readers what I got out of all that mess. Even though it took him forever to say it, this whole paper is about how rhetorical discourse, which I understand to be an argument of some kind, is always found or interpreted from a situation. I just do not know why he had to add so much extra to this paper. I understand trying to flex one’s personal vocabulary, but this guy took it to a whole another level. He just kept firing off higher level word after word, not giving the reader a chance to catch their breath. Usually after seeing a word that I do not know or completely understand, I would whip out the old dictionary, but this guy made it impossible. I would have been working on just the reading all night if I did that so I just had to force myself to trudge through his barrage of unnecessary words. I figured most of them out through context clues so I do not feel like a complete idiot.

If you ever need a guy to drive a point home for pages on pages, this is your guy. Throughout the whole paper he kept saying that rhetoric is situational and gave some real great examples such as the Gettysburg Address and the assassination of Kennedy, but after a while it got annoying. He would write a whole page of words explaining this and expounding on that, but I would not know what was going on till the last couple of sentences when he would simplify things. He also went on to describe the components that go along with rhetorical situation such as, exigence, which is any obstacle I believe, audience, and constraints.  Yet again when explaining these, he went overboard with the excess words and drawing analogies to previous analogies which did not make sense in the first place. I mean how is it possible to affect the audience with your speech if from the very start they do not understand you and have to strain to see your point. Overall this was way too long and I would not wish that reading on anyone, even an actual rhetorician. That word is so funny to me but I do not know why lol.

My Sources

Pros and Cons of Facebook
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/pros-and-cons-of-facebook.html

History of Facebook: The Beginning of Social Networking Revolution
http://suite101.com/article/history-of-facebook-a217306

Facebook Users Share and "Like" Too Much
http://www.pcworld.com/article/255100/facebook_users_share_and_like_too_much_report_says.html

9 Reasons Why You're Hooked On Facebook
http://allfacebook.com/nin-reasons-why-youre-hooked-on-facebook_b38349

Could Facebook Replace Your Email
http://articles.cnn.com/2010-11-11/tech/cashmore.facebook.email_1_facebook-users-facebook-one-facebook-messages?_s=PM:TECH

Web Comic

I have not read a comic strip in awhile but this one was pretty interesting. This comic strips draws on how if we are not careful of what we watch, then those reality tv shows we watch could possibly ruin us. We as viewers just sit around our couches wasting time with these shows that have no significance when we could be doing something more productive with our time. I enjoyed the presentation of this argument simply because it was in a comic strip and it had pictures. The comic strip is a great attention grabber, especially more so than a regular article. The comic strip enhances his argument by showing contrasting pictures of our downfalls rather than just with all words. If this argument was presented to me in some other way, I admit that I probably would not have gotten the point so easily or have been as interested.

Social Identity Essay

My social identity essay is going to be about facebook and I have used it to stay connected to my friends.

Honey Boo Boo

First of all, I do not know what that Honey Boo Boo crap was but I do not understand how that has two million weekly viewers. However, I do see why Albom would mention these two separate things. It is because as people we should have been shocked by what we saw. Instead we sit around waiting for something else outlandish to happen to the people around us for some quick entertainment. Like Albom, I was shocked by what I saw in both videos, but I was still able to walk away unfazed. I mean the thing that keeps us coming back to these horrible reality tv shows is the drama they contain. As a people we always want to see others struggle, but never want our own personal slip ups to be seen. Instead of lending a hand, we wait to see others fail so we can laugh for a brief moment then go about our day. I would not say that reality tv has made me apathetic, I believe I have been like that for awhile now, but that it has given me a new view of the world and given me another reason to be even more apathetic.

Reality TV What's The Point?

I have always been a big tv watcher, probably more than most, but reality tv I would have to say is the complete worst. I mean for a time I was trapped in the void of the reality tv hour on VH1, but those days are no more. I can remember coming home from a long day at school and watching all kinds of shows from For The Love of Ray J to the I Love Money series. I mean those shows had a purpose to me. They were not just some D list celebrities trying to get some extra time in the limelight, but everyday average joes just trying to make a quick hundred grand. The participants would team up and strategize on how to get their enemies out of the house. The lengths that these people would go to for some prize money really caused me to be suspicious of who I let around me.On most shows, the contestants would do whatever they needed to stay on the show. Especially the ones who did not choose a side. They will play both sides until they can secure their spot for the week and turn around and have to do it all over again. I beieve the basis for any good reality show is how well the contestants can lie. I mean it is always very entertaining to see someone blatantly lie to anothers face and then fifteen minutes later talk to another person about how they will backstab that person they just lied to. I think I owe my ability to lie so well on all those reality shows I watched. I mean I watched countless hours of people lying to another's face without flinching so of course I had to learn something. But now, however, the current shows have forced me to go elsewhere for my prime time needs. These new shows are basically all the same with a different ethic character. I am starting to think that these new shows are really a reflection of our decaying society, but maybe that is just me and my crazy thoughts.

First Blog Ever

I never thought I would be one of those people that blogged but here I am. I'm not a real fan of English classes but this one seems pretty cool.I'll just have to see how this year goes.