#gemsbok121

[edennis14-blog-blog]

Personal Information Management

Sometimes I think I’m more of the type to let organizational systems on my devices deal with organization and archiving my digital information, other times I get a little OCD and go through everything so that it’s all organized according to however I feel that day. So it’s a little bit of a toss up for me, but I definitely am at a certain level of disorganization when it comes to my digital life.

Lately I’ve been doing a lot better job of organizing my files and documents online, but I haven’t always been the super neat type so my room is still a mess sometimes (most of the time).

[edennis14-blog-blog]

Week 14 - Social Media

So this week's main topic is Social Media. I thought it would be fun to explore some more specific topics within social media...

What do you consider "boundaries" of social media, in terms of oversharing or having your content seen by unintended audiences? When you share a post on social media, how far do you expect that post to travel? Only those who know you, or friends of your friends, or perhaps anyone in the world who finds your account?

I was also thinking about how social media accounts can be a potential turn off to future employers. Since social media is wildly popular among young adults; what kind of careers is it okay for an employee to use social media? Which ones might encourage employees to avoid it?

For example, if you post a personal item on Instagram, and an employer sees the post and thinks its inappropriate, is it right or fair for that employer to "punish" you? Here's an article that gets at that question:

http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/06/living/buzzfeed-social-media-fired/

Is one social media site worse than any others when it comes to employer/employee relationships? Is there on that's most acceptable?

Here are some articles to help you get some juices flowing! http://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/how-too-much-information-shared-through-social-media-can-really-hurt-you-infographic

http://www.berkeley-scott.co.uk/social-media

[edennis14-blog-blog]

“Blurred Lines” is right

When it comes to fair use and copyright, “blurred lines” is a very good way to explain it; as ironic as it is.

I don’t disagree with the Blurred Lines verdict, but I do think it’s unfortunate for artists and songwriters. It makes their jobs kind of scary! What if their song has a riff that sort of resembles a song that has already been produced? Yikes for them! I agreed with the first article that said something about how Madonna would be a billionaire if there were cases that challenged songs for rights to her songs. (http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/11/business/media/blurred-lines-infringed-on-marvin-gaye-copyright-jury-rules.html) Music doesn’t “belong” to anyone.

[edennis14-blog-blog]

Evaluating Bias

I think all students come across some sort of bias considering the extensive hours we spend researching during the years we spend in school. I don’t think it’s about if we experience it, it’s more of a matter of if and how well we can identify it.

I don’t find it especially hard to recognize bias. If a work is biased, it’s easy to see the way an author makes his/her work one-sided. Credible resources will have arguments for both sides of an argument. I definitely use the CRAAP test when I’m deciding whether or not a source is reliable.

Kind of a fun tactic to see both “biased” sides of an arguments that I like to use is: If I find the information in a specific article a little one-sided, I will make a point to read an article that opposes the ideas of the said article. It just makes it a little easier to see how the real arguments can be twisted and skewed to favor either side.

[edennis14-blog-blog]

Technology’s effects on behavior

To begin, I would just like to say how cowardly cyberbullying is. The main difference between a regular bully and a cyberbully is that a cyberbully is being rude or hurtful from behind a computer or phone screen. While a regular bully is generally well-known and likely very loud, a cyberbully is quite possibly anonymous which gives them the courage/protection to be even more nasty without the consequences. People will act differently under cover of a username or an anonymous option.

For a specific example, if you ever get bored go check out the comments on your favorite YouTube video. Even if you think there is no possible way for someone to dislike it, there will be rude and menacing comments on it! When people get logged on to an online site, they automatically become a professional critic of hair, fashion, comedy, musical ability, ethics, you name it! It’s honestly sad how people will say things online that they wouldn’t offline.

[edennis14-blog-blog]

Books vs. E-books

To me, there is nothing like sitting down with a good old fashion book and being swept away to a make-believe land. I’m sure e-books achieve the same goal overall, but there is just something about turning the pages of a real book that has my heart. Though e-books are cheaper and more convenient, I’m still a lover of the more expensive paper book. Do I think e-books are a good way to save resources? Sure! I’m sure that the world will eventually evolve into an e-book based society, but until then, I’ll be enjoying my paper books. :)

[edennis14-blog-blog]

The Worst Part of Writing Papers

Citations are such pain in the rear. It's tedious work to create citations. Every once in a while, I might get lucky and find the citation already made for you to copy and paste from a website or already entered in CitationMachine.net. However, most of the time I'm making sub-par citations that may or may not be accurate. The worst part is; citations are so necessary! Otherwise it would be too easy for paper-writers to take credit for thoughts that weren't their own.

I liked the idea that the article had. Hyperlinks are so useful and simple. Maybe it's time to leave old style citations in the past and ride the technology wave over the hill into new ways of citing.