Thing 5: Mind Mapping

I created this to help me brainstorm ideas for an ET assignment in Dr. Bob's Essay class.  I created three sub-bubbles I thought important to consider, then added to them.  The "Elements of Pieces" section helped me list common elements of all the stories I read that Narrative liked enough to publish.  I was hoping by writing them out it would help inspire me to find a topic I could write about as creatively as they had.

It is rare for me to actually create a brainstorm web.  I think it is useful, I just usually don't - I guess I tend to do things in lists or bullets if I am brainstorming at all.  I think this was very helpful for me - I preferred it in many ways to putting one on paper.  For one thing, it suites my OCD because all of the bubbles are perfect, not lop-sided like mine, and so I am not distracted by the visual flaws.  Also, it feel more permanent, and the color-coded levels helped organize it nicely.  The only issue I had was spacing - if it got too big I had to move it around to see each piece of it, rather than being able to see it as a whole.  i can see using this for just about anything - especially brainstorming writing assignments like the one I did here.  It would probably help create a list of assignments for a day or a week, too.

Thing 4: Wikis! and Using Facebook Professionally

Facebook can be more than just a social tool.  It can be used for professional networking or as a tool to promote a business.  It is important to know how to use it in these different functions and make sure it looks professional.

This is what I posted on our class wiki:

This is a little more of a general note for using Facebook professionally. One article I read (12 Ways to Use Facebook professionally) talked about thinking of your Facebook page as your desk - you personalize it how you would a desk at your work place.  I think the same could be applied to personalizing a page for a business enterprise.  Another suggestion from the same source is include links to other group pages or businesses that are in some way related to yours - this allows you to network and reach a wider consumer base - if you have a link on theirs and they on yours, you help each other expand your audience.  A third suggestion was be philanthropic.  Perhaps your business wants to show that it supports finding a solution to environmental issues or something - use the Support Cause app to demonstrate to your consumers what is important to you.  These were the three most useful suggestions I found to apply to using Facebook for a business.

Particular Interests in Web 2.0

One of the things that particularly interests me is simple formatting - how do I make my blog look user-friendly, interesting, uniquely me, and not just blocks of text broken up with movies or pictures now and then.  I want to learn how to put a specific quotation in large font in a block near or in the middle of my text.  I'm sure it's easy, I just think it can look kind of sharp.  I can't explain the appeal of this - I used to hate them because they distracted me, they were never very important quotations it seemed to me, and it broke the flow of the text - yet somehow it grew on me, like a benign disease that insidiously crept into my brain one night - I don't know whether I like these quote boxes because as a child I was forced to deal with them in grade-school - in those huge anthologies where you are presented with pieces of stories but never the whole thing, or just because my adult mind likes the distraction from the text, or if it is because it can be done in an artistic way. But this is one thing.  Another is how to more effectively intersperse pictures in my text.  I love taking photos though I have no formal experience or training.  There are times though that my words cannot touch an experience, the way a photograph cannot really show the grandeur of the real thing - yet images are more powerful than words sometimes and I want to be able to effectively capitalize on this.

Beyond those specifics, I just want to know how to do any nifty, artsy things to spice up a blog.

Using Web 2.0

In contemporary society, we are bombarded with different forms of media at all times.  Because of this, we as consumers of products, services, and information now expect interactive media - in fact, we require it - in order to attract and retain our interest.  Traditional methods of communication are in decline - most newspapers, magazines, television shows have recognized that in order to continue selling their ideas, they must plug in to the online community.  It's the same with individual voices, too.  If I want people to take note of what I have to say, I must learn how to effectively employ a variety of visual and auditory devices in an online media format that will keep my readers engaged.  This is where Web 2.0 comes in.  But hold the cellular device - what is Web 2.0?  If you are anything like me - a not-so-savvy digital native - then you are probably a little fuzzy on how this concept is defined and why it is so important.  Let me help you out.
  
 According to Wikipedia, Web 2.0 is generation two of the World Wide Web, one that is centered upon applications that facilitate an interactive means of sharing of information, interoperability, design centered around the user, and perhaps most importantly, collaboration.  Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube - these are all examples of ways in which Web 2.0 has manifested itself.  It is the world of social media.

The importance of social media cannot afford to be down-played.  According to a video entitled Social Media Revolution - a YouTube video created based on information provided by socialnomics.com - "Social media isn't a fad, it's a fundamental shift in the way we communicate." Those of us in Generation Y are what are known as "digital natives," according to author Marc Prensky.  We need to know how to use social media networks and Web 2.0, not just as participants, but as creators, in order to promote our ideas; it will be expected of us once we move into the business world.  Right now, I have very little experience in this area.  Through these assignments I am hoping to gain a better understanding.