Definitions

Sharing- This lets people be part of a group with very few obligations. The user decides how much information is to be shared with the groups. In general, social network sharing is controlled by the individual and they can choose how much they want to participate.

Cooperation- People are communicating and working with each other. Each person changes to meld with others. The communicating, melding and working together forms a group.

Collaborative production- This is where all members of the group are important to achieve and complete the goal. In collaborative production, most decisions are agreed upon by all the members of the group in order for things to move forward. When the final result is achieved all members get credit for the work.

Collective action- In this kind of effort you are obligated to continue to the end. The reason for this commitment is that each person is like a gear in the machinery of the project. If one person drops out then the effort falls apart.

Tragedy of the Commons- This is a problem where a member of the collective finds it to their best interest to cause the group to fall apart. Members find that the effort of the group can be very beneficial to an individual so they take what has been done for personal gain.

Social Networking, Politics & Revolution presentation

   The group started off by talking about a local lady that organizes and educates people on cases, Kim DeFranco. It was interesting that she uses twitter and Facebook to promote the causes. I also found it interesting that she uses other forms of media because just using Twitter and Facebook does not work well.

   I was fascinated by the information on the Mexican Drug Wars and their use of social networking. I am glad that hackers found the guts to threaten the Cartel. Maybe if more people stood up to them in this way then the Cartel could be overthrown. I do think that part of the reason that it worked is because the hackers were faceless. I realized that the Cartel found out who they were and eventually murdered them but it was a start.

   The group went on to talk about China. They told how China owns runs all the media sites in the country. The group told us that social network sites are monitored by the Chinese government. I find this to be disconcerting. If someone was to tell me that the US government does this I would not be totally surprised. I think that we will see another Tiananmen Square with the help of social networking.

   The last two things that the group talked about were the riots in England and the US military. In both cases you can see the good and bad sides of social networking. It will be interesting to see how the world of politics and revolution evolve and change because of this.

Social Networking and Relationships presentation

   The group gave the example of dating sites as social networking. I had never really thought of them that way but I guess they are. I never realized how many of these sites there are. The group's statistic on the number of people that participate int these sites and the breakdown of ages and incomes was interesting. The part that I found to be most interesting is that most of the people are over 45. This makes me wonder why.
   The Facebook discussion was fascinating. I like the way they created a fake profile to experiment and find out how people friend people. I am amazed at the number of people they friended without those people knowing who "Katie Smith" is and only because she listed going to UWBC. I actually find this kind of scary. Why would you friend someone just because you have something in common? I love Tyler's comment, "Facebook is like a mask." It really is because no one knows whether you are actually portraying yourself or someone you would like to be.

"I" & "It" of socialnetworking

  The thought that the use of socialnetworking changes the people that we communicate with online changes them from a "You" to an "It" is disturbing. I can understand that this is the case, though. You receive posts from friends and family and are appalled by what they post. The posts are not how you would talk in front of family or friends. I have seen "dirty laundry" aired to hundreds that should be kept private. The question that I have asked my daughter, offline, is "Is this how you would talk in front of your grandparents and other family members?" This whole example shows me that the people you have "friended" are really its. This is the way you would talk to an object.
  The Second World site and story I find interesting but disturbing. The part I find interesting is the site and concept of Second World and such sites. It is more about the graphics and how you are able to manuver though this "world". It is interesting that your aviatar can communicate with other people's aviatars. A person can develop a character to anything or type of person that they choose. But the part that I find disturbing is that people get so involved. These sites are make believe but they insert their personal lives. I realize that when you develop a character, whether online or in writing, there is going to be a piece of yourself in that character because that is what you know. The example of the man with the aviatar that had a "whole other life" that included a wife is sad. If he chose a relationship with a female avaitar. The question is- Did he consider developing a freindship with a male character? I think it is a case of he was afraid to have an actual affair because of the reprecussions. If you change yourself to an "It" then that becomes okay. This, in the end, is no different then people that find penpals online and deveop relationships with them. This is considered and emotional  so the avaitar is one too. Then yes, the "I" becomes "It" and "You" also becomes "It".

Death of Newspaper s presentation

The group gave a lot of interesting points about newspapers. What I found to be the most interesting was the general attitude when it comes to newspapers. Out of the ten people that were interviewed, they all got most of their news from the internet. Very few of the people read the newspaper. I found it sad that they all believed that actual hardcopies will be gone in ten years. There seemed to be no thought or remorse to the possible loss. This whole thing tells me that people need to be educated as to what the ramifications will be if newspapers die. I believe that very few people have a clue.