The Living Is Easy

Social Media and Whatever Else Tickles My Fancy

Archive for Social Media

Speaking of Friends on Facebook…Check Out Mine

July 27, 2008 at 6:33 pm · Filed under Social Media and tagged: , , , , ,

 

They are so cute!!

 In a previous post, I wrote about Facebook friendships.  Since that post I have increased the number of friends that have slightly.  I have also increased the status of the types of friends I have on Facebook.  That’s right, Barack and Michellle Obama are two of my closest friends on Facebook.  You gotta love them.  Smile!!

As a fan of social media, I have been keeping up with my pal Barack through various sites.  As I said, we are friends on Facebook, I follow him on Twitter and he follows me, he emails me several times a week and I watch a couple of his videos on YouTube.  I’ve even received a few emails from Michelle.

 I think Barack Obama is a great choice for president.  I also think that being active on these sites helped him win the Democratic nomination. 

In the book The First Campaign, Garrett Graff wrote:

“Our next president must be one who can dream and really the nation around a common set of goals, and aspirations that can lead us forward-to change the expectations of the nation to better reflect the needs of a digital, interconnected, global age, where discoveries are made out in the heavens and in labs under microscopes, where bytes and bits fly around the world faster then our faster jets, and where one can talk to a friend in Bangalore as easily as to a friend on the next block.  Our expectations of the world have changed, and so must now our expectations of government and society.”

I wonder if Barack Obama or one of his staff members read this book.  It is like they knew exactly what to do and how best to use social media to win the campaign.  McCain and his staff better get busy especially if he is just starting to take the time to learn about the Internet.

 

 

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The Realities of War

July 26, 2008 at 3:41 am · Filed under Social Media and tagged: , , ,

The War in Iraq is said to be the first war were people here in America can get first hand encounters of the things going on in the war immediately thanks to blogs, video sharing sites such as YouTube and citizen journalism. 

Today I watched a video on YouTube called US Marines in Iraq Real Footage Warning Graphic.  I can’t even begin to imagine what it would be like to be in another country and fighting the enemy on their native land.  This video gives an up close and personal veiw of what soldiers are doing everyday. 

I also checked out a blog called Army of Dude after my teacher suggested it.  This is a blog by a soldier named Alex.  He posted on this blog while he was stationed in Iraq.  Currently Alex is back home trying to adjust to civilian life.  The pictures that Alex has on this blog are amazing.  Everyone looks so young and innocent some of the soldiers pictured are still in Iraq but there are also many pictured that have died fighting in the war.  Social media is clearly having a significant impact in giving a human face to the tragedy of this war.  I think that it is helpful to people to know what is really going on.  I do not know anyone personally who is in Iraq however reading these blogs gives me a chance to see real faces and I think that is important.  Seeing these faces brings the atrocities of war closer to home versus seeing a news anchor just talk about the war.

This is definitely a blog that I will continue to read even after my class is over.  I am interested in keeping up with Alex and reading his thoughts about the war as it continues. 

Does anyone even care that Bush said “Mission Accomplished” on May 1, 2003?  Maybe he should have said “mission could be accomplished but I’m not done yet.”

I am very thankful that these soldiers have a commitment to protecting our country at all cost even if the cost is their own life.

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Blogging in Armenia

July 21, 2008 at 5:14 pm · Filed under Social Media and tagged: , , ,


Global Voices Online is a Web site that compiles some of the most interesting blogs from other countries.  Typically the information found on this site is not found in main stream media.  I was very fascinated with this Web site because I know that main stream news is filtered and it does not always represent what the everyday person is talking or thinking about.  For this blog post I have decided to look at Armenia’s blogosphere to see what people are blogging about there.

There are several blogs in Armenia about the LGBT community, education, and politics in general. It seems that there is a reoccurring theme around the world when it comes to blogs.  They give people an opportunity to voice opinions that may not otherwise be heard. The LGBT community has several blogs in Armenia.  According to Global Voices, blogs were originally used to by the media to perpetuate homophobia amongst its residents now it is used to give people in the LGBT community a forum to voice their opinions and views.  One of the most popular LGBT blogs in Armenia is called Unzipped: Gay Armenia.

Education seems to be another hot topic in the Armenian blogsphere.  It seems that many people are opposed to how the government handles the education system in Armenia.  According to The Armenian Economist, the government plans to fund students to study abroad.  This blog however argues that the money would be better spent improving the education system currently in place.  The country’s lack of resources and shortage of qualified teachers has also been a pretty hot topic amongst bloggers there.

I must admit that I am known for being wrapped up in my own little world and I tend to forget that there are other people in the world with their own issues.  This Web site gave me an opportunity to look at what others are talking about and the challenges they face.  I think that this is a great Web site and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to leave their world for just a minute to experience another.

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Are All The Cool People Twittering? I Want To Twitter Too!

July 14, 2008 at 2:45 am · Filed under Social Media and tagged: ,

I have been using Twitter for about three months now.  So far I am following nine people and six people are following me. I feel like I still haven’t gotten into Twitter as much as I would like since most of the people I know have never even heard of Twitter.  But I still like it.

According to ReadWriteWeb.com, Twitter is getting a new look.  Tge wrote that Twitter is “trying to streamline its interface with its new design.”  Now I am all for redesigning web pages to make them prettier or more user friendly.  But, am I the only wondering about Twitter getting a system upgrade first.  I do not twitter often but it is pretty annoying when I think of something that is “Twitter Worthy” and I cannot get access because their are too many people twittering and the Web site cannot handle it.  I can only imagine that upgrading the site layout will only increase traffic to the Web site.  Will Twitter.com be able to handle all of the traffic?

And Another Thing:

As I look at my Twitter page I have to say that some people twitter too much.  I am sure the makers of Twitter love these microbloggers but I am starting to rethink some of the people I am following.  Some people twitter every few minutes and they are not people that I am that interested in keeping up with. I started following them because they were suggested by my teacher as some of the best and the brightest social media followers.  My goodness one of these people twittered seven times as of 6:45pm today and they twit like this everyday.  I am lucky if I get two tweets in one day.  Maybe the problems lies with me.  Maybe I do not twitter enough.  I think I will go post something right now.

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