http://vimeo.com/70534716

This is a video questioning if social media sites really are making us more connected or if they are actually isolating us in our own world of individuality.  If the latter is true, then as we say in class, then we are putting on a performance  but we are our only audience and reflecting our own loneliness back to ourselves.  I thought it was very thought provoking

Google's Cultural Phenomenon

Over the years, Google has become an increasingly prevalent entity in our lives and even permitted culture.  I use it almost daily for a search engine, I have a Gmail account, I spend hours on Youtube, and I have even used it as a translator on occasion in language classes. Because of its prevalence, I had a bit of a hard time even pinning down how often I use google or its other applications, and I know that I am only one in a million of its frequent users.  This considered, what kind of a hold does Google have on the Internet and on our society?  

To answer this, lets just look at the use of the word "Google".  You never hear someone say "Let me yahoo that for you" or "Let me bing that for you".  You would get many weird looks if you did.  It is an effortlessly common phrase that you "google something".  When grammatically, it should be, "let me look that up on Google.  Google has jumped in meaning of this sentence.  Instead of referring to itself as the noun that it is, Google has become a common verb and no one will be questioned for doing so.

Further more, Google is not only the most used search engine on the Internet, it is expected to be the most used search engine on the Internet.  I said earlier that you may get strange reaction to using other search engines.  I can think of one example where another engine was used, and it did have a funny reaction with people.  In The Amazing Spider-Man in 2012, there are a few scenes where the main character, Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield), is seen using Bing.  I remember taking quick notice of that when I saw the movie and thinking it was weird.  A quick search (on Google) and you will find I was not the only one.  Looking up "spiderman uses bing" yielded many results of people not only thinking that using Bing was weird, but that it was down right unbelievable!

This proves that people are not only willing but only allowing Google to have this kind of prevalence and the thing is that it is expected of Google to do so.  And anyone be damned if they go elsewhere.  

Blog Prompt 1

For our first blog post, I looked at an interview with a blogger named Fred First.  When asked what was appealing about having his own blog he said that he "saw potential in the medium".  He really liked that he could write about something that he cared about and express his feelings and opinions then make it public and known to all the internet for anyone's interest.  I thought to myself, ultimately what Fred First wants is to be heard.  When it comes to a person's passion, people want to be expressive and also pure in sharing them.  For him, having a blog provides a space to do just that and share with others who may feel the same.

This is of course understandable.  I have an uncommon passion for typography; it is very rare to run into people who share my interest and dedication.  So when I do, that connection is very exciting!  The same can go for any other passion, food, movies, pop culture.  Being able to have a voice and be heard is an important thing and the internet in this day and age has been able to give a voice to individuals in the sea of people.  By this there is all kinds of possibilities for connections, introducing other to new interests, or introducing others to new views and ways of thinking.  Fred gets to share his perspective on a subject and those reading get a new point of view from what they may have previously had.  

The other theme here is being able to express yourself as you are.  When blogging, no filter is really necessary.  Fred says that he does his best to remain neutral on some things but that is a perimeter he has chosen to put on himself which is half the beauty of a blog.  The blogger is allowed to be as open as they choose.  But unshackled, blogging allows the blogger to be heard in their own voice and not be stifled in their expression.  Their blog will take them exactly as they are.     

My First Post

My first post on my new blog