Second Life.

I would say my avatar and I are very similar. I made her look like me with the same hair color, eye color, and height. And i dressed her in clothes that I would wear in real life. The whole concept of Second Life was really weird to me at first, but I'm starting to understand it a little more. However, I still would not be comfortable just walking around talking to complete stragers, even if it is just my avatar talking. So I tend to go where my friends go, and I don't go on unless they are too. Honestly, if it weren't for this class I would have never made an account on Second Life, and I'm not sure if I'll continue to use it after, but I'm definitely not as judgemental about it now.

Aunt Mary

Dear Aunt Mary,

Social Networks are a great way to keep in contact with the people you know. Basically, they are websites where you can add people as a friend, and talk to them via the site. The two main ones are Myspace and Facebook. I have both. If I were you I would get a Facebook. Facebook is geared more towars adults. Myspace is mostly high school kids, but a lot of older people have a facebook. You can upload pictures, comment other people, and personalize your information. If you get one, add me as a friend!

Speedy Gonzales!

I was a little stuck for this blog, so I clicked the link on Ctools. I thought it was kind of funny to read that Speedy Gonzales created controversy on Wikipedia. I mean, what kind of problems could a cartoon mouse stir up?

According to Wikipedia, Speedy Gonzales sterotyped Mexicans and Mexican life. The mice in the shorts are made out to be lazy, womanizers, & heavy drinkers. He wears an oversized yellow sombrero with a white shirt and pants. Some of the things in the discussion thing talk about the spelling of his last name to his accent to his clothes.

I think it was good to talk about the proper spelling of his last name. I hate when things aren't spelled right, so I think it's good that they want to make the article look as official as possible. I never really realized how much controversy something as simple as a cartoon could bring up. I think it helps my views of Wikipedia because it brings up issued that I wouldn't have thought of before.

Class Wiki.

One of the limitations on Wikipedia is there is no original research allowed. This means you can't post your own opinions or arguments about a certain subject. Everything posted has to have a reliable source cited, otherwise it will be deleted. I don't think this is a good concept for our class wiki.

Our class wiki is based on what we, the students of UMD, think about the campus. There is no citable source that can tell you about the parking on campus or which professors to avoid or anything like that. All of those things come from personal experiences. The whole point of the wiki is to inform students and future students about campus life according to the people who are actually in it. As students, our opinions on ceratin things will differ from the opinions of the administrators. The administrations office has information about the school and classes, but our class wiki can tell you what student life is actually like, since it's written by students. It would be impossible to cite sources for all of the information we can give.

I do think organizing the wiki would be a good idea. Last week it was just chaotic with everyone editing everything. I think if we assigned each person or group a certain task to edit on the wiki it would make it a lot more successful.

Ads.

1. The point our ad was trying to make was that Starbucks is too expensive. We had a sleeve from Starbucks with a wallet and money coming out of it to show that people spend too much money on coffee there. I think the visual part worked because it was very clear and to the point. I think it makes people re-think spending so much money on coffee. At first we had a problem figuring out who our target audience was, but then we realized that it was geared toward anyone who goes to Starbucks.

2. Doing this ad made me realize that to actually create an ad you have to put a lot of things into consideration. You have to figure out who your audience is and what relates to them. It takes a lot of work. I don't think there any ethics involved in advertising. Anything goes.

Social Networking & The Election.

I think that social networks like myspace or facebook will have a big effect on the election. It's a very easy way to get to teenagers. McCain & Obama are plastered all over Myspace and Facebook. You can watch videos, read both candidates views, or even join groups that support whoever your choice is. Both sides are shown about the same. It's a good way to get young people involved in politics and exercise their power to vote. Our generation has a big percent of the vote, and involving politics with Myspace and Facebook is a great way to gain support.

MiVote is a great way to give our opinions and put them out there for everyone to see. In Tim Murphy's presentation, he said hundreds of people visit the MiVote site. What better way to get your views out there to everyone around you? And they sometimes show videos that students make on Detroit Public Television. MiVote is a way to express how we feel and to show that we actually care about the election and our nation.

Most of my friends, including myself, have either joined a McCain or Obama group on Facebook. Personally, I joined a McCain/Palin group. But two of my best friends are in an Obama group. Even though we're not all voting for the same person, we all still talk about politics 24/7. Joining one of these politcal groups is a great way to get involved with the upcoming election.

ADVERTISING.

Advertising is all around us. The three places I spend the most time are school, my room, and my car.

School: I always look at people's clothes and style to see whether or not it would be something I would add to my own wardrobe. There is also a lot of advertising in the bookstore. Whether they are trying to get you to buy clothes, food, or books they are trying to sell you something.

My Room: I have a TV in my room and there are CONSTANTLY commercials on. They will try and sell you anything from fast food to a new car. I also have a laptop in my room. You can buy virtually anything online. And they let you know that through pop-ups.

My Car: When I"m driving, I always have my radio on. There are probably the same amount of commercials on the radio as there are on TV. There are commercials for health insurance, food, clubs, cars, and thosands of other things.