Social Networking

One Person’s junk is another person’s treasure. When I think of Ebay, this is the foremost though that comes to my mind. However, that is not meant to diminish or downplay the importance of Ebay. Ebay’s emergence can be attributed to the fact that everyone can be a seller or buyer. Imagine going to a store where you can buy or sell anything you desired. The items offered on Ebay cross a broad spectrum and vary from products such as electronics, cars, to even a “ Real Live Ghost! Trapped in a Box! “. The Ghost in the box was up to $26.99 the last time I checked. If buying a ghost was not enough, then having the ability to negotiate your selling or buying price would be icing on the cake. While there are many benefits to using Ebay there are also disadvantages. For the seller, the possibility of not making any money is the ultimate downside. On the other hand the buyer always has to put their trust in the seller, hoping that the item they are bidding on is the same as in the description offered.

Reach out and touch someone. This was the slogan used by the telecommunications giant AT&T during the 1980’s. While technology has grown leaps and bounds this ideology lives on albeit in a different format. A popular site that endorses this concept is Facebook. Although it started out as a way for college students to interact with their fellow college mates it soon outgrew this purpose. Today Facebook is one of the premier social network sites accessible to everyone above the age of 13. It allows me to communicate with my friends and family. Not only does it allow me to see what my friends and family are up to but also it introduces me to their friends and contacts. Is it this ability to interact with other users that made Facebook so successful.

Article Reviews

While reading the articles listed there appeared to be a general theme of influence among those that read and write blogs.  In the article, “Wal-Mart Tastemakers Write Unfiltered Blog” by Michael Barbaro, we are shown how Wal-Mart had encouraged its buyers to critique its products they carried such as Microsoft Vista and other electronic products even going so far as having employees develop and recruit the buyer-bloggers. (Barbaro, p.2)  This was unique in the sense that those blogging had influence in what electronics were carried in the store as well as what was being bought.  The idea that one can speak frankly about a product that they loved and more so about products that they disliked was refreshing.

Other articles such as, “How can we measure the influence of the blogosphere?” by Kathy E. Gill speaks about “the influence of the blogosphere on public opinion and mass media.” (Gill, p.1)  Ms. Gill speaks more on political blogging and its influence such as with the incident regarding Senator Trent Lott and his comments when speaking at Strom Thurmond’s 100^th birthday.  His comments were inappropriate, however the comments received little attention from news media, until two bloggers did their own research.  The momentum from the blogging brought the comments to the forefront and kept the story alive.  If not for the blogging Mr. Lott may still be here.  Blogging influence in the article is also measured mathematically through websites such as Blogosphere, BlogRunner, BlogStreet, and Technorati, which shows the most influential blogs.

Aside from blogging about products and politics, blogging has become popular among celebrity gossip.  Author Melissa Gerry speaks about this new phenomenon in her article, “Celebrity Blogs: The Impact of New Media.”  Individuals once received their gossip from television programs such as Access Hollywood, newspapers and magazines.  Now individuals can receive gossip from blogs written by Perez Hilton and Trent Vanegas.  This new way of receiving gossip is entertaining and appealing because it is cheap and very quick to spread the word.  What Ms. Gerry also notes is the objectivity of those reporting gossip through blogs.  These bloggers never meet or speak to those they write about and are less influenced because of that fact.  Aside from this, the information provided is accurate for some bloggers such as Defamer.com.

“The Power and Politics of Blogs” by Henry Farrell and Daniel W. Drezner speaks about the true influence of blogging.  The authors state that bloggers do not have any influence compared to other political groups due to not having any “central organization to blogosphere.” (Farrell and Drezner, p. 2)  The authors also state that blogging is time consuming and is often done for love and not money. Farrel and Drezner however state that blogging is used more readily as source of information for journalist.  The authors state that although “blog exposure was limited to 7% of the general population, over 83% of journalists had used blogs, and 43% of journalists used them at least every week.” (Farrell and Drezner, p. 28)

The last article, “Brooklyn Blog Helps Lead to Drug Raid” by author Michael Wilson speaks about the influence of blogging to crime stopping.  The article illustrates how a neighborhood blog, BayRidgeTalk.com was able to help police arrest drug dealers that lived in the neighborhood. The article shows the blog’s influence on the neighborhood and more importantly how it empowered the neighborhood residents to make better strides in the community.

 

 

 

 

The Amazingly Unpredictable Mets

What can I say about the Mets? They seem to always suprise me - in a good way and also is a very bad way. Looking at what has been going on with them you can never tell what they are going to do. If last season is any indication of what we could expect this season a lot of Mets fans will be angry. This season started off with much promise and hope, but things started to fall apart as the season progressed. The losing eventually led to the dismissal of both the manager and pitching coach and brought unwanted attention for the way the firings were carried out. They seen to have been picking up steam, but of course you can never tell with them. I hope that they do well, but who knows?