I am sounding like a broken record... But nevertheless for this week's blog I will discuss some aspects of social networking as well as how and why I use some of them. I am a facebook fiend- I am naturally a nosey person, and I think a well informed individual thrives in social environments. Facebook is one of my "social fixes".

The status update is perhaps my favorite aspect of facebook- I don't abuse it but I do love to analyze people from it.

I wrote this paper for a Communications class:

Facebook has become, for many, a vital mean of communication by which users utilize to initiate, affirm, and maintain their relationships. This is essentially what is meant by the term “social grooming.” It is the fundamental and primary use of Facebook. Though true in most of society, college students in particular, often find it difficult to initiate any kind of relationship while attending universities, and it is perhaps the most important communication skill in developing relationships.

Facebook has eased this process by creating particular interest groups that users can join to meet others seemingly like themselves, thus eliminating the tedious and sometimes overwhelming task of finding those most similar to you. Before any Facebook friendship is deemed serious, users are required to publicly assure this particular bond to the public eye of their network. It is similar in nature to a wedding announcement in a newspaper. Initially, the friendship request relaxed typical relationship assurances and made it virtually effortless to be considered someone’s friend.

Recently, the friendship request confirmation is taken very seriously and with more consideration of the trustworthiness of that person, because of the potentially vast amount of personal and sometimes incriminating information on a user’s profile. It is through the relational maintenance function that societal communication influences Facebook. Societal communication is able to able to have this influence due to its unlimited demand for more efficient, customized and convenient upgrades to quench its curiosity.

This demand has influenced Facebook to evolve into a stalker’s paradise, providing anyone with a user’s personal information, just short of his or her social security number. But, this is all at the user’s disclosure, which leads us to Facebook’s secondary function, the presentation of the self.

Some argue that the word Facebook can function as a verb, and that we “Facebook” to construct a “social me”, otherwise defined as an identity. Mead, a social philosopher believed that, “it is through social interaction and socially embedded public or semi-public action that we affirm our relations, construct our status and ultimately produce the social ‘me’.” Users utilize Facebook in the very manner that Mead describes the construction of the “social me.”

Facebook users are in a continual attempt to present themselves through photo alums, profile pictures, interests, religion, race, their wall, and even their status. Facebook has encouraged the use of a slightly more complex “I feel statement,” in the form of a user’s status update. For example, a status could read, “ John Smith is… happy, sad, doing homework.”

There is no limit as to what you can say or how often you can change it. Many users find it necessary to abuse their status rights and utilize their status for emotional management or a GPS point, revealing their every movement to Facebook. One could argue that these abusers may have an identity conflict and dispute within their internal communication, which compels them to say, “Look at me!”

Until Next time -

I cannot provide any personal or elaborate details of the 1950’s nor do I possess any reminiscence of sharing malt shakes at Woolworth’s ‘groovin’ to the coin-operated Jukebox. I did not jovially hand jive with the cool cats at any sock hops and I did not sport a finely groomed and greased ducktail.

I missed out.

I was also not a front-row witness to James Dean’s revitalizing discovery of teenage rebellion or the infamous gust of wind, which wrestled through the subway grates-perversely inflating Marilyn Monroe’s white dress.

I was not there.

Despite the absence of these particular pop-culture experiences, I know that in 1956, as a result of a series of hip gyrations, a 19 –year old Memphis truck driver, Elvis Aaron Presley, would lay the foundations of rock-n-roll and revolutionize traditionally held morals and values forever on the “Ed Sullivan Show.” Later in his career, “Elvis the Pelvis” wore outlandish jumpsuits and placed promiscuity into prom with a single thrust. He became the villain and ridiculous reason in some American families for all the “back seat bingo” at Friday’s drive in.

Presley’s smooth movements marked him as a principal figure in the changing American sexuality. He provided society with a new perspective, refocusing the outdated idea of heavily suppressed sexual expression into an idea that only a “hound dog” could grasp. Presley’s appearance, music, and swagger were considered very sexy and his influence epidemically became tantamount to teenagers and worrisome for concerned parents.

Society almost instantly accepts the assumption that each new generation is more innately corrupt. These emerging generations are considered violent from their video games and sexually voracious due to the “hypersexed” environment in which they inevitably inhabit.

Parents have recently become a bit shaken up and are concerned that their children are having sex earlier, but according to a recent article and survey study in NYTimes, this is not the case… statistically at least. Today, fewer than half of all high school students have had sex: 47.8 percent as of 2007, according to the National Youth Risk Behavior Survey, down from 54.1 percent in 1991.

 A musical progression and media analysis would illustrate that over time music has been a direct expression of many human sexual perversities. The statistic becomes additionally complex and harder to comprehend- how is it that female sensations in the music industry have evolved from The Supremes to the The Pussycat Dolls without increasing sexual activity, especially amongst the younger and media obsessed generations?

We as listeners have progressed from enjoying the innocent Chordettes with their hit pop single "Lollipop" --> To listening to rapper, Lil Wayne, singing a song about "Lollipops" - just in a very different sense.

Hopefully the lyrical difference was made apparent considering that we are naturally corrupt.

The Supremes were the doo-wop sensation in 1959. When observing the variances observed in the videos, it is important to keep in mind the direct relationship between societal sexuality and artistic expression.

This is perhaps a statistical error or the greatest example of reverse psychology. Maybe prom really is all about dancing. The 1950’s will never be lived out or experienced again. This groovy decade existed as a brief season and sprouted many new exposures and ideas to society.

 

… The jukebox is blaring and after carefully flipping through the song selections I press “1 – 9 – 4 - 4”. Poodle skirts and ponytails arrive shortly after. My twist is out of this world and I catch the eye of a stacked girl effortlessly doing the stroll. We begin to dance. I arrive at euphoria… I wake up and repeatedly realize.

 

I missed out.

There really isn't any place that comes remotely close to what some people consider home. While in the air, I re-ran Dorothy saying, " there's no place like home"- yet another connection to Wizard of Oz, as if my blog wasn't enough for you. After a weekend home, I was yet again in the air, but this time flying away from home. As a result of experiencing a weekend with a Dorothy like mentality- I produced this statement... There is no place like Albuquerque.

In past times people, my fellow classmates, referred to me as the " Project- Master." This is mainly due to my mother. She is very artistic, organized and creative. All this to say that when it comes to making things look good and viewer friendly, I don't sweat it (Pat on the back). I haven't yet decided the content of my Multimedia project, but I do have a research paper on the American Dream. So I think that I will choose that as my content. I have made websites for other course projects so I have an idea of how to format them. I will utilize tons of links and video- to supplement my research. I will attempt at making it look clean and user friendly.

For this week’s blog post I give you, Arizona’s diamond in the rough, Si Senor Restaurant.

Week after week I was patient in my search for authentic New Mexican cuisine, and with the shake of urbanspoon – I was bestowed a much needed blessing, here in Phoenix. It is located near the intersection of N. Alma School and Chandler Blvd. Though its appearance may resemble what many consider “a hole in the wall”, refrain from passing judgment- it is delicious (and clean).

Si Senor’s began in Las Cruces, New Mexico and is famous for their Hatch Green Chile. If you are looking for family oriented environment, low-priced, absolutely divine meal – Go try it out.

Read reviews here.

Indeed an interesting question- "How is the internet affecting human intellect and thinking processes?" Well I like to think of the internet as the world and users as people- There will be fruitful and gaining times and/or areas of the world and we, as the users, have the freewill to choose our experience accordingly. Basically, you make what you want out of it. The internet, is unlike any other source available - it is: virtually boundless, accurate, inaccurate, beneficial, detrimental- It is worldly- it is not perfect. Yet, we rely on it, and I think that this reliance is justifiable by even the slightest ounce of diligence while delving into whatever answer you seek.

Do I trust google? Yes! But I also understand that it is not perfect, and that I must take the responsibility to to be both diligent and skeptical of whatever it "magically" reveals.

Now a better question might be- "How has the internet changed the ordinary student?"

If I were to personally answer this I would have to say this:

• I do not read - I skim, thank you sparknotes
• "And what the Net seems to be doing is chipping away my capacity for concentration and contemplation" (Carr).
• When I have a question, thank you google or Chacha or Kgb

• When I am confused about math or spanish - thank you wordreference and forums.

Without it- I would be a fish out of water. I think that the internet has improved my writing, but that is also because I wish to become a better writer, so I inquire the internet accordingly. Social networks like facebook has had a diverse effect on its users- The influence might seem to be problematic, when people can't even make their status a coherent thought- but on the other hand the public nature of facebook maybe pressures people to check spelling and grammar- out of fear of being seen as unintelligent.


Understand yourself- Play life's game, bend the rules and lastly make it, what you want it