Reflecting

I have sat down several times today to write something for the blog. I got nothing! Thought about it for the last few days too. I’m in a blogging rut. 

Usually I get inspiration form course readings or finding a social media relation from my everyday life. This week I struggled with finding my blog topics. Perhaps I just needed a break. I’m looking forward to the coming week and hoping there is more inspiration to be found! 

The Daily Scoop

I'm going to be really honest here. I do not watch the news or routinely check news outlets. It frustrates me! I get more anxious and upset by it. I honestly cannot tell you the last time I watched news on TV.

Many of my friends are political enthusiasts and watch or read news articles daily. I am usually not current until I receive their updates. I should mention I have a variety of friends with varying political views. So I do feel I get a well rounded perspective when I hear their updates and perspectives.

How does this relate to social media? I'm sure you guessed. My Facebook newsfeed is my source of current events. I leave it to my friends and acquaintances to provide updates. Let me also say, I do not solely rely on their interpretation of a news report or article! If the headline or comment interests me enough, I will perform my own research to better understand the post. By having friends of varying political views or interests, I am able to learn a lot about what is going on in the world. I can then form my own opinion on matters. It might not be the best method and some may criticize, but this helps me live my life without being upset and frustrated about things out of my control. My overall mental health is better. I am respectful of my friends views and opinions. I do not get upset if I happen to disagree with their perspective, rather I take it as an opportunity to understand them better.

I think we should all seek to appreciate the differences each of us bring to the world.

Soical Media, A Rat Race

Ever feel overwhelmed by the constant social media updates?  Have you ever set your phone down, walked away and returned to 50+ notifications? The need for constant connection has changed how we live and our daily interactions with others. The news runs 24/7. Social media is accessible in seconds with new posts from friends/followers. But what are we learning from our friends and how does that affect our psychological well being and life choices?

The other night I was thinking about what my next blog post should be about. I try to think about how social media impacts daily activities or thoughts. I could not get out of my mind, the feeling of needing to check in on my various social media accounts for updates. I had not checked in on some platforms for days. The anxiety of not being able to catch up on all that I missed was unsettling. This is unusual for me. I'm usually nonchalant about missing out on these types of activities. So why now am I anxious? 

I do not have an answer, but it did prompt me to look at how social media is a Rat Race. I learned this term growing up. There is a financial board game and a movie with the same name. I've played the game and watched the movie. The meaning of Rat Race, per Cambridge Dictionary, is "a way of life in modern society, in which people compete with each other for power and money."

I found a couple of blogs on the Social Media Rat Race perspective. They were enlightening to read and provided validation to my thoughts. One blog focuses on the need for people to continually post and attract followers. The number of followers determines  social media success. For example, Influencers are born from the number of followers they gather (and knowledge they share). They are winning the social media rat race!

The social media rat race is affecting how we interact with others and how we live. We are influenced by the posts we see and become consumers of the ideas and likes of influencers. Are these your true desires? Something to consider...take a moment and reflect on what influences you and whether it is something you truly desire.

My feelings of needing to check in and be current on social media postings is my rat race. It's an endless and pointless pursuit to be "current." I have since regained my balance and refocused my intentions for social media usage.

Digial Break

I attempted to participate in a class digital detox challenge. My goal was to have most of my course assignments completed by Friday night so I could enjoy my Friday evening and Saturday without electronics or the obligation to complete school. Let's be honest, in grad school there is always something to be reading or completing. But nonetheless, we need mental breaks too.

The challenge for the digital detox was to step away from digital devices for 24-48 hours. My goal for the challenge was 24 hours. I was not completely successful, but I learned a lot about my digital uses.

    Here's what I learned about myself:

        When the goal is to shut down completely, it's more difficult than I thought. I found my attempts to be like starting a diet. I kept telling myself, at 8pm I'll put my phone down and step a way until tomorrow...then 9 pm came around, and I was still surfing Pintrest and Facebook. Being cognizant of wanting and needing to shut down, made it so much more difficult for me.

        In the past, I have been successful in performing a digital detox. Usually I would travel to a forgien country and not have a data service. I do realize today, it is a lot easier to get WiFi and stay connected, but I had no reason or desire to see what was happening back home. I was living in the moment and emerging myself in the country I was visiting.

        So why was this weekend so much harder to do? I felt like I needed a break. But I also felt like I needed to finish homework. I was also just mindlessly checking Facebook because I was bored.

In the end, I was able to take some time away from digital devices. I fixed a fence and cleaned out a pool filter. Manual labor will keep you preoccupied from electronics! I also caught myself before checking social media accounts for updates. I even let the notification build up on the various apps. That was difficult for me. I struggle with seeing those red icons!

It was a good exercise and I learned more about myself and became even more self aware.

Travel the world: Knowledge Sharing

I live to travel the world. Due to current global circumstances, my travel plans have been put on hold, so I am left to reminisce of past travels. For a course assignment on knowledge sharing, I decided to curate a gallery of photos from my various international trips. Check out my Instagram account to learn more about various place in the world I've traveled. 

Note: I'm very new to Instagram posting, so my original idea of providing captions to each photo was not successful as I created my first photo sharing gallery. I determined in order to share the valuable information per photo, I would need to post separate photos with captions.

Social Hoarding: It's not what you think, or is it?

Once again, I found myself reading an assignment for class and trailing off in thought. This time I was reading about digital collections and Web 2.0 tools available for collecting. As I was reading the assignment and various articles on digital collecting and curating educational resources, I had to laugh at the definition of collection. A few days ago, my family was watching a Netflix series on hoarding. One of the kids asked how the house got to be so full of stuff. My boyfriend proceeded to say, "this is what happens when you collect things." So with the conversation fresh in my mind, I thought about digital collecting turning into hoarding.

I Googled "social hoarding" and "digital hoarding" to see what information was available. In a quick scan, two articles came up that appealed to my interest. Oh, I did end up creating an account with Diigo to "collect" my searches more easily, rather than bookmarking to my browser or emailing myself the link. 

Both articles elude to social/digital hoarding as collecting social interactions. These include: emails, photos, Facebook friends, Twitter followers, etc.

As I was reading the articles, I expected to learn more about the Web 2.0 tools like Diigo or Pintrest that users are collecting information on but never using or the use of browser bookmarking. I was not successful in my quick search for find in particular information. But I did come across questions to consider in the two articles I did read:

• Do you keep every email, "just in case?"
• Do you collect Facebook friends, even though you don't know them (anymore)?
• Are you obsessed with followers on Twitter and Instagram?
  

The article by Mallet (2012) takes the approach of social digital hoarding to be a psychological disorder, no different than physical hoarding.

I'm guilty of hoarding tendencies in the sense of "collecting" sites (URLs) as bookmarks in various places and forgetting about them and where I saved them. Never to return to them. I think tools like Diigo and Pintrest are useful. My lack of digital organization is due to my lack in keeping up with all the tools once I am introduced. For example, I created an account with Diigo. Will I continue to use it beyond this class? I'd like to say yes, but being honest with my previous experiences using Web 2.0 platforms...probably not. But I may surprise myself! A lot of my continued use of a tool has to do with the usability. Diigo appears to be easy to use.

Web 2.0 Journey Pit Stop

I'm taking a moment to reflect on my Web 2.0 Journey. I'm about half way through my course and thought it would be a good idea to take time to reflect upon what I've learned.

I defined Web 2.0 as interacting with the web. I still maintain that to be true. Over the last several weeks, I have become more comfortable blogging. Hope you are enjoying the random blog posts! Last couple of weeks I joined a couple of online communities and expanded my understanding of online communities and the importance of not just lurking or observing. Participation is key to getting the most out of the group. 

In all honesty, I have not been very good about trying all the new Web 2.0 tools my course has suggested. I do check them out and for most of them, I'll create a log in. But I've not been diligent or active in many of the new tools. Partly this is from the feeling of being overwhelmed with social media platforms. I tend to limit my electronic use naturally, so it takes a conscious effort to be online. 

I have noticed, through my classmates posts, there are many educational benefits to the various platforms. And perhaps if I were teaching in a classroom, I would feel more obligated to discovering ways to incorporate Web 2.0 safely into my teaching. Since I work for the University and primarily with faculty and staff for administrative support, I have thought about how Web 2.0 can be better used for my job. I have not totally figured it out, but keeping my options available. That being said, I have found great professional development, leadership, and other performance improvement pins on Pinterest. 

Hopefully, the next half of the semester I will be more adventurous in actually trying the new tools! I'm trying...the first step is creating a log in. 

The new way to talk- #hashtag

This post was originally going to be about how social media symbols (Facebook 'like') have become a standard feature on many Web 2.0 platforms. After several hours of unsuccessful searching for articles or research on the phenomenon, the search began to shift towards how we (okay kids today) communicate outside of social media platforms.

Do you recall a few years back, 2013, when hashtag became popular? Thanks to a Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake skit on Twitter conversations, the use of verbalizing, and gesturing, hashtag went viral.

A little history on the beginnings of hashtag. It was first used by Chris Messina on Twitter in 2007. Chris suggested in a tweet, the use of hashtags for groups. What a concept, right? But in reading his Twitter feed on the first post with #, Chris mentions that Twitter resisted the use. He also says his intention was for the # to be used  across the Web, not just Twitter specifically.

In the various articles and multiple searches, I found it interesting the various impacts Web 2.0 has had on communication. This includes personal relationships and our online interactions. I stumbled upon an article by Darwish and Lakhtaria (2011) on The impact of the new web 2.0 technologies in communication, development and revolutions of societies. I skimmed it, looking for my original interest in communication technique, so I have not read it as of yet for its actual study. What I did recognize, is the research of social media use is vast and has revolutionized society and the way we interact with each other.

Reference:

Darwish, A & Lakhtaria, K. (2011). The impact of the new web 2.0 technologies in communication, development, and revolutions of societies. Journal of Advances in Information Technology. 2(4). 204-216. https://doi.org/10.4304/jait.2.4.204-216

Accountability from Social Media

As we know, social media has many uses. This semester I have learned about the social media used a network and community. Prior to my instructor defining a phenomenon I was experiencing, I had no idea social media communities existed. But as it turns out, I have been a part of one through my gym.

I am a member of an international boutique gym, OrangeTheory. I have been a member of the gym for about 5 years and subsequently following them on Facebook for about as long. It took me longer to accept friend requests from the coaches and fellow gym goers, but over time I have become Facebook friends with many of the members in my usual classes. Occasionally the friendship has extended beyond the gym.

I have enjoyed the community of the local gym Facebook following. They are supportive in members' health practices, encourage participation in corporate challenges, and keep the motivation high for attending class.

At the beginning of the year, the company holds a Transformation Challenge. The challenge is an 8 week motivational program to help members loose weight and transform their health. This year I decided to participate. I went in to the challenge not expecting to win or loose weight, but to to learn healthier habits. To keep it interesting the gym splits the participating members into two teams, Orange and Black (company colors). Each week, the teams compete in different challenges. Team points don't matter for the overall challenge, but you do earn bragging rights. And who doesn't like to gloat in good fun?!?

Each team is assigned coaches to provide rule guidance, motivation, inspiration, healthy habits, tips for success, and accountability. The coaches created a Facebook group to notify team members of weekly challenges and other information. One of the first posts was for each team member to introduce themselves and share why they were participating in the challenge. This activity set the stage for building a community within in community. I remember being hesitant to share my reason but did. Throughout the challenge knowing there were other's who knew my reason for being there kept me motivated. In the team group, people kept each other accountable for showing up and encouraged participation in the weekly team challenges. By the end, my team won. I think our Facebook group and the members in it had a lot to do with the success of the team and me individually. I ended up loosing some weight and even placed in the top 5 of my team's mid-point leaderboard. Knowing what I know now, social media and an online community played a huge part in the success of each of us.

A Life Long Learner

I identify myself as a life long learner. I love to learn and embrace new challenges at work, which often require learning a new process and the content of the process. I often use Google to search for something I'm not familiar with or to verify something I have heard. I'm not sure I would know what to do without Google at my finger tips!

Until taking EME6414, I had not considered having or realizing I have a Personal Learning Network (PLN). After reading several classmates' blogs, reading articles, and watching a presentation on PLNs, I can say I have a few PLNs of my own.

I'm a devoted gym member of two boutique exercise facilities. Yes, two! It's not cheap, but I enjoy what both workouts have to offer. Being apart of the gyms, offers opportunities to network beyond the local community. One of the gyms offers strategies and tips for performance improvement in- and out- side the gym. There is strong encouragement to visit other locations when traveling, including international travel. They also provide information for healthy eating and other health-focused resources, not necessarily specific to exercises. I have learned a lot through the various resources and added to my Personal Health Learning Network.

As a life long learner, I enjoy discovering new ways to learn things and new topics to learn. I've participated in webinars, utilized social media announcements to learn of events and new topics to explore, and through various courses have learned other avenues to explore new topics.

The struggle for me is there is so much out there to learn!

Virtual Traveling

Lately my social media outlets have been filled with negativeness and political views on current events. One of the ways I cope with stress and unplug from the world is by traveling. For obvious reasons, I am not traveling anywhere far. And since you don't know me, I should tell you, I live to travel to a new places. In 2020, I had three international and several domestic trips planned. I was able to travel to Jamaica and Mexico. Jamaica was a new destination for me. But the other trips were cancelled.
   
I have a scratch off world map. So I enjoy going to new places and being able unveil the color behind the country or state I visit. My life goal is to step foot on every continent. I have two more to go! 

Anyways, back to my reason for posting about travel. With everyone on lockdown (stay at home orders), it's unsafe to travel and difficult to plan for future travel, when you don't know when it will happen. I should also say, I am one who says I'm going someplace, and goes!

Keeping my desire to travel for relaxation and desire to unplug, I thought about how social media could be (or is) used for virtual trips. I recalled back in March, when the world began to stay home and not travel as much, a friend on Facebook posted webcam links to various beaches. I remember thinking "What a cool concept! Bring the vacation into your home or desktop." No, it's not the same as sitting out on the sandy beaches and hearing the waves crash or smelling the salty air. But the idea behind sharing a virtual trip was novel.

So this weekend I Googled to see what people were posting during our quarantine to keep the traveling spirit alive. I was amazed at what I found! Early into quarantine, there were instagram, Facebook, and other social network site challenges that involved posting pictures of previous trips or recreating a favorite trip photo at home. These were my favorite to scroll through.

It was interesting to see travelers come together virtually to (re)share their previous experiences so others could enjoy traveling to new places vicariously.

For those interested in virtual travel, check out some of the links below:

https://www.thrillist.com/travel/nation/virtual-trips-travel-tours
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/virtual-travel-180974440/
https://www.boredpanda.com/people-recreate-travel-pictures-during-quarantine/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=organic
https://www.buzzfeed.com/annahaines/virtual-travel-experiences