Twitter and the News

For a long time (and arguably still today), no one really knew what Twitter was for or how to use it. Is it a social networking site? Is it a utility? Is it an information network? Is it sort of all three? Sometimes it seems to depend on your perception of the platform and how you use it.

Image Courtesy of Wikipedia Commons

First - tell me what you think. What is Twitter for? What can we do with the platform? How does it hold power to shape our realities? Or does it?

Next - find a recent article concerning Twitter in the news. Link your article to your blog post.  (A simple Google search under the 'news' tab on Google using the search terms 'news articles about Twitter' can lead you to articles, for example). Does what this story reports on match up with your perception of what Twitter is for? Why or why not?

Photo Courtesy of Max Pixel

For example, the article I linked above simply explains a new feature added to Twitter that shows articles your connections (i.e., the people you follow) are tweeting about under a tab called "popular articles." If I hold the notion that Twitter is about making connections with people as an information network (that is, I use it to be a more informed citizen), this article might support my perception of the platform as such. Blog posts are due by 5PM on Friday.

Gif courtesy of GIPHY Studios

Make sure you offer the link to your news article; and, once again, break up your text with a gif or picture. As we have read and continue to read in our tips by K+F, long blocks of text make posts more difficult to read!

Facebook: Choose your own adventure

This week, you should blog about Facebook. But that's all the direction you get! How you proceed and what angle you take is up to you.

Courtesy of Giphy

If you're having trouble thinking of something, here are some sample topics:

• Your personal experience with Facebook (when you got on, how you used it initially, how you now use it)
• Maybe you've never used Facebook - why not?
• Surprising information learned from Van Dijck this week

... the possibilities are endless! Be creative and thoughtful! Include a photo or gif in your post to make it more attractive. Posts are due by 5PM on Friday.

Impression Management

This week's classes are focusing on Impression Management. Below are two options for blogging - choose one to discuss at length in your blog post for this week!

Option 1: On Tuesday, we talked about truth, performance of self, and how it relates to impression management. So ponder in this post: How many selves do you feel like you project on your social media profiles? What is/where is truth and why do we choose certain features to promote in online settings? Now, take it a step further: Let's think about other people - How do public figures like Kylie Jenner or even Donald Trump figure in when we think about impression management? Why does understanding impression management matter?

Courtesy of Mastering the Dynamics of Communication Technology Blog

Option 2: Impression management is literally about putting our best face out there for audiences to see as they encounter us in social media spaces. What do you think some of the ethical considerations should be as we decide which face to present to people online? What do you think are some of the pitfalls/dark sides to impression management?  Be thoughtful in your response.

Regardless of which option you choose, include at least one photo in your post! Posts are due by Friday at 5PM.

Optimization or Disinhibition?

Choose one of the following options for this week's blog. Feel free to put your own personal spin on it. (Think about your general theme from last week's blog, but remember we are trying to keep it lined up with what we've been talking about in class too!) Blog posts are due by 5PM on Friday!

Option 1: Last week, you read Su's suggestions about emails, and you read K+F's tips for profile optimization. While these two things are a bit different, combine the two topics in terms of representing yourself professionally in an online space. What would you call your top 10 tips for presenting a professional image online, especially as college students? (Think Letterman's top 10 style!) Include at least one photo along with your Top 10 List.

Courtesy of Wikipedia

OR

Option 2: Sometimes we say and do things online that we would never say or do "in real life." Reflect on a time that you noticed the online disinhibition effect totally happening in one of your online encounters. Do you feel like it was toxic, benign, or a mixture of both? Relate your response to Suler's reading (Thursday, September 7). If you had to do it over again, what would you do?

This is Stan from the Old Disney show, Dog with a Blog. Because, you know, online no one knows that you're a dog. Unless you tell them and have your own blog called Dog with a Blog.