Social Bookmarking is COOoool!

Delicious Link:  http://www.delicious.com/jschnicker

I could not believe how useful this tool was for me.  I found a collection of Web 2.0 sites that I never knew existed, which is something I wanted to become more knowledgeable about as I inch closer to graduating.  Not only is it useful to find new websites, but it can serve as a resourceful tool for multiple things such as school, job searching, special deals in stores, etc.  The great benefit about using delicious is that you can network all the pages you bookmark.  This allows for a wider variety of pages to be discovered.  This could easily be a tool that teachers can use to come up with new material.  When one person finds information about a certain topic on a website, there can be multiple other people that add on to the effort.  This ends up being a collaboration of material.  I absolutely love this bookmarking tool.

Following Blogs

A big reason why I have been so addicted to blogger, twitter, and other social media is because I feed on the comments I receive from people all around the world.  I think it can really help redefine the way you write, and also cater to other people's interests other than your own.  I like the feeling of being able to affect someone's life and make some kind of impression on them from thousands of miles away.

The thing you have to be careful about when you do allow others to view your writing is be prepared to be critiqued.  You still have to be professional to some extent.  The sad part is, if you even make a single mistake it's going to be noticed by someone.  You just have to be prepared to deal with it.  It comes with the territory.  

I have recently started following Angelea, Chris, and Garrett's blogs.  They are all very unique in different ways.  Angelea is pursuing her photography skills, which I can attest to being incredible.  Chris is doing something he loves to do, which is doing movie reviews.  As for Garrett, he is blogging about a career he wishes to pursue in graphic design.

The tags that I have used for my following posts are pretty generic.  They usually are the focus of the topic I am writing about.  

Mind Mapping

I really liked using this tool to map out all of my thoughts and ideas.  There were a lot of things that I came up with by doing this exercise that I would not have normally of thought of otherwise.  There are a variety of situations in which you could use this tool. For example, if you need ideas for a new product that your company is trying to invent.  This would be a good tool in order to brainstorm multiple thoughts from employers.  I definitely like the computer version rather than doing it on paper.  You have more options when it comes to the visual presentation of the material such as color, text size, etc.  

Wiki

Using Facebook Professionally:  Advice & Feedback

*Share some advice on "how to set up a page for an organization." If you've done it, share your knowledge. Or go to FB, and find out what it says.*

Advice by: Jason Schnicker

I have never actually set up a page for an organization, but if I were to do so I would keep in mind my target audience, messages I am sending, and how I send them. You have to be very careful the way you word things on your Facebook page. Is is very hard to determine emotions through text. People may get a misrepresentation of your company if they are just recently joining your page, so it is crucial to keep that in mind when posting anything to your wall.

*Share some advice on what kinds of posts you might make on your organization's website. Should you post mini-advertisements? Photos? Quizzes? What works? Share your own gut feelings, or do a little bit of research.*


Advice by: Jason Schnicker

I think to be honest it really depends on what your organization's main goal is to get out of the website. It could be to promote a new product, get customer feedback and opinions, press release an event that is happening, and much more. You need to be aware that if your company is fairly high maintenance that your website needs to be the same. The last thing you want your followers to do is second guess the identity of your company. The most important thing I think that should be included in any professional website is the use of photos, video, and text. It is essential to keep viewers interested and to keep coming back.


*Who does a good professional FB page? Share names of pages you think work well and why they work for you.*

Feedback by: Jason Schnicker

**Burton Snowboards** This page is updated on a constant basis which includes photos, videos, merchandise, competitions (tours, opens, etc.), and much more. The site is built really for anyone that has a passion about snowboarding, and wants to stay in touch with the professionals of the sport. It also has a nice biography about who started the company and how it came to be.

**GNC Live Well** Posts regularly, which can be anywhere from 2-3 times in a day. There's information ranging from discounts, supplemental releases, and nutritional articles from all over the web. It is also nice to see customer's reviews on products you were thinking about trying. This site keeps me aware of what's the next best thing, and I can read articles about nutritional benefits to products.

Mashup Reflection

This mashup allowed me to use my creative ability in a way I would have never of imagined.  This program is kind of like using Prezi.  They have very similar characteristics.  The formatting of the program was a little annoying.  I had to keep scrolling in order to see what was all on the page, whereas Prezi you can zoom in and out of the presentation.  The advantages of using mashup versus a written story is that you can add much more detail.  I feel that you learn better as a student when you can see something visually and incorporate text into whatever your talking about.  The only disadvantages of the mashup is that it seems like it would be hard to present to a class.  Not much fluid motion going on with the program. I think Datamasher is a helpful way to put different variables together, and see what the results might be.  It would be very useful in a Political Science class.

Snowboard Mashup

Photograph

Monster Energy

This is my favorite energy drink.  I can hardly go a day without some caffeine.  I might be addicted.....

Twitter!

Here's a link to my daily shoot from Twitter.  Give me some helpful feedback on my photographs.

Do You Get Goosebumps?

Web 2.0 Noise

A.)  When going off to college it can be hard to transition into a new environment.  The one thing that you wish you could bring along with you are all your friends from high school.  It can be very stressful to put yourself out there on the first day of freshman orientation and meet new people.  The one thing that saved me was Facebook.  This allowed me to find a group titled "Coe College Class of 2011," which was set up in order to ease tensions on the first day of college.  It allowed me to talk to incoming students and even make new friends before even arriving on campus.  Considering I am part of Generation Y, I was thankful to have learned how to use this social networking site.  I am now a senior at Coe.  I have watched Web 2.0 expand drastically, and I am proud to say that I have not fallen behind even a step.  Recently, I have experimented with using Twitter, Flickr, Prezi, Screen Jelly, and much more.  A big thanks goes out to my teacher, Susanne Gubanc, for inspiring our class to use these sites.  I look forward to expanding my horizons in Web 2.0, and am excited for what the future holds.

B.)  I am very interested in using Web 2.0 to market my skills to employers.  The big thing I am concerned about when I graduate is obtaining a job.  Employers these days are not only looking for degrees, but also the skills and abilities you possess as an individual.  The one part of my personality I would like to keep as I get older is the creativeness that was instilled in me at Coe College.  I believe that the skills I have in using social networking sites can be a way to get employers attention.  The biggest thing I want to learn is the other platforms that are available out there on the internet.  I have hit some of popular Web 2.0 devices, but there are still new and emerging devices out there.