Social Networking TOO powerful?

A week ago in the New York Times there was in article about an explosion of social networking in Indonesia. In a newly democratic Indonesia, the government is trying to regulate content on the Internet and the media is fighting back. Social networking is becoming a vital tool to promote a more democratic country which is often corrupt. The government recently proposed a bill that would require Internet service providers to filter online content, but was no longer an issue after online protests and in the mainstream media.(Yet, currently the government is trying to propose a new and more harsh law) In a year the number of Indonesian Facebook users went from fewer than a million to more than 21 million!! That is the world's third largest number of Facebook users...especially thanks to relatively cheap cell phones that offer internet access spreading from cities to villages throughout Southeast Asia. These online movements had deeply unsettled politicians, bureaucrats, and even hospital administrators challenging their authority. People in power are afraid of online media and social networking they are paranoid and very traditional unlike the new online content. Indonesia is growing and trying to regulate more freedom.

An example of how strong of an impact social networking has on this country is recently when the government put up a statue of a 10-year old Barack Obama in a local park, instead of protesting in the capitals most famous traffic circle, more than 56,000 online protesters on Facebook got the city officials to give in, taking down the statue, and allowing the park to be reserved to honor and Indonesian.



I'm not sure if other countries should intervene and help keep the media and online usage alive and thriving in Indonesia, but it seems to be creating this bond between most Indonesians and redefining their values.

Addicted to Facebook

It is nearly impossible for me to go a full 24 hours without checking my facebook...It is actually a serious problem. I feel like I can waste an hour..or more of my entire day by doing nothing except "stalking" people and reading updated news feed. As a teen, especially in this generation this seems to be more than normal and acceptable. As sad as that is, parents get frustrated, teachers know it helps distract students from work, and the users know its addicting as well.
I dont know why, but knowing other people's business and looking through pictures is just a pass time...and not productive at all. Even when I went to Europe I was freaking out I wouldnt be able to check, or update my facebook for a month..but when I found out there was a computer in the lobby, I jumped on it as soon as it was available! Even with a backwards keyboard, I found a way to update my status..facebook is some how a way to get news, especially socially and without it people would actually have to call/email/find other ways to keep in touch with everyone they have ever met. Facebook is terribly addicting and as much as I wish I could part from it, it wont happen any time in the near future. Facebook is Crack.

Technology, a waste of money!

Computers are transforming the way we get information and connect with people, only getting more advanced as time goes on. The fact that computers are so widely used does not mean they need to be in every aspect of everyday life. Most people have computers at their house, work and even most schools. Yet, are computers really needed at school? Most students today will tell you that they don't increase the focus for learning, half of the time when the technology doesn't work or the teacher cant figure out how to work things, students are happy to not have to learn. Technology in classrooms seem to only decrease the learning than the average lectures, class discussions, and group participation. It is understandable that more kids now are visual learners and need creativity to be mixed with learning, but there are other ways to get students involved with work. Yes, the Internet is convenient and a great source for information but it is not necessary for computers to be in every classroom and school. There are students who are not lucky enough to own their own computer and the schools that do provide these outlets are great, but leave them in the library, student study rooms, or media centers. Schools should take there funding and spend it on newer textbooks, restoring the actual school, expanding classrooms, more desks, chairs, and every day school supplies. Some schools rely too much on buying the latest technology to boost the school's accreditation. Since most public schools, including liberal art schools have to make cutbacks on letting less students in, and watching budgets due to the country's "recession" schools should focus less on blowing money on new and confusing technology, and more on the students actual education and what has been proven to work.

Feeding Twitter

Although I myself do not use Twitter I noticed an article in the New York Times that looked interesting, seeing as a class we have been talking a lot about Google and the advancement of technology. Yesterday Tuesday April 13, Twitter unleashed a plan that will bring in its exponential growth into revenue. Twitter plans on making money from advertising, called Promoted Tweets that users will see when they search for keywords that the advertisers have bought to link to their ads. Companies like Best Buy, Starbucks, Virgin America and Bravo are already getting ahead and on the list to run ads. Twitter has some revenue from deals to license streams of posts to Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft but these ads will let businesses insert themselves and info right into the stream and stay stable not getting buried in the flow.
Twitter plans on these ads to be promoted at the top of results even if it was written a lot earlier than other tweets. Not only can the businesses see negative conversations, but they can keep track of what people want through todays current technology. Advertising has yet to disappear and finding loops and holes to get through just for their own products. That is after all what America seems to be about!

Googlefied

Google has transformed the internet in such a short amount of time. The majority of web users, if not all, use Google or some branch of Google. I feel like Google has helped the technologic world advance, create competition, and derive new ideas. People who think Google is taking over the world or making people dependent on the internet for information are just being pessimistic. Our world is constantly advancing and evolving..technology is going to keep expanding and yes, the world will constantly have information at their fingertips. Google does have a lot of power, Im sure people would freak out if one day their favorite search engine disappeared..people would then have to rely on actually going to the library or look for other sources for information. But Google is helping simplify and making the world's info accessible, there are pros and cons, but I feel the pros outweigh the cons. People can learn more information about other cultures, increase their education, communicate to others worldwide, keep up on current events and live news, share ideas and opinions and just benefit in general. Google has changed the world for the better, and anyone who has been Googlefied will agree.

About Blogging

The article on Bruce Schneier was really informing especially the fact that just a few years ago he started blogging. I feel he writes about things people are to scared to talk about like real-world security, terrorism, and crime. There are always new things to write about in that field and he is very passionate about the topic. It is a lot easier to write about something interesting that have different point of views and opinions. Subjects that can be argued that make people think and respond, or get a reaction from the public is what seems to me, to be the most important thing about blogging. Schneier says he never deliberately tries to get a reaction, but some of his essays are provocative that take days to write.

The best advice he gave was "Just do it. Don't worry about being boring. Don't worry about being interesting. Just do it (blogging)." Being able to throw out opinions and good information is always beneficial. He seems to be very connected to his computer and it just shows the importance of communication through the internet. He is able to get his ideas and thoughts out to whoever wants to read them. For only blogging a few years, I feel like Schneier has learned a lot from blogging, he has benefited from suggestions, while ignoring the negative comments all the while continuing what he loves to talk about. What I took away from this article is that blogging is a passion and connects different people through discussions.