Blog v Wiki

I feel like there is a distinct difference between Wikis and Blogs. Blogs are more personal and an outlet for creative writing. Usually, very few owners exist per blog (one or two) and they contribute to the Blog as they wish. Wikis are a landing page of information from different sources. For example, in my history class, the students created a Wiki page that contained information on every topic that was discussed over the semester. 

These two outlets of information are definitely converging in todays society. Because there is so much information present in the Wikis, the blogs help provide opinions or explanations on or about the information. They work together. 

Many up-and coming stylists in Fashion use Stye Blogs to collaborate ideas in for new trends and generate Looks for the public that read for style ideas. And for these purposes, Wiki's are different from Blogs. 

A great difference between the blogs and Wiki's is security. The owner of the blog can really delegate who has the ability to make additions on their site. However for the Wikis, it is much more malleable to destruction. "Virtual vandalism can be a major problem. In larger wiki sites, such as those run by the Wikimedia Foundation, vandalism can go unnoticed for a period of time. Wikis, because of their open access, are susceptible to intentional disruption, known as "trolling"' (Wikipedia). 

Lastly, who mediates the responses we receive from our Wikis or Blogs. In this light, Blogs are highly more susceptible to attacks from anonymous opinionated people. "Yet in this infinite realm of truth-telling, many want to hide. Who are these people prepared to tell you what they think, but not who they are? What is the mentality that lets them get in our face while wearing a mask? Shredding somebody’s character before the entire world and not being held accountable seems like the perfect sting" (Dowd). 

Thus Wikis have a purpose for information and Blogs have a personal touch to them, for opinions.   

The Attack of the Social Network

I am looking for my privacy...has anyone seen it?

Social Media and Networking has overcome companies and our daily lives by storm.It is almost impossible to be a stranger when one can simply Google someone's name and enjoy a selection of information on them. Whether it be the persons Linkedin page, their Facebook page, or their incredibly embarrassing photos from Spring Break six years ago, networking no longer has a basis for strangers. Rather, it is an introduction of people whom are equipped with many outlets that already provides information on the other.

So then, one might ask, what is the point of human interaction anymore? If we no longer have to hold conversations with each other because the information is already at out fingertips; perhaps we meet each other just for the pleasing aesthetics of our presence to one another.

This is where I completely am against the dark tunnel that Social Networks are taking us on. Not only do we lose sight of the importance of human interaction, but we also lose a bit of ourselves along the way. We lose the ability to explain that we are not party animals, and those pictures from Spring Break were really just the result of a Dare your friends made you commit.

In summation, for my term paper, I will approach the negative aspects of Social Networking and the impacts it has had on our society. I will research the difference between humans who interact on Social Networks and humans who do not and those implications on their real "Social Networks". Most importantly, I want to know if the presence of these Social Networks has changed our perceptions of reality and how people see themselves communicating (or not communicating) in the future, and through what outlets.

Hello!

Hello New Media classmates!  My name is Yevgeniya (Jenny) Suleymanova.

Welcome to my Blog :)