HW 35- its over

After taking the course, “A Blog of One’s Own”, I have learned how to keep up with a blog. I have never had a blog before, and quite frankly, I didn’t even know what one was. I think that the concept of a blog is interesting, but I did not find it appealing. Completing the requirements of this blog was interesting and insightful, but I do not plan to keep posting. If one were to look over my blog, they could see how I felt on certain topics that we discussed in class, the books we read, and movies we watched. Out of all the work I accomplished in this class, I would have to say I mostly enjoyed reading the book, “Baghdad Burning”. I found this book the most interesting and I was really able to get into it. Enjoying this book made it easy to post about on my blog. After this class is over, I don’t think I will touch my blog page. I know I will not post anything on my page, but I do think it will be interesting and comical to look back on over the years. Who knows, maybe I’ll get into this one day.

HW 34- Gold in the trees!

Improving my “cultural literacy” has never really been a topic on my mind. I think that it is important to expand your mind though. Reading, “Baghdad Burning”, I learned about the role of gold in Iraq. “Gold is a part of our culture and the roll it plays in ‘family savings’ has increased since 1990 when the Iraqi Dinar began fluctuating crazily” (Riverbend, 100). In 1990, gold became a very confusing topic. The value kept changing, which urged people to keep trading their money in for gold, such as earrings, bracelets, and necklaces. Gold became somewhat of a currency. If people could not afford things, they could sell their gold for it. It became some sort of trade. Just like gold is important to the Iraqi public, Date Palms have a strong affect to. "A palm tree is known as a "nakhla" and never fails to bring satisfaction and admiration. They are the pride and joy of Iraqi farmers and landowners. A garden isn't complete if there is not a palm tree gracing it." (Riverbend, 103) Palm trees seem to be loved where ever they grow but in Iraq it is different. There are 500 different types of dates from the palms. Dates are used for a wide variety of purposes. They each have their own distinct features, which make them unique from one another. Some dates are used for hats, bags, food, alcohol, and much more. Palm trees in Iraq represent a lot about their culture and they are savored as a form of hope within themselves.

HW 33- young and younger workers

For homework 32 I watched the episode called, “Iraqi Teens Work to Help Support Their Families”, from the Alive in Baghdad videos. It was published October 25, 2007. This episode talks about how young teens in Iraqi have skills to work in laborious fields to help support their families. With families being in such need of income, as soon as the children are capable of the skills needed they begin their working careers. Some of the young boys, ages thirteen to fifteen, were carpenters and painters. The mostly learn the skills from their fathers and work from home. Some used to work at a shop but it is now to dangerous to leave your home and they are not aloud to run business. One boy Hussein Kamal, who is fifteen, during the holidays works with his father in carpentry. His brother recently taught him a new career, furniture painting. The surrounding that theses boys are working are covered in dirt with green plants along the walls. It looks as if it could get very hot in the summers. This podcast was informative to show a viewer what the young life is like in Iraq. Due to the United States occupation, it is a solid example on how we (The United States) are affecting their country. I enjoy this video as well as others I have seen about Iraq. The translation is good and shown at a good speed. The most memorable part of this podcast was when a boy talked about how he was not aloud to work at his shop anymore because they will not let him. I found this sad and disturbing. What are we doing over there!!

HW 32- Life in Fear

After reading the assigned pages, I was really intrigued by the way in which they shop for school supplies. Riverbend discusses how her two younger cousins were not able to go along with their parents to shop for supplies this year. Even though it is supposed to be an exciting time, the outside dangers far exceed the reality of fun. Riverbend, her cousin, her cousins wife, and her brother E had to go pick out school supplies for their cousins. Riverbend picked out supplies that she thought her cousins would like, but she was wrong. When she got home her oldest cousin, who is ten loved the Barbie notebooks that Riverbend and E got her but her younger cousin did not like the Winnie the Pooh and said that she was too old for it. Over the past years, the children wake up early and walk to school together but this year it was different. They were not able to walk to school alone. They all had to be escorted by several adults in fear that they would be abducted. This year school started later than usual due to the war and the dangers on the streets. The parents in the community had meetings about how they wished to guard the school, reassuring themselves that the children and teachers would be safe. (Riverbend 94-97)

HW 30- Death in the air...

After reading the assigned section of “Baghdad Burning”, I recall reading about depleted uranium. I have never heard of this before, but the way Riverbend talked about it, I knew this was what I wanted to research. When Riverebend describes this she recalls, “remembering wasted, little bodies in huge hospital beds- dying of hunger and of disease; diseases that could easily be treated with medicines that were “forbidden.” I remember parents with drawn faces peering anxiously into doctors’ eyes, searching for a miracle.” (Riverbend 47)How sad and depression is that. After looking are websites I learned that depleted uranium is a waste product that is released into the air off of machines built with uranium. The depleted uranium is a diluted version but is still very dangerous. It can be inhaled or be released into cuts or wounds. It causes chemical poisoning to body, such as the way any other poison would. It is not health and it is being releases into the air on a daily basis. It can be stopped easily but is deadly when contacted. (Wikipedia)

Riverbend. Baghdad Burning. New York: The Feminist Press, 2005.

Wikipedia the Free Encyclopedia. 2007. Wikimedia Foundation. 7 Nov. 2007.

HW 30- Symposium Sessions- BORING

The first speaker I saw at the Citizenship Symposium at Keene State College was June cross. They introducer introduced her as ‘Donya’. According to her, ‘Donya’ means a woman who deserves respect. The introducer was a Mexican woman who was dressed in it looked like a silk dress made with vibrant colors. Mrs. June Cross then came to the podium dressed in blue pants with a purple turtleneck, with a sweater over printed with colorful designs. She had what it looked like as long black dreaded hair and gold earrings hanging from her ears. The light reflected off her glasses a little bit. Mrs. Cross did not speak long; she got up and mentioned that there wasn’t much history that we needed to know. She stated, “How much history you need to know, is how much lets you know.” I though that was an intelligent quote. It really got me to think in a different way about history in general. I enjoyed that. She proceeded to say how she believes that a mother daughter relationship is the most important relationship because it is the most complex relationship that exists. The documentary then started to roll. I did not enjoy it very much. I found it somewhat boring but informative. Unfortunately I was not able to stay for the question answer period but I am sure some of my doubts could have been explained. I did not really learn anything but I would have to say that the thing that made me think the most was when she talked about how much history one needs to know.

The second Citizenship Symposium session at Keene State College that I attended was presented by the former UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter. He talked about “Citizen Soldiers and Global Warriors”. HE was dresses in a gray suit with a light blue dress shirt. He wore a darker blue tie with a silver tie pin. He looked very professional and his attitude was extremely intense. He seemed very stern and into what he was saying. I could tell that by his hand gestures that were non-stop throughout his presentation. The purpose of his entire speech was to portray the relationship between and citizen and a soldier and then the term global and warrior and how both comparisons come together. He talked about how in the U.S. we have the privilege of free speech and how without debate we have nothing. However, I was only able to listen to him for an hour and I really got the impression that he was not really into debating. He seemed very firm with his opinions and did not seem open to others. He does like the right to protest though. He talked about how people are afraid to stand for what they believe because they do not want to be ‘anti-American’. He stated that people need to express how they feel without being scared. He thinks that just because you are against the war does not mean that you do not support your troops (The feelings of a lot of Americans). He proceeded to talk about the constitution (which we all received a pocket version of) and how it is the only document that holds the United States Citizens together. He made a nice analogy, which was the only part of his speech that I enjoyed, comparing war to fire. He was referring to how people do not like war and how it is still ok to support our troops. He said that it is just like fire and fireman. We do not like our houses being on fire but we do like firemen to fight it. Just because we do not like war, does not mean we don’t like soldiers to fight it. That analogy really made me think and I think that it was the only intelligent comment that came out of Mr. Ritter’s mouth that night. I thought his speech, which was an hour long, was really dragged out. He could have easily condensed it into a five our ten minute speech but talked really slow and said a lot of useless information. I had high expectations for this speech and was surprisingly let down.

The last session of the Citizenship Symposium I attended here at Keene State College was called, “Blogging, Are All Citizens Publishers and Reporters?” This session consisted of three different speakers, Mike Caulfield- a Blue Hampshire blogger, Jim Rousmiere- the Keene Sentinel executive editor, and Emile Netzhammer- the Academic Affairs Provost and Vice President at Keene State College. There was supposed to be a fourth speaker but unfortunately, the most famous in my opinion, Lara Clawson- blogger for Daily Kos, was not able to make it. Each speaker took a turn giving their opinion on blogging. The most interesting opinion on blogging was of Jim Rouismaniere. He proceeded to talk about how he believes that there are three main points of the relationship between blogging and journalism. The first point that he discussed was about disclosure. He stated that how in journalism the author states their name and how blogging it can remain anonymous or use a fake name if they didn’t want to reveal their identity. The second point he discussed was the difference of opinions versus factual information. A blog can and mostly does contain opinionated information where as a journalist can only write based on facts. The last but most important (in my opinion) point was that blogs are “written to the choir” were as journals are based for the public to view. All three speakers talked about how journalist and bloggers should be treated equally. However, I strongly disagree. Maybe I disagree because I am not a personal fan of blogging and do not really understand it, but I do disagree. A journalist requires specific writing skills, as well as in-depth research of a topic. Blogging on the other hand is purely opinion based for the most part and anyone can do it. I am writing in my own blog right now and I surely do not have the skills to be a journalist by any means. I did not enjoy this symposium session based on the mixed views that the speakers and I have.

HW 28: An Open Letter to Riverbend

Dear Riverbend,

After reading a portion of your blog, I am more aware to the conflict between our countries. Being a young American girl, it would seem that we do not have anything in common. However, unexpectedly we share a lot of the same. There are several occasions where I too dislike American soldiers. Except that is really hard to me to say. To correct that, I do not dislike them, I dislike what they do. I guess you can say I dislike what they are instructed to do. I can not even imagine living my life in fear, like the way you do. I do not think I could handle that. I am sure that the blog is a wonderful way to vent how you feel, especially being anonymous and all. When you talked about how the American soldiers shot and killed over a dozen kids and teenagers, that’s just wrong. I have you back in this one. The soldier’s explanation is just bogus too! The whole concept the occupation taking place in your country boggles my mind. You have my sympathy with everything that you are going though.

In my thoughts,

Leanne

HW 27- Eye Opener

Riverbend, Baghdad Burning, Girl Blog from Iraq First Feminist Press Edition, 2005
Ahdaf Soueif, Foreword copyright 005
James Ridgeway Introduction copyright 2005

This book seems to be an eye catcher. From only reading the first few pages of the book, I am sucked in all ready. Riverbend, as well as Soueif and Ridgeway, really put the war into a new perspective. I have never really taken the time to reflect on the actions being taken over seas, but now not only do I feel for them but I respect them. We are set out to think of Iraqi’s as such bad people and have the worst possible stereotypes put out there for us to take hold of. It is so sad that we take in such negative images of them when they are not the problem. Riverbend is a civilian just like you and me and after reading this book you can really see that. This book is going to be a fast and excellent read for anyone and I can not wait to get started.

HW 25- Its crazy how much you learn

Foreword:

In the book, “Baghdad Burning”, by Riverbend, Ahdaf Soueif discusses the impact of the war on a “young Baghdadi woman as she lives through the war.” (Soueif vii) He goes over how Riverbend actually felt moments of pity towards the troops at one point, how ‘she saw them suffering under the Iraqi sun.” (Soueif viii) Riverebnd is not anit-american and this actually angers her when she hears that terminology. She believes in anti-bush or anti-war, but she supports America.

Introduction:

Riverbend is a young girl from Baghdad. She is in her mid twenties and lives in a middle class section of town with her mother, father, and brother, “E”. Before the war she had a job working with computers. She writes in her blog about her life in war. She does not discuss any of the typical ‘war events’ but more on the side of what is it life to live in war. Ridgeway states, “She sits on the roof to watch Baghdad burning and have learned to identify different types of automatic weapons by the sound of their volleys.” (Ridgeway xii) It talks about how Riverbend has to jump up in the middle of the night when she hears the electricity come on so they can try to get a load of laundry done. The Introduction then goes into background information about the country itself. The most interesting part was the more recent news in the sections titled “The 2003 War” and “Liberated Iraq”. “The 2003 War” discusses more about how the United States received false information about nuclear weapons in Iraq and how that is the supposable reason for invasion even though later found information states that Bush earlier in his term said he wanted to invade Iraq. In “Liberated Iraq” it talks more about how “the United States viewed the Shia as allies of the Ayatollah Khomeini and as part of an expanding mob of extremists determined to turn the entire region into some sort of unspeakable medieval theocracy. But the Shia are now monolithic by any means.” (Ridgeway xxii)

From what discussed so far in the book, the only part I can relate to is the information about the United States. I have always thought that the invasion in Iraq was in retaliation to 9/11 and a war on terrorism. I have never really been taught anything different therefore never took the time to look at the other side of the story. It is really interesting to read Riverbend’s perspective on the war and is making me think all the information I am missing out on.

HW 23- With apologies to Virginia Woolf

Different shades and reds, oranges, and yellows are all I see. Leaves are turning color, on a beautiful autumn day. The wind blowing and the cool air is flowing through me. Sitting here thinking about what I read earlier today. The frustration I felt took over me, while looking back at the articles. Everything I read earlier was gossip. Looking over the blog Jezebel, I really found all the women degrading to themselves. Celebrities do certain things fro attention and prove themselves to be dumb. We as women need to stand together and prove to the world that we are just as much equal to men. When I was told to that I was not able to walk on the grass, it frustrated me so much. Why would women act so ignorant? Why do women bring themselves down in the media? One article talked about how Paris Hilton was dressing lately. Why do we care about that? News in the media should be informative information and what we have been reading lately is not informative. They only thing it is, is a disgrace.

HW 22- Why are men so much better?

The definition of patriarchy is as follows: A society in which fathers are the powerful reasonable heads of their families and households, and by extension, a society in which men hold a disproportionately large share of power. This term is very common in Virginia Wolf’s, “A Room of One’s Own”. On page 33 in chapter 2 it says, “The most transient visitor to this planet, I thought, who picked up this paper could not fail to be aware, even from this scattered testimony that England is under the rule of a patriarchy.” (Woolf) This quote basically explains how today society is as a majority run by men. There has never been a women president or vice president here. Today women’s roles in the higher power systems are becoming more common but are still lacking shared control. Looking over news papers it is very apparent that ‘men rule the world’. Mostly all stories are written by and about men. Women are continually being overpowered and shut off from high power positions and the news paper is one of the best examples to prove this.

HW 21- Letter to Jeff

Hey Jeff!!!

I’m glad you’re coming to me for help! This is some improvement. I defiantly agree with you that this book is hard to understand. I had to read it a few times myself to fully get the importance of chapter one. The weird thing about this chapter was that the narrator isn’t Virginia Woolf. The narrator said that it’s not important who is writing this. However, Chapter one basically explains how she was asked to write and speak about women and fiction. She basically sits on the side of a river bank most of the chapter thinking about women in history. She talks about how one time when she was in college she was walking on the grass one day and a man came up to her and told her that she wasn’t allowed to walk on it. She also refers to another story when women were not allowed to be in a library alone. She said that they had to be “accompanied by a Fellow of the College or furnished with a letter of introduction.” The overall point of this chapter was to discuss how women’s role in history has changed and evolved over the years and how when asked to write about influential women she was confused about what to write about. That was pretty much what I got out of that chapter, but good luck! As your English teacher if you need any more help.

Much Love,

Leanne

HW 19- Is it really a huge influence?

After reading the chapter, "Web of Influence", I was caught on edge after reading the paragraph starting on page 92 ending on top of page 93. this paragraph explains how blogging can change countries. But what change? I was really confused on this paragraph and thats why it caught me on edge. My point is, I didn't understand where it was coming from. How can a blog change another country? Especially if not your own? It discusses publishing abuses but what abuses? What are they talking about? It also says that blogging can change "transitional networks", what? To put in another way, how can a little post on a web page change a country? In conclusion, I understand that blogging is becoming more and more popular as the days go by, but globally changing in the government? I don't think so.

HW 17B- I Vote DailyKos

After reading both blogs and looking over the web pages, for me, DailyKos would be more likely to influence the way I would vote in this upcoming election. I found Wonkette to be kind of annoying. I think that the way that they approached some topics wasn’t as interesting as the other one. DailyKos really brings out the truth in a lot of cases throughout political figures. Some say that it can be just gossip, but I think knowing who people really are in their personal life is a big factor on how they will withhold their position. I don’t really care about the jokes that someone makes, I would more care about how they present themselves all around. When DailyKos talked about a woman posting about her personal life anonymously and then being discovered, I find that more intriguing than how someone says they will handle certain situations. It is easier to judge someone one what they have already done in their life, than what they will promise for the future.

HW 18- WHAT!!!!!

Looking over blogs that I am watching, I got really upset. I decided to look over the democratic blog that I have been tracking and a specific woman popped out to me. Her name is Ann Coulter. She titles her post, “‘Personal Fantasy’ To Take Away Women’s Right To Vote”. WHAT!!!!! Coulter is a Republican columnist that I absolutely disagree with. What kind of woman would ever think that? I’m so confused by this statement that I really do not even know what to say. I mean, this is a republican woman more on the conservative side apparently, that does not think women should vote. I don’t understand why a woman would think that, ever. It is so degrading of her to think that. Women have come up in society throughout history and this was one of our major accomplishments. Women in history worked so hard for this and it should never be taken away. I mean, does she think that men are better than her? This women is a disgrace to the female race.

HW 16- Five Pillars

Scoble had his own way of describing the reasons why blogging is so ‘hot’. He liked to call them the Five Pillars. If you do not understand what they are, here is a further explanation of each.

Ease of Publishing- Blogging is a really simple way of keeping an online journal, communicating with others, and posting information for others to view. It does not cost money and it is user friendly. If you were to try to publish things or keep a journal in some other form it may be more difficult to accomplish. I went right to blogger.com and registered and I was able to blog within a few minutes. I do not consider myself a computer person either and it was really simple for me to figure out.

Discoverability- Blogs are very simple to discover. You can search topics in which you want to view. You are also able to attach different websites to your blog and are able to watch different sites. Writers are able to use indication words about their blog in order for it to be more assessable to others also. I am currently watching a democratic page and I can just click on a link that I have on my bloglines page. Very simple.


Cross-site Conversations- This is the ability to see who is viewing your blog as well as what they have viewed. It is helpful to see how many people have looked at what you have to say. I would love to see how many people have looked at my blog.

Permalinking- Permalinking is the ability to save links in which you view. This way it makes it easier to look at things you like to read a lot. It saves time being able to go directly to the page rather than going to a site and having to search through all the work trying to find what you wanted to read. People can just get the link to an article they like to read and view the comments on rather than searching though all the blogs the writer has done.

Syndication- This is the ability to be able to look at anyone’s blog and able to write or comment on them without giving out information. It was is way to keep information personal yet able to reach out and communicate with others at the same time.

HW 14- Joi Ito

Joi Ito is a very inspirational man. Besides the fact that 125,000 others agree with me, his work discuses a lot of topics covering several different areas of interest. Ito is also involved in several other organizations. Ito is the leading player in the internet industry. Although, he is heavily involved in the blogging world, he is the founder of the venture capital firm, Neoteny. As well as Neoteny, Ito helped create Infoseek, which is the second largest internet search site after Yahoo. In fact, he helped create PSINet Japan, the first commercial ISP. Ito’s opinion on blogging has helped to create his place in history. In fact, he also states that in the next ten years, the internet is going to be like what cable television is to us, old. In conclusion, Joi Ito is very well accomplished man and is going to continue to influence the technology field as much as he already has.

HW 13- Business or Communication?

After reading, “Blogs Will Change Your Business”, by Stephen Baker and Heather Green, I think that blogging has more of an impact on communication because it literally is another way of communicated with others. I agree with its larger influence being on communications over business due to the fact that businesses have been run for so long without blogging. These businesses have been running smoothly and successfully so why add another possible downfall. There have been issues with business already regarding blogging. One incident was when an employee was talking trash about a company through a blog and it caused him to be fired. Why risk blogging through business when it could just cause more troubles? Blogging as a form of communication however is a new good thing. They are already so many ways of communicating why not add another. It is a easier way of spreading mass media. Blogging at first was geared toward teenagers but now I feel that it is incorporating more age groups. At first glance, teenagers might say that blogging is just for them, but on closer inspection, all ages are using blogging as an easier form of communication.

HW 9: Waldman

After reading, “A Blog of One’s Own”, I chose to write about Ayelet Waldman. I found Waldman a very intriguing woman. The interview she had, discussed how blogging has impacted her life. As you can tell from the title of the chapter, it was an enormous one. Waldman had many psychological issues and her blog was an easy and convenient place for her to talk about issues that affects her life. Although I disagree with her passions about blogging, I do feel that blogging helped her get her life back together. It had a huge impact on who she was as a writer, wife, and mother. She believes that blogging is a place where you can meet others and discuss certain topics. She mentions how there are parenting blogs where mothers can discuss issues they are facing so they do not feel alone. She stopped her obsessive blogging after she got help and I agree with that completely. All the blogging that she was doing interrupted her lifestyle. Imagine how her children would have felt if they read about her mother wanting to commit suicide. She also mentioned how blogging was bad for a writer because they are getting all their ideas that usually influence their writing out of their head so they don’t think of it for book ideas. I agree that blogging is a positive influence in Waldman’s life, but a point that needs emphasizing is that most people believe it is a new form of overall communication and it has not gotten to that level yet.

HW 5B- Will blogging really take over?

“Today, once again, we confront the possibility that a new communications and publishing technology-in this case blogging-will engender massive change in our society, most especially in the role and power of the traditional mainstream media. But in trying to assess the likely shape and scope of those changes, we would do well to remember that tomorrow’s possibilities are always forged upon the anvil of today’s social and economic realities. Change, in other words, comes to the world on the world’s terms, constrained by the limits of our political economy and human nature” In the chapter, “I Blog Therefore I Am”, Kline discusses how the world of blogging will take over the world of mainstream media. He seems to think that blogging is a new and improved way of communication. I do not deny that blogging is getting more and more popular as time goes by, but I don’t that it will ever be so popular, that it will take over mainstream media. Kline in some ways believes blogging to be the new and best thing to come to earth. However, never have even heard of blogging until I entered this class, I really question how that could be. He tends to think that blogging is “a new communication”. How is that? I do believe that it literally is a new form of communication but not THE NEW form. I truly reject is ideas of it taking over and becoming ever so popular.

HW 11

After reading the section in the book about the interview with Rebecca MacKinnon, I chose to look at the blog about North Korea. I found it very interesting that she quit her job in order to portray the news correctly and in her manner. After looking over the North Korean blog that she developed it reminded me of a formal website. It looked very professional yet user friendly. The entries are all relevant and interesting to the topic and the appearance of the website intrigues the readier to view it. His blog talks about politics, art, what’s going on in the area, war...and other interesting topics to those who view this blog. Some of the blog’s are kind of comedic if you understand what they are talking about. This blog I found very interesting and informative to what is going on in Korea today. I think that it does correspond with what is going on in the world today. I disagree with the fact that she thinks that blogging is more important than CNN but I can see where others come from to agree with her.

HW 7 Applying Graff, Chapter 3 to "My So-Called Blog"

After reading Emily Nussbaum’s “My So-Called Blog”, mixed opinions came to mind. I do believe in children having their freedom though-out the adolescent years, but I think it needs some moderation. From experience, my parents did have trust in me to ‘follow the rules of the internet’. I was not allowed to talk to strangers and I definitely understood that from the talks that my parents gave me. I was taught not to give out personal information and not to write my full name on anything. The only times I would be on the internet was to e-mail, research, or instant message. I was not allowed to ‘blog’ or use ‘live journal’. I was not allowed to talk to people in ‘chat rooms’ either. I had rules and I followed them. For other children I do feel that they have as much freedom as they have ever wanted. Children a lot of times do not know the right from wrong if they are not taught it. This is why I think that monitoring children on computers to see what they are up to is a good thing. The internet is a scary place for everyone. There is a quote in the reading that I would like to address. Nussbaum addresses, "Silence like this can create paranoia. It may be friends that didn’t read the post. Or it may mean that they thought the post was stupid. There’s a temptation to take silence- in real life or online-as a snub. ‘If I get a mean comment I go back and look at it again and again, it starts to bother me,’ M. told me. ‘But then I think, If I delete it, everyone will know this bothers me. But if I respond, it’ll mean I need to fight back. So it turns into a conflict...’ (Kline and Burstein 355) All of the journals and blog’s can cause so much more tension and stress into one’s life. Is it necessary to let this be part of your child’s life? I do not feel that journals and being online without supervision is appropriate till one knows the difference between right and wrong. Safety is a major issue here and I feel that this is and unsafe environment for people who don’t know better.

HW 6: Interest Statement for Semester Long Project

I am not very big on social commuting, but out of all the choices I am most interested in aggregators and instant messaging. I use aggregators for downloading music. I love to listen to music so I-Tunes are a big part of my life. I can choose anything I want to listen to and just download it onto my I Pod and bring it anywhere with me. Instant messaging also is a part of my life. I have had AIM since I was in fifth grade. It is a great way to communicate with family and friends. I used it even more then than I do now because it was before I got a cell phone. It sometimes comes in handy when doing a school project. People tell each other what time to come online and people can communicate easier. I use it more now since I am at college. I am able to keep in touch with more friends from home than I would be able to over the phone.
Looking at the list of different kinds of empowerment of marginalized groups, I am most interested in overcoming barriers of urban communities. I have always been interested in the inner city school system. I find it interesting to see hoe many inner city students attend college compared to other suburban communities. It affects everything from social class, money, and opportunities. The area of interest I would like to look into would be the US. I think would be more effective for me to do research that would bring me closer to home.

HW 4: Responce to "The VOice of the Customer"

Every product has their promises. A lot of the time you see commercials with products advertising and you just have to laugh. Some say that they will give you your money back if you are not satisfied, but how much of this can you believe? Herbal Essences are a product of many promises. Herbal Essences Body Envy Volumizing Shampoo and Conditioner promise that their product with give your hair that extra bounce it needs. They say that it will lift ‘you’ in all the right places. In the commercials it says that it will make you sing in the shower. What kind of girl wouldn’t want to sing in the shower and get that extra bounce that they need? If this product really works, I would be satisfied. Every girl deserves to be pretty and feel pretty. Once you feel pretty your mood changes. Personally if I am having a good hair day, I would defiantly be in a good mood. That would be the day I would want to go show myself off to the world. Not literally but metaphorically. Herbal Essences is a fun product to watch on T.V. and a fun product to use. I believe and trust Herbal Essences and use their products daily.

HW3 Responce to Chapter One

In chapter one of "Blog" by: David Kline and Dan Burstein they talked about how blogging is becoming more political. I was very surprised by this because my understanding of blogging brings me right back to face book. Then I would ask myself, why isn't facebook becomming more political? Facebook is frowned upon by alot of society and how come blogging isnt? Blogging is becoming more corporprate than ever before and that is scary to me in some ways. Chapter one Burstein dicusses more about blogging and they way he thinks blogging will be in the furute. Some people agree with him but some disagree. I woul dhave to be a person who disagrees with him. I have never heard of blogging before and if it is so popular and becoming global and political how come i haven't heard of it?! Burstein's theory is relevant to him, not relevant to mine at all.

HW 2 Response to Bernstein

I am choosing to respond to Dan Burstein’s second idea about bloging. I think that Burstein’s theory is false. I disagree with the fast that he thinks a blog can have personality. Maybe the visual aspect of a blog can, but the point of a blog is its text. Text can be misinterpreted in so many ways. The best form of communication is direct one on one conversation with a person. A piece of written text can be interpreted in several ways. For example, if someone were to type, “that’s funny”, it possibly could be thought out to be sarcastic if not directly thinking that something was truly funny. One thought or idea can change drastically through the written language. Meanings are taken differently than intended and what is supposed to be said isn’t. The personality aspect of a blog is lacking in so many ways that it is hard to agree with Burstein’s theory of bloging.