Getting started

I just posted my intention for my final project. I realize my final direction may alter depending on my classmates. I decided to begin by creating the blog spot so I would have a place to document my ideas for my project and make changes as needed.

To create a blog spot, you must first decide where you want your blog created. Most of the large internet "biggies" have a blog feature. On Yahoo there is a personal blog area called "Yahoo 360" it has the potential to build networking but it is primarily a place to document your own information. I decided to use "Blogger.com" which works in conjunction now with g-mail. You can name your blog what ever you want to name it and you also select the url address for your blog. Most blog sites will permit you a few color and theme choices.

Well - I started the blog! I now have a place to document my project and I can work on my project from any location as long as I am connected to the internet.


For the record here is the post to the discussion board on my project intention:

I feel myself being pulled in an entirely different direction as I created my blog and began to document creating a profile on a new social network site, bebo.

After participating in a few of these sites, I find myself experiencing an array of feelings. My gut feeling toward digital social networds is starting to resemble concepts similar to Sven Birkirts' views about the decline of literacy in our society. I find both positives and negatives regarding communication and expression through the use of such networds as Myspace, Facebook, and Bebo.

I started a blog with the intention of giving instructions and details of what to expect when signing up for one of these large social networks. I will keep the information already entered into to blog as it is a part of personal documentation of the digital social network experience.

I am going to focus on the popular and common componants to be found on most social networks. I will address the possitive/intriguing side of the applications and then I will discuss the possible down falls to such applications. Ultimately I will have a blog which will hopefully challenge the average social network user to consider the purpose of their presence online.

My thesis lies heavily upon the belief that the emergence and popularity of the social networks is breaking down the quality of our communication while further contributing to the decline of our own sense of self.

The growing popularity of digital social networks are peeking interests globally across various age groups. This rapidly growing form of social communication is attracting record numbers and the marketing and media giants are capitalizing on the fun and games. I hope to spark an interest in users to reflect upon their own online interactions and contemplate whether their activies are contributing something of value to their life or if the countless applications of social networks are steeling time away from their life and subtly eroding the humanity of our communication.