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Ronald Jay Gervacio

Is texting ruining the art of conversation? - 8 views

news.yahoo.com/rt-conversation-174029382.html

Texting ICT Communication Conversation

shared by Ronald Jay Gervacio on 05 Jun 12 - No Cached
  • Ronald Jay Gervacio on 05 Jun 12
     
    An example of the negative impact that technology can cause. Personal face-to-face conversation is becoming less meaningful because of texting.
  • ...18 more comments...
  • Samantha Gilham on 05 Jun 12
     
    Great article! I have a younger sister who is 15 and I constantly worry about her possible future inability to carry ftf conversations, conduct herself professionally in job interviews and in the classroom. I find we never talk via the phone but always via text. However, when you spend most of a workday on the phone or on conference calls, sometimes text provides an alternate way to communicate quickly with others.
  • Ronald Jay Gervacio on 05 Jun 12
     
    I think texting is a valuable form of communication under certain circumstances, however, like you said, it should only serve as "an alternate way to communicate quickly with others". It shouldn't be the other way around!
  • Jennifer Bradley on 05 Jun 12
     
    Perhaps it's not so bad anymore, but I have friend who's an associate professor that teaches writing classes. And in the past five years, he's had to grade papers where the student's literally used texting jargon/leet speak in their writing.
  • Britt Johnson on 05 Jun 12
     
    This is something that I've been wondering about since texting became so ubiquitous. At first it was a novelty, then something to do for a quick conversation, and now it's moved into full dialogues between people. I, too, wonder about the future generations and the impact this can have on their grasp of grammar. This is the same problem that I have with more and more people moving to telecommuting (even though I do it myself). When is it just TOO much?
  • Anton Angelo on 05 Jun 12
     
    I worked on a university IT helpdesk for years, and we used to get emails written in text-speak, but then teachers cottoned on to the fact they needed to teach "how to write an email", rather than "how to write a busines letter", and I haven't seen a text-speak email for years. In fact, those that do text me in text speak tend to be older now, as they have not grasped predictive texting!
  • Samantha Gilham on 06 Jun 12
     
    @Anton I think that's a great point, I think now more than ever "how to write an email" seems to be an art form and one people know very little about. It seems like such a stupid and easy thing but I see more than my fair share of awful emails and lack of email etiquette. While I'm not downplaying the importance of writing a great critical paper, essay, letter, etc. I think how to write in new media would be something worth spending some time on with students.
  • Kerianne Cassidy on 06 Jun 12
     
    @Samantha I agree with your ideas on email etiquette! I've seen many an email message blasting someone in rude and nasty ways that you would never use in person. It's too easy to reply via email or on social media sites in the heat of the moment and forget all courtesy - the online community is too removed from the personal so it doesn't feel real so there won't be real consequences for such harsh words.
  • Carrie Pyne on 06 Jun 12
     
    It seems that texting allows for more shallow conversations; speaking in person or on the phone would definitely be a more meaningful conversation. I think texting has its place, but it should not be a substitute for good communication with others.
  • Ronald Jay Gervacio on 06 Jun 12
     
    I think you all brought up a good point! Overall, whether we communicate via texting, email, face-to-face, snail mail (does anyone still do this? lol) etc. we need to acknowledge that each of them has its advantages and disadvantages. It's our responsibility as users on how we can utilize them ethically and not be dragged by social mishaps.
  • Meaghan Corbett on 06 Jun 12
     
    @RJ, I agree with what you've said. Texting has its place, and its purpose; it's really its own fascinating type of language, in a way. It's not analogous to business or conversational English (or insert your language here, as I'm sure this is done all over the world!), and shouldn't replace those modes of communicating, but it does have its proper time and place. It's up to schools to teach students how to communicate effectively in writing, according to what's required in higher education and the workplace. Language is constantly evolving, adding some elements and dropping others. Some words, phrases, and grammatical structures grow obsolete over time, and others emerge to take their place. English, in particular, is known for absorbing other languages' words with ease and adding them to the lexicon. I once read a sci fi novel set hundreds of years in the future in which the characters were purportedly speaking English, as the main character (who was from hundreds of years in the past) recognized it, but it sounded as foreign to him as Middle English would to a modern day speaker. Maybe standard English will always have its place as the preferred and proper mode of communication...or maybe we'll end up with something else entirely, as the digital era marches on!
  • Anton Angelo on 06 Jun 12
     
    @Meaghan: ooh, them's fighting words! I like to wind stauch grammerians up with the phrase, "Oh, standardised spelling is a Victorian affectation". People even changed the way they spelled their names from time to time. I love the way language evolves. Or at least I did, until young people started spoiling it all, by changing it again after my generation got it right! aa
  • Lilia p on 06 Jun 12
     
    @Anton: LOL! I agree. but find myself in that texting mess. I remember a few years ago, Meghan, that there was a huge backlash against ebonics. Similar to the texting situation now, but culturally different. It is amazing how language, through media, has just exploded with new concepts. When we talk about digital divide, perhaps we should talk about language. I mean, if I told my father to "google" something he'd think I was crazy. We have words now that simply mean things that certain people "get" while other don't. Not sure what that means.
  • Jennifer Bradley on 07 Jun 12
     
    @Anton, sometimes I want to eat my phone because of it's predictive texting feature. It'll incorrectly "predict" the word while I'm still typing, and by the time I press "enter" it's already got it lined up to be inputted instead.
  • Meaghan Corbett on 07 Jun 12
     
    @Jennifer - check out www.damnyouautocorrect.com
  • Amanda Bailey on 07 Jun 12
     
    I think it is really interesting how we have managed to turn typos and autocorrect changes into a silly pasttime and part of our everyday vernacular. Similar to how we have now managed to turn "Google" into a verb! Sites like DamnYouAutoCorrect allow people to bond and relate over technological glitches and commiserating over embarassing text mishaps.
  • Britt Johnson on 07 Jun 12
  • Karen Carter on 09 Jun 12
     
    These are great points here...I sometimes think that more attention needs to be paid to email (and texting) etiquette than even in person. When you've made a verbal misstep, perhaps offended or confused someone, in person, you can see their body language and offer an immediate response to right the situation. Online communications are more of a landmine because you don't know how someone is reading and interpreting something, and you have to wait for more information to proceed (and there could be any number of unknown factors that influence the receipt of that new information...dead phone or wi-fi down, anyone?). If I had a nickel for every friend of mine who has called me to help them figure out what a text or email might mean or how (or if) they should respond to one thing or another, I'd be a rich girl. I spend so much time unpacking the drama that unfolds in an online communication, I feel as if I'm getting a professional credential. Hmm.....
  • Anton Angelo on 09 Jun 12
     
    My question for Karen is would people approach a guy to ask how to respond to a text, or is this just part of women's conversation with each other? Jane Austen style stuff. I have said to younger people how lucky they are, whe I wanted to ask a girl out on a date when I was 15, I had to ring her up, or (shudder) ask in person. Now all you have to do is text. The responses I've had have been really interesting about the etiquette of getting the girl's number, then the dialogue that goes on behind the scenes once the invitation is made (as the response does not have to be immediate). It all sounds even more traumatic. I'm also told that ringing someone with a voice call is now regarded as quite rude here, if you don't text first to ask if someone is available. aa
  • Karen Carter on 09 Jun 12
     
    Ha, good point Angelo, I don't know if it is the same for men (though as I think of it, I have had male friends ask me the same questions, but perhaps they don't ask each other), but you're right that texting has somehow become the way to court. As you may be able to tell by my use of the word "court", I'm not really of the younger set, so it seems even crazier to me that in my world somehow this has become the norm. It always seems like an awful lot more work than just using the phone. That's amazing that placing a call would be thought of as rude now...I can't even wrap my head around it all sometimes.
  • Kerianne Cassidy on 10 Jun 12
     
    Even more than the phone call being rude, I heard a teen telling someone about a job interview they had where they were astounded how the interviewer was asking them questions and looking them in the eye! Would she rather they texted her the questions? Maybe, but I find it hard to believe that no one else in her life looks her in the eye.
Jennifer Bradley

Social-informatics.org - 1 views

www.social-informatics.org/...ABOUT

Social Informatics social media ICT research Information Communication Technology

shared by Jennifer Bradley on 03 Jun 12 - No Cached
  • Social Informatics
  • Bibliography
  • deals with interaction of modern society and information communication technology (ICT).
  • Maranda Ward on 03 Jun 12
     
    This is a great resource created by the Social Sciences faculty at the University of Ljubljana. On top of getting information about current projects and events there is also a really great bibliography that might be helpful for our final projects.
  • Jennifer Bradley on 04 Jun 12
     
    The website is run by Chair for Social Informatics (CSI) at Faculty of Social Sciences (University of Ljubljana), which deals with interaction of modern society and information communication technology (ICT).
  • Jennifer Bradley on 04 Jun 12
     
    Whoops, didn't see that this was already added, and now it won't let me delete!
Meaghan Corbett

danah boyd | apophenia - 4 views

www.zephoria.org/thoughts

Social Informatics facebook politics communication networking

shared by Meaghan Corbett on 04 Jun 12 - Cached
  • Meaghan Corbett on 04 Jun 12
     
    danah boyd (all lowercase) is one of the leading researchers and thinkers within this developing field of social informatics. Her blog analyzes and provides commentary on social networking and how it's changing the way we communicate with each other.
  • ...6 more comments...
  • Meaghan Corbett on 04 Jun 12
     
    A passionate advocate for LGBTQ youth and outspoken opponent of bullying, cyber or otherwise, she's written extensively about Tyler Clementi and Dharun Ravi, and the role played by serious misuse of digital technology to malign an individual. She also goes into how "media-driven narrative" has shaped public perception of this case: http://www.zephoria.org/thoughts/archives/2012/02/24/stop-the-cycle-of-bullying.html
  • Karen Carter on 04 Jun 12
     
    Thanks for sharing this...I saw danah boyd give a keynote at a conference here in Maryland called Theorizing the Web and she was definitely a big deal. Actually, come to think of it, the notes from that conference might have some information to share here as well.
  • Jorge Arganza on 05 Jun 12
     
    An excerpt from boyd's notes on her speech about "the power of fear in networked cultures" "The tools that we build are getting repurposed around the globe by people with all sorts of different agendas. They're being used by activists to challenge the status quo, but they're also being used by the status quo to assert new kinds of authority. People are building the new networks of power on the technological networks that we've generated and they're reinforcing existing power structures. "Through social media, we're ramping up the attention economy. We are setting in motion new networks. We like to think of ourselves as disrupting power systems and, indeed, that's what we were doing for a long time. But now, those in power are leveraging our tools to exert new forms of power. Fear is one of the tools that's being used. People are finding ways to put fear into our systems. "Social media is no longer the great disrupter. It is now part of the status quo. Are we prepared for what that means? Are we prepared for the ecosystem that we've created? Do we even understand how our systems are being employed by those hellbent on maintaining power in a networked age? "I don't have good answers to these socio-technical conundrums. But I think that these are important issues and I need your help in figuring out where to go from here."
  • Lilia p on 05 Jun 12
     
    good find! you will encounter more of her work later on
  • Samantha Gilham on 05 Jun 12
     
    I second on the good find comment! Her post about Ravi's conviction was interesting, not only because it hits home because it happened at RU, but it brings up some extremely important topics when it comes to online bullying, the use of technology/media in the private/personal sphere, privacy etc. And she closes with saying she would hope this case would change others' actions and outlook on the harmful uses of technology and invasion of privacy, but unfortunately it most likely won't and we will continue to see these types of things happening.
  • Anton Angelo on 05 Jun 12
     
    Thank for that! I'm really enjoying this, and it is helping me think about the culture of unease we seem to be living in. http://talks.webstock.org.nz/speakers/danah-boyd/culture-fear-attention-economy/ where
  • Brian Peters on 05 Jun 12
     
    I really like her talk on the culture of fear, and how it relates to the rapidly expanding array of mediums in which to spread this culture. This is a nice counterpoint to Howard Rheingold's view of some of the positive uses of social media to promote engagement and change rather than this focus on isolation and fear.
  • Lilia p on 06 Jun 12
     
    One thing to remember is that Rheingold was very Utopic in his early writings. That becomes more critical later on.
Jorge Arganza

Howard Rheingold | Exploring mind amplifiers since 1964 - 5 views

rheingold.com

Social Informatics blog Online Community

shared by Jorge Arganza on 03 Jun 12 - Cached
  • Jorge Arganza on 03 Jun 12
     
    I have been following Rheingold's work for some time, and I highly recommend falling down through his particular 'rabbit hole' of stuff. He studies online communities and ways in which ICT enhance the individual and the collective group's capabilities.
  • ...4 more comments...
  • Maranda Ward on 04 Jun 12
     
    This is an interesting blog as long as you can get around the book promotions :-) I thought the Social Media section on the site particularly interesting. One of the articles I liked was the one on Smartmobbing by Howard Rheingold (http://rebooting.personaldemocracy.com/node/5484). This is an interesting idea because a lot of politically charged organizations are utilizing social media to basically create online mobs. Social media is now used to organize petitions, spread the word about marches, and basically spread information. People who were once sort of out of mainstream politics can now get involved and keep track of what is going on in the world. Social media has definitely influenced politics, changing the way parties endorse their candidates and more.
  • Pamela Hawks on 04 Jun 12
     
    @ Maranda (aside... I didn't see a way to "comment on a comment" so I am posting this directly under the main post) -- I think the the social mobbing you mention is a really interesting trend. In my town, we recently started an online petition through change.org to keep our town pool. It took only a few days to get twice the signatures we needed and no gas was used or feet blisters created. I am trying to think critically of a downside to this manner of using social tools, but I cannot think of one! @Jorge -- Very nice blog. I found a great article (http://www.technologyreview.com/view/428043/there-is-no-digital-divide/) debating the other side of the digital divide argument posed by the NYT's piece from last week. I also like Rheingold's "infotention" invention. I could use a little "infotention" intervention -- every time I get involved with a tech or social tool, a new one is created that seems better and more suited to whatever task I was trying to accomplish. Sometimes I feel as if we are living in a time when nothing remains permanent.
  • Ronald Jay Gervacio on 04 Jun 12
     
    This guys seems very clever and witty! I enjoyed reading his blog about Twitter (http://blog.sfgate.com/rheingold/2009/05/11/twitter-literacy-i-refuse-to-make-up-a-twittery-name-for-it/) talking about how this powerful social media can be so influential and useful if the user knows how to utilize it for the right reasons. Being a non-Twitter user, I found it interesting how he explained numerous advantages of being an active member. Now that I've read this, I might reconsider of joining it...
  • Britt Johnson on 04 Jun 12
     
    This was a very informative blog! Thanks Jorge. Like Pam, I really liked the "infotention" idea. diigo is a perfect example. I really just started looking at it today and was really confused (if you couldn't tell with my questions) on how it worked, where to comment, etc. The more I've looked at it today, the easier it has become to use. But something new will probably come along in the net couple months and then I'll have to learn how something works all over again.
  • Brian Peters on 04 Jun 12
     
    Jorge, this guy has been around forever and really has some interesting ideas. Looking through his website, which has a nice design to it, Rheigngold does a great job of talking about the positive impact technology can have on society, particularly from the standpoint of collective cooperation. As recent history shows, the use of technology has the power to bring people together, even to the point of ending a decades-long dictatorship.
  • Carrie Pyne on 06 Jun 12
     
    Howard Rheingold has very interesting points on his website/blogs. I like his Infotention definition and how he believes if we are armed with the right tools/skill-set, we can address information overload. I also liked how he stressed instead of continuing to criticize the negative impacts of the internet on us, that we find better tools and ways to learn to engage the technology in a more mindful and positive manner. it is in our capabilities to do this.
Amanda Bailey

Social Informatics in the Information Sciences: Current Activities and Emerging Directions - 0 views

www.inform.nu/...v3n2p89-96r.pdf

Social Informatics Information Communication Technology Research Information Science

shared by Amanda Bailey on 04 Jun 12 - No Cached
  • Amanda Bailey on 04 Jun 12
     
    Article from 2000 about SI and its purpose. Although it is somewhat older, it is interesting to see 12 years ago what kinds of programs and courses were being offered about SI and where some of the research in SI was going. It would be interesting to compare this to more current information on these topics.
  • Kerianne Cassidy on 06 Jun 12
     
    An easy comparison is noting how much more diverse the sub-topics of social informatics is now. Just like the expanding and evolving technological landscape, informatics changes and grows just as quickly with the subject matter. Good find!
Ronald Jay Gervacio

How Facebook is ruining sharing - 5 views

news.cnet.com/...ow-facebook-is-ruining-sharing

Social Intelligence Facebook Frictionless Sharing Open Graph

shared by Ronald Jay Gervacio on 05 Jun 12 - No Cached
  • goal of the initiative is to quantify just about everything you do on Facebook
  • turning out to be really annoying in practice
  • it's killing the possibility of viral hits by generating such an overwhelming flood of mundane shares
  • ...4 more annotations...
  • Sharing is the key to social networking
  • hurting sharing is a disaster for a social network
  • Sharing and recommendation shouldn't be passive
  • Frictionless sharing via Open Graph recasts Facebook's basic purpose
  • Ronald Jay Gervacio on 05 Jun 12
     
    This article discusses about the negative impact of Facebook's Open Graph (frictionless sharing") in the world of social networking. It gets really annoying when someone would share an article/news/video etc, the user would first have to install an app into their profile!
  • ...8 more comments...
  • Jorge Arganza on 05 Jun 12
     
    RJ, this is a great article. I had noticed those 'trending articles' and spotify things on my facebook page, and I have been avoiding the opt-in's but I wasn't aware of what was going on. This article explains it well.
  • Ronald Jay Gervacio on 05 Jun 12
     
    I know right.. me too! I usually have to circumvent the process in order to avoid installing the apps. I would go straight to the website where the news/article is posted instead of clicking the link directly from Facebook.
  • Pamela Hawks on 05 Jun 12
     
    Yes, thank you. I was treating all those "trending articles" like spam. These types of posts have been a recent annoyance with my FB (I've been on since 2007), and I was starting to get the nagging feeling that FB was going to be slowly taken over by information not related to your chosen friends group. I was envisioning having to weed through pages of passive posts to get to your real information. Would this not be the death knell of the service?
  • Meaghan Corbett on 05 Jun 12
     
    I'm not a fan of the news sites social readers; most of my network uses the Washington Post one and Yahoo. At first I thought it was cool, but then I got weirded out at the thought of my network being able to "see" what I'm reading at any given time. What if someone made assumptions about me based on what I was reading at any given time? I really wish Google Plus would take off...the only reason I, and I suspect a lot of other people, are holding fast to Facebook is that our friend networks aren't making the switch...and what's the point of being in a social networking site if you're the only person there?
  • Samantha Gilham on 05 Jun 12
     
    I really liked the quote "sharing is the key to social networking" and it shouldn't be passive, but not aggressive either. Oversharing becomes a problem where soon newsfeeds are clogged with a million stories and recommendations. Like others above, I'm immediately turned off when I go to read an article and have to download an app first, it's frustrating when clicking an article becomes a long-winded process. @Meaghan I was also a huge proponent of Google + at first, was one of the only people who originally had it, waited for it to catch popularity, but here it's almost a year later and I still haven't gained any new friends. I wonder what the hesitancy is behind not using Google+. It's interesting to think about the decision and thought processes social media users go through when deciding what forums to use or not use, why do some people actively use Facebook, but not Twitter? I'm guessing theories such as media richness (lean vs rich messages) and other factors come into play, as well as ease of use.
  • Amanda Jacobsen on 05 Jun 12
     
    I have to say I've never heard of Google +, and have often thought about shutting down my facebook account for good...I wont do Twitter. What does that mean for me as a MLIS major I often thought? Should I be more "plugged in"? I'm becoming nostalgic about old means of communication (letters, books, even phone calls) This is also troubling because I feel that the new open graph is very overwhelming, have have clicked on links and then shut them right back down, because you must enable MORE links, apps, programs, all wanting to get my inforamtion. It's also scary that facebook is becoming a necessity, rather than just a fun social networking site. My old high school depends on it to contact us for reunions, my aunt uses it as her main way of contacting me, and its often the only way I'll ever see those photos my sister took at the beach! We've Created a Monster! Keeping it a simple model would be preferable.
  • Samantha Gilham on 05 Jun 12
     
    Great points Amanda. On the other side, I would say forums like Facebook has allowed us to keep in contact with those we wouldn't normally have access to, or find those we wish to contact but can't find in just the yellow pages. I agree there are times when I wish someone would pick up the phone and just call instead of trying to have a text conversation or email conversation. However in terms of using Facebook and other e-vite sites/modes, sometimes it is the cheapest and easiest mode to send out a mass message i.e. school reunion invite, in as little time and for as little money as possible. Also you can get real-time RSVP, which I'm guessing from the views of the event administrator can be super helpful when trying to get an idea of attendees. I do also feel nostalgic about old means of communication and often wonder how people will communicate in the future, what communication choices they will make, etc.
  • Anton Angelo on 05 Jun 12
     
    I found Open Graph for the first time writing an report for Library School on my favourite site, Board Game Geek (boradgamegeek.com). It's kinda worrying, in the same way thrid party cookies worry me: it a use of technology that can be used for good that could be so easily subverted. That would make a good project, I reckon.
  • Brian Peters on 05 Jun 12
     
    People shouldn't be that surprised that a company that just went public with great fanfare is looking to monetize every single possibility it can. Like Samantha says, Facebook is a great, inexpensive tool for keeping in touch with old friends as well as meeting new friends. Just like with Gmail ads that are based on the contents of the user's emails, there is a price to pay for these 'free' services. As consumers of these services, we all have to decide at what point has the commodification of our private lives gone too far.
  • Amanda Jacobsen on 06 Jun 12
     
    Brian, I think you really sumed it up when you said "As consumers of these services, we all have to decide at what point has the commodification of our private lives gone too far." This hits home with me because I've been feeling that way lately. Ever since my son was born, and everybody wants pics of him up on facebook, I've been thinking worried, and wondering if it's worth it? How exposed do I want my newborn son to be?
Maranda Ward

Social Informatics in Libraries - 4 views

informaticsinlibraries.blogspot.com

libraries ICT Social Informatics blog

shared by Maranda Ward on 04 Jun 12 - No Cached
    • Maranda Ward
      Maranda Ward on 04 Jun 12
       
      Bibliography has some good resources on MLIS topics in general, as well as some interesting SI resources.
  • Using the Behavioral Sciences to Explain Browsing in ICTs
  • Community Informatics
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • The Social Design of ICTs
  • Maranda Ward on 04 Jun 12
     
    I found this blog by a librarian at Columbia University, when I was first messing around with Diigo. In this blog she writes about articles that she has read on social informatics and comments on them from the perspective of a librarian. Might be interesting as many of the articles pair social informatics and librarianship.
  • ...1 more comment...
  • Meaghan Corbett on 04 Jun 12
     
    ^I found this post on e-journals and e-books to be particularly interesting, in that some scholars prefer the print versions because they find them more conducive to browsing and looking at similar content. You can browse electronic material, just not in the same way as you would search a bookshelf. By reading an article through an electronic database, such as ScienceDirect, you can obtain instantaneous access to similar articles (sometimes, ScienceDirect will even "suggest" ones you might like, or you can access articles written by one or more of the authors. If instant access isn't possible, some databases have an automated "Request via Interlibrary Loan" or other document delivery service. You can browse content that interests you and automatically download citations and snapshots to Zotero, Refworks, or another info-gathering tool, and be less likely to misplace your research. Some libraries are caught between a rock and a hard place, because of the lack of space and the cost of storing print journals. But how do you serve the users who prefer the old ways of browsing and gathering research by rifling through these print journals?
  • Brian Peters on 04 Jun 12
     
    Maranda, this is good stuff. I think for libraries and particularly librarians to continue to be relevant we need this type of analysis of how people are using information technology, how it impacts our society (locally/nationally), and how we can leverage that knowledge to better serve the public both in providing information access and also improving information literacy.
  • Pamela Hawks on 04 Jun 12
     
    That sticky note you added about the difference b/w social informatics and community informatics I think will be an interesting topic to take a look at -- particularly in regards to the political aspects of both (could be good stuff for our group presentation -- THX!)
Samantha Gilham

America at the Digital Turning Point - 6 views

www.digitalcenter.org/...year_digital_turning_point.pdf

digital Social Media social informatics Information Communication Technology online community ICT

shared by Samantha Gilham on 06 Jun 12 - No Cached
  • Samantha Gilham on 06 Jun 12
     
    Stumbled upon this report, published January 2012, from the USC Annenberg School of Comm. Some great statistics and information about the users and non-users of technology and the Internet.
  • ...2 more comments...
  • Lilia p on 07 Jun 12
     
    What you will find is that there are many centers doing research on the impact of social/digital media, and they are very good resources for primary info
  • Lilia p on 08 Jun 12
     
    I should, however, note that I would like to know more about their survey and how they administered it. From a methods point of view it's always a good practice to learn more.
  • Amanda Jacobsen on 08 Jun 12
     
    "online behavior changes relentlessly, and users and nonusers develop attitudes and actions that are constantly in flux as technology emerges, and then thrives or withers." This really reminds me of a documentary I watched on trends (mainly youth) and how things changed so often that they were unsure if the media or the children that were really setting the trends. As new trends "emerge" others "wither". Out internet behaviors seems to follow the same patterns as all our other social patterns.
  • Karen Carter on 09 Jun 12
     
    This is a really interesting report...it left me with even more questions, though.Particularly interested in the finding that social media had limited credibility among the study participants despite increased use. I wondered what the definition of credibility was in this case...I had before not thought of FB as credible or not credible, unless this is somehow tied to privacy issues.
Carrie Pyne

How will mobile technology help in healthcare? Look to developing nations | SmartPlanet - 3 views

www.smartplanet.com/...17778

mobile technology healthcare mhealth

shared by Carrie Pyne on 06 Jun 12 - No Cached
  • harness mobile communications as a means of reforming the healthcare system’s dominant focus on reactive care and treatment, encouraging a shift to preventive strategies
  • Carrie Pyne on 06 Jun 12
     
    Mobile technology, in the form of mobile phones, can help address healthcare issues, not only in developing countries but countries like the US too
  • ...1 more comment...
  • Meaghan Corbett on 06 Jun 12
     
    Interesting! it's great to see that this mode of information-sharing has such potential. Text messages are quick, easy, and cheap; they might be ideal for medication or appointment reminders.
  • jcinthelibrary on 06 Jun 12
     
    Carrie, this article discusses using the smart phone apps and their ability to access the Internet to help those who don't have access to a face-to-face doctor. One of my articles this week mentioned an even more advanced way of long-distance healthcare: pacemakers hooked up to the Internet allows for a doctor to remotely restart a patient's heart if it stops working. These are things that only a decade ago might have seemed completely impossible yet here they are being used in a relatively wide-spread way.
  • Ronald Jay Gervacio on 06 Jun 12
     
    I can't wait for this service to be widely available and EFFECTIVE for everyone! I wouldn't have to sacrifice adjusting my work hours or taking a day off to get a doctor's appointment! I also wouldn't have to wait for hours in the clinic's lobby for getting a 5-10 mins consultation.
Kerianne Cassidy

Facebook for First-Graders? The Social Media Giant Looks to Welcome Kids Under 13 | Hea... - 5 views

healthland.time.com/...oking-to-welcome-kids-under-13

social informatics social media online community facebook

shared by Kerianne Cassidy on 06 Jun 12 - No Cached
  • Kerianne Cassidy on 06 Jun 12
     
    How young is too young? Are kids today really not interacting in person if they're busy building an online network?? My internet use wasn't policed when I was a kid, but then you couldn't do much via AOL dial-up! What happens when parents aren't as technologically adept as their kids?
  • ...6 more comments...
  • Carrie Pyne on 06 Jun 12
     
    I think this is not a good trend, although FB will probably make it happen anyway. It is already pretty obvious that today's teens do not know how to interact socially in a proper manner - they text constantly even while standing next to each other because they prefer to send messages and avoid f2f interaction; they construct sentences in a twitter-like manner. Kids need to form friendships and interact socially face-to-face, not just virtually. They need to speak to others live, know how to write coherent sentences, and not spend so many hours glued to their technical devices. Parents need to impose more guidelines. Librarians can help by assisting in finding age-appropriate websites for children. We don't need to take away the technology, but we do need to help teens and children use it in a better way.
  • Meaghan Corbett on 06 Jun 12
     
    I guess the logic is that kids under 13 are using the site anyway, by lying about their age or getting someone older to create an account for them, so perhaps the best course of action is to create a space specifically for them--with more restrictions and stricter privacy settings. I hope that this pre-teen space is diligently patrolled, and content vetted thoroughly before it gets posted online (sort of like having a forum moderator approve all posts before they appear on the site). I'm not sure if this is feasible....I suppose it depends on how many pre-teens sign on to this thing.
  • Pamela Hawks on 06 Jun 12
     
    I. don't. like. this. My 12-year old wants a FB account simply because all his friends have one and not for any other reason. It just adds one more layer of policing that schools and parents have to be on top of. I am one of the lucky few parents whose kids are pretty good at self-policing their screen time, but I know that's rare. There are plenty of fun, age-appropriate sites for kids that age -- Pottermore comes to mind... my kids both signed up for accounts there and spend time doing the things tweens like to do, i.e. dueling their friends and socking away Galleons in their Gringotts bank accounts. If they spend a hour on Pottermore, then they know they have to go outside and shoot hoops for an hour. I am a little shocked, actually, that FB thinks tweens are a shoe-in market, since usually that demographic wants NOTHING to do with what their parents do... has FB really cracked the generation gap??
  • Britt Johnson on 06 Jun 12
     
    While I don't condone kids spending all their time on the internet, interacting with their friends through IM, I do understand the need for Facebook to create a space for kids under 13. Kids *are* using it anyway, so it only stands to reason (in my opinion) that FB do the responsible thing and police them. My step-sons both have accounts on FB. The oldest is now 13, so he's legitimate, but the youngest is 11 and he wanted one because his brother had one. He also so he could keep in touch with us (he's in Kansas, we're in NJ), so his step-father set up the account and monitors it. I would be a lot happier with him being in a policed-by-moderators environment so I didn't have to rely on his step-dad to do it. I think that there's an upside to the possible changes to FB, as long as it can be properly implemented and policed. I'm just an optimist, what can I say? And yes, I also believe that FB has possibly put a little crack in the generation gap.
  • Amanda Bailey on 06 Jun 12
     
    The biggest question for me is how will the children under 13 who desire to have a facebook account react when they learn that to do it, the account must be connected to their parents account? At some point every child does something that they do not want their parents to know about..... would that be a deterrent? Would they continue to lie about their ages and use the other tips and tricks to fool the system? Back when I was 14-15 I had a "LiveJournal" account, that I willingly gave my mother access too. I had nothing to hide. But I lost several friends who felt betrayed that my mom was able to then see their posts through my account. I trusted my mom, but my friends didn't. Its a tricky web of social norms, relationships and technology.
  • Ronald Jay Gervacio on 06 Jun 12
     
    I think this an inevitable situation because it's so easy to circumvent the system by just modifying the birth year. Facebook is probably just trying to protect themselves from future legal actions by letting the parents be responsible for accounts of their kids. I still don't like this but let's face the reality, Internet is so big and difficult to be policed.
  • jcinthelibrary on 07 Jun 12
     
    Amanda, I think most young teenagers have accounts in online communities that they're not supposed to be on until they're a little older (those little boxes asking you whether you're over a certain age are pretty much ignored completely). I don't like the idea of young teenagers being on Facebook but my reason is more along the same lines as the first complaints about Facebook expanding: Facebook was awesome because it was a way for those in college to meet, look at each other's pictures and bios, and organize parties. Of course, it's turned into something much bigger but I'm still selfish about it: it's like I'm on vacation and I don't want to have to deal with the loud little kids jumping in the pool.
  • Jennifer Bradley on 07 Jun 12
     
    Just off the top of my head, I would say that 1st grade is definitely too young for a Facebook page. This article reminds me of one I read not too long ago about a mother who punished her daughter for posting pictures of herself pretending to drink by making her post new pictures of herself holding a sign warning against such behavior. The punishment photos went viral and served to teach the daughter a valuable lesson about putting compromising information on the internet.
Kerianne Cassidy

Investing in the "Next Wave" of Technology Inovation - 0 views

www.youtube.com/watch

Information Communication Technology social informatics privacy

shared by Kerianne Cassidy on 06 Jun 12 - No Cached
  • Kerianne Cassidy on 06 Jun 12
     
    Interesting look at the different speed which technology is adapted by different people/groups and how it effects sharing information.
Amanda Bailey

Center for Democracy and Technology - 1 views

www.cdt.org/...net-privacy-working-group-ipwg

Social Informatics social media research privacy Information Communication Technology

shared by Amanda Bailey on 05 Jun 12 - No Cached
  • Amanda Bailey on 05 Jun 12
     
    From their website: "The Center for Democracy and Technology is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public policy organization and the leading Internet freedom organization working at the critical edge of policy innovation." This group has a great collection of resources on a variety of pertinent topics such as Digital Copyright, Security and Surveillance and Free Expression. Each topic includes current News and Events and also Research and Analysis.
Brian Peters

Embedding the Internet in the Lives of College Students - 0 views

jgroshek.com/Groshek_SSCORE.pdf

social informatics

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Maranda Ward liked it
  • Brian Peters on 06 Jun 12
     
    Here is an interesting article on the impact the Internet has had on college students. The study looks specifically at what type of impact Internet use has on student social behavior.
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  • Samantha Gilham on 06 Jun 12
     
    Good article! What I found interesting was the correlation between user demographics being the same online as it is offline, i.e. more males checking political communication online AND offline. I think it shows the transition from offline media use, or more traditional modes to online and often an accumulation of both. A bit off topic but it makes me think about how we're becoming masters of mult-tasking, allowing us to be in tune to several different media - whether it be traditional TV, radio etc, and switching gears to reading news online, watching videos online, listening online. As I type this, I'm researching papers and watching TV and feel like I'm in tune to both. Researching how people are now becoming the ultimate multi-taskers would be interesting. However, because we are becoming such great multi-taskers, are we almost giving ourselves a sort of "ADD" in which, in the future, we'll have a hard time concentrating on ONE thing for a certain amount of time. I find it hard to concentrate often on a project or paper with multiple messages going on, emails coming in, texts, Facebook notifications, etc. and frequently break to do all things at once = a ton of white noise!
  • A.B.C. Dawkins on 07 Jun 12
     
    I think we can all relate to this wall of digital "white noise" as university students within the information management sector. It seems as though there is a fine line between multi-tasking and organized distraction. I often find myself dividing my time between school work, personal correspondence, and managing my Ebay account, but this doesn't necessarily mean I'm being more efficient. Earl Miller, a neuroscientist at MIT, has actually proven that the human brain "can't focus on more than one thing at a time" (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=95256794).
  • Samantha Gilham on 08 Jun 12
     
    Great article @ ABC. I was doing some research for my group project for the unit about e-books, brain, order, etc. and have become extremely interested in the impact of technology on our brain. As much as we may like to think we are great multi-taskers, it seems that our ability to toggle between multiple tasks on computers has hindered our ability to focus on long-winded tasks.
  • Jennifer Bradley on 08 Jun 12
     
    I found the correlation between downloading and other online activities to be pretty interesting. It make sense in a practical way, I suppose, since if you're online long enough to engage in regular message board discussions or blogging, you will likely find other activities to do at the same time such as downloading (which does not require your constant attention) or say listening to internet radio. On a kind of a related note, I once had a talk with a committee that was exploring ways to crack down on illegal downloading on campus. One of the methods they discussed using was tracking bandwith activity, and one of the concerns with this was unintentionally catching up people who were using high bandwith for legitimate activities such as streaming videos.
  • Amanda Jacobsen on 08 Jun 12
     
    "Specifically concerning news habits, the majority of students said they preferred to consult online sources over offline sources for news and information because of the convenience." I definitely agree with this too. I always use the internet for news because I find it so much easier than watching the news on tv which is so inundated with useless information now, and often what I consider scare tactics (it always seems like that in an election year). As well as the phrase they used, "The more, the more". I find this to be true in all internet users. The more they use one system, or are active in one way, the more likely it is that they are active in another.
Amanda Bailey

Internet Privacy and Security - YouTube Video - 0 views

www.youtube.com/watch

Social Informatics social media privacy Information Communication Technology

shared by Amanda Bailey on 05 Jun 12 - No Cached
  • Amanda Bailey on 05 Jun 12
     
    From Brookings, this 2011 YouTube video on internet privacy and security takes a different view point, that if people are unwilling to share their information online, parts of our information economy could collapse. (Video is approx. 5 mins)
  • Kerianne Cassidy on 06 Jun 12
     
    I particularly like how he points out the different definitions of data ownership and how data is shared
Samantha Gilham

Call for Papers - SocInfo 2012 - 0 views

www.socinfo2012.com/call-for-papers

papers projecttopic social informatics

shared by Samantha Gilham on 05 Jun 12 - No Cached
  • Computational models of social phenomena, social simulation Social choice mechanisms in the e-society Social networks: discovery, evolution, analysis, applications Social Behavior Modeling Web mining and its social interpretations Social Influence and Diffusion Models of Social Influence Security, privacy, trust, reputation and incentive issues Social Communities and Social Network Analysis Design and analysis of social/collaborative Web applications Social Interactions and Collaboration Algorithms and protocols inspired by human societies Socio-economic Systems and Applications Mechanisms for providing fairness in information systems Virtual communities (e.g., open-source, multiplayer gaming) Impact of technology on socio-economic Recommendation systems Visualization of dynamic social networks Social applications of the Semantic Web Social Informatics Theory Social system design and architectures Trust, Privacy, Risk and Security in Social Contexts Social Intelligence and Social Cognition Social media analytics and social media intelligence Emotional Intelligence and Data Mining
  • Samantha Gilham on 05 Jun 12
     
    Page shared by another classmate, topics page may be a good brainstorming page to think of project topics/focus
Amanda Bailey

Anne-Marie Oostveen - Publications - 0 views

www.social-informatics.net/publications.htm

Social Informatics Information Communication Technology Public Trust online identities privacy participation

shared by Amanda Bailey on 04 Jun 12 - Cached
  • Amanda Bailey on 04 Jun 12
     
    This is the personal site for a research fellow at the University of Oxford, Anne-Marie Oostveen. Her work is focused on SI and I found her list of publications to be interesting, as they address several areas of SI such as online identities, online activisim and public trust issues.
Amanda Bailey

Computers Grade Essays Fast ... But Not Always Well : NPR - 1 views

www.npr.org/...ssays-fast-but-not-always-well

social informatics Social Media Information Communication Technology education students computerization

shared by Amanda Bailey on 07 Jun 12 - No Cached
  • Amanda Bailey on 07 Jun 12
     
    Really interesting NPR piece on computer software that grades homework/essays for students. Do students "miss out" by having their work graded by a computer instead of a person? How will these types of programs impact the future of education? Can we/should we/are we replacing teachers with computers? Pennsylvania currently offers an online public schooling option, is this a move in that direction?
  • Lilia p on 07 Jun 12
     
    Interesting article. My stand on this has always been that some people need an online option. For instance, more than a few of my kids' acquaintances are professional track dancers. This requires huge time commitments in Manhattan, daily. In fact, dance becomes first. Most parents want their kids to finish school so they purchase seats in for profit online programs. Why should these parents who already pay taxes to support school systems not have equitable access to education? This would/could also change the nature/scope of the homeschool dilemma. My point is, not all kids need to be boxed in a room in a building all day to learn. some need that kind of structure while others do things that can't be accommodated y a 9-5 schedule.
  • Amanda Bailey on 07 Jun 12
     
    I agree entirely. Both of my siblings attended vo-tech high schools, which operated on a rotational schedule with "traditional" schooling for 3 weeks and then a shop/trade for 3 weeks. For them, they needed an option that was not a traditional classroom but gave them an outlet and focus, keeping busy with their hands as well as their minds. I think the online schooling programs in PA are a similar option, providing flexibility and opportunity to students at different levels or in different situations.
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