Put the phone down!

For this assignment, I decided that I wanted to talk to someone that I see everyday, but haven't said much more than 'hello' to.  I work for the College Election Poll Worker Initiative in the SUB so I see a lot of people everyday.  I decided that I wanted to talk with one of the janitors that comes in to our office everyday to empty the recycling and trash.  Usually, I just keep busy with my work and say hi, but leave it at that.
When the janitor came into our office, I immediately turned around and said hello and asked how her day was going.  She seemed surprised that I struck up a conversation, which is understandable considering this is the first time it's happened all semester.  Her name is Judy and she has been working for Kutztown for almost 15 years.  She talked about her adventures as she worked in many different buildings on campus, but the SUB has been her favorite so far.  She said she enjoys working around and with students and that she also enjoys the other female janitors that she works with.
As our conversation progressed, she asked me about my major, where I'm from, what I want to do with my life, etc.  And since I can't help but bring up politics in almost every conversation, we began discussing some stories about the Occupy Wall Street movement.
Judy and I ended up talking for almost a half-hour.  Our conversation stayed positive and it seemed that we both enjoyed each others company.  Since our interaction, Judy and I usually engage in some kind of conversation daily. Overall, I really enjoyed this assignment!

As a tour guide, I talk to people I've never met, face to face, almost everyday. It's different with families in Admissions though.  There are certain topics, issues, questions that can be expected to be discussed with families.  When talking to someone with no kinds of constraints, the conversation becomes wide open.  I also was able to relate some class lectures to the process as well.  As I was talking with Judy, I can remember smiling and nodding in agreement with most things she said.  I didn't disagree with what she was saying, but the nodding and smiling is considered a social norm of showing interest.  I wouldn't want her to think I wasn't interested in what she was saying (even if I wasn't..) because that would be disrespectful and rude.  When we talk with people face to face, we tend to avoid conflict more so than we would if the conversation was moved to computer mediated communication.  Although it's something we may learn in class, it's very interesting when we observe ourselves in these situations.  Again, this was a very interesting and fun assignment.

Tweet Tweet!

Since I've been a member of Twitter since 2009, I've really been looking forward to this assignment. I use Twitter for conversations, gossip and mostly, reading the news.  When I became a student at Kutztown, I began reading the NYT everyday since it was available on campus.  Instead of picking up the newspaper everyday, I read their tweets.  I follow many different news agencies on Twitter.  Some of the national news groups I follow are MSNBC, President Obama (and his wife!), the House Speaker, John Boehner, NPR Politics, The Washington Post and The Huffington Post. I also follow state news from groups such as the Governor Corbett, PennLive, Capitol Wire, Pennsylvania Legislative Services, PA House Democrats and Republicans and numerous state representatives and senators.  I get even more specific news by following local news accounts such as WGAL-8 (my 'home' tv news station), Lancaster Online, the Reading Eagle and the Philly Inquirer. 
The use of Twitter has engaged consumers of news in many different ways.  Average users are now able to tweet in a comment or question and voice their opinions with other users discussing the same issue.  I was following the hashtag, #educationnation, for a few weeks.  After watching a morning news program, I became really interested in the topic as a whole.  As a result, I also started following @educationnation.  I've also used more informal hashtags such to relate to other users about TV shows or the weather. 
I really enjoy getting my news online from Twitter.  As we've discussed in class, we have the total control over our information intake.  This gives me the opportunity to not only get important political information but also new DIY crafts, news on Beyonce's baby bump, the latest Apple rumors and news about the University. I feel that through Twitter I get more information than I would reading the average newspaper. 
I run into a lot of people who don't really like Twitter, but I think everyone should give it a chance.  It could be extremely useful to some people who want information about specific topics.  There are so many different accounts on Twitter, users can follow almost any interest.  Although it doesn't have chat, photos or a 'like' button, it is still very informative!

What's privacy?

With the heavy use of technology and new media, our privacy is become more and more scarce.  Agencies follow most all kinds of activity from individuals, depending on how often they use the web.  Before writing this blog, I thought about how many different places online that I have an account or that I'm in some way plugged in to.  I have information all over the web and I feel pretty comfortable about it. As we discussed in class, I think it has a lot to do with personal responsibility.  If a user is always plugged in, they must be conscience of what they are posting.
On the other hand, we need to remember that everything we do online is being tracked.  We discussed the idea of looking up personal concerns online, such as medical issues.  I'm sure there are no individuals that would like to have this information tracked, but if a user decides to venture to the web for solutions to problems, it's a risk they will have to take.
Overall, the idea of privacy on the web is no longer common practice.  Since we use different programs on the web for free, we owe them some kind of payment.  If the idea of limited privacy leaves a bad taste in their mouths, then they should stray away from the use of new media.