Then came college. Here we still had wired Internet, but AIM was huge. Oh boy, do I remember tricking out my buddy profile with the coolest Sex & the City quotes and colors. Spending hours checking everyone else's profiles and Away Messages. The good ol' days.
Then came thefacebook.com. Now, at Providence College, we did receive a hard copy of a Face-Book. You know, that book where everyone sends their high school senior photo with a silly blurb on their hopes and dreams? Man, I agonized over picking a photo for that. But thefacebook.com was different. It was a safe, fun way to connect with friends in college. You HAD to have a college email address to sign up! I am pretty sure at first you could only be friends with people in your own college. You could add the classes you were taking to find friends in it. It was pretty cool, but I remember many of my friends were uninterested or unsure of the point of using such social networking. Most people didn't even have digital cameras at the time, so half of the profile pictures were silly band photos or clip arts. I think mine was a Pulp Fiction character. Sad.
Facebook has changed so much since then. I still use it, although with the new timeline feature, I swiftly deleted any activity before 2005. I would say about 95% of people I know use it, from friends, to co-workers, to mother-in-law, to father, to Nana. Yes, I said it. I like that I can feel connected to many people I don't see or hear from on a regular basis. I like that I can share what I have been up to my summer vacation. You can update your status, check-in somewhere, upload a photo from the beach, try and make your friends jealous, etc. The events feature has been utilized by many of my friends from organizing a simple get together to a 30th birthday bash. It answers the "Well, who is going to be there?" question for you. I also like that privacy features continue to be upgraded. It is necessary. Quite the reason my husband is part of the 5% I know NOT on facebook. He is convinced we are all being monitored. Makes sense. But I am not ready to give up my news-feed and mobile uploads.
And then there was Google+. When I first heard about it, I assumed it would be like another myspace. Cool for a minute and then.... not. When training for the NYC Marathon last year, my mentor asked me and a few other runners to create an account so we could communicate through it. I did, but I just didn't get it. What's a circle, why do I need one? I kept thinking about the Meet the Parents "Circle of Trust". But from what I am seeing while exploring from this class is that the circles are actually pretty cool. I like having the option of creating different groups and limited what they can see/read/etc. I sure would like to place the aforementioned mother-in-law, father, Nana into one group on Facebook (kidding!). I also like how you can control your news-feed to just certain circles. I think the coolest thing is the hang-out feature. It is pretty crazy that you can hang with multiple people. Miriam Berger and I "hung-out" yesterday and she had a stroke of brilliance by saying we should hold CSE meetings in a hang-out! When parents can sign a virtual Medicaid form, I think we will be on to something!!
I think overall both sites have great features. Many of which are similar. Facebook is simply more established than Google+ as of now. Maybe Google+ just needs a movie with Justin Timberlake in it.
But for now....
What a great stroll down memory lane. I am with you the whole way, except I'm sure I was much older than you when I did each thing. I believe I was already a full-fledged bill-paying adult when AOL was launched. Yikes! I think what probably hooked me was that my brother lived in Florida and we didn't get to see him much. He is a computer junkie and once he cosigned, he made it clear that we could speak to him practically everyday if we just jumped on this "super highway." We've definitely come a long way. I cannot stand the fb timeline. I wish I never upgraded to it. Your husband is 100% correct- big brother is not only watching, he's planning our demise (ok a little dramatic). But it's a good thing I'm not a criminal because I wouldn't be able to hide. These things are scary and exciting all at the same time. I used to think we would become the Jetsons when I was a kid. We just might, but maybe the Jones's is a better name. These companies spend so much time trying to outdo the other one and becoming bigger and badder. I wish these geniuses would spend their time on a cure for AIDS and cancer. It's not that I don't appreciate technology and the fact that I can speak to my family all over the globe for free, basically. I just wonder if there are limits and if other things should take priority. Really awesome blog entry!! The part about using the Spring Valley line instead of the Pomona line killed me. rotfl
ReplyDeleteSo, big brother is no joke. I saw on the Today show this morning a segment on using eReaders and how the companies monitor what we highlight, how much of it we read, what we re-read and using the information to change the way authors write and where to break it off. Some non-fiction texts have been segmented into smaller books because most consumers do not finish them, I forget the term they used. I know for me I am going to go into my settings and change the defaults so it does not send my information back to the host, I just need to re-fresh my memory on how to do that.
ReplyDeleteI think the bigger question here is how does all this social networking fit into education? does it have a place with students and parents and if so what are the limitations? You brought up some great comparisons with Facebook, where we've been and even where we are going...but is it in the right direction?
What an amazing Blog Post. A Blog Post like this is exactly what this class is about. Christina, what a great idea with the CSE meeting. A virtual Medicade will be very easy in the future when Google starts using your voice as your bank card, car keys, concert tickets, etc. We won't have to worry about signatures at all anymore.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite quote was the Justin Timberlake commercial. He's so cute! Anyhow, I agree with you in terms of the popularity of Google +. I like it a lot and am still getting used to it. It seems that Facebook has too big of a head-start. Again, GREAT BLOG!!! You are inspiring. I am going to update my blog.
I really enjoyed reading your Blog, and great graphics as well!! That would be really great to have all the district stuff turn hybrid if it's not possible for parents or staff to be present. It really is incredible how everything has changed in such a short time span, but it may take time until the district makes that change. The only thing is, like you pointed out that in your initial stages of your relationship with your husband it wasn't through talking on the phone. From a communication perspective, it's a real shame and I hope people don't completely lose the most simple yet brilliantly set up mode of communication, which is actual human contact. Seeing a persons reactions, body language, etc. cannot be compared to digital communication. Although it's convenient, let's not forget how we and the future generations shouldn't lose the art of actual interpersonal communication!
ReplyDeleteGreat Blog, Christina. I really enjoy your writing- have you considered Journalism? (I guess blogging is journalism 2.0)I had almost the same experience with the advancements in internet tools and technology, except we were "very fancy" and had a fax/ internet second line, so our free trial was up really fast. Luckily, my Dad was a tech geek so we had unlimited internet subscription pretty soon after :) My husband and I met in college, but it was definitely those late hours IMing each other on AIM that helped build our relationship. There is something about having a few minutes to read what the other person said and think p a cute/witty/flirtatious comment that gives these online relationships a different feel. I still have emails with sections of our chats copied and pasted and mailed to friends. Our mutual friends emailed me sections of chats THEY had with him, so it was sweet to see how he was reacting to our relationship as well.
ReplyDeleteAs for the CSE's, I was only kidding. While it may be a great way to include members who cannot make it, I think there is something much more personal about having people meet face-to-face in a room. While I love that the internet has given many opportunities to connect with people more often and in a different way, it also takes away from what used to be "normal" interacting. It reminds me of that car commercial where this girl is sitting at a computer talking about how she's worried about her parents and is trying to get them more involved in life through facebook, etc. Meanwhile, her parents are out biking and hiking and experiencing life, something she clearly hadn't done in a while. I guess like all things in life, it's all about the healthy balance.
Love that commercial and you are so right!
DeleteAnd BTW, your husband can hang out with mine in the "no facebook account" club. Glad to hear I'm not the only one with a paranoid husband ;)
DeleteThanks everyone! It was fun to write. Daphne and Erin, that is so crazy about big brother and the e-reader. I have noticed on Facebook some crazy things- like the ads on the side- its crazy how they know interests, demographics, etc. Also, when they "suggest" friends for you- I understand when they suggest a person who has multiple friends in common- but they recently suggested that I knew a co-worker of my husband's and we don't even have friends in common. WEIRD.
ReplyDeleteAndy, Google IEP, perhaps will be next?
Raquelle, I agree with you so strongly about communication. I am scared that younger kids are not learning the correct way to communicate! It also is too convenient. What happened to wondering when the phone would ring? Now you can easily locate anyone, send a text, etc. The other scary thing is that it is so easy to cyber-bully because everyone is always a lot stronger and tougher behind a computer!
This was a great way to finish my day. An incredible blog Christina! You certainly made me recall some memories of my childhood. My dad's whole career was spent around computers so when the modem came home the excitement in the house was overwhelming. Today it is a whole different ballgame. I love the fact that i still keep in touch via facebook. Certainly there is something to be said for sharing you life with family and friends.....besides you always have the best pictures! As for Ryan he can begin a support group with Kevin and Miriam's hubby...the NO FACEBOOKERS CLUB.....table for 3 please! Excellent job my friend!
ReplyDelete