Website post

Shane Canning

Com 336

           

           The website project gave me a good look into the world of website building; needless to say I had some issues with using the software due the fact I have never encountered it before. I felt this was a good first experience with the Adobe software, I feel if I had to use Photoshop, Dreamweaver or InDesign ever again I would be confident in my ability to complete and make a project look somewhat professional. This final project was a great way to wrap up the semester by tying our previous project together in our website; incorporating our social media projects and our blog into our website.

            I feel our websites will be a great tool in self-promotion once we enter the workforce. Having one’s own website is a sign of professionalism and show would be employers that I am so what Tec savvy. Considering I plan on joining the TV, film field proving I can use the adobe programs and publish it to the internet is a useful skill and will make me easier to hirer. The fact my site is connected to my social media pages will make it easy to access and be seen by employers. My experience in designing my site was a positive one; I had a lot of trouble using the software but I feel like making the site was an excellent learning experience and feel my next try at using adobe will be much more seem less.            

            All our projects this semester were quite helpful in making me more comfort table around this software we are entering an age where these skills are getting more and more useful; know how to start websites, Twitter accounts, Facebook pages, and blogs will be a great commodity when trying to impress employers while less and less good jobs become available.               

Good web design Batman!

When it comes to websites I like to visit ease of user ship is my first criteria; if I feel the site is cluttered and ultimately trying to sell you something instead of what you expected from said site that is an automatic log off for me. I like simple site with no thrills that do exactly what you expect it to. Facebook is a great example of this, you know exactly what you’re getting. I anticipate that my site will definitely be simple; as far as ease in using it, in mot so sure. I am a total beginner when it comes to using any of the programs we have been working on (Dreamweaver, InDesign, Photoshop, etc.) so I’m this is an experiment for me to say the least. I hope to meet all the criteria of the project and hope for the best. I am glad I’ve started the process of becoming comfortable with these programs, because these are main stays in the field of media and learning how to use them will be helpful. Mt central layout will be as simple as possible; an image which I identify with and links to the other parts of the website. I plan on using as few columns as possible to keep a clean user friendly appeal to my site. Ill be sure to keep separate top sections for organizational reasons. And have some solid areas to make navigation easier.  It’s important to have more important areas on the site in bigger text to show its important, and strong colors to highlight important elements. Im excited to further complete my website, ill go into the coding process keeping these elements in mind.               

More Twitter

                Twitter has changed the face of Public Relations and promotions for many companies. It has made communication with its customers exponentially easier; you can handle a PR issue much more effectively; for example if there is a scandal of some sort your company can simply address it threw Twitter; if there was a mistake made and you needed your customers to know about it twitter is an excellent way to reach the masses.

               Twitter has also changed how social and civil rights groups spread information and organize; if all the supporters of your cause were following a groups twitter feed it makes it much easier to organize and rally.  

Twitter Me Bad

Twitter has revolutionized the way people get their message to the masses. Although predominately used for socializing with friends Twitter has become a great place to receive messages from politicians and other important people. Twitter has also become a platform for social calls to action; from the liberation of Egypt to the Occupy Wall Street movement Twitter has proven to be a powerful tool in the fight for social justice. The ability to reach people who share a common denominator without the filter of the mass media has proven very useful to whatever endeavor you’re involved in. Twitters power to inform and organize people has taken the hard work and high cost out of rallying people; 10 years ago you would need to make flyers, find likeminded people to give them to or use word of mouth. Today, if one has a large Twitter following he simply writes a time and place and why he is organizing and people will come. The Occupy Wall Street movement is a perfect example of this; Twitter was a important weapon in getting the thousands of unhappy Americans to meet at a certain place at a certain time. For a politician Twitter is a absolute game changer, in the past it was quite expensive to inform people about event, polices, answer question and respond to criticism; with the advent of Twitter a politician can do all these things with out breaking the budget on TV advertisements or printing wasteful literature. Form a journalistic perspective its also a great tool because you can get feed live from where a big story is happening; also live quotes from persons involved whatever your reporting upon.

             The topics which I chose to follow on twitter where chosen because I though I would have a lot to say on the subjects. The New York Yankees, I chose the Yankees because I have been a life long fan; I am a proud New Yorker and felt their twitter feed would be chockfull of fun, insider information. MoMA was another one of my selections because I am a huge art fan, modern art in particular and the MoMa museums are the best places in the word to go see some, the Guggenheim being my favorite. ESPN’s Sports Center is the television show I am probably most passionate about because sports highlights are one of the most entertaining things ever and the anchors have great little quips, which are good for a laugh. There Twitter feed is updated constantly with the top stories in sports so it’s also a great way to stay informed in the world of sports. Twitter is quite different from blogging and in my opinion much better; first off people my age actually use twitter, only lonely middle aged know it alls blog; its also much easier to connect with likeminded people on Twitter, where as on blogs I feel you need to go looking for them. How Twitter differs from other social media sites is hard to say; It has less information then Facebook, but I feel like that the genius of it, your forced to read the post and there is little distractions from pictures and other gimmicks that Facebook offers.                        

Interview with katy

1. How do you plan on promoting yourself?
A: Shane believes in getting on a personal level. He would like to primarily use phone numbers and parties to establish connections.
2. Name three goals you have between now and graduation:
A: Shane would like to travel to a foreign country between now and graduation. He would like to visit but Europe and Australia  because he believes then to be cultural hubs and will help establish personal connections. His final goal is to pay his taxes this year.
3. What employment goals do you have after graduation?
A: Shane plans to start his career buy purchasing video equipment. He believes this will help him to get a job as a production assistant. He also plans on getting on the mailing lists for three to four in house studios to further his connections.
4. Name three best case scenario jobs you would like to have and why?
A: Shane would like to be a fashion photographer, a director of photography or the head of marketing for a company. He seeks these jobs because he has a passion for visual communication and they pay well.
5. Do you prefer to work professionally alone or in a group?
A: Shane believes this depends on the situation. Shane has many good qualities he can bring to a functional group. He prefers to work around people who know what they're doing. 
6. Name three contributions you can make in a group:
A: Shane is a solution man and he is not afraid of pressure. He can think on his feet. Shane is also not afraid to call people out when he feels they aren't putting the effort in.
7. What contributions can you make in independent work?
A: Shane feels he must protect his reputation so he puts great effort into all that he does. He also is a very passionate worker.
8. What are your at work pet peeves?
A: Shane finds drama annoying and unprofessional. He does not want to deal with what he calls, “awkward social crap.”
9. Three things you feel passionate about professionally?
A: Shane feels strongly about quality because he is surrounded by artists and wants to emulate their perfection. He also carries greatly to efficiency in the workplace. Finally, Shane is a fan of creative approaches to problems.
10. How do you handle criticisms?
A: Shane is “absolutely okay” with criticisms. He feels if he does something wrong he should be appropriately instructed. He wants to learn, “the right way”.
11. How do you handle stress and pressure?
A: Shane is constantly under pressure in his field. While he is affected by stress daily he tries to plan things out to be less stressful. Often he work involves driving around with $100,000 worth of equipment so he can handle stress.
12. Describe your last three jobs?
A: Shane worked as a camp councilor, a production assistant for an SNL skit and a sales associate for Hugo Boss.
1. What was the best experience?
A: The best experience for Shane was working on the SNL skit. Shane got to work on a Lonely Island video and had the responsibility of handling a man's entire livelihood in equipment.
2. What was the worst experience?
A: Shane had a bad experience as a camp councilor when one of the children he was watching got cut up by a group of Zebra muscles.
13. Outline three strengths you have in school:
A: Shane is very good about establishing a personal connection with his professors. He is also punctual and has his assignments in on time. Shane is also very good at class participation and is a stand out student.
14. What strengths do you have in the work place?
A: Shane has many strengths he can bring to the work place. He does more than what is asked of him and is a diligent worker. Shane is also very professional and doesn't fool around on the job.
15. How has Wiki helped you improve your communication skills?
A: Overall, Shane is very glad he worked on his wiki page. He learned essentially how to use a wiki and now has a great place to show his road trip pictures.
16. How has Facebook helped?
A: Shane feels Facebook has taught him that he prefers personal communication rather than social media. Shane finds Facebook superficial.
17. How would you use it for self-promotion?
A: Shane believes when the time comes he can use Facebook to get his name out there to clients.
18. How has Twitter helped you?
A: Shane is not a huge fan of the Twitter platform. Instead he would rather make his own audience.
19. How would you promote an organization on Facebook?
A: Shane is very good at creating witty and clever two sentence tag-lines. He would also use visually stimulating images to evoke an audience.
20. How will Twitter be used to promote yourself?
A: Shane hopes to use emotionally evocative posts to gather an audience. He also plans on using celebrities to push ideas and products.
21. Graphically, what would you want in your website?
A: Shane hopes that his website will have a funny loading screen and user friendly features. He plans on using simple language and a centered web page to make his site easy to navigate.

Constructive Criticisms:
1. Side-Tracked – I felt we got a little side-tracked at times by all the funny stories you had. They were really interesting but I feel like they distract from the interview.
2. Nervousness – This is probably just my problem but I feel like you almost took too much control over the interview so much so it made me really nervous. Honestly, that's probably my problem though.
3. Exploration – I feel like you could have made me expand on some of my statements.

Overall, I had a really awesome time interviewing you Shane and I hope all goes well in your future.

Worst Website Ever!!!

Ling’s cars, is a British online car dealer whose website is one of the worst I’ve ever seen.  You truly need to see it to believe it; it is covered in advertisements, lots of flashing arrows promising better deals then already advertised and quotes form happy customers.

    http://www.lingscars.com/

Arngren.com is a website that sells only model and remote control toys and golf cart style automobiles;  all the products for sale are piled on one main page, the only way I can describe it is a total “cluster @#%&”

  http://www.arngren.net/

The Government of Zimbabwe’s website is the sorriest excuse for a government funded project I’ve ever seen. It looks like it was made in 1995 by an amateur; there are a couple flashing icons to click on which don’t go anywhere. My favorite part is that it was updated in 2012.   

http://www.zim.gov.zw/ 

Ron Oslund’s homepage is quite a site to be seen (pun intended), everything from its neon light inspired header to the placement of links and info about Ron. It’s a true gem.  

http://ronoslund.com/ 

The Martinsburg Police Department website is another absolute must see; this page does not look as if it’s to represent any sort of authority at all. It looks like it was designed to mock a police department and unintentionally is working quite well. Do be honest I wouldn’t trust this small West Virginia’s town police department solely based on this site alone

    http://www.martinsburgpd.org/

Websites iLike

1, Facebook is easily one of the most user friendly sites on the internet; Facebook makes it very easy to share information and see what others are up to.

Facebbok.com

2, stumble upon is a website in which you check off boxes of things you are interested in, stumble upon then takes you to websites that you would be interested in based upon the boxes you checked. The site is easy to navigate and you can surf it for hours.

stumbleupon.com

3, wimp is a web video site which collects cool, informative and funny videos. Although its not very well designed the content is east to access and very entertaining.

wimp.com

4, Zappos, being a 6ft, 7in male with size 15 foot its hard finding shoes. Zappos makes it very easy to find shoes in my size that I like. Zappos is extremely user friendly, I simply type in mt shoe size and brands I like and it formulates a list of shoes which fit that criteria.

zappos.com

5, Mac Premo is a New York City artist whose web site is a visual wonder. Although the site was made to promote his art and business the user interface of the site is great and makes you want to further explore the site.  

         

macpremo.com

5 Twitter's i follow

1, The Museum of Modern art, I’m fallowing MoMa because I’m a huge modern art fan and like to be in the loop for information about new collections and artiest openings.

2, ESPN’s sport center, I’m following Sport Center because I’m a huge fan of sports and like to know about trades, free agents and stats for all sports.

3, The New York Yankees, I am a massive Yankee fan and like to hear about the moves they are making for the upcoming season.

4, Camp Dudley, is a summer camp in Upstate New York that I went to and worked at, my family is very involved in the dealings of camp Dudley and it’s nice to hear what’s happening their .

5, New York Times, I’ve been reading the NY times since I was just a wee lad and there tweets are informative and keep me in touch with NYC.        

Look at me, im on Twitter!

The blogging community was changed forever by the advent of micro blogging sites like tumbler and twitter. When blogging first hit the scene its was much harder to get a large audience to look at your posts; due to the fact that it’s not that popular and peoples posts where somewhat hard to find. The biggest difference between blogging and micro blogging is that sites like twitter have become hugely popular and more people are using twitter then have ever used standard blogging sites; I feel that micro blogging is the ever man’s blog, where as a true blog you need to go looking for and is not as easy  to find. For example if I wanted to find P. Diddy’s  blog I’m sure it’s out of date and not written by Mr. Diddy; whereas his tweeter is probably updated daily by him. Also micro blogging sites have a limit on how many characters can be in a post, which makes them more reader friendly. Micro blogging is quite different then social media sites, Twitter is “what I’m doing” Facebook is “who I am”; if I wanted to let people know about what I was thinking right now I would Tweet it, if I wanted friends to know about my birthday party I would put it on Facebook. I have never used twitter before; I don’t necessarily want people to know what I’m doing all the time, nor do I think im so important that people care what I’m doing. Since I have recently stared a twitter I will use it to show people how funny, witty and cool I am, I have never needed a web site for that before but here we are in the web 2.0 generation. Also reading what funny and witty things my friends from home are doing will be fun. In the past I have expressed my dislike for twitter, but for the sake of this class I’ll give it a shot.          

Facebook, awkward silence

                I have been a Facebook user since they first allowed non-college students to use the site. I remember being a freshman in high school when I first learned about Facebook, my brother came home from college for spring break and commented on the fact that I was using MySpace and told me “soon Facebook will allow everyone to make a page”. When I was a sophomore Facebook expanded away from just offering college students space on the site; now everyone could make a page.  That was six years ago and Facebook has expanded dramatically; including businesses, the ability to make events and adding groups are just a few additions to the site since I first joined. I use Facebook predominately for learning about events and keeping in touch with close friends, primarily through groups. I know a lot of folks who use Facebook to promote their business, buy and trade thing via Facebook marketplace, share photos, play games, meet new people, etc.

                In class we were instructed to start a new Facebook for a “business based” project. It was important to start a new Facebook page because one’s personal page may or may not have inappropriate materials; when creating a page for a business it’s best to keep a clean, wholesome image. Having said that, it’s best to keep all inappropriate materials off Facebook because there truly is no security on Facebook; if a person or company wants to see what’s on your page they will. A lot of companies now check prospective employees Facebook’s to see what sort of pictures/posts you have on your page; if they deem it “inappropriate” they will not hire you.

                I have found that people take what is posted on Facebook very serious; too serious if you ask me. I no longer interact with people I don’t know extremely well on Facebook; because it can make future face to face encounters awkward. The biggest Facebook trap for a heterosexual male is the Facebook massager; you meet a pretty girl, friend her on Facebook, she accepts, you then “creep” her page and use the massager for a little chat. What the guy may think is flirty, funny and cute in a young ladies eyes probably is coming off as creepy, weird and unattractive. This is one of many rules of etiquette that should be taken in consideration. I have been a Camp Consular for many years and my first rule about Facebook is no campers can communicate with me; I have heard horror stories about young people getting “cyber bullied, abused” not that I would ever do something like that, but why even make it a possibility. Another good rule is don’t write anything on someone’s wall that you wouldn’t say to their face; nothing makes me more ashamed to be a product of the 21^st century then internet drama. Another  rule I follow is don’t friend or except friend request from someone you don’t know, chances are they want to sell you something or spam your page. I am seriously thinking about deleting my page because of these for mentioned reasons, you can come off like a total creep, employers look at it and you can’t help what people post about you , it is an insincere platform and should be called the antisocial network. I have a love hate relationship with Facebook, on one hand I love learning about, making fun events and staying in touch with close friends; on the other hand I don’t like all the judgment, bullying and abuse that takes place on the site.                                        

5 organizations in need of a FaceBook Page

Blue inc. is a freelance graphic design firm out of Brooklyn NY; owned and operated by classically trained painter Mrs. Doreen Maddox Canning.  Doreen started as a studio assistant for artists Red Grooms and Chuck Close, which further interested her in graphic design because both incorporate strong graphic visuals in their art.

Jim Zivic design creates industrial furniture using aluminum, coal, steel and leather. Jim’s interest is in using functional materials and forms traditionally used industrial settings.

Chips is a soup kitchen in Brooklyn NY. They feed over 500 people a day and also offer cloths and food for disenfranchised people to take home..

Pino’s La Forchetta is a pizzeria in Park Slope, Brooklyn. It is located at 181 7^th Avenue, 11215 and boy do they make a darn good pie.

 7^th Avenue World News is a convenient store/deli in Park Slope Brooklyn have has been severing its commuity for over twenty years. They are open 24 hours a day and have everything you would need at any hour of the day.    

Video Project Paper

            During the process of making my self-portrait video there where many obstacles to overcome, firstly my group was given the unfortunate topic of politics; involving that theme into my self-portrait proved difficult considering politics isn’t really my cup of tea. Secondly I felt rather uncomfortable being in front of the camera due to the fact that most all my interaction with film has been behind it. Don’t get me wrong I’m the opposite of shy and can be rather entertaining; I just wasn’t sure how that would translate on film.

While brain storming for ideas I decided not to take a comical route with this project as I had with most other video projects I have done in the past. Instead I wanted my project to be a commentary on the division of wealth in Buffalo New York and how I interact with it. On the east side of Elmwood avenue there is a grand collection of classic Victorian homes surrounding an Olmsted park and a fine art museum; on the west side of Elmwood is one of the more impoverished areas I have ever seen, burnt out and abandoned houses, many homeless people, crime galore etc. during the filming process I found it took me a number of sessions before I was happy with the content I had. The editing process proved easier than I anticipated, IMovie is an easy platform to work on and I feel like I can now use it to its full capability. While attempting to upload my video on Vimeo I had a number of issues; for one I had to make a Viemo account and it took an entire day before I could upload on said account. So then I used my YouTube account which proved to be much easier to deal with.     

The group project was the next step; although there were some hiccups along the way as far as having all our content I still felt like our group worked well together and succeeded in producing a decent video. Our idea was to tie our self-portraits together with additional footage to show that although we are from different political, social, economic backgrounds; we are here living in Buffalo and going to school together. It was a challenge sharing the editing time and coming to an agreement on what the end video should look like; there would also be times when a group member would come unprepared which also made editing more difficult. Being on a team is all about compromise and picking up slake that you team members leave behind.

This video project was a good experience for me; I now feel more confident in my ability to shoot footage, edit it and post it on the internet. If given more time to film I’m sure the video would be more visually stimulating; but I feel good about the finished product considering the time I had to complete it.                                        

youtube VS Vimeo

In the battle for online video service supremacy there are to top contenders, YouTube and Vimeo. Both essentially perform the same task; an online data base where one can upload and watch videos online. Yet the differences are vast, and both have their strongpoints and weaknesses. Being of the web 2.o generation I feel confident in my ability to point out the pros and cons and choose which web site reigns supreme.

            Viemo, the younger of the two sites and less popular still contends for “better site” due to its more professional interface. If I was in charge of a web 2.0 business and had to create the blog or online content for said business I would defiantly choose Viemo over YouTube. For one the video quality is excellent and I would want my companies online content to look as professional as possible. Also because Vimeo doesn’t have the 450 million monthly visitors I feel I could more easily reach my target customers. All in all I would say that Viemo is better suited for professional use. Of course there is always the other side of the coin and Vimeo is no exception, there are plenty of weaknesses involved with the Viemo platform. For starters you are only allowed to upload one HD video per week unless you purchase the Viemo plus package which cost $59.95 annually. Then there is the data size issue, there is a 5ooMB upload limit as opposed to YouTube’s 1GB. The community size on the website can also be a con; you will not get as many visitors as you would on YouTube because less people frequent the site.

            YouTube is hands down the king of online video sites, its 450 monthly visitors makes it one of the most visited sites on the web. YouTube has the power to make any creative person a celebrity by posting a cool video on YouTube. YouTube’s superiority starts with its user friendly interface; any computer novice could easily watch and post videos on YouTube. Another pro to YouTube’s credit is there 1GB file size which allows the user to upload more and longer videos. Because of YouTube 450 million visitors a month it is more likely to become the next Justin Bieber then if you were to post your content on Vimeo. Of course there are downsides to every site and YouTube is no different; many professionals in the web 2.0 community consider YouTube’s interface to be “ugly” and “unprofessional”. The fact that there are so many videos on YouTube makes it easy to get lost in the sea of B rate content.

            So in the battle of video service supremacy, the winner is, depending on what your looking to accomplish. If you’re looking to promote, sell, or attract new customers Viemo is definitely the site for you. If you’re looking to entertain a large audience or be entertained then YouTube is more you’re speed. In close I have added a video of my own, notice the service I used, it’s the one I prefer by far.                                                                     

wiki Comments

shane17974Feb 21, 2012 02:21 PM

Great wikihow, Very informative if your someone who has never been around football before. This could be a useful tool for an exchange student trying to acclimate to the American lifestyle. Considering how confusing and hard it can be explaining football to someone who has never encountered it, you have done a good job of simplifying and breaking down the positions and terminology of the game. Being a football enthusiast myself I can appreciate your topic of choice. Well done!

shane17974Feb 21, 2012 02:02 PM

Great Wikihow! I love Middle eastern food so much and have never had Fattoush. I’ll definitely need to make/buy Fattoush at some point; I love Tabouli and eat it all the time which is similar to Fattoush. Your article is very well organized and easy to follow. It’s also visually stimulating, Great pictures, I assume you took them yourself. I gather that your Lebanese, it’s cool how you incorporated your culture into your school project. well done.

shane17974Feb 21, 2012 02:49 PM

Dude, enjoyed the wikihow. I’m not a car owner but I can appreciate the DIY (do it yourself) mentality. Your article was easy to read and has entertainment value as well. I feel confident in my car door removal skills now. It seems you’re a gearhead of sorts which I can respect. I like the fact that you chose to write about something you’re passionate about, maybe not car doors but cars in general. Really like the wikihow, keep on tinkering with your cars.

shane17974Feb 21, 2012 02:33 PM

Sweet topic! I have been to Niagara Falls a number of times and never knew about this place. I think it’s cool to have a place not many people know about to go and hang out with friend etc. your decision to make your topic on a local place is commendable. I like the whole cave network part, that must be fun to go explore and the fact that’s it’s a NU hangout is cool too, I’m sure there are some great parties held there. Really enjoyed you wiki page, Well done!

1. shane17974Feb 23, 2012 09:33 AM

Enjoyed the wikihow! I have a similar kind of decoration scheme going in my home at home in Brooklyn, although not as fashion forward as your motif. Very creative topic idea, if I were still dorming I think I would be motived to decorate my room after seeing your wikihow page. Although our choice in decorations is a little different, I opt for sketchy historical figures and musicians, maybe a stolen beer ad from a bar. I can appreciate the tips on how to configure them around a room. Well done, keep it real.

Self-portrait ideas

Buffalo is a city of decay; I don’t mean to offend people when I say this but Buffalos hay day is well behind us. An idea I had was how I interact with this decaying rust belt city; the people, places and events. For the most part the people who live here are blue color, working class. But I’ve encountered a number of extraverts that are extremely interesting. For example Sly, Sly is a homeless man who wonders in around Elmwood and the surrounding areas. There are a number of me living alternative lifestyles around the Elmwood area, my question is why are they in this position? Could someone like me make the same mistakes? How different is our backgrounds?

                I was thinking of comparing my lifestyle here in Buffalo on my own and comparing it to my life in Brooklyn where things are provided for. My diet probably being the biggest difference; Food is expensive and I’m not as creative a chef as my father who makes dinner for us every night. Living space is another, my room in my parents’ house in Brooklyn is quite large, and there is also cable TV and all sorts of tools you would associate with a home. I came to Buffalo on an air plane with one duffle bag, needless to say I’m living a minimalist lifestyle.

                I like to socialize, I enjoy the company of others probably more than anything. I’ve been told by my peers that I’m a “funny guy” but it’s hard to get everyone you talk to like you. There for some people might construe me as an “ass hole”. I was thinking of making my self-portrait on the fine line between being liked because of your energy and sense of fun; or someone persevering your perhaps off-color remark as mean-spirited.                    

My Wikihow data

How to Do a United States Road Trip on a Budget
edits by:Shane17974 (see all)
Article
Edit Discuss History

The United States is a huge country with countless different cultures to experience and sights to see. A road trip can be an expensive and time-consuming endeavor. Yet, if well planned can be affordable and will definitely be a life changing experience.
EditSteps

1
choose you travel companions wisely

. relatives and life long friends are best. It would put you in a tough spot if you realized you didn’t like the person you are traveling with; or she/he turned out to be some sort of whacko.
2
pack effectively

. Depending on what sort of vehicle your taking will vary what you can bring. Things you will definitely need.1, A Reliable Car; on my trip we were lucky enough to have a brand new Toyota Tacoma.2, Smart Phone; the IPhone: saved us a lot of money on many occasions. Groupon deals at restaurant, reliable directions, entertainment in the car, contacting friends on the road. The list goes on forever. 3, A Tent. A tent will be very useful if you have nowhere to sleep and can’t afford a hotel; just pitch that bad boy anywhere to catch some sleep. 4, Clothes, you will need less than you think; go prepared for any weather. Bring something water proof, something warm something comfortable. Bring waterproof shoes, sneakers and something a little formal just in case. 5, Cooler, Camping stove; these items will save you a ton of money having canned, freeze dried and prepared goods will enable you to not eat out every meal.
3
Pre-trip Planning

.sit down with your traveling companions and make a general outline of where you want to go. Start with a direction; depending on what time of year it is this will come into play. You don’t want to be at Mount Rushmore in January or New Orleans in August. Then come to a conclusion on where you want to go (cities, National parks, monuments, etc). Map your course out in an atlas; this will also help you create a timeline.
4
Accommodations

. in order to make your road trip as cost effective as possible you should find people you know in the places you're visiting and see if you can stay with them. Lodgings can be the most expensive part of a road trip so staying with friends can save you a lot of money. Hostels are an inexpensive alternative to hotels if you don’t mind roughing it a little. There are websites like couchsurfing.org in which people allow traveler to spend the night at their house. Be sure to bring a tent; camping is fun and free most of the time: also when camping at national parks (I.E Yellow Stone, Grand Canyon, Mount Rushmore etc.) having that tent will really pay off because hotels are very expensive around these areas.
5
Food

. when in a new city it’s important to get a taste of the local fair i.e. (deli in New York, deep dish in Chicago, BBQ in Kansas City, ETC) but eating out three times a day can get extremely expensive. So be prepared for an impromptu meal, have your cooler packed with peanut butter and jelly, canned tuna, ramen noodles etc. this will save you at least twenty-five dollars a day and make the meals you day eat at restaurants all the more enjoyable.
6
Get lost

. getting out there and finding new places and tuning out of your world at home can be the most important part of your road trip. The place where I really was able to lose my problems and worries of my home life was Jackson Hole Wyoming. The beauty of the Grand Tetons, Yellow Stone National park and the quaint town of Jackson gave me a feeling of being so far from home and a true individual. You can feel truly free from all that is bothering you, on your road trip I challenge to find your place to get lost
EditTips

Must See in the United States

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Cites;
New Orleans, LA. For culture, food, nightlife, history
Chicago, IL. For Architecture, Museums, History and friendly people
San Francisco, CA. For Scenic beauty, food and outdoor activities
San Diego, CA. For fun in the sun, surfing, sea kayaking, there are tons of outdoor activities and some of the nicest beaches in the country.
Memphis, TN. For music, culture, food and sightseeing; home of Graceland, the rock and soul museum, the Civil Rights museum etc.
Austin, TX. For Restaurants and night life; this city is a true cultural destination, lots of cool people and an all-around fun place to be.
New York City, NY. This true American city is home to the best Restaurants, museums, Architecture and History in the country. An absolute must visit.
Destinations
Yellowstone National Park, A wild life preserve with endless natural wonders and true breathtaking wildlife. During my trip there we encountered a grizzly bear, elk, moose, and bison: also geysers, the Yellowstone canyon and other beautiful landscapes.
The Grand Canyon, this natural wonder is a true gem and breathtakingly beautiful. Words can’t describe the feeling you get while looking into this amazing Canyon.
Mount Rushmore, An all American destination, this monument is a testament to American ingenuity and pride in our history.
The Redwood Forest, The size of these trees in mind blowing, they put age into perspective because some of these trees are thousands of years old.
Craters of the moon National Park, is an out of this world experience. It’s a vast ocean of lava flows that has dramatically changed the landscape located near Butte Idaho.
The Badlands, is a trip back in time, it holds the world’s richest fossil beds where wooly mammoth, saber tooth tigers and other prehistoric animals have been uncovered. The landscape is undesirable it looks as if you’re on another planet.

My Wikihow URL

http://www.wikihow.com/Do-a-United-States-Road-Trip-on-a-Budget

Web 2.0 Friend of Foe?

WEB 2.0 Friend or Foe?

                Over the past eight or so years the evolution of web 2.0 has been imposable to not take note of. Web 2.0 has infiltrated our lives and there are no signs of it getting less popular. The signs are everywhere; you can’t watch ESPN’s Sports Center without hearing the caster quote an athlete’s Twitter. When was the last advertisement you saw that didn’t invite you to “check us out on Facebook?” This is all really ground breaking stuff, the ability to post videos and watch videos on You Tube; to communicate instantly over the internet, to share photos and learn about events on Facebook; if you wanted to know MC Hammer’s birthday or a recipe for Gyoza (Japanese dumplings) look no further than a Wiki site. Web 2.0 definitely has many positive, but what are the negatives?  Is web 2.0 growing too fast? Can we trust the majority of the material on a web 2.0 site? Some experts claim that web 2.0 may not be as angelic as its crack up to be. Take Mr. Matt Bacak for example he claims “every coin has two sides and Web 2.0 is no exception”; he goes on to say that since all web 2.0 sites data can be edited they “become vulnerable to vandalism. Since, anyone can edit the content of a Web 2.0 site”. Mr. Bacak has a valid point here; can we trust Wikipedia when they tell us that MC Hammer was born March 30, 1962; or the Wikihow Gyoza recipe?

                Another web 2.0 shortcoming is privacy, how do we know or personal information on Facebook, twitter, Blogger, Google, Zippos is really safe? The Wall Street Journal has reported that Facebook is being criticized for its recent change in privacy policies. As users want more privacy on Facebook, Ceo and creator Mark Zuckerberg has been taking strides to make our information more public “Mr. Zuckerberg, who has argued for years that its users should be more open with their information”. Privacy on web 2.0 is a big deal, reputation, job opportunity, higher education acceptance, can all be affected by your content on web 2.0; something that’s intended for your friends at home probably isn’t suitable for a future employer and Facebook, Mr. Zuckerberg and the entire web 2.0 community should be considerate of that fact.        

Sources

http://knol.google.com/k/web-2-0-the-disadvantages#
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704912004575252723109845974.html
http://www.exforsys.com/tutorials/web-2.0/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-web-2.0.html

Web 2.0

WHAT I THINK WEB 2.0 IS



                From what I understand web 2.0 is essentially any interactive website.  As opposed to a website that has set information us you to look at. So any social networking site i.e. Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, etc. is a web 2.0 site. Whereas sites which you cannot interact with i.e. DMV.gov, really any State/Government site; would be considered a web 1.0 site. When I think of web 2.0 the first word that comes to my mind is “sharing”; you post on YouTube to share your videos, you post on Facebook to share stories, pictures, events with your friends. Another phenomenon of the web 2.0 era is the population of Wikis and Blogs. Long gone are the days of looking in an encyclopedia, cook book, atlas or text book for answers; go online do a Google search and enough Wikipedia, blogs and other sources will answer any question you have. Web 2.0 has changed how we get information, communicate and share information. How do I feel about this? For the most part I think it’s great! There’s only one thing that bothers me; Social networking is antisocial! I have found when a meeting is spurred by a social media outlet; the actual face time can feel awkward and uncomfortable. It takes away from the “magic” of interaction. I fear for the next generation, where all the know is Facebook and don’t really want to actually interact socially. What does the future of the web hold for us? I haven’t the slightest idea. Where else can the minds pushing web 2.0 go? If I knew the answer to these questions id be acting on them.    

The topic of my wiki page is how to survive your American road trip. This past fall three friends and I in barked on a road trip across the nation. We were on the road for about two months and the places we went and the people we encountered truly made it a life changing experience. The first and most important step to having a successful experience is to travel with people you can handle being around all day. My travel companions are three of my oldest and best friends. We all went to summer camp together and have been friends ever since our first summer at Camp Dudley. Alex is my cousin so naturally I knew we would get along swimmingly. David was the first person I ever met at Camp Dudley and we’ve been paling around since we were elven years old. Pete (shorty) and I lived together for a period of time so I was confident that we had a solid crew. The second step is planning, destinations, lodging and sights. Between the four of us we had a great network of college aged friends, resent college grads and family friends to stay with. We only had to stay in a hotel twice and we camped out once. Not paying for lodging was the most helpful part of making this trip affordable. Also the people hosting you will always point you in the right direction to great sights, restaurants and other forms of entertainment. This is a country full of nature beauty, not being afraid to pull over and check something out is a good thing to remember. Our most memorable moments happened on a whim, having a plan is important not being afraid to deviate from it is even more important. Another thing to remember is “when in Rome” when in a new city try the local food, drink and live in the life style of the city, do as the locals do.             

The topic of my wiki page is how to survive your American road trip. This past fall three friends and I in barked on a road trip across the nation. We were on the road for about two months and the places we went and the people we encountered truly made it a life changing experience. The first and most important step to having a successful experience is to travel with people you can handle being around all day. My travel companions are three of my oldest and best friends. We all went to summer camp together and have been friends ever since our first summer at Camp Dudley. Alex is my cousin so naturally I knew we would get along swimmingly. David was the first person I ever met at Camp Dudley and we’ve been paling around since we were elven years old. Pete (shorty) and I lived together for a period of time so I was confident that we had a solid crew. The second step is planning, destinations, lodging and sights. Between the four of us we had a great network of college aged friends, resent college grads and family friends to stay with. We only had to stay in a hotel twice and we camped out once. Not paying for lodging was the most helpful part of making this trip affordable. Also the people hosting you will always point you in the right direction to great sights, restaurants and other forms of entertainment. This is a country full of nature beauty, not being afraid to pull over and check something out is a good thing to remember. Our most memorable moments happened on a whim, having a plan is important not being afraid to deviate from it is even more important. Another thing to remember is “when in Rome” when in a new city try the local food, drink and live in the life style of the city, do as the locals do.             

Group Conversion on 1st internet experience

It was interesting hearing the differences between my first internet experience and my class mates in my group. My first internet experience was influenced heavily by my older brother who showed me how to download music off of Napster. The other members of my group for the most part said that their parents were the first people to open their eyes to the internet. One member of our group said that her first experience with the internet was planning a trip to Florida with her father. Getting directions on MapQuest and booking a hotel. Another member of the group claimed that her first experience was playing online games and using AIM to talk to friends. The remaining member said her experience was at her Middle school. So there was a rather wide range of answers. The conversation then went on to what other internet advances really amazed us. For example the introduction to wireless internet, the first time we encountered a mobile device with internet capability. We also discussed how the rise of social media really changed how we use the internet. We talked about how social media evolved from AIM to MySpace to Facebook and Twitter. It was fun to hear how other interacts with the internet and how that interaction has evolved over the past ten or so years.

1st Internet Experience

It’s hard for someone of my generation to pinpoint the first time they used the internet. In my case it’s even harder because I was raised around computers and the internet. My mother is a graphic designer and her office is in our house, so since birth I would see her and her employees on their Macintosh’s for hours at a time. I remember when I would return for preschool my mother had a Program that would make Oscar the Grouch come out of her computers trash can and say “I love trash” I would have her do that every day after school. I am also the youngest of three boys so I remember as a very young lad playing my older brothers' computer games (Doom 3D, Flashback and Lemmings) although being the youngest opportunities to play were few and far in between. Of course Sega Genesis, Nintendo, Super Nintendo, Game Gear and Gameboy all came in to my computing picture well before the internet was widely popular.

My first memorable experience with the internet needed to be downloading songs on Napster. I remember coming home from school one day and my older brother Rex wanted to play a song for me. We went into our “play room” and he played a Basshunter song off our iMac. I Said “Dude that’s sick, burn me a copy of that CD” Rex replied “it’s not on a CD I downloaded it off the internet”. This really blew my mind being a big music fan with no means of acquiring CDs. I had Rex give me a quick tutorial on how to use Napster and I went on a music downloading rampage. Not soon after this phenomenon another device changed my music collecting experience, the Apple iPod generation one hit the street. My mother being the Mac Enthusiast she is had no problem acquiring one for me. My Piracy hobby grew from there So by my freshmen year in college I Had over 100 gigabyits of pirated music all stored on my Macbook and a shoebox filled with outdated IPods. All of this came to a crashing halt when while packing up for thanking break my sophomore year I dropped a week old root beer on my Macbook losing all my music. I still haven’t recovered from this tragedy.
Although Napster was my first real encounter with the internet it defiantly wasn’t the most mind blowing. The biggest WOW I ever got from an internet device came in high school math class. A friend of mine was fiddling with his new Sidekick, when I asked him what he was doing on it he told me he was on MySpace. The fact that he was searching the internet wirelessly from a cellphone blew me away. My first encounter with wireless internet was pretty eye-opening as well. I must have been twelve at the time when I saw an employee of my mother’s sitting on our stoop with a laptop surfing the web.

The negatives and positives of social media

Positives: 1,social media enables us to keep in contact with firends anywhere in the world.

2, social media keeps us informed about social events happening in our area.

3, Social media has made it much easier to plana social event for example occupy Wall Street

Negatives: 1, I find social media can makes actual social interation some what uncomfortable if spurred by a social media Conversion.

2, Cyber stocking, Sexual Predators.(enough said)

3, If one where to have "Inappropriate contant" on their soical media page it could effect there ablity to get a job, get into school.