Week 6

Week 6

Hello! This is my review of week 4 of Communicate Electronically. 

This was our final week for Communicate Electronically. It feels like it went very fast but I know we are packing lots of information into six months so I shouldn’t be. I can say with all certainty that this class has been enlightening and I know so much more than I did a month ago!! 

I am finishing off my last few assignments for this class and hope to get them in as soon as I can. These last two months have been a whirlwind for me but since I pride myself on my achievements in study I need to pour more time into getting things done. I also tend to nit-pick and put off submitting tasks, but I need to remember that it is better to have something sent back with corrections needed than to not put it in at all. 

Back to the topic at hand! I am still discovering new things to do with Social Media; unfortunately the speed at which it evolves makes it hard to get concrete knowledge on it. But I suppose that is the nature of the industry and perhaps why so many people have such trouble with learning the skills needed to master computing as a whole. 

I wonder if there is a big change between those generations before and after computing became widely used. Perhaps they will discover that the ones before think very differently to the others and that the younger group can cope better with change (upgrades etc.)

I shall continue learning as it is imperative to do so and to stay in this industry!

That’s it for me

Thank you

Regards 

Susannah

Week 5

Week 5

Hello! This is my review of week 4 of Communicate Electronically. 

This week we focused on Social Media and how business can profit through the use of the various options available. It seems impossible to open an email account nowadays without at least half of it being some kind of link to a business or organisation trying to get your attention. Attention getting itself is not unusual in the business world but the electronic platform of the internet and its growing facilities which link humans to others in a social way has become invaluable. 

Business is all about our connections with those around us, word of mouth and sharing things which interest us. Social media can easily be described that way so the two mesh very well. Perhaps this growing urge to reach out and interact with others is an outcome of our change into relying on electronic entertainment and pass times. Humans NEED other humans; this is a basic biological and emotional   requirement to survive. Our change into the electronic world of the internet has cut off a lot of that connection, so what do we do? Could we possibly step away from the computer? Nah, let’s make ways to connect without the hassle of standing up!! 

There is no doubt that the business world has benefited many times over by the internet and Social Media. It is unlikely to stop tomorrow and go back to life thirty years ago, that’s progress I guess. We need to find a balance, everything in life needs it; so why not include this new part of the human world? 

We watched some YouTube videos this week. One was called ‘Social Media Revolution’ which was primarily a visual presentation showing the impact Social Media has had on our world and the changes that have occurred from it – which let’s face it are happening so fast by the time I hear about them they are old news!!

Next was a video about twitter. It did open my eyes to what the idea was all about which I appreciated, but I just find it dehumanising and plain dangerous. If you set it to only share with your friends I guess it could be fun, but the amount of times you hear about things going wrong – the break ins because someone twittered that they were on holidays, or the prevalence of stalking because your telling people where you are, it just seems like madness. For example, think of the original Terminator movie (yes, not all of you may know it, but trust me it is a classic!) How much easier would it have been for the terminator if Sarah Connor had twitted ‘oh boy, so glad I found this groovy club to hide out in – I’m sure to be safe here. “Technoir” rocks!’ 

We then looked at the Qantas Follow Us Social Media page. This contained a list of 12 Social Media sites that Qantas uses to spread their organisations information. These included Red e-Mail, Instagram, LinkedIn, You Tube, Facebook, twitter, Travel Insider, igoogle, Google chrome, Flickr, RSS Feeds and Qantas Toolbar. Our assignment this week is to view these sites and write about them. I have been quite dubious about most Social Media but I must admit to having my eyes opened somewhat with studying these options. 

Qantas certainly spreads itself well and uses these social Media options very well.

That’s it for me this week!

Thank you

Regards

Susannah

Week 4

Week 4

Hello! This is my review of week 4 of Communicate Electronically. 

This week we focused on Social Networking and the dangers of using them. We watched a short video called Cyber Smart which was primarily visual with music. It was about a teenaged guy who was being bullied in real life and in cyber space by his alleged friends. It was very moving and brought the dangers into crystal clear light. As the video progressed and the shot of his Mum watching the video he did of himself telling the camera about his troubles, I was very worried that the boy had killed himself, since this seems to be happening more and more. It is becoming less and less shocking to hear of suicide due to cyber bullying on the news. I think this new generation of teenagers is going to be interesting to watch as they become adults and parents. Will they have trouble finding jobs; will the government change the laws to make it illegal for employers to look up a person’s cyber history? How will these people change their views as they become parents and what will they allow their children to do online – what will be available in 30 years to our young?

We discussed forms of online Social Dangers, like likes of hoaxes (financial, predatory, dating etc). We looked at the next assignment “The Dangers of Social Networking” where we have to write a speech to be given to a group of teenagers.

We also looked at our blog and I worked on my Reading List which brings me the class group blog list. As each of us updates our blog it shows in the Reading List of each person’s blog. I have successfully included Natt, Shivaun and Stacy but am having trouble getting Liz, Veronique and Lydia to show. 

I am working on finishing my other assignments, the last couple of weeks have flashed by, but starting next week I plan to put ALL my effort into catching up!!!!!

That’s it for me this week!

Thank you

Regards

Susannah