1. You have an important personal question you’d like answered. Explain the procedure for getting your question answered and why this method appeals to you (you don’t need to get specific, but let’s assume the answer does not require specific expert knowledge, as from a doctor).
If I needed a personal question answered the first thing that I would do would most likely be to talk to someone who might understand the situation and who I could trust. If I felt that the question was still too personal I might try to find the answers online through a google search. It is hard to say exactly how I would respond because it would most likely depend on what exactly my personal question is. Most likely, however, I would probably talk to my parents or talk to someone who has been in a similar situation and then decide how to address the issue.
2.Have you used a website like Craigslist or EBay to buy or sell something? What was the experience like? Would you use such a service again? If you haven’t, detail how you have sold or bought something outside the environment of a retailer.
I have spent many hours looking through cars and motorcycles on craigslist but have yet to buy anything from the website. The main reason for that is because I haven't had the funding to buy what I wanted, not because I did not trust the site or was unwilling to use it. I have, however, used e-bay to buy textbooks. My experiences with it have for the most part been very positive because I have received my textbooks in a timely manner except for one time. I ordered a textbook and then was told that it would take about three weeks to come in. That was pretty frustrating because it just seems that there should not be any reason for it to take that long to get a textbook.
I have also used a local trading newspaper called the Valley Trader to purchase a car. Basically people put a short description of what it is they are trying to sell and how much it costs and then a phone number to contact them in the newspaper and then wait for someone to show interest. It worked pretty well for me, although I had to do some shopping. I looked at one car that was advertised as being in good condition and when I lifted the hood there were hoses with holes in them and it looked like mice had been living in the engine. The second car I looked at was the one that I bought and was quite happy with it.
I would use both e-bay and the Valley Trader again because I know that there are risks to using them, but the benefits have always been greater.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Villages and Sharing blog post
1. If managers aren’t important anymore towards the formation or control of groups using online tools, what do you consider the main role websites such as Meetup.com, Facebook, or MySpace have provided newly emerging groups?
The social networking websites are a very new and intriguing way of letting groups organize that I don't think has ever been tried before. These websites are very multi-faceted in what they allow groups to do and accomplish. For example, many formalities that once had to take place when forming a group can happen at the click of a button by viewing profile's of those with whom you are collaborating. This can potentially increase productivity because without even talking to other people within your group one can get a basic idea of their opinions, beliefs, and values. Not only that, but since much personal information is usually publicly displayed on these sites, a group can get an idea as to what the response of different individuals might be when posed with an idea.
Another aspect that makes these websites so different for groups is the fact that conversations are on-going. They don't just take place when the entire group meets up, rather they can continue for as long and as quickly or slowly as the members in the group decide for it to take. Conversations are no longer held within a time constraint because discussions no longer require immediate response when using that particular medium. This is yet another reason why management is not needed because the medium manages your messages and you, the individual group member, reply at your leisure.
2. Describe a group you are a member of (online community, church, job, etc.) and how it is organized. Is there management? How is information distributed within the group?
I am part of the Catholic Campus Ministry at JMU and the way that our organization is managed is, like the Catholic Church at large, hierarchical. Starting at the top of our chain of command is our Bishop who is located in Richmond. He placed our campus minister/priest as the head of our particular organization. The priest basically has the final say on all of the day-to-day activities that take place within the organization and any significant changes that should take place. He is basically like the manager of our organization. I fall next in the "chain of command" as the student campus minister. My main role, along with the assistant student campus minister, is to give direction and facilitate our organization's council. So my position could be seen similarly to the role of a supervisor. The council is made up of ten students who oversee six different committees and the committees are comprised of any given number of volunteers from within our organization.
Information is basically distributed through the chain of command, typically starting with our priest (unless the Bishop has something to tell us) and then moving to me which then gets told to the council who then tell their committees. Now we also have services every Sunday where we distribute information to our organization at large through announcements and a weekly bulletin. We also have a lot of our information accessible to anyone through our website.
The social networking websites are a very new and intriguing way of letting groups organize that I don't think has ever been tried before. These websites are very multi-faceted in what they allow groups to do and accomplish. For example, many formalities that once had to take place when forming a group can happen at the click of a button by viewing profile's of those with whom you are collaborating. This can potentially increase productivity because without even talking to other people within your group one can get a basic idea of their opinions, beliefs, and values. Not only that, but since much personal information is usually publicly displayed on these sites, a group can get an idea as to what the response of different individuals might be when posed with an idea.
Another aspect that makes these websites so different for groups is the fact that conversations are on-going. They don't just take place when the entire group meets up, rather they can continue for as long and as quickly or slowly as the members in the group decide for it to take. Conversations are no longer held within a time constraint because discussions no longer require immediate response when using that particular medium. This is yet another reason why management is not needed because the medium manages your messages and you, the individual group member, reply at your leisure.
2. Describe a group you are a member of (online community, church, job, etc.) and how it is organized. Is there management? How is information distributed within the group?
I am part of the Catholic Campus Ministry at JMU and the way that our organization is managed is, like the Catholic Church at large, hierarchical. Starting at the top of our chain of command is our Bishop who is located in Richmond. He placed our campus minister/priest as the head of our particular organization. The priest basically has the final say on all of the day-to-day activities that take place within the organization and any significant changes that should take place. He is basically like the manager of our organization. I fall next in the "chain of command" as the student campus minister. My main role, along with the assistant student campus minister, is to give direction and facilitate our organization's council. So my position could be seen similarly to the role of a supervisor. The council is made up of ten students who oversee six different committees and the committees are comprised of any given number of volunteers from within our organization.
Information is basically distributed through the chain of command, typically starting with our priest (unless the Bishop has something to tell us) and then moving to me which then gets told to the council who then tell their committees. Now we also have services every Sunday where we distribute information to our organization at large through announcements and a weekly bulletin. We also have a lot of our information accessible to anyone through our website.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
A digital World
1. Part of me wants to say that Google and Yahoo should be able to produce different search results for different countries because they should have the right to provide their services as they feel is necessary because it is their free service that they are giving away. The other part of me would say that it does not seem right that they have so much power over what information different people get. They seem to have a lot of power over what people believe by providing different search results to different cultures.
2. I think that the grocery loyalty cards are a fantastic marketing idea for businesses. I think that by collecting all of the data as to what their consumers are buying and then tailoring marketing right to the individual is brilliant. The cards save the consumer a few bucks every time they make a purchase, and it provides a business to analyze the buying trends of their customers. If you want to keep what you buy more of a secret, then just choose to not save a few bucks and don't use your loyalty card. I think that it is pretty obvious that you will be sacrificing something by using a loyalty card. A business wouldn't just give those away because they are "nice." They give them away so that they can have more access to your spending trends and try to persuade you and give you incentives to buy more from them. I do not think that there is any problem with grocery loyalty cards. I think that there might be a problem with people signing up for them without know what exactly they are signing for.
2. I think that the grocery loyalty cards are a fantastic marketing idea for businesses. I think that by collecting all of the data as to what their consumers are buying and then tailoring marketing right to the individual is brilliant. The cards save the consumer a few bucks every time they make a purchase, and it provides a business to analyze the buying trends of their customers. If you want to keep what you buy more of a secret, then just choose to not save a few bucks and don't use your loyalty card. I think that it is pretty obvious that you will be sacrificing something by using a loyalty card. A business wouldn't just give those away because they are "nice." They give them away so that they can have more access to your spending trends and try to persuade you and give you incentives to buy more from them. I do not think that there is any problem with grocery loyalty cards. I think that there might be a problem with people signing up for them without know what exactly they are signing for.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
A little bit about me
Hello!
My name is Austin Farinholt and I'm a Communication studies major concentrating in public relations and I have a minor in Educational Media which is mainly why I am in this class. I will be graduating this spring and I am hoping that I can get a job with either a PR firm or working for a business or corporation doing public relations. I currently have an internship with the office of public affairs at JMU and I enjoy learning about social media and using new technology to appeal to different publics.
I am hoping to learn more about the different types of social media within our information society and to learn just what they are capable of. I am also interested in learning about the legal and ethical implications that come along with having so much information available to pretty much the entire world.
My name is Austin Farinholt and I'm a Communication studies major concentrating in public relations and I have a minor in Educational Media which is mainly why I am in this class. I will be graduating this spring and I am hoping that I can get a job with either a PR firm or working for a business or corporation doing public relations. I currently have an internship with the office of public affairs at JMU and I enjoy learning about social media and using new technology to appeal to different publics.
I am hoping to learn more about the different types of social media within our information society and to learn just what they are capable of. I am also interested in learning about the legal and ethical implications that come along with having so much information available to pretty much the entire world.
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