The Art Of Digital Communication

The school that started my adventures with Facebook

Can you think back to what you were doing on your spare time back in the late 90s? I surely can; sat around my house and watched television , played with my siblings, as well as my cat. Those were the three things that I once enjoyed doing on a daily bases; I almost felt as though my day wasn't complete unless those the three things took place...Now the times and activities have changed! In my spare time I now enjoy using the web as a valid source for information, communication, and entertainment! . Facebook.com, Twitter.com, and i-love-cats.com have become apart of my daily routine, as a daily essential in a sense. I can remember when I first heard about the now infamous Facebook. It was 2005, I was sitting my living room with my Aunt, and she was sharing a story with me about how she reconnected with her best friend from grade school and was able to see pictures of her and her family.

Once she mentioned that there was a way to share pictures with friends and reconnect with long lost friends, I was instantly interested in hearing more and even checking the site out for myself. In late 2006 I decided I wanted to create an account on Facebook in hopes of reconnecting with my seventh grade math teacher. I wasn't very tech savvy back then, so I asked a friend to set my page up. Once she was done I found myself becoming addicted to the site. I was was able to get the best out of Facebook for the first two years. I was able too find soooo many people that I once wasn't able to contact -- both friends and family -- as well as having the ability to share pictures that I thought were cute, funny, or just interesting. I used Facebook as a main source of communication to avoid unwanted phone conversations, and to keep up with current events.

Then Facebook began to make changes that were, simply put, 'wiggedy whack,' as I'm sure most of you can agree. I started to feel like my privacy wasn't 'respected' (as if I should expect much privacy when involved on a social website), so I decided to slowly remove myself from Facebook. Next best thing was to hop on the newly 'popping' site known as Twitter--@Midget_Macc12 :-) --Twitter is certainly the site I use to communicate with those people back home and away serving our country, to stalk celebrities, and of course to follow all the media sites, both entertainment and informational. One thing that Twitter has allowed me to do is keep up with the #CaseyAnthonyTrial. Throughout the course of this last month I haven't been able to watch every aspect of the trial, but having an account on Twitter allows me to 'follow' the case each day! If you like privacy but enjoy social sites for whatever your reason, Twitter is the site for you.

I find myself having to check my Twitter at least six times a day; it's my way of staying connected with those fortunate enough not to be here in Carbonhell and, of course, to figure out what certain celebrities are up too. I enjoy communicating with distant people more on Twitter than over the phone or via text. It's like a security blanket, as we discussed in class. I often times get extremely nervous when I talk to people randomly for the fear of not having anything to talk about (insert awkward silent moment) and for prolonged conversations. So for those reasons, I stick behind my 'blue screen' and communicate in that way.

My pride and joy; Miss. Gucci

Anyone who knows me personally knows my passion for cats and dogs, but most importantly my cat! One day I was on Google and decided to search "I love my cat" and this site, that was soon to become my ultimate favorite site, i-love-cats popped up. Once I clicked on it I fell in love. Everything that you could possibly want or need to know about your cat can be found on this site...and I mean everything. I hate having to give my cat Cat Food everyday so I decided to search possible cat meals, if you will, and found millions of recipes. Another reason I love i-love-cats is because within their search engine they provide links for other websites that also fit what you intially were searching for.

In class we spoke on how social sites were taking over and why and how. The three sites listed above help to manage my boredom, entertain me, and of course inform me. In a way I do believe that certain sites have taken away my desire to communicate with people in person or via phone and text. Now, instead, I resort to the handy dandy world wide web and the social sites they offer!