Social Media and privacy

Like I have said before, social media outlets have become the trend among multiple generations. While social media outlets are used by people in every age group the popular social media outlet, Facebook, is most common among college students. As a college student, I have been warned about the negative consequences that the content on my Facebook could potentially lead to. A future employer could see your Facebook, the content on your Facebook could get you into legal trouble, the list of negative consequences is endless. The question that I raise in this post is, Do you think Facebook is violating your privacy?

CNN.com reports on how Facebook could be potentially violating user's privacy by offering their personal information to a third party. Check out the story here...

If you don't want your information public to third party sites follow these simple steps...
1. Click on Account
2. Privacy Settings
3. Applications and Websites
4. Click on "Edit Settings" next to Instant Personalization Pilot Program
5. Uncheck the box

This isn't my LAST blog post

I must admit I have been neglecting my blog lately. It isn't because I don't enjoy spilling my thoughts and insights to the whole World Wide Web, but rather that I just haven't had the time!

So, since my last blog post I have been busy with classes, work and my internship at the K-State Alumni Association. My classes have proven the "senior year last semester classes are a piece of cake" rumor completely wrong and have kept me on my toes...I guess this is a good thing though, right?

While I am excited to graduate, in the past week I have realized my life has become a series of constant "lasts." Tonight I will attend my last sorority chapter meeting, earlier this semester I had my last spring break and in the near future I will attend my last ever undergraduate class. I never thought this day would come, but graduation is quickly approaching and now I can't tell if I am excited or sad...

On another note, I had to create a short video for my sociology class this semester. The video is suppose to raise awareness on the social problem, homelessness. My partner for this project and I created this video and posted it on Youtube. Check out our video below and help us get more hits!

Social Media, Not Always a Good Thing

In a time where posting on a Facebook wall or updating your Twitter is an everyday occurrence, most people truly enjoy using social media outlets. Social media has become a hobby, an outlet, a communication device and even a networking tool. But, that brings me to one thought...is social media always a good thing?

In Mashable.com's, "5 Ways Facebook Changed Dating (For The Worse), the author explores negative aspects of the popular social media outlet, Facebook, and how Facebook is now something that can ruin or burden relationships. I thought the whole point of social media was to create and sustain relationships?

Have social media outlets been counterproductive by not creating relationships, but rather ruining them? You be the judge and let me know what you think!

"5 Ways Facebook Changed Dating (For The Worse)

Senioritis...not just a high school epidemic

Coming back from Spring Break and Easter weekend I have realized one thing - I have a bad case of senioritis! I don't want to wish away the rest of my senior year in college, but I have found it hard to buckle down and focus. I thought senioritis only happened to high school seniors who were ready to explore college. I was wrong. My final weeks of college are here and I have many important assignments, papers and projects to complete in 6 short weeks. For my fellow seniors...click here to find out how to survive senioritis!

Design Day

"Good design begins with honesty, asks tough questions, comes from collaboration and from trusting your intuition." -Freeman Thomas

After today's Magazine and Feature Writing class, I found the above quote to be quite relevant. The topic of discussion in today's class, as you might have guessed, was design. (Most of you reading this blog were there so you already knew that.)

I found today's class to be really productive. Being able to share design ideas and work together to create our look for Update Magazine is something that I really enjoyed, and I think our class was pretty excited to finally get our design and layout nailed down. I think that this year's Update staff members are all dedicated to making this issue of Update the best yet. I know, I know, that sounds cheesy, but I mean it. We all bring a lot of experience to the class and all have strenghes that will only better Update Magazine. Needless to say, I am pretty excited to see this magazine come together.

So, going along with the topic of this post, I thought I would share with you all a really cool Web Site that Serge shared with my PR Techniques class. I took this class a couple of semesters ago and have been using this site as a tool ever since. Many of you may be familiar with this site already, but for those of you who haven't you should definitely check it out. It is called Adobe Kuler. On this site you are able to create and share color stories and templates with people across the world. You can even upload a photo to the site and it will pull out 5 colors from the photo to create a color story! Pretty cool! If you can't figure out the site or want to know more Adobe has tutorials on Kuler. Hey, who knows some of you may find a color story you like and update your blog or website.

Some of my favorites are Monsoon Season, Exterior Fresh and Alone in a Cafe. There are thousands to choose from and you can even make your own. Check it out...
http://kuler.adobe.com/#themes/rating?time=30

A Restful Yet Productive Spring Break

It has been cloudy and rainy for the past week, which means one thing; Spring is finally here! I hope...

Spring Break is officially here and it is nice to be home and with family. The down time has been great, but at the same time I find myself a little bit bored. So, I have been continuing my job search and plan to do some updating of my blog. I still need to figure out how to get my resume and portfolio onto Blogger. Anyone have any advice?

I had my first "real interview" today. It went really well and have already been asked back for a second interview! I am really excited about this interview process and this potential job. It is not journalism related but more so geared toward my minor, leadership studies, and my retail experience. I have to thank those who have guided me through this interview process. From those people who have critiqued my resume and cover letter to those who have given me tips on great interviewing techniques. We will see what happens with this potential job soon.

While this break is sure to be restful I can't seem to slow down. I know that in only one short week I will have projects and assignments due again and that graduation is quickly approaching! SCARY!

Oh, and before I go...it is not only spring but also March Madness! Go Cats! (I know shamless plug for the Cats!)

Twitter Is Used as as Tool to Engage Students

Twitter has become a classroom staple at universities across the country. At the University of Texas at Dallas and at Purdue University professors are using the social media outlet, Twitter, to engage students in class discussions.

While some students are comfortable with expressing their opinions in front of a 200+ lecture hall, others are not. Twitter has given a shy student the opportunity to have their opinion heard and acts as a review guide for all students in the class.

Do you think Twitter is a positive or negative way to engage students? Is it a good thing that we aren't making students speak in front of their peers? You be the judge...

Check out this article, How Twitter in the Classroom is Boosting Engagement, from mashable.com and the video, The Twitter Experiment, from the University of Texas at Dallas.