Stretch Task #4

In "Why Facebook Works for All, Twitter for Some," a blog by Nick Bilton in the New York Times, it explains from Nick's point of view how he and his sister were trying aimlessly to work Twitter one night, but how they could both navigate Facebook so easily. It also discussed how many people prefer Facebook over Twitter because it's less confusing and comes with a lot more features than Twitter. (pictures, videos, etc.) Twitter's feature of tagging people and "hashtags" is more confusing than Facebook's, according to Bilton. 

The comparison of how many people that log onto Facebook and Twitter daily is huge. About 500 million people log on to Facebook every day, whereas only about 100 million log onto Twitter daily.

I thought this blog was very interesting because I found out how popular and use-able Facebook really is in today's technology and how Twitter is also popular, but not nearly as commonly used. I enjoyed reading the blog!

Small Town Gossip Moving to the Web article review

The article "Small Town Gossip Moves to Web and Turns Vicious" clearly showed me a few things about being mindful about what you say and surprised me about a few things. It discussed how people gossiping in small towns (first about harmless things like politics, eventually about their own neighbors) eventually moved to a website called "Topix", where your posts are anonymous and you can post anything you want. People in a town called Mountain Grove in Missouri, discussions eventually turned to vicious gossip that was posted on the Web anonymously, and had serious consequences. Such mean things were said (by adults!) that a woman considered suicide prior to seeing what people posted on the site. Her own neighbors gave her mean looks in the grocery store, talked about her, etc. It surprised me how even adults can be cyber bullies on the internet. In other small towns that used the same site, more consequences occured such as lawsuits, threats, and suicides. Who would've known that people could be so cruel? It was an interesting article to read because it made me recognize how truly mean people can be, even adults who are supposed to be the ones to put a stop to it. I realize more than ever that you have to be careful what you say, or the consequences can get bad.


To read the article, click here. 
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/20/us/small-town-gossip-moves-to-the-web-anonymous-and-vicious.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss

The PC: Then and Now

Obviously, technology has changed a lot since the 80s. But the PC from the 80s is so different now. I thought this document clearly showed the differences between the PC from the 80s and the highly advanced one we have today. It is so much more efficient, useful, and powerful than it used to be. It was interesting to read this because it showed me how technology has progressed among people and even some new ways how to improve technology. It was very informative and interesting to read!

Cupcakes and Cashmere blog - chocolate truffles

The article "Chocolate Truffles" on the blog Cupcakes and Cashmere that show you delicious chocolate truffles! The blogger on this site, Emily, not only blogs about fashion and cute clothes, but also recipes for treats like truffles and cupcakes. Her truffles are in cute Halloween colors, just in time for upcoming Halloween. Hers are simple and easy to make, that even use honeycomb in the recipe. This was an interesting article out of the many on Cupcakes and Cashmere. I'm looking forward to reading more about Emily's interests in fashion and baking.

Watching that Home from Afar

  I thought the blog "Watching that Home from Afar" was very informational, helpful, and interesting! It explained that when you have a second home, like a vacation home or lake house, it is at risk of being burglarized or vandalized. Some solutions to this issue are installing cheap, fake cameras that look very real to make the burglar stay away. Another solution is to install lights that periodically turn on and off in different patterns to make it appear as though someone is living there to keep intruders away. Real, more expensive cameras and alarm systems can also be used and accessed by a laptop or phone. By applying these solutions to your second home, you can help keep unwanted intruders out and protect your second house! :)