Why are we so FANtastic?

Since I "Like" many pages on facebook, I thought it would be interesting to explore the Web 2.0 trend of fan pages. Wikipedia refers to a fan site as, "A website created and maintained by a fan(s) or devotee(s) interested in a celebrity, thing, or a particular cultural phenomenon. The phenomenon can be a book, television show, movie, comic, band, sports team, game, or the like." Fan pages can also be created and maintained by businesses (profit or non-profit). Fan pages can be found as regular websites, on facebook, twitter, myspace and several other new new media outlets.

On my personal facebook page, I "Like" many pages. They range from local bands, restaurants and shops to famous musicians, animal welfare groups and many more. In some way I feel like I am supporting these groups even if I can't financially. Here is an example of a facebook page that I am a fan of:

                                      BLOOD INTO WINE

I went to a screening of Blood Into Wine, an independent documentary about the lead singer of Tool (noticing an obsession?) and his partner making wine in the desert. I loved it so much that I "Liked" it on facebook to keep up with their posts. I also became a fan of the page so that I could promote it to all of my facebook friends.   

    

What do you think it says about our culture that there are so many fan sites available for us to "Like" or join? What does it say about the creators of these fan pages? These are questions that I am going to try to answer in my future blogs.       

Thinking of starting your own fan page? Here's how to do it on facebook:

                         

Rest In Peace Amy

I write this blog post with a heavy heart. This past Saturday,  my beautiful (inside and out) friend Amy Baltimore Watson passed away. She beat breast cancer once, but sadly lost her battle with cancer the second time around. You might ask how I could incorporate this into a blog about new new media, but honestly I have nothing else on my mind. But the truth is, Web 2.0 played a major role in the latter part of Amy's 32 years on this earth.

After Amy's first diagnosis, she was able to utilize a website called The Caring Bridge. This is a free website for yourself or loved ones that are having health concerns. It is a way to connect family and friends and to keep them informed of what is going on medically.

Amy also kept her own personal blog. It was called amywillbeatcanceragainwatson. This was more personal than Caring Bridge and she really kept it up with her beautiful personality.

Amy also started a facebook page that was dedicated to her breast cancer walks and fundrasiers. It was a way to make everyone aware of all the facets out there to help the cause. It also had a link to make donations.

Besides her breast cancer facebook page, Amy had her own personal facebook. I can remember the last thing that she posted. It was a picture of 100 red roses from her husband on Valentine's Day. When her liver started failing last Friday, her facebook page became flooded with prayers and well wishes. It was amazing to see just how many friends and family that cared about her. It was even more overwhelming after her passing on Saturday, when her facebook page blew up with condolences. I thought that it might shut down facebook with all of the traffic. It was a true testimony to my wonderful friend.

Now her facebook page is acting as a tribute. Her family has been able to post her funeral arrangements on there and her brother has asked everyone to upload any pics they might have of her for a slideshow at the memorial service. Although this is a very sad time, I believe that Amy's facebook page has presented a unique opportunity for everyone to share photos and write memories of her. I am glad that her family and friends have this as a testimony to show just how amazing Amy was. We can all scroll back and see her previous posts. It is like a digital diary to look back on.

Amy was and is such an inspiration to me. She is the best example of being a wonderful wife, daughter, sister, friend and doggy mom. I will always cherish her smile, laugh and the advice that she gave me.

If you have any extra money or are thinking of giving to a charity, please donate to this worthwhile cause: http://ww5.komen.org/Donate/Donate.html

Is Your Blog a Blob?

Here are some helpful hints to make your blog the best:

*Write about what you know- If you really know what you are talking about, it will be apparent to your followers.
*Keep up with the times- Incorporating recent news or pop culture will show that you are paying attention to the outside world.
*Make it personal- It's nice to be present in your posts.

*Ask questions- You want comments on your entries but it's really nice to start a dialogue.

*Use colorful language- No, I don't mean profanity.
*Be grammatically correct- Don't ruin your credibility by ruining the English language.
*Have a clever title- If your title is boring, your followers may think your blog entry will be too.
*Make your font larger- Because we spend so much time looking at technology, our eyes aren't what they used to be.

*Pick a great background- Backgrounds should be pleasing to the eye- not too busy and not too dull.
*Add pictures and videos- Nothing illustrates your point more than relevant images or video clips.
*Add links- This is a great way for your readers to see your sources and explore other sites.
*Comment on other blogs- Show others that you are interested in what they have to say.

*Blog often- Don't leave your followers hanging.
*Promote your blog- Tell your friends and family to follow via facebook, Twitter, Myspace, etc.
*Follow and promote other blogs- They might just return the favor.
*Have fun with it!

I am sure that I have forgotten some very important tips. Do you have any?

Beware What You Share! Make The Most Of What You Post!

Never think that what you produce in Web 2.0 will go un-noticed. Someone, somewhere will notice! This is why you must be careful what you put out into the world wide web. Make sure that your products are as factual as possible. More than likely, someone will call you out if you are the slightest bit misinformed. And for goodness sake, try your best to be grammatically correct! Nothing will hurt your social media credibility like spelling errors or using the wrong words. I have been guilty of pointing out mistakes on my friend's facebook or MySpace posts. In the same respect, I don't mind if someone corrects me. I feel that we use Web 2.0 so much these days that we have forgotten to put an emphasis on sounding smart. It takes no time to write a quick tweet or update your facebook page, but until you remove your blooper-filled blog, it is out there for everyone to judge.

There are many internet sites that can help you with your spelling and grammar:

http://dictionary.reference.com/

http://thesaurus.com/

http://www.grammarbook.com/

http://www.spellcheck.net/speller/

If you are a part of the new new media community, then you should be aware that employers and potential employers are watching! No matter what you post, you are marketing yourself. Listing where you are employed, where you go to school, or where you go to church, makes you a representative of these organizations. So be careful not to offend or make your company look bad. Don't turn out like this lady!

Don't fret! If you are smart, careful and creative, what you produce on new new media can have positive results too. Take me for example. As many of you know, I am an administrator on the Atlanta Humane Society's facebook page. Last Friday was one of my days to post and I could not think of anything for my first entry. Knowing that Valentine's Day was right around the corner, I decided to upload a cute picture of a kitten peeking out of a paper heart. I asked our facebook fans to click "Like" if their pets were their Valentines. This is what it looked like:

Click "Like" if your pet is your Valentine!

Although it was a short, simple post, it received more "Likes" than any other post I have ever published. I believe it was successful because it was short and had an attention grabbing photo. Many people scroll through posts and ignore text only statuses or long videos. We live in a fast paced world and if you don't provide some rapid, visual stimuli your post might get passed by. It was quick to read, therefore, people were quick to "Like".

Apparently, our Atlanta Humane Society facebook fans were not the only ones paying attention. The ASPCA featured this single post on their 10 Valentine's Day Campaign blog! Click here and scroll down to see my post featured: http://www.aspcapro.org/blog/2011/02/10-valentine’s-day-campaigns/

Remember! Beware what you put out there in the Web! But if you play your cards right, you might just impress someone!

Web 2.Oh Yeah!

In Chapter 2, Jenkins writes, "Once articulated by O'Reilly and his associates, Web 2.0 became the cultural logic for e-business—a set of corporate practices which seek to capture and exploit participatory culture. More than 'pasting a new user interface onto an old application' (Musser et al. 2006, p. 3), Web 2.0 represented a re-organization of the relations between producers and consumers in a maturing Internet market."

Okay, let me put this in everyday terms. The web has been revolutionized. Instead of a one-sided relationship, the internet has become co-dependent. In the past we use to log into the web and were overloaded with whatever information that internet providers, media, and corporations chose to give us. You had to take it or leave it. Now you can take it and make it your own!

The new interactive web has mad us both consumers and producers. User generated content has become the fore-front. With social media sites like MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter our lives are available to the public. It is up to us to reveal what we want and to protect ourselves. Websites like Youtube, Flickr, and Deviant Art allow us to upload our own artistic pieces or other's art that we feel is important to share. For example - unfortunately I did not create the Kool-Aid guy pictured above, but fortunately it was available to me on Photobucket to share!

Blogs are probably my new favorite aspect of Web 2.0. While no one may even care what I think, I can send my thoughts out unto the world. Not every post is great, but I get satisfaction that someone may read them and laugh, cry, or provide them with thought provoking reflections.

The internet now belongs to us! We are now data providers! Watch this short video where O' Reilly gives his definition of Web 2.0:

If you could describe Web 2.0 in one sentence, what would it be?

Thank You Facebook

I saw this photo on NBC Nightly News tonight. The anti-Mubarak protester is holding a sign that reads, "Thank You Facebook" in Arabic. Not only is it a sign of the times, but it represents the hope that new new media has given to Egypt. Even though the Egyptian government managed to black out the internet, social media savvy protesters found innovative ways to get back online. Social media sites like Facebook and Twitter are being credited with acting as vehicles to mobilize protesters in Egypt against the Mubarak regime.

Here is another pic that shows Twitter being honored in the middle of the riots.

Holy Cow! Chick-Fil-Hate?

If I follow any local news outlet, it would be 11 Alive. Since I can't watch my television all of the time I follow 11 Alive on my facebook page. On Monday, they posted a story about Chick-Fil-A. The chicken sandwich chain is under fire for supporting many family organizations that are openly against the gay community's rights to get married and adopt. It is well known that Chick-Fil-A is a Christian based company. They are not open on Sundays- isn't that when you crave their chicken biscuits the most?! While they are Christian based and support these family first organizations, President Dan Cathy claims that they believe in equal rights for everyone.

In the past, this could have been just another news story aired on tv. Now, it is available on any new new media outlet available. It is also available for anyone and everyone to voice their opinions on the story. As soon as 11 Alive posted the article on their facebook wall, the comment section was flooded with varying views on the fast food restaurant.

Has new new media become just another platform for hate? I am not even talking about Chick-fil-A here. I am talking about the hateful comments that were dominant in 11 Alive's facebook feed. Of course there were some voices of reason, but the majority of comments were either anti-gay or anti-Christian. I am not sure what 11 Alive was expecting when posting this story, but the dialogue between their facebook fans was anything but friendly.

One of the greatest things about the United States is our right to freedom of speech. I believe that social media is a great way to get your ideas and opinions out into the rest of the world. In this Chick-Fil-A story, however, I believe that the hateful comments prevented any type of intellectual dialogue on this social issue. If anything, I believe that it divided people more. Read the article, watch Dan Cathy's video and take a look at all of the heated comments on this 11 Alive post: http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/11Alive/posts/160751493975268

While it is important to know what others think about social issues, it is definitely hard to read how horribly divided we still are. New new media provides loads of information at the click of a button, but also provides misinformation and personal agendas that can be harmful.

Then again, I could have chosen to ignore this 11 Alive post about Chick-Fil-A. But if it involves my chicken sandwich and waffle fries, I feel that I need to know!