Jibberish

This is my very first entry of my very first blog. I am very excited to experience this form of communication and learning.

I began using the Internet at the age of about 8, the year 1996, when my older sister introduced AOL Instant messenger and MSN Hotmail to me. At that time, the only purpose of using the computer was to play old school computer games. While thinking that screen name creation process was exciting, I was not aware that these two services could impact the rest of my life. The Internet has and will continue to have a drastic impact to my life. Except for special occasions (vacations, family emergencies, or illness), I have used the Internet about every day of my life. Besides using the Internet for leisure, it is also a resourceful tool for education and personal curiosity. The Internet will never be extinct in the future and I will always be connected to it every day for the rest of my life.
Since there was no real need for internet in my childhood, I used it for only these few purposes. The largest impact the Internet had on my childhood would be fulfilling my personal curiosity. If I had a question my mother or father could not answer, I would find my answer online. I learned many facts that I would not have learned without the Internet. Another impact would be communicating with others. In my childhood (up until high school) I used AIM as a primary communication device, since I did not have a cell phone. It was a way to build my social and communication skills, while developing my typing accuracy at the same time. E-mail was another way of communicating with my friends. Although I did not use it that much, I still checked it daily and primarily used it to receive account confirmations for certain registration activations. Usually, I was not only on the computer to be connected to AIM or Hotmail. I would also be surfing on Internet Explorer, playing Math Blaster, and maybe typing on Microsoft Word at the same time. Because the Internet opened another computer task for me, it had a slight impact in developing my multi-tasking skills. When researching, multiple windows of Internet Explorer were open as well as Word. Research was the most important use of the Internet in my childhood. It was the only tool for me to find information about Siamese Twins when the dreadful eighth grade research paper came. E-mail and online-researching had a greater role when I entered high school.
In high school, I created a Gmail account and used e-mail more seriously. E-mail was used for communicating with teachers, family, organizations outside of school, and employers. The largest impact of the Internet in my high school career was joining social networks. I first had a Xanga, which I updated almost every day. Having a Xanga has really helped me become more comfortable expressing myself. At first my blogs were short, consisting of a few sentences. Later on, my posts were more lengthy and included pictures. I also enjoyed commenting on other people’s Xangas. After Xanga, I created a MySpace account. It did not do much except allow me to express my creativity. Also, I played with HTML code in order to edit different background colors and styles. MySpace was not too helpful in socializing with other people, since it was so disorganized. It was difficult to find a specific person even if that person was your friend. Then came Facebook. The only social network that I still use is Facebook. It was a huge impact on my life because it gave me an urge to get on the computer and check it constantly. Also, since notifications of wall posts, friend requests, photo tags, photo comments, messages, group invitations, and event invitations were sent via e-mail, I started to check my e-mail a lot more often. Facebook has helped me socialize with people and communicate with them even when there was nothing important to say. Also, it was a good way to organize my photos and make them viewable online. I also had my cell phone number and screen name on my Facebook so people could contact me in other ways. Social networking was not the only use of the Internet in my high school years.
Even though dial-up internet was the only connection in our household, the lag and slow speeds did not prevent me from experiencing online gaming. I found a Half-Life CD-key online and began playing Counter Strike version 1.6. It was very difficult at first but that was what made the game addictive. I immediately fell in love with this game and played it for hours every day. It was the very first time I had played a video game with people I did not know over an online connection. I enjoyed the possibility of playing a multiplayer game whenever desired, instead of getting a group of friends together.
Researching was obviously a big part of high school papers. Information could be found easier and quicker than searching in a library. I remember that there would be a minimum requirement for certain research papers for physical sources. I would find the minimum amount of books and list them in my bibliography but would never use them. The Internet was so much easier to use and had much more information. Not only was researching on the internet used for educational purposes, but I also researched for my first car. I compared car after car, looking at engine specs, performance specs, prices, colors, miles, and wheels. Even though I never shopped online, I never needed to look around in stores. I would do all the research and comparisons of different products and make my decision prior to purchasing in the store.
One of the most important uses of the Internet is applying online. Online applications are quicker, more convenient, legible, and ensures no missed fields. I applied for my first job at the Hershey Lodge on the Hershey jobs website. I also applied for Penn State online. I would also apply for other schools online, but Penn State was the only school I applied to. I applied for other jobs online as well. Also, all job applications will be online at one point in the future.
The Internet in the future can be unimaginable. I can see myself using the Internet for reasons I would have never thought of. In the future, instant messaging, land phones, letter mail, e-mail, and chat rooms could all be dead technology. Video messaging, video chatting, and video mailing will take over and could be processed in a newer type of display. If I work for a business, meetings and conferences could all be done in the comfort of my own home. Video transmission can send all the members into a single display. The Internet will always be a tool for the same reasons from using it in the past. It will only be more efficient, faster, and convenient in the future.

Desperately searching for an interesting person on vox.com, I came across Rob. We are both interested in tennis and the similar movies. Here is the link to his blog:
http://moghandavid.vox.com/

The purpose of Rob's blog is to provide users with facts about recent movies, novels, and events and followed by honest and realistic opinions. He only lists his entries about the things that he enjoys at the given time. Many of his interests and opinions about those interests are similar to mine. In all of the entires of his that I have spent time reading, I have not found one that I would disagree with. People besides myself can use Rob's blog as a guide discover what they do and don't like.

I am pleased with the format of Rob's entries. He makes it very clear for readers (grammatically and comprehensively) and does not use profanity. He also provides a picture of his topic in each of his entries. Rob writes his entries as if they were meant for other people to use as a source of some sort. Besides giving readers facts, he shares his personal opinions similar to a critic. Instead of reading the newspaper or watching Entertainment Tonight, Rob serves as a good source for people who need something to expect from seeing a movie.

We know what people can use Rob's blog for.....but what does he use it for? I think that Rob uses vox as an outlet to help others. If he likes providing information for people as well as sharing his opinions, he would want to do it on a large scale. The easiest way for him to do this would be blogging. In his first and third posts ever created on his blog, he explains why he chose to create a vox blog account. He previously used a myspace, but seeked a better way of blogging and less social networking. He also chose to use vox so that he can upload his own photos, as he has stated that he does not like linking from other people's pages. With vox, he does not have to use a third-party site, he can upload his photos via his flicker account.

In conclusion, Rob's blog serves as a useful way for anyone to find something to be interested in. For example, if someone who may not have known about women's beach volleyball and when it was being broadcasted, Rob's blog would provide that information. He helps other people know what to expect from different movies, music, books, and events. He also keeps his information very easy to understand. People who want information about some form of entertainment should stay updated with Rob's blog.

Greg Cosikyan http://www.costik.com/weblog/
Cliff Bleszinski http://www.cliffyb.com/

Both bloggers posted random instances of things they thought interesting. They each posted very light-heartedly, giving the reader time to laugh with their casual writing style. Both mentioned small things about their company, but not in any great detail or of anything too sensitive. Each has a bio section where they talk about themselves. They don’t go into much detail about personal information anywhere else. Both post links to other resources within their blog.

Cliffy used more loose language throughout his posts while Greg kept a bit more language control. Cliffy is a more infamously known person with high profile games. He is the boss of his company and Greg leads a smaller organization. Only with Greg uses tags, but not very often. The only tag we found was “humor.”

Attending the Pro Expo as a freshman....(I will be careful and not say 'sucks') ...is difficult. Basically there is no hope whatsoever of being even considered for an intern and any company. I accepted this and admitted that I would not be considered to each booth I approached. I used this experience as a way to learn for next year and get connected with recruiters. I also needed to discover on my own what type of company I would want to work for. The first station I went to was the MIT Lincoln Laboratory, which only accepts juniors and above. I was semi-nervous talking to the lady, even though she was doing most of the talking. I found myself awkward staring into her eyes so my eyes drifted away a couple times....which shows you're not interested/confident. I fixed this when I talked to the next 2 companies, GEICO and MetLife. I suddenly became more engaged in the conversation and felt more comfortable looking at the recruiter in the eyes.
I am glad that I went to the Pro Expo this year, otherwise my first meeting next year would have been more difficult. It was also very beneficial to have a free dinner at the Networking Reception.

The three sources I chose to research on were IBM, Sun Microsystems, and BBC. They all had similar policies or guidelines. IBM states that blogs are allowed as long as they are used for learning and contributing. Sun's guidelines emphasize on being interesting and blogging with quality, but still states the dangers of inappropriate blogging. BBC reiterated that if there was any trouble or concerns then the blogger should consult with his or her manager and was formatted in a professional style.
One thing I found interested among these three corporations was with Sun's guidelines. They pointed out the importance of being interesting and writing with good quality. This almost seemed unusual in an informal way to me because I would not expect a large corporation to write about the good and benefits of blogging. They said that making a blog interesting will make you popular to the people who understand your specialty. The Sun guidelines also mentioned that a successful way of blogging is by expressing yourself and exposing your personality. I suppose it is a good way for Sun Microsystems to attract more consumers and get them interested in a worker's blog.
Companies like Facebook and Myspace do not need blogging policies. That is because they are small companies and they do not have any secrets to hide. Apple does not have a blogging policy, and this site goes more thoroughly into why they don't: http://chuqui.typepad.com/chuqui_30/2006/10/why_apple_doesn.html

"Best Practices":
+Always consult with your manager with any concerns about your blog. (examples - someone offers you pay for blogging, media/press contacts you)
+Do not reveal confidential content.
+Do not attack/abuse any colleagues in your blog.
+State the fact that your opinions on your blog are NOT the corporation's opinions.
+Write what you know.
+Think about consequences (Blog as if your manager was reading every word you wrote).

I have done my research on corporate/professional blogging policies on the 3 following websites:
IBM
http://www.ibm.com/blogs/zz/en/guidelines.html
Sun Microsystems
http://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/200x/2004/05/02/Policy
BBC
http://www.bbc.co.uk/guidelines/editorialguidelines/advice/weblogswebsites/index.shtml