1. How has technology impacted your writing/composing?
From my early teen years until the present, technology has been an integral part of my life socially, academically, and professionally. Technology impacts my writing in different ways, for I am capable of adapting myself to the rules of each convention. While tweeting and texting, I am limited to a small number of characters, so I abbreviate and condense my thoughts. When I am blogging, however, I am more apt to develop my thoughts and think critically. Furthermore, I have created two websites. One serves as a portfolio of my work for Writing, Research, and Technology. The other serves as an online alternative to a binder portfolio to work as a "leave behind" at interviews. Clearly, I have to present myself as a competent student and applicant in these spaces; therefore, my writing must be polished. All things considered, technology most impacts the efficiency of speed. Communicating for any purpose has never been faster than it is today. A responsibility accompanies this technology, however, and we are to blame for allowing text speak and poor grammar to sneak into our academic or professional writing. My Experiencing Literature teacher, Kim Southwick once said, "every time you write you showcase your intelligence." Her words have stuck with me and make me more conscious of my writing!
2. How has technology connected or made you more mindful of your writing and place?
"Rock My Network" by Theodora Stites literally rocked my world! It presented an intriguing lens for viewing the social aspects of the online realm. I feel that by posting direct quotes from "Rock My Network" and commenting on whether I agree/connect will serve as the best illustration for how technology has made me mindful of my writing and place:
"It's not that we're lazy or bratty or glib; it's just that we're fast. We know how to access all kinds of information, and we have absolute confidence in the tools at our disposal" (Note from the Editors).
While some people would argue that this generation has lost the ability to think and wants everything at their fingertips, I argue alongside the editors that our generation simply knows the resources that are at our disposal and choose to use them efficiently!
"Because I'm voyeuristic, and you are too. We love personal information; Internet communities are a popularity contest, and it is no longer chic to be mysterious" (142).
I have never considered this thought until Stites presented it, but I find it fascinating. I am a very private person who values my personal space, yet I agree that it is widely accepted that being mysterious is becoming less and less attractive! If an individual is not exposing themselves in a milieu of social networks he/she is viewed as lacking normalcy.
"There are hidden codes in every image" (143).
I don't agree with Stite's picture profiling. It seem very stereotypical and I try to avoid that at all costs. Certainly people want to portray themselves as attractive, yet the camera angle and lighting shouldn't categorize me.
"Every profile is a carefully planned media campaign" (144).
I would say that most profiles are media campaigns, not every profile. While there are a large number of people who try to sell themselves by creating a idealized, online persona. On the other hand there are people who portray themselves exactly as they would be in real life and make no apologies for being real; therefore, they are not campaigning.
"Online, everyone has bulletproof social armor" (144).
While it may be more comfortable to be open in an online space, bullying is a major issue online. In light of this, I would argue that bulletproof social armor only exists when the online persona fits into society's standards.
"But I have no choice. I need to belong to all of them because each one enables me to connect to people with different levels of social intimacy. The closer I am to someone in the offline world, the more easily accessible they are online" (145).
Unfortunately, I have to agree with Stites on this issue of accessibility. I am more comfortable growing a relationship online than I am in person. I guess I would argue that the screen gives me a sense of security that I lack in person.
"I now think of most people by their screen names, even when I see them in person" (145).
Stites hit a nerve on this fact. It pains me to admit that when meeting those who I converse with online, many of our conversations revolve around online activity.
"We have enough connection online for our degree of closeness and don't need to enhance our relationship by spending time together offline" (146).
I have friends who I only converse with online simply because we do not have a strong enough connection to spend time in person. Fortunately, while communicating online I can multitask, yet in person that person deserves my undivided attention, and not all people connect on that level.
"Blogs are the most notorious, easiest, and best ways to gain celebrity status and online fans" (146).
I have experienced blogs in two realms: academic and entertainment. When I am composing within a blog, I am used to analyzing some reading or discussion and then expressing my thoughts in a meaningful context. I would much rather read my sister's blog, for she takes the good, the bad, and the ugly of her life and writes laugh out loud accounts.
"It's so difficult to concentrate on talking to just one person at a time. Eye contact isn't all it's cracked up to be, and facial expressions are so hard to control" (147).
I have never connected with a quote more than I have with the above thought from Stites. I have a degree of social awkwardness due to my shyness, and I have struggled for 23 years now with eye contact. While I have managed to overcome this issue when conversing with women, men have yet to look me in the eyes. Furthermore, I've been told that my faces give away exactly what is on my mind. It takes me being conscious of the looks I'm giving.
3. How has technology impacted your identity construction?
Even when being careful to represent myself as accurately as possible online, I am not blind to the fact that as I am working to construct my real life persona in an online avenue, so too are other users who comment, visit, and share within those same spaces. What is important to note is this idea of having so many opportunities, expected and unforeseen, that help to mold the very identity that I embody. Interestingly, “committing yourself is a way of finding out who you are. A man finds his identity by identifying,” and online writing spaces allowed me to do just that, identify with that which formulates my identity. Technology has allowed me the ability to put on different masks when it comes to my writing. Pursuing this further, there is a level of comfort when composing online because the audience only sense of you is your writing; therefore, their judgments of your writing are based solely upon the written word and have no links to the author as a person. Certainly, who I am at home, at school, and online are three different people who overlap or stand in opposition based upon my identity within that place.
From my early teen years until the present, technology has been an integral part of my life socially, academically, and professionally. Technology impacts my writing in different ways, for I am capable of adapting myself to the rules of each convention. While tweeting and texting, I am limited to a small number of characters, so I abbreviate and condense my thoughts. When I am blogging, however, I am more apt to develop my thoughts and think critically. Furthermore, I have created two websites. One serves as a portfolio of my work for Writing, Research, and Technology. The other serves as an online alternative to a binder portfolio to work as a "leave behind" at interviews. Clearly, I have to present myself as a competent student and applicant in these spaces; therefore, my writing must be polished. All things considered, technology most impacts the efficiency of speed. Communicating for any purpose has never been faster than it is today. A responsibility accompanies this technology, however, and we are to blame for allowing text speak and poor grammar to sneak into our academic or professional writing. My Experiencing Literature teacher, Kim Southwick once said, "every time you write you showcase your intelligence." Her words have stuck with me and make me more conscious of my writing!
2. How has technology connected or made you more mindful of your writing and place?
"Rock My Network" by Theodora Stites literally rocked my world! It presented an intriguing lens for viewing the social aspects of the online realm. I feel that by posting direct quotes from "Rock My Network" and commenting on whether I agree/connect will serve as the best illustration for how technology has made me mindful of my writing and place:
"It's not that we're lazy or bratty or glib; it's just that we're fast. We know how to access all kinds of information, and we have absolute confidence in the tools at our disposal" (Note from the Editors).
While some people would argue that this generation has lost the ability to think and wants everything at their fingertips, I argue alongside the editors that our generation simply knows the resources that are at our disposal and choose to use them efficiently!
"Because I'm voyeuristic, and you are too. We love personal information; Internet communities are a popularity contest, and it is no longer chic to be mysterious" (142).
I have never considered this thought until Stites presented it, but I find it fascinating. I am a very private person who values my personal space, yet I agree that it is widely accepted that being mysterious is becoming less and less attractive! If an individual is not exposing themselves in a milieu of social networks he/she is viewed as lacking normalcy.
"There are hidden codes in every image" (143).
I don't agree with Stite's picture profiling. It seem very stereotypical and I try to avoid that at all costs. Certainly people want to portray themselves as attractive, yet the camera angle and lighting shouldn't categorize me.
"Every profile is a carefully planned media campaign" (144).
I would say that most profiles are media campaigns, not every profile. While there are a large number of people who try to sell themselves by creating a idealized, online persona. On the other hand there are people who portray themselves exactly as they would be in real life and make no apologies for being real; therefore, they are not campaigning.
"Online, everyone has bulletproof social armor" (144).
While it may be more comfortable to be open in an online space, bullying is a major issue online. In light of this, I would argue that bulletproof social armor only exists when the online persona fits into society's standards.
"But I have no choice. I need to belong to all of them because each one enables me to connect to people with different levels of social intimacy. The closer I am to someone in the offline world, the more easily accessible they are online" (145).
Unfortunately, I have to agree with Stites on this issue of accessibility. I am more comfortable growing a relationship online than I am in person. I guess I would argue that the screen gives me a sense of security that I lack in person.
"I now think of most people by their screen names, even when I see them in person" (145).
Stites hit a nerve on this fact. It pains me to admit that when meeting those who I converse with online, many of our conversations revolve around online activity.
"We have enough connection online for our degree of closeness and don't need to enhance our relationship by spending time together offline" (146).
I have friends who I only converse with online simply because we do not have a strong enough connection to spend time in person. Fortunately, while communicating online I can multitask, yet in person that person deserves my undivided attention, and not all people connect on that level.
"Blogs are the most notorious, easiest, and best ways to gain celebrity status and online fans" (146).
I have experienced blogs in two realms: academic and entertainment. When I am composing within a blog, I am used to analyzing some reading or discussion and then expressing my thoughts in a meaningful context. I would much rather read my sister's blog, for she takes the good, the bad, and the ugly of her life and writes laugh out loud accounts.
"It's so difficult to concentrate on talking to just one person at a time. Eye contact isn't all it's cracked up to be, and facial expressions are so hard to control" (147).
I have never connected with a quote more than I have with the above thought from Stites. I have a degree of social awkwardness due to my shyness, and I have struggled for 23 years now with eye contact. While I have managed to overcome this issue when conversing with women, men have yet to look me in the eyes. Furthermore, I've been told that my faces give away exactly what is on my mind. It takes me being conscious of the looks I'm giving.
3. How has technology impacted your identity construction?
Even when being careful to represent myself as accurately as possible online, I am not blind to the fact that as I am working to construct my real life persona in an online avenue, so too are other users who comment, visit, and share within those same spaces. What is important to note is this idea of having so many opportunities, expected and unforeseen, that help to mold the very identity that I embody. Interestingly, “committing yourself is a way of finding out who you are. A man finds his identity by identifying,” and online writing spaces allowed me to do just that, identify with that which formulates my identity. Technology has allowed me the ability to put on different masks when it comes to my writing. Pursuing this further, there is a level of comfort when composing online because the audience only sense of you is your writing; therefore, their judgments of your writing are based solely upon the written word and have no links to the author as a person. Certainly, who I am at home, at school, and online are three different people who overlap or stand in opposition based upon my identity within that place.