If Only We Were Colorblind...

I was originally going to write about the issue of trust, as addressed by Cross in The Power of Social Networking. I changed my mind.

A number of students raised some very interesting points in class yesterday. Someone mentioned the effects of race on an individual's social network. My mind immediately went to a book that I had read a few years back. Why are all the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafateria?, was an eye-opening book about why different ethnic groups seem to ally together, and why they seem to always be seen together in the cafaterias of the world (okay, at least here in the U.S...LOL). Beverly Tatum used school as the primary example in her book, but the concept can definately stretch to the university and corporate levels.

I think it's interesting that even within our own Social Networking Class that the students of different ethnicities and/or fraternities and sororities tend to almost exclusively socialize with one another-- & they always sit with one another--myself included. Beverly Tatum says that these types of "affinity groups" are positive and that they help to facilitate "identity exploration." BUT, she also says that it is important to prepare our youth for leadership in the 21st century, and this includes education on race and education on how to cross racial boundaries.

...A perfect segway back to the topic of our reading...

Social Networking in the workplace is affected by a number of things. While Cross touched on trust and a few other technical aspects of working relationships, it is important to remember the realities of other barriers to social networking and try to address those as well. Whether or not we admit it, everyone has prejudices. ace, class, gender, physical handicap, and age are all factors that affect the networking process. Knowing this is half the battle....where you go from there is all up to you. I think it's more a matter of willingness to leave your comfort zone than anything else.

I am eager to see who sits in a differnt place next time we meet!!!

Toppling Tyrannies through Texts

Who'da thunk it???(Pardon the colloquialism and poor grammar) Smart Mobs really shocked me this time! To think that a government can be transformed through mobile devices is one thing, but to be completely overthrown...unheard of!

I think that this use of technology to mobilize such a massive number of people was so successful because texting had become such a staple in the country. I also believe that they had grown weary enought of the oppression they faced by the Estrada government to make concious efforts to change thier lives.

I think this political anomoly could teach us a lot. I think that it just goes to show how much of an effect people can have when they mobilize for a cause that they truly believe in (or for a war that they oppose ;)) Often times, we feel that the government is to strong, or too large and that we citizens have so little clout that what we probably would not effect much of anything anyway. This is simply not true--just look at the example given us by the Philipine people.




"The world is moving so fast these days that the person who says it can'tbe done is generally interrupted by someone doing it." - Harry Emerson Fosdick

TOM KYTE

Well, I must say that I was pleasantly surprised at just how intelligent this guy was. What stuck out most for me was his insatiable appetite for knowledge. Mr. Kyte said that he read numerous publications every morning in an effort to absorb as much knowlege as possible.

It is amazing to me that he has been in the business of social networking since the begining. I did not even realize social networking was around in 1994. The metamorphasis of his career was amazing as well.

He also spoke about the importance of a name and of someone's reputation...It's important to be the "voice that is heard above the crowd," he said...And how right he is... He gave a great example: When he is verbally assaulted by other bloggeers, he no longer has to argue for himself...he has a devoted following who does that for him! (a little push in the direction of the negative comments does not hurt though... ***wink, wink***)

The lawsuits were interesting too...can you believe the gumption of some people...Hey, at least he had done his legal homework!!!! Maybe he should have worked out the kinks in his book as well as he did the kinks of law and order in Austrailia...what a loser!!!!

I digress....
So I checked out some of the sites he mentioned in class and found some of them to be quite entertaining/informative...(LOL). Of them...fark.com and reddit.com are my favorites.

Choices continued...

All right folks....

In my previous blog, I wrote about choices and about the importance of making good ones. I made no mention of everyone being perfect or of everyone being undeserving of second chances...I work for the Public Defender's Service for God's sake!!! However, I do believe that in life, you can only blame YOURSELF for the decisions that YOU make.

Before all of these social networking sites made it so easy for employers to look into people's backgrounds, private investigators and government officials pryed into the lives of prospective employees. And maybe all of this snooping does abridge people's right to privacy, but employers should know who they are hiring for a job. Whether they get the dirt the old fashioned way or by new means, they're gonna get it...plain and simple.

Poverty, Injustice and Wars are all sustained by greed and ignorance. Certainly if people thougth more about the choices they made prior to entering a war, discriminating against someone because fo the color of their skin and lowering the taxes for rich, we would not have as so many issues as we do today!