Essay ideas...

what to write about? ho humm...one of the things that i find interest in is how writing has changed on the internet as opposed to the way we normally write. Very few of the websites i go to are academically written...the language is usually very casual as well as having its own slang of sorts. ex W00t, ,WTF?, LOL, ROFL...even CNN.com is more casually written.

Maybe it will be related to how one develops an online persona and what people can tell about you based on how you write instead of what you write...or perhaps even both. Not really sure, still vollying around the ideas...

Smart Mobs: The Power Of Many

Reingold's essay was extremely interesting as it was about the power of texting and how it can be as strong as to topple a government such as happened in the Philippines. It really drives home how closely connected we all are via the power of the internet and cell phones.

The technology is relatively new and i have lived half my life without it, and yet i have a hard time remembering how i got along without it. Over the summer some friends and I went to Great Adventure, and we were able to find each other in a crowded theme park via cell phone. We were able to set up meeting times, relate where we were, what ride we were going on next etc. Witout it, its entirely possible that we would never have even found each other.

Just recently i read an article on Bleutooth technology and how it is being used in some Arabic countries to date etc ( i think it was arabia...it was a muslim country). They would use the bluetooth to search out nearby users and then send naughty pictures over the phone which is an exciting form of entertainment for them as it socially acceptable.

This is a completely exciting time we're living in, and its getting tough to keep up with all the technology. I can only imgine if my grandparents were still alive, trying to introduce my grandfather to bluetooth as he still called the answering machine the "mickye mouse machine".

Finally, a fun to read essay about something i know a little something, something about. Ebay! I love Ebay...why? Because i have lots of junk, and as we all know someone's junk is someone else's treasure. I still have my original Nintendo and Sega genesis which i plan on unloading before i move, where will i do it? Ebay! I've been Ebaying on and off for years, mostly when i need to get some fundage. I've bought countless DVD's and CD's, and even my gaming PC on EBay. The PC was a very iffy transaction for me because i had never really spent more than $40 on an auction...my machine cost me $300...it had everything i needed except the Radeon graphics card i wanted (got that on ebay too $100). The company i was buying it from was new, and their ratings were quite low, but they were good. It was an act of faith, and i was biting my nails the entire time. My machine came and it was great! I still have it and loooooooove it!

Ratings are survival on Ebay. As Netgrrl and Chiccoboy said in their essay...Ebay changed the way we shop. I always check ratings before i buy something, and if i find an auction that is cheaper, i'll often pass it up if the ratings are less than 90%. I think most people are like that, which is why the ratings are so important. I'll admit, I'm a late rater...i do it once every few months, and like in the essay, I often recieve emails asking to rate my transaction (amazon also picked up this practice with their marketplace). Ratings can seriously determine whether or not you make a sale, and how much you get for it. The higher your rating, you become more established...it's like buying a computer from a mom and pop shop, or Bestbuy. At bestBuy you know you can bring it back, the reputation is very established, whereas who knows with a mom and pop shop. In a way, this rating system has become our way of communicating to one another whether or not something is legit.

But what happens when an auction goes wrong? Ebay has taken great pains to make sure that their clients are covered as the essay stated, but unfortunatly the less money you spend, the less covered you are. I once won an auction for a DVD (i can't remember what movie), I paid my money promptly and recived nothing. i waited two weeks and started emailing the seller, but he had changed his email and cancelled his Ebay account. I filed claims on Ebay and Paypal...but there was little they would do...the guy just disappeared. Grant it, the transaction was only $12, but still...that's almost a dinner at Arrirang (yum!). Self Plug: I have 207 feedbacks, and my rating is 100%...go me!

With Ebay, also came sniping. I don't know about you, but i was getting sick of putting in my bid like an ordinary person and losing it at the last seconds of the auction. I was losing ALL THE TIME! I found myself upping my max bid just to win, because i needed to win! it wasn't about the product, it was about the win! So i honed my sniping skills. Around the time the auction ends, I will refresh the screen repeatedly, or carefully time my trips back to the computer and enter my bid within 30 seconds. I'll enter the max bid i'm willing to pay to make sure i'll win it (some people only do $1 increments, but i'll go full price to guarentee the win)...if i remember to be home at that particular time, i always win :) I haven't used any of the software like Esnipe, or the text messaging one, because that sort of takes the sport out of it, but hey!

You also learn who the best dealers are...i found one that sells VIctoria Secret returns for less than half price...current catalog dresses and clothing at more than half off, you can't beat that! You just have to know the product, and how to find it. In that way, Ebay has also changed the way we shop...why pay full price if you can find it on EBay? I'll always check ebay before i buy in a store to see if i can save some funds.

While some things are less expensive, other things are exploited to hell by crafty ebayers. This is another example of how ebay has changed the way you shop. You really have to be wary, and know what something is worth. Take for example: The Victoria's Secret PJ bottoms $28.50...notice the price. A crafty ebayer posts a pic of Jessica simpson wearing the same exact pants, and how they're sold out at VS (false!) and whamo..$35.00. An unsuspecting buyer thinks they're getting a great deal, but they're getting ripped. So it's important to read between the lines, and really know what you're going for.

Hmmm...Kress...Above is a self portrait of me reading Kress'Modality, Multimedia and Genre. It is an illustration of how i felt while reading it, while this blog is an actual recount of my reading it. I was, probably still am, a little lost, but after reading Dr Chandler's Blog i have a little better understanding. So in effect, I realize that i often use images as a means to entertain my reader, in fact much of my blogging is directed at entertaining.

So, for entertainment calue (and a cheap plug) i'm going to use the Serenity Movie site as one of my examples. In this site there is very little in the way of literature, for good reason...it is a site geared toward visual and interactive entertainment. The information aspect comes secondary. Although, if you go to the notes section there are some interesting tidbits. Aside from what the fact that the author of the site wants you to know that the movie comes out September 30th (and is a really good movie so you should go see it), it offers games, videos and images that give you an idea of what the movie is about. Very visual, mucho eyecandy! Fun, fun, fun!

A little less on the interactivity side, you have the VIctoria's Secret Website (this is one of my favorite sites because its my favorite store). This site is geared not so much at informing you about the product, but offering a means by which to purchase it. There are pictures, lots of them, but there are brief descriptions as to what materials the product is made from, prices etc. Very little in the way of interactive and entertaining. Amazon.com offers a little more interactivity because they offer forums with which you can communicate your opinions on the products, and they also offer areas where you can sell your own prodcuts. This is more of a community. The movie site also offers a community atmosphere as well if you enter the forum section of that site.

On the extereme flip-side you have good ol' Wikipedia.com which is mostly information, or an online encyclodedia. THis also uses images, but the images and visuals are not the focus of the site. The purpose of this site is strictly informative.

I may be way off base with this blog entry...but i tried :(