Blogs that I commented on during week one of CSIT 155

 I commented on many interesting blogs for this first week. It was fascinating to see the thought process that everyone went through, and that I was not alone in the challenge of choosing a theme. 

I am only listing the students from my group that I commented on:

Jessica Brown https://csit155-fa21jessicab.blogspot.com/

Sophia Hecker https://csit155sophiah.blogspot.com/

Sarah Marcotte https://sarahsnapping.blogspot.com/

Kate Strong https://csit155-fa21-kates.blogspot.com/

Ivan Vincent https://csit155-fa21-ivincent.blogspot.com/

Week 1B - My thoughts on Social Media use

 My experience with social media is very limited. When I jumped on the Facebook bandwagon in 2009, I quickly realized that it was consuming a lot of my time.  Facebook was an amazing way to stay connected with friends and family that were spread throughout the country. Soon I was checking to see if anyone commented or liked what I posted, but I would become disappointed if no one had. I quickly abandoned posting anything. Nowadays I look at my company's worldwide employee page to see what gripes and funny things my fellow employees have to say.

Social media is all around us in our daily lives. In our breakroom I see very few people interacting with one another. Instead, everyone is on their phone. A quick glance walking by and I see Tik Tok, Facebook, and Instagram. Many people use social media as a way to be entertained, some are looking for information, and some to stay connected with friends and family. All I see is a total disconnect from human interaction. Of course, that could also be because we work with the public and interact with many, many people daily! 

As for the public, I see people buried in their phones, not paying attention to what is going on around them. Who hasn't gone to a restaurant with friends and family only to find everyone is on their phone and not really speaking to the person in front of them?

Social media has pros and cons. It is an easy way to stay connected to friends and family, be entertained, access educational materials, facilitate social and political change, and spread information quickly. It is also a tool for businesses to get exposure and interact with customers in real-time and increase their revenue. On the flip side, people have less face-to-face interaction, waste time, get bullied or bully, spread false or misleading information, and expose themselves to predators. 

Since so many people now use social media it is important to know and understand the ins and outs of its usage for business. My husband and I plan on starting our own business in the next few years and it will be an important tool in establishing and growing our business. I will be doing a lot of homework on other businesses and how they use social media. For now, I am content with the way things are.

Week 1A: Creating my blog

 Choosing a blog theme can be daunting! I have never entertained the idea of doing a blog and for me, there were many choices. I can easily get overwhelmed with a project like this because the perfectionist in me wants it to be perfect. I finally decided to go with a simple option to start with and I could change it later if I didn't like the final product. I wanted something that would represent me, but also be straightforward.

The theme I chose was Awesome Inc. Artsy. I chose the purple background because, well, purple is my favorite color! The random waves are like me. I am a little bit boho, a little woo-hoo, a little methodic, a little traditional, and a little goofy! Okay. A LOT goofy! 

The font I chose is simple, but not traditional. I am not a fan of frilly fonts, because they are difficult to read sometimes. Cherry cream soda has just enough character for my liking. I also like a simple layout for the ease of reading and fewer distractions.

I added a photo of myself so there could be a face to my name. The rest will be a work in progress!