Protect Your Future from your Online Past

We've all been cautioned not to post things on our social media sites that may reflect negatively on us. Employers and graduate schools more often than ever before are using social media sites to learn about their prospective employees and students. I think there should definitely be a barrier between your "private" at-home life and your life at work or school, and what you choose to do or share with your friends may not reflect on your work ethic, it's always a good idea to think about what kind of impression you're putting out into the world. What may seem fun and "cool" to show off to your friends may not go over so well to your next boss.

As someone who will soon be graduating college and heading out into the dreaded "real world," this sort of thing is on my mind more now than ever. Here's an article that offers five helpful tips to protect yourself from leaving a bad impression on someone, while taking advantage of the positive aspects of social media: Social Media Tips to Protect Your Future from Your Past. A brief list is below, but if you have the time to read the article, certainly go more in-depth into these tips.

1: Do a personal online audit.

2: If in doubt, delete.

3: Make sure your LinkedIn profile is up-to-date.

4: Start cultivating a more professional side on Facebook, Twitter, and similar platforms.

5: Consider changing your privacy settings.

Reaction to Wearable Devices

Google's Android Wear

I've been aware of wearable devices for a while, and by that I'm mainly talking about the watches that connect to your smartphone via Bluetooth. Last night my roommate was watching a video about Android Wear, which sparked me to really think about what these devices are all about.

Initially, I thought it was a pointless idea to (basically) wear a smartphone on your wrist when you can just as easily take it out of your pocket. It seems that technology has become stagnant; there's not much else we haven't invented, so we keep changing the way it looks and the size of the device or the screen (the whole iPad, iPad Mini thing seems completely silly to me). In this case, we've changed the appearance from phone-like to a watch, but all the same functions are there.

Let's look on the bright side though. After watching Android Wear's promotional video on YouTube (see below), I noticed a few things that might be useful about the watch. Say you're out in public and don't want to look like you're glued to your phone like so many other people these days. This way you can more subtly check the weather or social media notifications. Or maybe you're out for a bike ride or jog and don't have pockets to put your phone in. The watch is conveniently strapped to your wrist (but aren't there phone holders for that...? Oh well.)

I'm curious to know what other people think about wearable technology. Thoughts? Comments? Questions? (Not that I'm an expert and can answer your questions, but we can be confused together).

Toddler Saves Mother Using Technology

Young children using technology has become more and more common these days. There are iPad apps created just for young children to play with and learn with (the one that attaches to a potty training chair is especially bizarre to me).

A friend of mine, who babysits toddlers, has often handed her cell phone over to them as a toy to keep them occupied. This often results in many nonsense texts and "prank" calls being sent to many of her contacts, but she doesn't seem to mind.

Many critics, myself included, think it's strange and unnecessary for young children to be so tech-savvy. Whatever happened to giving children a book to read, or regular toys to play with, or taking them outside to enjoy nature?

However, as the world we're living in becomes more reliant on technology, it may be a good thing to teach them the basics of technological literacy at a young age (as long as they can still have an appreciation for the world around them --- in real life). I recently heard a story on Yahoo.com about a two year-old boy who got help for his injured mother using FaceTime. His mother had been badly bitten by a dog and needed immediate help. Her two older children (four year-olds), were too terrified to call for help. Her son, Bentley, not only brought her a towel to stop the bleeding, but called his mother's friend using FaceTime. The friend called 9-1-1 and when help arrived, Bentley was waiting at the door for them.

Not only is this child incredibly brave and smart for a two-year-old, his knowledge of FaceTime and his mother's smartphone got her the help she needed. Maybe it's not so bad for young children to know how to use technology after all.

Watch the full story here:
"Toddler's FaceTime Saves Mom"

Improv Everywhere: Frozen Grand Central

Improv Everywhere is a NYC-based group with one goal: to cause scenes.

They're easily one of my favorite groups to follow as they do funny and completely harmless pranks. The word "prank" is often associated with harmful activities at the expense of someone else, and sometimes they are either emotionally or physically painful. However, Improv Everywhere is a group of pranksters who actually aim to make people feel good by presenting them with absurd situations in unexpected places. Most people respond with smiles, laughter, and more than a little confusion. What more could you ask for?

Here's a very popular, and yet very simple, prank (or "mission" as they're called) that happened in 2008. It is currently the Improv Everywhere video with the highest number of views on YouTube at well over 34,000,000. Enjoy!

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The Online Dating Taboo

Many dating sites promise to help users find their perfect mate, and for every user with a profile on a dating site there seems to be two people looking down on them and laughing about the "absurd" idea of making a real connection with someone on a computer.

Online dating, though more common than it was maybe five or ten years ago, is still considered a taboo subject, and users often feel embarrassed to admit to even looking at an online dating site, let alone be a member of one. They often stammer, "Uh...well I-I was just browsing, ya' know, for laughs" or another unnecessary excuse. It is often considered a place where "losers" and shy introverts go as a last resort, after meeting people at school or in bars has failed. To say "I use an online dating site" is an opportunity to be teased and looked down upon by others because that must mean that you are less sociable and possibly less attractive than people who have no problem meeting potential significant others in person.

With that said, I'm going to make a confession: I am a user of an online dating site.

I first signed up to Plenty of Fish in 2011 after a difficult breakup with a college boyfriend (who I met in person in high school) and transferred to a new college. For the last three years I've used it on an off, sometimes hiding my profile for months at a time when I grew tired of conversations that went nowhere or men blatantly asking if I wanted a no-strings-attached hookup. Part of my decision to sign up stemmed from the fact that I am a shy introvert who has a hard time speaking up in class or engaging in small talk with strangers. Most crowded public places are exhausting to an introvert like me, which most extroverts just can't seem to understand. My loudest voice is my writing. I find it easier to express myself through writing, so making conversation on a dating site is easy (when the guy I'm talking to is also good at expressing himself through writing).

I've been on dates with three different guys who I met online. The decision to meet in person is not something I take lightly. Dozens, maybe hundreds of guys, have expressed interest in me over the years, but it takes a lot of emailing, texting, and, eventually, phone conversations to earn enough trust for me to meet them. In 2011, I got in a committed relationship with one of these men, and we were together for several months. Three years later we remain good friends and I have a good relationship with his family, even though they all live on the other side of the United States. I even flew out to stay with them last year, and it was one of the most exciting and fun experiences of my life.

So why does online dating have such a comical and negative reputation? Sure, there's no guarantee that the person on the other end of the keyboard is who they claim to be. It is very easy to lie in writing and to hide embarrassing aspects of your body in pictures. But really, there's no guarantee that the person you meet in the bar is who they claim to be either. The key words here are honesty and trust. As important as it is to protect yourself in the quest for love, it is just as important to be honest with each other and to give trust to the other person. Whether that is in person or online doesn't matter.

Society is becoming more and more technologically literate, and as we rely on the Internet for communication with friends, family, and our peers it isn't fair to say that you can't create a viable relationship with a person entirely online. I don't think virtual communication will completely replace face-to-face communication (at least, I certainly hope it won't), but I do hope that we can drop the taboo placed on online dating and replace it with more honesty and respect amongst members of the online dating community.

It Takes a Village to Find a Phone

An interesting story was brought to my attention in chapter 1 of Clay Shirky's book Here Comes Everybody, and it is a story that is becoming much more common than when the event happened.

Here's a quick overview: In 2006, a woman named Ivanna left her cellphone, a Sidekick, in the backseat of a taxi. Ivanna found out that her phone -- which contained important information regarding her wedding plans -- ended up in the hands of a young girl named Sasha. When Sasha refused to return the cell phone, what followed was amazing and uncommon in 2006. Ivanna's friend Evan set up a website and filled the Internet with the story of the stolen Sidekick, catching the attention of thousands of people who quickly rushed to support Ivanna in getting her cell phone back. The attention gained from Evan's efforts eventually convinced the NYPD to change the nature of the situation from "lost phone" to "stolen phone" and intervene, eventually returning Ivanna's phone to her. The full story can be found here: Evanwashere.com/StolenSidekick

In 2006 it wasn't quite as common for the world to be connected via the Internet, nor was this type of support from strangers common. Now we see images on Facebook every day claiming that if the picture of an injured child can get a certain number of "likes" then doctors will miraculously heal the child. These photos often have thousands of "likes", even if it's a complete hoax. (From my understanding, it pretty much always is).

On page 21 of Shirky's book, he states something that really expresses what is happening today with Internet connectedness: "And as we would expect, when desire is high and costs have collapsed, the number of such groups is skyrocketing, and the kinds of effects they are having on the world is spreading." Because of technology and the Internet, we no longer have to go door to door with a petition to get a large group of people to rally to a cause. It no longer takes a lot of money to start an organization and get more donations or to sell products. Instead, these sorts of things can be done on a website or a Facebook group at almost no cost whatsoever, and they often have even greater results.

This can be a great thing, but it can also be tremendously damaging. For instance, Ivanna got her cell phone back, but at the same time Sasha was being scrutinized by thousands of strangers, and often discussions about race and the military came into play. (Sasha is Hispanic and her brother Luis was in the Military Police). People often threatened violence towards Sasha and her family, and some of them found out where she lived. This type of behavior can easily get out of hand, and the Internet is often seen as a mask that keeps users anonymous so they can get away with such things.

The story of the stolen Sidekick is yet another example of how technology is neutral, but can easily be used for good or for bad. It is hard to say just yet which usage is more common.