A.How have you personally used social media to engage in current events, at home and abroad?

-I do not usually use social media to engage in current events. This is really sad because I do not use and technology to keep up with current events.  I know I talked about this in my previous post but it is really sad to see how much I am clueless about.  I think that I am most aware of current events just through talking with friends and being in the classroom (and the occasional day when someone has something actually informative on their Facebook). But, if I am to use some source to catch up on current events, it would definitely be through social media. When I am at home in Arizona with my parents I find myself hardly ever using web based and mobile technologies. I think that it is mainly because I have them to update me on what is going on in the world and they have the news on TV a lot more than I do when I back here in Portland. Plus they get mad at me when I am not spending "family time" so that may also be why too.

C.How does social media and other online communication tools facilitate engagement in current events?

- Social media and other online communication tools facilitate engagement in current events in a much more convenient way. If you are trying to catch up on current events while watching TV then it is always on the TV's time and not yours.  By using websites such as ESPN, CNN, New York Times, etc. you can engage in all current events whenever you want. You can watch shows when you want, look up the scores of sports instead of waiting for them to show up on ESPN; it just makes its much easier for everyone. Something else that I have noticed as well is the fact that many times the news will show more of what is entertaining rather than news that should be reported.  Therefore, by going online you can look at what you want to see and not just what is entertaining to the audience.

Watchdogs

A. A) How have you personally used social media to monitor yourself/others, your own community, your own government, and/or other governments (e.g., Egypt, Iran)?

-I use the social media to monitor a lot of what goes on in my family.  They all live in Canada and it is rare that I ever get to see them or speak to them so having a Facebook is a great way for us to stay in touch and to create a community online as a family.  As far as how much I focus on ideas relating to the global level, I do not use the social media.  If I am to use social media at a global level, I would read little articles here and there that are sent to me, otherwise I do not really engage in this. As sad as this is to say, I am extremely bad at keeping up with anything that is going on in our government, let alone other governments.  But, I do know that I would personally rather use the social media as a way of receiving this type of news.  This is just something that I do not dedicate my time to although it was a new year’s resolution of mine; that did not work.

B.B) What is watchdog behavior and how is it done at the local and global level?

- Watchdog behavior at the local level is much different than watchdog behavior at a global level.  At the local level people see watchdogs as an alarm. People believe that having a dog that can alert the house can be an effective way of staying safe as well.  At this level, the dog does not take on too much responsibility where as at the global level, these watchdogs become more of not just an alarm but rather an effective way for the government to find drugs, find people, etc.  These watchdogs take on a much larger role and become responsible for much more than just alarming a household when there is an intruder.

C) How does social media and other online communication tools facilitate watchdog behavior?      

 -I can honestly say that I have not personally seen anything online in regards to watchdog behavior. In fact, what was just mentioned about watchdogs in class this morning is one of the first times I have ever heard of the topic in a while.  But, I found it interesting that when I went to Google and searched “social media and watchdog behavior” that the first thing that popped up was: Social Media=Society’s Watchdog.  I know that this is going in a completely different direction but the idea behind this was very appealing to me.  We have watchdogs in our houses in order to feel safe.  But, do we really think that the social media is our watchdog?  I do not know how I feel about this yet

Community Building Online

A.What is community building and how is it done at the local and global level? 

      -Community building is when a group of people develop relationships in order to enhance or create/build a community.  At the local level this would be something as small as a neighborhood.  The community building here can possibly start from the board who are in charge or keeping the neighborhood on track with their wants/needs.  Although the community building in a neighborhood may seem easy, there are still problems that arise. For example, every person is different, therefore is up to the type of people who are living in that neighborhood; if it is a young neighborhood the community is going to be different then if it is a neighborhood of young kids, teens, and elders. The same thing occurs when you are dealing with community building at a global level.  If we go from one end of the spectrum to the other, a global community could be something as big as our world government. When community building is done at a global level there are a lot more stakes at hand.  It is no longer a small group of people being affected; it is now a rather large group of people to say the least. The world government and the community they are trying to build is one of the most difficult tasks that our world faces.  There will never be a time in which the world will be at an agreement about everything and unfortunately makes it harder to build a community (where as a small neighborhood can find a way of coming to an agreement)

B.How does social media and other online communication tools facilitate community building?

      -Social media is a big contribution when it comes to building a community.  Much of the online communication that we see is a community.  Last week we learned specifically how much youtube was seen as a community.  Even though it might not have been seen as a community to me; it was definitely seen a place of sanctuary to many. Facebook is the most popular online communication right now and it has done an amazing job at building a community.  Facebook, along with many others, have found a way for people to connect and reconnect with people who, like my mom says, has not seen since elementary school.

C.  How have you personally used social media to build community?

    -I have not specifically created something myself but I know that I use Facebook all the time and am a part of that community.  There are times when I go home over Christmas break and send out a mass email to my whole soccer team and we create a community online by mass emailing everyone in order to stay in touch.  So, for the time being, we do use social media in order to create a little community.