Week 2

 This week we were introduced to the idea of social computing. We were presented with different forms of communication, traditional (face to face, telephone, letter), semi-traditional (email, online chat, mobile phone) and social media (integrated online means, web conferencing).  We were told about gatekeepers, who are the people who control the information that we as users are exposed to. I also learned of the importance of source credibility. I t is down to the author to provide the user with true information. Information can also retain value. For example the number of retweets on a tweet.

This week we were also challenged to go one whole day without the use of  social media and report on our findings. I woke up the morning of the challenge and I had to refrain from doing what I do every morning, scan through my Facebook and Instagram  before getting out of bed. I had overcome my first obstacle and the obstacles seemed to be never ending as the day progressed. Several times I took my phone out of my pocket but was then brought back down to earth once I remembered.. Towards the end of the day, I had almost made it without the assistance of social media. I was playing football with my friends that night and I was distracted by a few of the lads watching a video on the sideline. All of them were erupting with laughter. Obviously I wanted to see what all the fuss was about, so I rushed towards them and before I knew it I was involved in the laughter. It was Madonna falling over at the Golden Globes.. I had failed the challenge, at the last hurdle.. It's incredible how much our generation is reliant on technology. 

I also completed the task of creating 'HelloPurr' . I found this process to be quite enjoyable and it's useful to have those tools in my toolbox now. I had a screenshot of the completed stage but it was somehow deleted and I wasn't sure how to retrieve it.