Blogging gets a bad rap!
Read the following articles before taking part in our discussion.
Note: All purple text on this site are links you can click on.
Facebook gains popularity
Blogs turn political
Presidential threats on MYSPACE
How big is blogging anyway? Are we making a big deal out of nothing?
Based upon using the above readings to provide evidence, answer the following questions. Full credit will only be awarded if direct quotes from the reading are used and this also includes citing where the quote originated.
There are many blogging sites out there, not just MYSPACE. And yet, everyday they are on the news. Just yesterday, CNN has a news story on how inmates are socializing with teenagers on this site.
Why do you think MYSPACE has gotten so much media attention? Is it justified?- How will this ultimately affect (teachers, students, administrators, parents, etc.) perceptions of online blogging?
- Post one more comment of something you found of interest in the reading.
- Take part in the discussion by commenting on at least one others persons comment. To get full credit, remember to list the persons name, what they said, and why you agree/disagree with thier comment.
Note: you may type all your answers in word and then paste them into the comments area.
58 comments:
1.Why do you think MYSPACE has gotten so much media attention? Is it justified?
I think myspace has gotta so much media attention because its easy for kids to talk to an unknown person an then be abducted. Also they post personal information about where they live and etc. Also threating messages can be post about a person an then the threat may not be taken serious and it could really happen.
1) I think MYSPACE has gotten so much media attention because it has so many bloggers particpating and because so much money is put into the site. It also recieves so much attention because of the dangers the site can cause....such as threats, like the "threats" and drawings of President Bush and predators. Things like that can become a huge deal to parents, teachers, news stations, and etc.
2) This will altimately affect students, teachers, parents, and other's perceptions of online blogging because of safety. Parents, teachers, and administrators will fear predators going after their children and students, and childrem may not be allowed on the site. Teachers, students, and adminastrators may begin to think that MYSPACE is too dangers to be taking part in and MYSPACE may lose it's popularity and bloggers.
I agree with shelby about the second question. If important people thinks its dangers then it will must-likely lose its popularity or the site could become shut down.
3) I found it interesting that NewsCorp would be willing to pay the 580 million dollars that it did for MYSPACE. (from the link "how big is blogging anyway?")This proves that MYSPACE is a big deal and that MYSPACE has gained so much media attention.
Wow, nice going in "discussing" it with each other online. Keep going.
Don't forget, there are more things to add to your comments to get full credit.
Everyone else - where are you?
Why do you think MYSPACE has gotten so much media attention? Is it justified?
I agree with Katie, I think MYSPACE has got so much media attention because young kids can get on and talk to anyone. They also post where they live, their age and a photo of themselves. Some people might not take this seriously because they think that "that can't happen to me" but it can happen to anyone. Strangers send out threating messages and comments and some people don't take that seriously either.
How will this ultimately affect (teachers, students, administrators, parents, etc.) perceptions of online blogging?
This effects teachers, students, parents etc. by the saftey of others and the education of others. The parents worrie about their children talking to strangers and telling them too much information. Also they block so many sites that when it comes to looking up things for a certin class you can't because the site you want to get on is blocked. And blogging is very popular, and i think it is very educational, because you can see how other people feel about things going on and what is going through thier mind. And most of MYSPACE's popularity comes from bloggers. So they would lose alot now that MYSPACE is blocked in school systems...
1)Myspace has gotten so much attention by media because so many parents fear that a person might log on to the childs myspace page and leave a threatning or odd message.
1.Why do you think Myspace has gotten so much media attention? Is it justified?
Myspace has gotten so much media attention because they see how quickly kids can get involved and how much it takes over their mind. With this site it stops kids from doing homework or anything that may be instructional but it gives them more time and oppurtunity to talk to unknown people. It is easy to talk to someone that you don't know and its even easier for someone that don't know you to talk to you. Not only this reason but it has also gotten so much attention because so mush effort, time, and money have been put into the site.
In the artical a "threat on myspace" it was talking about how a freshman girl in high school made a page with a threat towards president Bush, the caption stated "I hate Bush". Personally I don't think the page was made to be a threat to him i think it was just a way to voice her opinions and let others know how she felt about his policies and the way he ran things. But in the other hand I see how it could have caused alot more public attention, and could have put his life in danger. in the artical it says ".... it's a good thing to meet with her, at her young age, at home rather than takinng her out of class,....? I agree this should have been done because i don't the situation was handled in a civilized way, and it could of been handled a whole lot differently.
1. Why do you think MYSPACE has gotten so much media attention? Is it justified?
I think the media attention on MySpace is partially justified. Obviously it is a hugely popular site, which is only growing (243% annual growth in unique visitors according to www.cnn.com). Any new trends in culture and technology always receive buzz from the media. Even some of the negative press is justified. People need to be informed about how to keep themselves and their children safe online. However, the media is known for blowing things out of proportion. I think there are many people out there who view MySpace as all bad and do not see the good side of MySpace. The media has fueled people’s fears of blogs. There are very simple ways to stay safe that people do not even know about. Basically, the amount of media attention is justified, but the negativity of the attention is not.
2.How will this ultimately affect (teachers, students, administrators, parents, etc.) perceptions of online blogging?
Teachers, administrators, and parents are likely to see all the attention and quickly forbid their students from accessing these blogging sites. They are less likely to understand the benefits of blogs. Students, thought, will be more likely to want to get on them because of their popularity.
3.Post one more comment of something you found of interest in the reading.
The presidential death threat posted online by Julia Wilson, 14, was an interesting story to me. If she had thought her actions through before she posted it she would have realized how bad of a decision it was. Yet she was impetuous and emotional. She never thought that the Secret Service would see it because she saw her site as personal. Yet, this is the problem with many teenagers having blogs. They forget their blog is PUBLIC. Anyone can access it and read it any time they want. It’s not the same as writing in your diary, and students need to understand this. According to the article, “She says never meant the president any harm”, but if she had used some common sense the situation never would have happened.
The perspective of MYSPACE through the eyes of parents, teachers, and administrators has been changed drastically over the past year or two (or for however long MYSPACE has been popular). Thanks to the news stories of kidnapping through MYSPACE, parents have been extra careful of knowing what their kids are doing on the computer.
I agree with lindsay about how parents have been extra careful about what there kids go on. Since the popularity of MYSPACE had becoming bigger then ever because of kiddnapping. Administrators try to keep kids off of it for their well being.
1.Why do you think MYSPACE has gotten so much media attention? Is it justified?
I believe MySpace has gained so much media attention because everyone has it. It’s very user friendly, and anyone can sign up. Those who haven’t yet got a MySpace are “…part of a rapidly shrinking minority.” {cnn.com web booom}
Like all things in life there’s a good side to MySpace, and there’s also a bad side, which happens to be most commonly discussed in the media. No one wants to talk about the positive self expression taking place on MySpace. Yes, everyday predators attack MySpace users, but have you ever thought it could be the abductees’ fault? Maybe if MySpace users utilized their common sense, not so many people would end up abducted.
*Keep your profile set to private so not just anyone can view it.
* Don’t post your address or phone number.
*Don’t post racy pictures, then you’re just begging for that kind of attention.
*Don’t accept friend requests from a person you don’t know, and definitely don’t invite them over!
*Remember: MySpace is for chatting with the friends you already have, not acquiring new ones.
1.How will this ultimately affect (teachers, students, administrators, parents, etc.) perceptions of online blogging?
The negative media attention will ultimately modify the teachers, students and administrators analysis of MySpace. If the news is always talking about predators on MySpace, your parents aren’t going to approve of you getting on there. They’re looking out for what’s in their child’s best interest. The same goes for teachers and administrators. The teachers don’t want to be responsible for you getting abducted nor does the administration. They would be liable for your actions because you’re on school property. This leaves them open for getting sued.
I agree 100% with Samantha's list of ways to stay safe! These are simple and obvious ways to do so and it is ridiculous that more people don't follow them. You could never blame it on the victim, but if they had been a little more careful these situations with predators might have been avoidable.
Jyneka, i completly agree with what you're saying about myspace being distracting. When you're on there you don't feel like doing anything productive.
In the How Big is Blogging Anyway article it said:
"And if the competition to survive wasn't intense enough already, a Microsoft spin-off called Wallop announced last week it expects to take on MySpace and Facebook by touting tools users can buy to craft better-looking web pages." However in my opinion people won't be willing to spend money on their blogs. The whole point of blogging is that its convenient and free. I don't think that this will catch on like MySpace or Facebook has.
1.
I think that myspace is given too much attention and they put so much emphisis on the site and how its so bad when realy its just stupid people who get their selves in trouble. i do think it is justified though because of its popularity.
1.Why do you think MYSPACE has gotten so much media attention? Is it justified?
I think the media attention on MYSPACE is justified. It is a ver popular site for people of all ages. Any new trend always get attention from the media. Also some of the negative media is justified because parents should be informed about keeping their children safe. However, the media is usually known for making things more extreme than what they really are making some people's views negative towards MySpace. The media attention may be justified but the negativity is not.
2.How will this ultimately affect (teachers, students, administrators, parents, etc.) perceptions of online blogging?
Teachers, parents and administrators will most likely ban myspace from their computers because of the negative attention towards MySpace. Students will attempt to keep viewing Myspace because of it's popularity.
3.Post one more comment of something you found of interest in the reading.
When reading the FACEBOOK popularity article I found it interesting that a Harvard college student started the fad as a sort of yearbook for his University. "After news last week that Yahoo! Inc. was in talks with Facebook to purchase the site in a deal worth $1bn, the previously restricted site this week opened up its membership to anyone, anywhere". This is interesting that Yahoo wanted o buy the site for such a high price. One student started a group that grew to over 600,000 members that were agins news feed for privacy. Then he wrote a letter to facebook saying "we messed this one up," and announced new options for users to not be a part of the news feeds. I agree with him because of the fact that he is attempting to keep his info private. Some students are now against the publicity of Facebook. I feel that Facebook is going to go through what MySpace is going throough now.
1.Why do you think MYSPACE has gotten so much media attention? Is it justified?
I think myspace has gotten so much attention because of the way kids put their business out. Its their decision of what pictures or comments they want to post so noone but them really has control of what they see on someones page. I do believe that the media's negative out look on myspace is right because if i was an adult and i saw some of the things that kids put on their page, I would be pretty mad and disgusted.
I agree with Samantha about the list of ways to stay safe on MySpace. I also agree with her about the fact MySpac is so popular because everyone has it. However, I disagree that MySpace is for only communicating with friends you already have. The soul purpose of MySpace is to make new friends and meet new people as well as chatting with friends you already know.
I agree with Jyneka that in school if you have work to do than it is not productive. You feel like your not getting anything done or completed.
I agree with katie Robinson about her sayin gits so easy to contact an unknown person becaue their are probably people who claim there someone else. And posting stuff about where you live isnt a very good idea but a lot of people do it anyway.
Shelby said that is recieves so much attention because of the bloggers participating and because of the dangers sites can have. I agree with her but I think people who do not have a myspace only think of myspace being this huge invitation for something bad to happen or an easy way for preditors to find information about you but myspace was never made for that. It was just a fun thing to do on the computer when im bored, thats how i look at it anyway.
2. I think that the only way this will affect parents and such is the safty of the kids as far as teachers and administrators are concerned, i think that the only thing that they will do is serve as a distraction.
I also aregg with Katie, it is really easy on myspace to find a complete stranger and start talking to them,I just think that people could be smarter with how they go about adding people and talking to them.
I also agree with Samantha about staying safe on myspace, I think that these are the best ways to stay away from preditors on myspace
"1.Why do you think MYSPACE has gotten so much media attention? Is it justified?
I think myspace has gotten so much attention because of the way kids put their business out. Its their decision of what pictures or comments they want to post so noone but them really has control of what they see on someones page. I do believe that the media's negative out look on myspace is right because if i was an adult and i saw some of the things that kids put on their page, I would be pretty mad and disgusted.
December 5, 2006 7:02:00 AM PST" - Sydney
I agree with sydney because even if you tell them not to view or post certain things, 9 times out of 10 they will anyway if they want to.
I also agree with courtney because some people do get caught and some kids do talk to anyone.
I think myspace has gotten so much media attention because it is very popular and very dangerous. It is justified because people need to know all about myspace and other online social networking and blogging sites, weather bad or good, illegal or legal. People need to know about them.
I think this will ultimately affect the teachers, students, admistraitors, parent’s perceptions of online blogging by letting them know in a sense that someone cares enough to write these articles about online safety. It will make them feel a little better knowing that they are not the only ones that care about it, and other online dangers or risk.
One other thing i found out about was that high school and collage students mostly use facebook.
i think myspace has gotten so much media attention because anyone can talk anyone on the myspace site. even if they did not request to be a friend. depending on what you put on your page people can make treats, and find out where you live.
1. I think that Myspace has gotten so much media attention because there are so many different kinds of people using myspace. Parents are worried about their children and their safety. There has also been so much money put into the Myspace..
2. Myspace affects different people. It affects parents and teachers. Parents and Teachers don’t like online blogging like myspace because of the safety. They fear that their children or students don’t blog safely. They worry that their children will have online predators. Many adults are now thinking that myspace is to dangerous. There is a possibility that Myspace may loose some of its popularity.
I think Myspace has gotten so much media attention because because anybody can get a myspace account and put false and information so that they can get to know people and eventually they can try to locate them and rape and/or kidnap them.i think that it is very justified because anyone who has a myspace should know about opnline preditors
3. Somthing i found interesting was how much attention facebook has gotten lately and that it is the "new myspace" face book seams safe and aimed towards college and high school students but i am wondering if it will end up like a myspace where everyone is on it.
1.I believe that Myspace that has gotten so much media attention because it gives people the chance to talk and look at pictures of there friends and others. Also I think because it is like a magazine of people and lots of people like reading magazines. A big factor in the attention is because of the myspace popularity that has hit the people. (CNN) –“If you haven't already created a cyber profile on a social networking Web site like MySpace.com or Facebook.com, you're part of a rapidly shrinking minority.”
The stereotypes on myspace aren’t justified, because some of the negative feedback on the site. Some are just not true and are blown out of proportion. But I can see where people might be worried about his/her children, on the site.
2.The stereotypes and the sexual predators’ information with affect the parents and teachers. The parents will not want their children are an unsafe site. Parents and teachers already think the internet is not a good place of their students and children to spend time because they think they spend more time on inappropriate sites then educational ones.
"prepare for 'everyone and their grandma' is on Facebook" and "Facebook will [now] actually be more dangerous for kids and attractive to predators than MySpace."
*I thought this was an interesting part of the cnn reading. I am a teenager and I haven’t even thought of posting a Facebook. I know that some people have it but I believe that it is more of a college thing. But you never know because Myspace came out of no where with the big BOOM!
3. Post one more comment of something you found of interest in the reading.
A couple of things that i have found interesting in the reading is "MySpace (243% annual growth in unique visitors to 79.6m) and Facebook (86% growth to 15.5m) are fast pushing to become the most trafficked Internet destinations." I read that in the link "how big is blogging anyway?" I found that interesting because them two sites are pushing to be two of the popular sites, if not already. Its just amazing that people become addictive to these sites and so many people become members of them. They are growing fast and i think they are way out of control.
Another thing i found rather interesting is one the link "A threat on MYSPACE," it talks bout secret serevice agents checking out people's pages on MYSPACE and i had no idea that they did that. Some girl got caught by showing this page with threating things about Bush and the secret agents saw that and she went through so many things. I never heard of anything like that and i thought it was rather interesting to see what can happen to thos who post them kind of things.
I agree with what Kaitlin when she was talking about how interesting it was to hear that Facebook seems to be safe and secure for college and high school students. But will it really get as popular as MYSPACE? Will it gain popularity and become like MYSPACE, becoming un-safe and all up in the media?
I agree with Katie R. when she said that MYSPACE has got so much media attention because it's easy for anyone to talk to anyone. People post all this information about themselves almost like they want to be found. They make it easy for the predators out there, making them not having to look as hard. And anything can happen to anyone, people might not think it can happen to them, but oh it can in a heartbeat. I just don't understand why people post so much info....really un-called for.
I also agree with Samantha's list of ways to stay safe on MYSPACE!
They are obvious reasons and anyone can follow them and should follow them 100%...
I agree with Lindsay. Parents are afraid and worried that strangers may leave their children sexual and threatening messages or comments. These are some of the cons of the mypsace site.
Heather, even though "There is a possibility that Myspace may loose some of its popularity.", because of predators, it hasn't taken effect yet, and i doubt it will for a long time. Until something happens to you or someone you know, you wont want to admit there's a problem, and you'll keep getting on.
oI think that myspace has gotten alot of media attention because of the ignorant people on myspace that post things that are offensive to others. I think that girl knew she was going to get in trouble, but maybe she didn't think they would react to a stupid page like that. I think some of its justified but they should blame the people on myspace and not the owner TOM!!!..
"Until something happens to you or someone you know, you wont want to admit there's a problem, and you'll keep getting on."
Valid point, Samantha. We may hear the warnings about the site but they will never really effect us until we have a negative personal experience with MySpace. We all THINK we are safe and may even do things to stay safe, but we won't know if we are or not until it happens to us.
The over-the-top scare tactics used by some adults and media outlets clearly are not working. It makes rebellious teens want to log on more. More subdued, logical discussion about risks and rewards of blogging would probably do more good. Sometimes it seems like adults don't really care to see our side of the discussion so it makes us not want to listen to theirs.
i agree with Syd. the more information people put out the more other poeple are goin to read. i also agree with kaite, anyone can talk to you on myspace. people can put false thing about themselfs.
I think that MYSPACE has gotten so much media attention and is so invlved in politics because it is apart of many americans dialy lives. many people are against it and feel that it is innapropriate because of abductions and the many child predators. Also there are not many limitations on to what you can and can not do meaning anyone could have your personal information and children to could be chatting with a person who is a predator.
i think that ultimately everyone will be effected by myspace and blogging even if they do not have access to the internet.i think that people attitudes especially the parents will change towards it because i think they will realize that it actually is a fun site and that you can meet nice people. i think that everythin has a good and a bad side to it.
I completely agree with what everyone is talking about with staying safe on myspace and how to handle situations, I feel if people would use common sence and if some preditors then there realy wouldn't be a problem, people can be blocked a deleted so i think all it is realy is comon sence
I found the fact that even some important people in our society are on myspace and are on blogging cites interesting. I agree wtih the comment that jyneka posted when she said that myspace and different blogging sites can really be a huge focus for teens and it can totally take their minds off of everything else and that is scary.
I agree with what both Sydney and Katie said especially with Katie because not everybody on myspace put up their real information. Therefore they wouldn't know what was real or false. I also agree with Sydney because the more you post up the more ppl is gonna read so they can see if they can find out any info about you.
Everyone can be effected by myspace. Kids can comee cross people that they dont know and parents are by what may happen to their kids by them being about of this website. Either way negative things will come out f it.
When i read in the article about the CORP paying 580 million dollars for Myspace i was surprised and that just goes to show how popular it is and how much attention it gets.
I agree with Kaitlin when she said that she agrees with everyone because i do too, i think that the majority of people feel the same way about these issues and the articles are true so i think that it is too easy to get in contact with people and when its easy then more people start getting in contact with people they don't know.
1.Why do you think MYSPACE has gotten so much media attention? Is it justified?
I think MYSPACE has gotten so much media attention because it is ver popular among everyone of all ages. MYSPACE is also a public site that allows anyone to create an account and access it immediately. This makes is unsafe for all members especially women and youngsters. I don't feel that MYSPACE is as bad as everyone makes it seem.
2.How will this ultimately affect (teachers, students, administrators, parents, etc.) perceptions of online blogging?
This affects teachers, students, administrators, parents, etc. because in school teachers and administrators have to deal with students accessing the MYSPACE site. This disrupts classroom instruction and most students will not do their work before accessing MYSPACE.
One thing that I found interesting in my reading was that Yahoo is trying to buy the ever so popular Facebook site.
I agree with @rii3l. She stated that some people on MYSPACE are ignorant and post things that are offensive to other. This is true and cause many problems on MYSPACE and can cause many dangers. I also agree when she said that the owner Tom should not be to blame but the folks who created the page should!
1.Why do you think Myspace has goten so much media attention? Is it justified?
I don't belive Myspace has goten very much media attention, especialy considering how many overprotective people are out there who would fight against it. I have only heard about myspace once in the news. Everything i have learnd about myspace has been from poeple i know or seaarching the site myself
2.How will this ultimately affect (teachers, students, administrators, parents, etc.) perceptions of online blogging?
I dont think it will change anyones opinion on bloging. No mater what there will always be people who disagree with bloging and will fight to get rid of it as well as people who will fight to keep it. No mater how secure the site the same people will find a fault, giving them reason to complain, if they disagree with the fundamental idea of blogging.
I think Shelby makes several valid points. myspace and related sites can be very dangerous and any threats on myspace should be taken seriously.
Alicia is right about the media mixing up the image of myspace by only showing the dangers and minority cases.
You all did great. Thanks for taking part in our discussion.
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