Urbis class summary

The internet has made valuable connections since its birth many years ago. Of those connections, the most important are of the people at a worldwide level. These connections wouldn’t be as entertaining if it isn’t for the recent explosion of social networking sites. Many beckoned me into joining through popularity. We have heard of MySpace, Facebook, and Youtube, all luring us in. Yet, there was one social networking site that caught me hook, line and sinker!
Urbis.com is a site dedicated to those all around the world who are in love with reading and writing. Whereas most sites are focused on staying in communication with friends only, Urbis.com revolves around friends critiquing and giving advice to one another. With that being said, most users should have an idea of what they want from the site. Users may want a publisher’s attention or simply post their hobby for others to read. As discussed in the class, there are many advantages to using the site. First, there’s a freedom to write whatever you wish never being confined to a notebook. Secondly, scouts search for new talent in the site eager for fresh ideas and new styles of writing. Thirdly, some book groups held in the “real world” limit the number of people who can hear your work as well as only hearing a specific genre. On Urbis genres are continually added, you’re not limited to one, and users who are willing to hear you are in the thousands! Finally, the aforementioned writing groups are where Urbis draws its inspiration; Urbis is its’ future representation. In the more accessible, more digital times we live in it seems every activity has its own url.
I found the site as a very useful way to get wide variety opinions from different ages, backgrounds and areas all around the United States. I am thrilled at the class’s overall reaction; most agreed it was a very useful tool. It could be accessed as a way to perfect one’s homework assignment, an idea I couldn’t come to realize. In addition, the credit system encourages reviewers to leave in depth comments about the works you’ve written no matter their background. However, an issue over copyrights surface, anyone could copy your hard written work and you wouldn’t know. Urbis protects users from copying other users, but it could only do so much when it is out in the open on the web. Surprisingly, unlike many other social networking sites Urbis has zero advertising. This is something that most internet savvy users find very welcoming. It has also been brought to my attention in class that it is very hard to figure out how Urbis receives it’s funding. Perhaps, there is a site devoting itself to make the audience happy, with no corporate puppeteers behind the stage.

EBAY

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3078461/
and
http://www.smallbusinesscomputing.com/emarketing/article.php/3079321
dont worry, they're not long!

amanda's article posts

http://mashable.com/2006/11/26/breakcom-to-pay-400-per-video/

http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=109&STORY=/www/story/04-11-2007/0004563231&EDATE=

she has a problem with her blogger but she is lucky she has friends......named wally.....who is cool.......ok i finished now :)

Article Links

http://www.harlemlive.org/community/peeps/owasow/wasow.html

and

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/10/23/on_specialized_websites_candidates_home_in/

here are the links to the Urbis articles

http://www.solutionwatch.com/535/urbis-judging-the-books-without-covers/

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/262404/an_urbis_primer_notes_on_a_superior.html

Facebook Analysis

Facebook, an online social networking community has indeed developed over the past few years. Designed for the likings of college students, Facebook has now opened itself up to any and everyone. The once private and restricted site has built itself up to be one of the nine top websites being browsed on the internet. The issue that my article focuses on is the idea that you’re information isn’t at all kept safe in the walls of Facebook. The article gives an example of how a few college students at Washington University was hosting a party, with underage drinking and due to the news of the party spreading through the wires connected from pc to pc, the campus offices were able to catch on and bust the party in action. The twist to the story is the same set of students, as a test decided to send out, through of course Facebook, another party referred as the beer party on campus. This was to prove their theory that their private information and conversations were being monitored by campus officials.

Facebook has other issues besides invasion of privacy; online predators are able to access personal information on the site of young adults and can result in “cyber stalking”. According to the article, it has raised much attention that Facebook, like many other social networking sites, has conflict with privacy. These sites display information that is filled out by a member in the process of joining the online community. Although it may seem that the information is kept safe and is only being viewed by close friends and family to the newcomer, the reality of it is that personal information about the individual has now been registered in the system for pretty much everyone to have access too. However, the many privacy issues have been brought to many users attention, the site still remains to be one of the top and hottest sites on the internet since MySpace and Friendster. Even so, there are other concerns for the parents of the young members of Facebook and the community as a whole. Facebook has taken away time youngsters used to use as “hang out” time. It has made face to face interaction almost extinct. Now that these online resources have taken over the internet with new and exiting ways to entertain you, who needs to meet up and see a movie? Who needs the telephone? When you have direct connection to many in a click of a mouse?

Facebook may have its many downfalls, but it is still one of the most popular sites out right now on the web. It is the web 2.0 version of MySpace. Instead of formulating your own applications like MySpace allows, Facebook has already made applications that you can add to your profile as a way of expressing yourself. The site allows for old friends and distant family to keep in touch and also allows for individuality. It is a site that brings people together through common interest and allows for social activity beyond meeting up for brunch. These sites have changed the face of the new generations. We are the technology age.

Facebook

My article strongly emphasized on how Facebook consumes to much time from teenagers. I agree because majority of teenagers are users of Facebook. Like myself, I do spend a lot of time on Facebook and other social networks and it lacks my ability to get duties, errands and even school work done regularly. Why is Facebook so much time - consuming towards adolescents? There are also other problems such as security and privacy issues that need to be regulated. However, Facebook is in the process of protecting it's users from pedophile and spam messages. Facebook is the new uprising social networking system. Myspace and Facebook have some similarities and differences among them. The two websites are implied to one another all the time. You sometimes hear, "Myspace V.S. Facebook." Both social networking sites are desired to help users communicate through the Internet. However, Facebook has different features and more exciting applications than Myspace. For example, Facebook most exciting feature is the famous, "Wall." The Wall is impressive because you post comments so, everyone can see and even draw on it. Myspace and the other hand has comments posted similar to the Wall on Facebook, but no creative design. Also, Facebook has it's own language, passageways and handshakes. You can "poke" a friend something like a wink or wave. You can also assign specialized subgroups who share same hobbies, virtual zombies, and other impressive applications. Facebook also allows you to send people drinks, flowers and other amazing stuff. Myspace doesn't have all these features, but you can have a layout for your page which Facebook does not have. Since, the version of Web 2.0. everything is set up for you all you have to do is upload. Invasion of privacy is an issue by many users because their information is out in the open to practically everyone. As a male perspective I have nothing to hide because I don't expect any stalkers. I'm not scared or terrified of others knowing my information because I don't believe anyone would try to harm me in any way possible. On the contrast, females perspectives are completely different. They inform privacy issues to Facebook because of pedophiles and other reasons of being harm. Females are more aware and conscious that they are being watched or monitored. Finally, I always thought these social networking sites as Myspace, Friendster, and Facebook had no issues and meant to make all people satisfied. Nevertheless, Facebook has some bad encounters and propose many problems to others.