Summary: This article by Jill Walker Rettberg talks a lot about self-Representation and how we represent ourselves to other people. The article stats “Self-representation with digital technologies is also self-documentation. We think not only about how to present  ourselves to others, but also log or record moments of our lives for ourselves to remember them in the future.” (Rettberg, 11) This quote I feel relates to the article mostly. It talks about how everything we do we have to capture the moment of it. If we wake up in the morning we look in the mirror and take a picture of ourselves to capture the moment. The article was a very relatable. It talks about how everything we do related to technology. Wearing it on us everyday and depending on it to track how many steps we take a day and just having it where ever we go. We learn about each other through technology not just talking to someone. We go look to there blog, Instagram, Facebook, etc to figure out how people are or what type of person they are. We judge them by what we see through technology instead of meeting a person face-to-face.

Commentary: The article talks a lot about how we revolve ourselves around technology and it stats “We are too busy learning more about ourselves and each other by taking selfies, writing blogs, talking together on Facebook or Tumblr.” (Retterg, 88) We focus on technology to give us the answer to everything. To tell us if a person we don’t know is nice or mean. If we are making a poster for an event  we go to our phones to get all the pictures. If we go for a run or workout we wear our apple watches or our fit-bits to see if we met our goals or how many steps we have taken. Some people feel weird if there phones are not in there pocket or if there headphones are not in there ears. We need to be more social with people in person. Meet up with a person and get lunch instead of face-timing them off your phone. Write down how many calories you lost a day or have eaten and how many times you have worked out instead of relying on our technology around our wrist. We are being to lazy to do all those things because we know we have a phone to do it for us.

Key Terms:

Self-Representation – A movement to encourage people in minorities to represent their own interests.

Self-Expressions- of one’s own personality, feelings, or ideas, as through speech or art

Surveillance- close observation, especially of a suspected spy or criminal.

Self-Examination- the study of one’s own behavior and motivations.

Self-Portraits- a portrait of an artist produced or created by that artist.

While reading Seeing Ourselves Though Technology Chapter 2, one main point that caught my eye was the idea that everything we do all revolves around technology. The article states “With digital cameras, smart phones and social media it is easier to create and share our self-representations. But self-representations have always been part of our culture” (Rettberg, pg. 2)

Whether we create a photo album of pictures we used a camera to take all those pictures. Everyday people are wearing fit bits, apple watches, headphones, etc. We all feel the need that we rely on technology to get us through the day. If someone doesn’t have their phone on them or their apple watch they react to it and feel different because their phone is not in their pocket.  I think that face-to-face is a very important part of life. Phones you can get a different representation of someone than what they really may be seen as. You may see a picture of them all smiley and happy but deep down they are going to depression classes to get better. Pictures don’t show who a person truly is.

We all represent ourselves through technology. We post selfies of yourself to show other people what you look like today. If we are depressed or sad we go to twitter to tweet about our feelings. It is all surrounded by a phone or a computer. We use phones to track where your friends are. I think that if you are sad or depressed go talk to your parents or your friends someone who is there for you instead of going to your phone. We shouldn’t even be able to see where our friends are all the time I think that is invading personal space to much just call the person and ask what they are doing. If we want to show someone what we are doing, we post on Facebook. If we have had a good day we go on the computer to blog about how our day is going.

The article talks about “Filters” and how we use Instagram filters on pictures we post. We hide what we are trying to show. Someone could edit there picture so much on Instagram you can’t even tell who the person is. We all use filters every day. People wear makeup to hide up their flaws. There are so many editing apps out there that make you look skinnier in a photo you are going to post or cover up a pimple you may have. Social media is just hiding who you truly are. We go on social media and see a famous person all dressed up looking good so now we have the idea to edit a picture, so we look as pretty as them, but we are really hiding who we truly are.

Overall phones have become a daily habit to everyone and we always depend on social media to be there for us. We all go right to Snap chat when we open our phones up. If we are making a poster of all the pictures with our friends, we get them all from our camera roll on our phones/computers. Why can’t we just share memories we have in our heads with each other and write them down on a piece of paper instead of going to our phones. Everything we do is all surrounded by technology we even wear technology around our wrists.

Analysis: The article says “Industrial man is not unlike the turtle that is quite blind to the beauty of the shell which it has grown on its back.” as well as “The reporter doesn’t even know theres a beautiful shell above him.” this quote makes me think that we don’t really think about the things around us we get to focused on one thing that is going on. Things like social media and tv, and computers are ways people get so distracted. The turtle doesn’t realize that it has a beautiful shell that it can’t see just like a person can focus on  all the negatives and not realize what good they have in them. Technology can also be a way that brings people down. Seeing someone on the internet that is very pretty making you not seem so good about yourself or someone telling you that your not good enough those things can bring you down but you may not realize what you are full of and capable of doing. People need to focus on the good. Don’t be so caught up with what other people are doing try looking at the good things you do and what you have accomplished.

Commentary: This article was very hard to understand but some parts of it did stick out to me. The article says “This inside point of view would coincide with the practical point of view of the man who would rather eat the turtle than admire the design on its back.” We don’t think sometimes we just do things. I think we need to focus on the things around us and see what is beautiful and what is being told rather than just going to go do sometimes. I agree with what the author is trying to say. People need to be more grateful for the things they have and be happy with what they get. Instead of just eating the cake right when you get it. Talk to people around you and say that you are grateful to have them in your life and your grateful for the food you have today and just thin more about things rather than just doing it and then you can’t go back. If sometimes is beautiful take times to look at a painting that is pretty rather than glancing at it and then walk right past it. Be cautious of your surroundings.

Key Terms:

• Techniques– a way of carrying out a particular task
• Irrationalism– a system of belief or action that disregards or contradicts rational principles.
• Independently– in a way that is free from outside control or influence
• Social integrity– the adherence of the society to its long established moral standards, and cultural values.
• Intermission– a pause or break

Imagining the Blogosphere article by the Perseus Development Company was a short but sweet article to read. It talked a lot about different interesting things. One thing that I really liked to read about in the article was publishing for profit versus publishing for non profit. Blogging is a no profit thing and it is more person to person. Rather than a news paper it may not all be true. The news reporter may be putting false advertisement into the paper just to make a bigger climax and to make more money. Versus in the blogosphere it is coming from the person in which you are reading about so it is more emotional and trust worthy. I also have experienced that before. It was in my home town and I was in the newspaper for volleyball. The paper said that we won the game and the details that they were giving to make it sound more interesting were false. They spelt my name wrong and were just giving false details about the game to make it sound more intense when really it was a boring game. The article also talks about how like blogging is like social media and I really do not agree with that. I think social media is a very different. I think blogging is more longer and you type more and talk about maybe your day or your traveling life. Social media people don’t even type anything sometimes on social media. On Instagram sometimes I will post a picture but have no words to go with that picture. Or even on Facebook or twitter sometimes I will tweet maybe a sentence or even one work and tweet it. I think social media is also a way to find famous people and see there picture that there posting and not a blog a famous person is writing. Facebook could maybe be a little more lie blogging but these days on social media everything is short and simple. Facebook I may post pictures from a vacation and not type anything to go with my post. Blogging I think is more of a journalism, I agree with the article on that statement I think it is an online journal. If you want to make your blog private you can and just type away if you have had a good day or a bad day and nobody will see it just like if you were writing it. If you have a blog that you wanna share make it not private and type away and give other people motivation to do the same thing you are. I think the article talked a lot about blogosphere and what it is like and I agree with a lot of it just some of it I disagree. I also believe that blogging can make someone a happier person. I you really are an independent person and don’t like to be social I think blogging is a good way to use your time. If you way be frustrated just type away and get all of your feelings out.

Summary: The article talk about blogosphere is more of a journalism and instead of one way communication. Blogosphere is also with people you way have never met before.  Blogging also shows more of a person and who they are. Instead of a newspaper where someone is writing about you and they may of said something wrong or even spelt your name wrong in the paper, blogging is more independent and represents the person. Newspaper are more of just reading and then setting it aside. Also talks about the news that is going around you versus blogging you can become friends with someone and build a relationship. Blogging you get more emotional by it because it is coming straight from the person who said it rather than a news reporter who could or may be making up lies to get more viewers. Blogging is a faster and easier way to get back with someone who you way be communicating with or debating with. It all happens with one click and you can link it to there site. Blogosphere is a very low cost and fast way to build a relationship and stay occupied.

Commentary: I agree very strongly with the article when they say “In the blogosphere, the sense of community is a coaxed into existence within the minds of its members in a style that stems from the instant publishing medium itself to create discursive, transnational, online imagined community.” I think that blogging is more facts instead of makeup stuff that can come from newspapers. Blogging is more deep minded and the person who is experiencing it is writing it. Therefore you get a more sense of belief into what you are reading rather than a news reporters who is spelling peoples names wrong and making of lies to get more views and more  attention.

Making Connections: This article talks about blogging can help build a relationship and  I think that is a good thing to have in a classroom. In a classroom a teacher usually makes students pair up together so that they get to know each other better or make the classer closer as friends. Teachers always want you and your classmates to get to know each other and make new friends. I think blogging is a really good way to get to know your classmates better. In our classroom we all follow each other and look at each others blogs sometimes and thats a good way to know who, what, or how a person is just by reading their blog. Blogging can build a relationship in the classroom even if you have never talked too the person before you may have an idea of what they are like just be reading there posts. The article talks about how blogging is a fast way of communication also. That helps with the classroom a lot. If you may of done something wrong it is a fast way of fishing because it is all online and everything is just all on your blog. Instead of typing a paper and handing it in and then the teacher tells you that you need to fix this then retyping and reprinting it. I just think that blogging is a faster and easier way of writing.

After I read chapter 1 on “Seeing Ourselves Through Technology” I really thought about if people see me a certain way through technology or how I show myself. That makes me think if I ever have posted a selfie and my caption to my picture maybe came off different than what I thought it was. I now kinda watch more what I say or post to be careful if it could affect anyone and do it more for other people than myself. I think with twitter also you can tell if someone is depressed or not because of maybe a tweet that you posted or a selfie. I think that also social media can play a big role in making someone depressed. You may post a selfie and get so many negative comments on it or post on Facebook or Instagram and people just bash on what you are saying making you feel self conscious or down on yourself. I also believe that females get treated differently on social media rather than men. Females get told that maybe there makeup looks bad in that or they edited it to make them look skinnier. I believe that they get talked about way more than what men get.

Another thing that really came out at me was this quote said in the article “Facebook and other web services track us, and we actually know quite a lot more about how we are being watched.” Social media has become really advanced with locations and privacy. On Facebook you have where your from, where you work, how old you are and if you are married or not. I think that social media asks for to much information and nobody can be private these days. Snap chat has this thing called “Snap Maps.” That shows where all your friends are all the time. It shows if there sleeping, listening to music, driving, boating, etc. I think that is to much advanced. You are able to not show your location but I think that it shouldn’t be an option. With all the sex trafficking that has been going on and kidnapping I wish social media had more privacy. Even if you are very private person and don’t post anything and wanting things private social media can still find things out through messages on your phone. I just think that people put to much of there lives into technology but there is so much more in a person rather than just looking at pictures of them. Don’t judge a book by there cover where you shouldn’t judge a person by a picture you see of them because there is so much more to them.

Summary: This article talks about how technology can tell us who we are. We learn a lot of yourselves and each other by taking selfies, writing blogs, talking to each other off Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, Tumblr. Social media tells us a lot on how someone is and what type of person they may be. One tweet on twitter can give someone an idea if you are depressed or if you are very happy or what you are feeling. The article talks about a pregnancy and the women didn’t post anything about it on social media no pictures or posts of it. People though found out about it because of things she may have researched on the internet which are tracked by marketing data. She also may of direct messaged people which is all private for no one to see but marketing data can find all that personal information that people think are “kept private”.

Commentary: The author says “Facebook and other web services track us, and we actually know quite a lot more about how we are being watched.” I very strongly agree with that. I think that technology has gone way to far with personal information. Snapchat now has sometimes called “Snap Maps” where you re able to see where all your friends, if they are driving, boating, sleeping, listening to music. You are able to turn yourself on “Ghost mode” where nobody is allowed to see where you are but I think that even knowing where someone is all the time is creepy to me and social media has gone really far with that. I feel that people need to be more private and some things are not worth anyone knowing. The agree with a lot of what the article is saying because technology can show who someone is but also it can go against someone. You could be the happiest person ever and post a selfie on Instagram and someone might hate on your selfie and that can make someone turn into someone who they are not. They may become depression or just wanna become someone who they are not because of technology.

Main Ideas: One main idea I think is that social media has gone to far with person information. Facebook asks for where you work, when your birthday is, where you are from etc. I feel there is so much they are asking for and it’s hard to have social media without them knowing all those things and sometimes I hear about all the crime that goes on it scars me knowing that someone might know where I am and what. Just need to be smart with the things you say and post.

Summary:  They talk about in the article that there are always new challenges for everyone and  room for improvements for everything and blogging is one good way to develop as a writer. Even if you don’t want to become a professional writer, blogging can still benefit you for other careers you are interested in. Blogging develops motivation for writing also you control what you are writing about and are not getting told what to write about and how to it’s all free writing by yourself. In high school you are usually told what to write about, how long it needs to be and what size font to use. With blogging you write about what is on your mind and do what you want to do to make it creative.

Commentary: I think about this article has a lot of good ideas that I can reflect on. I am not good with getting an assignment and having a thesis and a conclusion I like to just free write. Blogging you write about what you are interested in and you can see what other people are interested in also. You also can also customize your profile and add pictures and make your profile look very unique. I feel right now I’m not comfortable with blogging and how it works and ill need help with it but I hope to get more comfortable with it and be more confident with assignments on it. They say “It takes 10,000 of dedication of to a craft or profession to become an expert.” I agree with that quote. I think that if you wanna become good at a sport you need to put a lot of time into it. You need to practice a lot and get better and better the more you do it. People who are D1 athletes have put in so much dedication and time to the sport and they have made there goal to become as good as they can and even get better. If you wanna be a writing or English teacher you need to put a lot of time into writing to become an expert and I think blogging is a good way to do that.

Main Idea/Key Terms : One thing that mostly stuck out to me in the article is the idea on blogging is different than writing an essay. With an essay you are given how many pages you need, what you are suppose to write about, size of font. With blogging you write about whatever pops into your head and just type away on what you enjoy talking about.

Another main idea is if you wanna become a professional English or writing teacher you need to spend a lot of time doing what you love to become better and better at it. I think blogging can help with that and give you more motivation to write.

• Intrinsic Motivation: Behavior that is driven by internal rewards
• Extrinsic Motivation: Behavior that is driven by external rewards
• Belligerent: Agressive
• Blogosphere: Personal websites, blogs collectively
• Condemnation: Disapproval

In class we talked about pros and cons on blogging and this article has a lot of pros and cons I can relate to with blogging. Pros about blogging is that to become good at something you need to spend a lot of time doing it and putting so many hours into it to become as good as you can. Blogging I think helps a lot with that because you can be more motivated to blog rather than to type an essay about something you don’t wanna learn about. Blogging is more of your own thoughts and ideas and just expressing them. My life experiences with writing have not been good. In high school I was always not good at English or any sort of essay I had to do. Blogging I like so much more. I think it’s a good way to be more motivated and wanting to write. People love talking about places they have traveled or things they enjoy doing and you are able to do that with blogging. The article talks about how you can get to feel for a person more if you read there blog rather than reading an essay. I think blogging can get you and some of your other classmates closer if you read there blog so you are able to get to know what kind of person they are and what there interests are. Blogging you have no format you need to write in you are not put with a topic to write about or how to start your paragraph. I agree with the article when it says that you start to think less about what your needed to write about and you start to just write and it soon becomes natural. When I was In high school we were told what to write about and how many pages we needed and what type of font we had to use. Blogging can just be short and sweet. It can sometimes only take you 10 minutes to write about what you needed to write about and get it all covered with only one paragraph. In school I felt sometimes I was just writing about random stuff that didn’t needed to be said in my paper just to make sure I had the all the pages finished that I was assigned. I think that blogging can get a little creepy when people you don’t know follow you and see what your writing about but you are allowed to go private but we can’t for class so I just think that some stuff I try not to get into little details and be smart with some stuff I’m saying. Overall I think the more I blog the more I will be motivated too. My opinion though is that I like blogging so much more than being assigned an essay on what to write about because I feel more confident in my writing and its more of a laid back way of writing and being able to go and free write about whatever you want.