Our effect on the internet

Late last night I was reading wired (it's a magazine). There were lots of articles about the Internet, consumers, etc. Two of the ones that most interested me were an interview with a man who has just written a book about blogging and an article about the Google/Facebook war for Internet dominance. There was also recently an article in Time that addressed the revolutionary effect of Twitter. Those three articles got me to start thinking about how we - as "consumers" of the Internet - control the information on the Internet.

Think about it. The most popular sites are judged based on the number of views they get in a single day. That's actually part of how Google works - they show you the websites with the most hits first. Sites like Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, MySpace, etc, etc are all popular because we, the consumer, make them that way. The future of the Internet rests in our hands. As soon as computers were made available to the general population back in the 60's/70's we began to shape their future. When Facebook tried to change it's terms of use, everyone freaked out - so much so that they repealed their change and created a user friendly, based on user votes, constitution.

We shaped that change. We are the reason Twitter is so popular. We are the reason the word "google" now signifies a verb, why the words "facebook" and "mapquest" are verbs, verbs that imply Internet use. Have you ever said, "Go google that, I'll facebook you, can you mapquest some directions, etc"? In the same way that we shape language by accepting that 'to google' means to search for something online through a particular search engine, we shape that search engine with our demands and needs and constant use of the Internet.

While I find the amount of information the Internet has on me a little scary, I am also fascinated by it's dependance on us, the consumers. Our social decisions effect the use of the internet. As more and more information becomes avaliable, we, as internet users, become more and more dominant. Post your thoughts!

Percy Weasley and Albus Dumbledore

My apologies if you don't like Harry Potter, but that's sort of your own decision, so you should not be upset that I am writing about it. If you do not read Harry Potter, this will not make sense to you. If you have not read the 7th book, this will not make sense to you. Sorry!

I really like Percy Weasley. He is one of the better developed characters in Harry Potter - not a plain black/white character, he has gray spots. Yesterday my sisters and my friend were asking me why I like Percy so much, and I said I think he's like Dumbledore. Here's what I meant:

Percy, like Dumbledore, was young and had a desire for power when he got out of school. Like Dumbledore, he was ashamed of his family and tried to go beyond them for higher things - Dumbledore was reaching for the Hallows, Percy for the Ministry. Both betrayed their families - Percy in a more dramatic way. Dumbledore felt that he had killed his sister - just as Percy probably felt after Fred died.

I think that if we give Percy Weasley some time to learn that power is dangerous he will be just as wise as Dumbledore, and as amiable as his father. He has that potential. Maybe I like Percy because I see a bit of himself in me. Give Percy a chance, and you'll see the good in his character.

In the Morning

It's about 9:30 am right now. There are 4 active people on Facebook chat where there are normally 20-something. Personally, I don't consider 9 to be early in the morning, so this post is a little irrelevant. But I absolutly ADORE mornings. I love the soft feel of the grass under a sun that gives off paler, softer rays than it does later in the afternoon. I love the feeling of having my whole day ahead of me, ready to be filled with exciting moments and thoughts. I love the peace found in the mornings. And I really enjoy eating breakfast - something I don't normally do over the school year.

All you guys who sleep in till really really late miss out on some of the great beauty of the world. (now, last night I was up until 1, so it's ok to stay up late) Get up early in the morning - enjoy the quiet of your household. Spend some time reading. Maybe even reading the Bible. Wash your hair and dry it naturally in the sunlight.

Don't waste the time in the morning. Use it for a good purpose. Maybe you could make breakfast for your mother or coffee for you father. Maybe you could spend the time coloring with your little siblings, or chatting with your older siblings. You could clean your room - then you won't have to do it later when you want to have fun instead. Make use of the morning, you'll have the rest of the day to spend on your own.

Go for a run, mow the lawn, sit on the porch and read, enjoy the outdoors in the morning.
Play music and dance, do whatever you want, but don't spend your morning curled up in bed, that benefits no one - not even you, because you wasted that precious time.

I love the morning. You should try it sometime, maybe you will too!

Goodbye Jr. Year...Hello Sr?

Today is my first day with out school! I'm very excited. But also nervous. This means that I'm starting my Sr. year of high school. Am I ready? Of course not. But I will do it.

I don't really have any involved thoughts today, I just feel bad for having gone so long with out posting. I've had my bloo for almost a year now, and I think I've been pretty consistent, even though some of the posts were less thought provoking than others. I've been suprised at how many people follow my blog, and comment or mention it to me in real life (as opposed to virtual comments). I hope what I've said hasn't bored you...I know that blogs can get boring sometimes.

Some reflections on this school year:
~I had possibly the best group of teachers I could have - yes, including ms. O
~I had really hard classes - but I passed them all
~I still didn't learn to drive - but I went on 2 college visits
~I really enjoyed the movie worldview lessons in Sunday School
~I maintained a blog - I am really proud of that

Anyways. My summer plan of my blog os some book reviews, since I shall be doing a lot of reading. I also have the rest of my love month notes - does anyone want those to be posted here? LMK if you do.

Bride Wars - movie review

I know that most reviews of Bride Wars have been bad. To quote a few:

~ stupid movie for stupid people

~ whole plot was based on something that would never happen

~ this movie was a total waste of time and money.



Anyways, I'd like to take a slightly different view of the movie. I actually liked it. While I agree that the plot stems from an incredibly implausible mistake, I also think that the premise of true best friends who stand by you forever, and the getting back together after thier fight is a good one. While the movie, like any movie, had faults, it wasn't as awful as everyone claimed.