“I am sitting on the patio!”: Facebook, narcissism and self-esteem
Posted by Tom Johnson on September 6, 2010 · Leave a Comment
One of my favorite recent advertisements is the Verizon commercial with the teenage kids mortified that the mom is posting “I love you” messages all over the daughter’s Facebook wall and the dad is tweeting his every action (“I am sitting on the patio”). I have a hard time identifying with the parents embarrassing their kids [...]
Filed under Social networks · Tagged with my parents joined Facebook, narcissism, self-esteem. Oh crap
Expert Predictions: Better Internet Communication, No Jetpacks
Posted by Tom Johnson on July 3, 2010 · 7 Comments
I spend too much time on social network sites. Just ask my wife, or some of my friends who wonder if I need an intervention. JoAnna (who has the patience of a saint; ask any one of my friends) wonders why, when we are sitting next to each other on the computer, she has to [...]
Filed under Social media, Social networks · Tagged with future predictions, jetpacks, social media
Look at Me! On Second Thought, Look the Other Way.
Posted by Tom Johnson on May 29, 2010 · 1 Comment
The Millennials have been described as the Look-at-Me Generation, a generation that has kept a running documentary of their lives on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Flicker and their own blogs. A generation that thinks nothing of sexting nude or suggestive images of themselves to a boyfriend or girlfriend who then may share it with 4 or 500 of [...]
Filed under Social media, Social networks · Tagged with image management, Lindsay Lohan, Look-at-Me Generation, Millennials
Credibility in Political Viral Video
Posted by Kaye D. Sweetser on January 23, 2010 · 2 Comments
It is no secret that YouTube exploded during the 2008 presidential election, becoming “the innovation” integrated into campaigning. We all remember the global warming melting snow man in the YouTube debate. We all laughed, but do we find that humorous approach a credible source for political communication? You’re going to be surprised. Well, maybe. In [...]
Filed under Internet research, Social networks · Tagged with
Facebook Photos: Say Cheese!
Posted by Tom Johnson on January 15, 2010 · 1 Comment
My Facebook friends may not believe me, but I DO have boundaries. We are not talking maximum-security-prison-wall-type boundaries, but more like white- picket-fence-type boundaries (but boundaries nonetheless). One of my hard-and-fast rules is to not look at images posted on Facebook by my students. I decided long ago that would rather NOT know what my [...]
Filed under Social media, Social networks · Tagged with cyber exhibitionists, Facebook photos, Hugh Hefner, online privacy, Wayne Newton
Mister, We Could Use Some Men Like Warren and Brandeis Again
Posted by James D. Ivory on December 17, 2009 · 2 Comments
On the “been done before” scale, referencing 1984 when talking about scary implications of media technology is right up there with using that Lux Aeterna composition in a film trailer to make it dramatic (because, incidentally, the end of Requiem for a Dream is exactly what I want to be reminded of when I watch [...]
Filed under Social media, Social networks · Tagged with Erin Andrews, Louis Brandeis, Nathalie Blanchard, Orwell, Requiem for a dream
“Not now honey. I am reconnecting on Facebook”
Posted by Tom Johnson on November 1, 2009 · 1 Comment
One of the enduring debates about the Internet has been how time spent online has affected our social relationships with friends and families, a debate that has been reignited by the popularity of social network sites. After more than 15 years of study the answer is… Well, it depends on who you ask. Nicole Ellison [...]
Filed under Social media, Social networks · Tagged with social isolation
Twitter updates: Have I told you about my Colonoscopy?
Posted by Tom Johnson on October 24, 2009 · Leave a Comment
Pew Internet just reported that 19% of Internet users now employ Twitter or another service to share updates about themselves, up from 11% in April. To put this in perspective, the 19 percent is about the same percentage of doctors who DIDN’T recommend Trident to their patients who chew gum. Comscore confirmed these findings, noting [...]
Filed under Social media, Social networks · Tagged with Twaddicts, Twitterholics, Twitterverse
Sugar Bear, Facebook Benefits and Other Life Disappointments
Posted by Tom Johnson on October 4, 2009 · 3 Comments
A wise man once said: “The important thing is not to be bitter over life’s disappointments. Learn to let go of the past. And recognize that every day won’t be sunny.” (Actually, the quote was made by Coach Whitey Durham on The CW show One Tree Hill). One of my earliest, most bitter disappointments was [...]
Filed under Social media, Social networks · Tagged with "One Tree Hill", "Sugar Bear"
Blogs, Civility and Mosh-Pit Politics
Posted by Tom Johnson on September 17, 2009 · Leave a Comment
If the current health care “debate” is an indicator of the health of the body politic, then we are sick puppies indeed. Town hall meetings, the basis of democracy in colonial America, have devolved into shouting matches more reminiscent of episodes of the Jerry Springer Show (my favorite recent title: “I cheated on my cousin [...]
Filed under Blogs, Social networks · Tagged with civility, Kanye West, mosh pit, Serena Williams, Taylor Swift