Information Cocoon

Have you ever been on a YouTube and noticed all of the comments at the bottom of a video? They are way more interesting to read than actually watching the video. People tend to stay in their own information cocoon. Once someone says something out of the box online or during a meeting, and then everyone has the courage to say how they feel. Sometimes this can get out of hand on certain websites such as YouTube or Facebook. I am very bad about staying in my cocoon and sticking to my own beliefs. In reality, we all need to be familiar with how everyone feels and their beliefs. This will help us become better well-rounded and allow us to expand our knowledge. Most people surround themselves by similar people to be comfortable. Sometimes you need to speak up and give your opinion. Visit this link to find how some people feel about sharing comments.   http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-41705

Chemical Free

Did you know all physical objects consist of matter? Matter can be objects you can hold, or things you can't even see such as air. Did you also know that all matter is made of chemicals? Yep..it's true. All of those products you have been using on your face and in your house that are supposedly “chemical free” have chemicals in them. Not only that, but the companies that sold these products to you were lying when they said they are chemical free. Now what gives them the right to claim this of their products? Most of them probably aren’t chemists and have no degree in the chemistry field to be able to prove this statement. You as a consumer need to know that ALL things in the entire world are made of chemicals or chemical groups, unless it is a air tight vacuum made of nothingness. So next time you visit a website or see a infomercial on T.V. about a new chemical free face wash, you will know they are lying. Here is a perfect example of a website that says their products are chemical free. Look at the ingredients and you will find citric acid etc.     http://www.organicexcellence.com/

Endless Information

The World Wide Web has no filter. This makes it very easy for us to find any information we could ever want.  It is limitless! There are many different endings which help categorize websites. Most commonly used is .com, but others are .org, .edu, .net, and .gov. For research purposes, you would probably find more scholarly reviewed information on a edu or gov website. Other information can easily be found on all of the others. Some people have even mentioned that a triple x website (.xxx) is being formed for uncensored websites such as pornography. How surprising! Knowing the different endings to certain websites, is one way you can self-filter all your searches. Here are some reliable websites to find research information. http://www.usa.gov/ http://www.murraystate.edu/

World Wide Web of Change

As our country is expanding technologically, the world is changing around us. Technology is

changing the way we communicate, and allows us to talk to others in a different country within seconds. Internet has changed, and also parts of computers. It seems like just yesterday we were listening to the dial up tone for our internet to connect.  The desire for community is what the internet feeds off of. Twitter, Facebook, and other social networking sites are vital to communication between countries. For more information on how the web has changed visit this website. http://thenextweb.com/insider/2011/08/06/20-years-ago-today-the-world-wide-web-opened-to-the-public/

Databases

As most of you may know, researching is a major part of college. Knowing how to navigate through a database to find vital peer-reviewed research material is very important to formulate a reliable paper. Being a student at Murray State University, we are all allowed to use hundreds of databases that the university pays for.

When using a database, you first want to know which one to use for your topic. There are a variety of databases. Some may be general, or some may be arranged by topic. Depending on what you are researching, that is one way to narrow your search automatically. Also, once you choose a database, you will need to enter multiple search terms for better results. You can also change different options. For example, you can check a box if you want only peer-reviewed articles, or you can check PDF only. Understanding how to navigate around a database is vital for surviving college. For a look at a database visit this website! http://plants.usda.gov/java/

Copyright Issues Addressed

In a recent article in The Chronicle, there has been a lawsuit against the HathiTrust digital repository and also many other universities. As a student, I understand how beneficial it is to have online documents for research that are provided by the college or university you are attending.

The lawsuit was filed by the Authors Guild, in attempt to revoke all online materials that had a copyright. They do have a good point because many of these authors' works are being put online without permission. But it also says in the article, that these digitalized works have very strict procedures to be able to access the material. Also, the University of Michigan has an Orphan Works Project which recognizes books that have unidentified authors, or were written anonymously, and they make them available for use. If one of the Orphan’s authors is found, they will remove it from the collection and the author will have copyright. The Orphan program seems very fair and useful for researchers, and I disagree with the lawsuit against this program. I do understand the complaints about the other online sites though, and I believe they do break copyright laws. For more information of copyright laws view this website.   



http://www.copyright.gov/

What is planking?

I am a frequent user of Facebook, and a lot of my friends have been making comments and statuses on “planking”. Apparently this is the new trend, but I am completely lost and have no idea what planking means. According to the San Francisco International Business Times, planking is defined as a game where people, known as plankers, lie down on the ground and post a picture of it on an online community such as Facebook.  To plank you must lay down face down in an unusual place with your palms attached to your side.

From the little research I have done on this topic, I find that it is very simple and not as important as I once thought it was. Also, while doing research I found that some people actually view this game as dangerous because people have fallen off a balcony and died because of it. Some have even been caught at work planking, and have been suspended. For further details on planking visit this website.
http://sanfrancisco.ibtimes.com/articles/153492/20110527/planking-what-is-it-and-why-it-is-popular-facebook.htm