Like Hannah, I had a difficult time deciding what exactly to write about in my final reflection blog. We have covered so many topics in class that have truly changed how I think about something that I once thought was so simple: information. I had never realized how information and the dissemination of it was such a large social issue. I now understand how privileged I am to have the ability to access information, (I will speak more on this later in my spread the message) which led to my enhanced interest in the digital divide. I also see how there is still much that needs to be done in order for information to be equally accessed by everyone.
I have also learned how to use SO many different tools that I never thought I would be able to! When scrolling through my Facebook news feed, BuzzFeed articles such as this are always what draw my attention, so of course making one of my own was one of my favorite projects.With that being said, I think going through the process of editing a Wikipedia article and seeing all of the work that goes into it, helped increase the credibility of the information on this site for me. With the help of the projects this semester, it has become clear that information can come in many different (and valuable) shapes and forms that allow it to reach different audiences.
As for my blogosphere…man was I clueless when we got started. Once I finally understood what a blogosphere actually was, trying to find information was crazy overwhelming. There was SO much to look at! This was me….
…every time I tried to make sense of it all. But once I was introduced to tools such as Feedly and Twitter Lists (who knew you could make lists on Twitter?!) it was much easier for me to sift through information. I also realized that I could use my favorite site of ALL times to follow people that would allow me to organize memes, articles, videos, info-graphics, and more relating to my blogosphere topic: portrayal of women in the media.
It all started when I went to listen to Stacy Nadeau speak about her experience with the Dove Real Beauty Campaign and followed her on Twitter later that night. Not long after, the incident with Target and the #photoshopfail came about. Social media and the blogosphere were buzzing about the negative portrayal of women in the media and once I got all of my information organized…I was hooked.
All in all, I have really enjoyed the class. Though some assignments have been challenging, it has broadened my knowledge about social media, the Internet, and many other topics, but most of all the importance of freely shared information.
P.S. I have actually started a blog for recipes! (but I’m not that far along so you can’t see it)
THE END
