Social Bookmarking

I will be completely honest.; the idea of social bookmarking threw me into a blender of confusion, frustration, annoyance, apathy and general malaise. So much so that I completely ignored my blog so I would not have to write about it. I felt this way because, imho, social bookmarking seemed to me to be a waste of time and energy. If I want to go find something, I'll find it. If I need to find it again, I'll google the same information and find it again.  No need to hold on to it forever. Well, that may be true to an extent but social bookmarking can be very helpful, especially if you are involved in an ongoing research project. Social bookmarking allows the user to share, organize, search and manage information on the web.

When a person has an interest in a subject and they find some good information on the web, they can bookmark the site. They can share this information with other users interested in the same or a similar topic. The social aspect of this is that users can comment on different articles or sites and rate them. This is helpful because the more popular an article is, the more information it may have in it that could be helpful.

I thought I should try this bookmarking thing and see what its all about. I set up an account with Diigo.com.  I searched around a bit and noticed that there is a group on Diigo dedicated to nutrition.  Nutrition is something that I am passionate about. If it has to do with nutrition or wellness, I am automatically interested. So, I decided to join the group and check out some of the bookmarks they shared. I read a few articles posted and started to get a hang of it. I noticed that there were a number of scholarly articles published so I decided to try an add my own. I have been trying to follow the Weight Watchers program and found an interesting article on the lifestyle diet called "Why Weight Watchers Succeeds". I wrote a brief description of it and tagged with with relevant tags such as "nutrition, health, research, study". I will check back later to see if it got any views!

I also added a few of my own favorite Weight Watchers sites to Diigo. They are: Hungry Girl, The WW Chick and Gina's WW Recipes .

I hope I did it right and I hope that my contributions help someone else looking for some good WW motivation and information.

Recently Added: Alltop for all your feed needs

Alltop.com is a great way to find the hottest sources of information on a number of topics. Alltop allows you to search a subject that interests you and then it pulls up all the best blogs and sites that can keep you up to date with the latest information pertaining to that industry. You simply connect the blog to your RSS feed (I'm using one called netvibes ). Every time you check your feed, the latest information from those sources will be ready for you!

I chose 3 feeds to add to my reader. They are:

1.) Lifehacker 

          Lifehacker.com is an award winning blog focusing on ways to make life easier. Lifehacker provides tips for efficient updates and effective solutions for everyday problems. Subject matter ranges from household dilemmas to technological blunders. 

2.) Mashable 

           Mashable.com is a popular social media website delivering the latest information from the world of social media. Self-proclaimed as "the social media guide" this is not an overstatement. Mashable does a great job of gathering all important social media trends, updating regularly.

3.) Brian Solis 

            Brian Solis is principal of FutureWorks  , a PR agency located in Silicon Valley, CA. Brian is known for his views on the convergence between traditional media outlets and social media. He is recognized as a thought leader and his insights into the new world of social media are invaluable. This blog is also called PR 2.0

The Long Tail and the New Marketplace

           The video summary of the popular work entitled "The Long Tail" by Chris Anderson delves deeper into the idea of a new marketplace as a result of the internet.  I had never considered this as a reality and this theory helps to answer a lot of questions that I have been pondering. I notice in my own social setting that there are more and more "types" of people with varying artifacts to support each lifestyle. I always wondered where they found the artifacts to complement their lifestyle given the fact that the majority of goods sold in the mainstream modern stores are generally similar in nature and in style. It is now evident to me that what they are doing is searching the internet for the goods they wear and use everyday. These goods had always been available but never sold in the average store.

           This idea of goods sold as determined by marketers and not necessarily popular demand is quite interesting. We assume that goods offered are those that are the most popular based on the culture to which they are marketed. However, it is now clear that there is a whole market that was never reached by the big box stores and even smaller ones. This market is now best served online where there is limitless space for goods. The internet can offer every product created because there is no issue of shelf space. This means that there is an increase in the variety of inventory offered and people are now able to purchase all different types of goods depending on their personal lifestyle.

            Anderson challenges us to consider that the goods offered in big box stores (i.e. "hit goods") failed to meet nearly half of the purchasing population. Now, half of goods purchased are purchased online and are not available in big stores. It is incredible that the internet has opened so many doors for self expression and individual style. It seems that on the internet, there is something for everyone. Anderson challenges us to think about life before the internet as well as how the internet has contributed to the change in American culture.

Fourteen of the most important social media skills needed right now. | Comet Branding Blog - Progressive Milwaukee-based Branding, PR and Social Media Agency

Fourteen of the most important social media skills needed right now. | Comet Branding Blog - Progressive Milwaukee-based Branding, PR and Social Media Agency

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The link above is a great article I found when searching the web for some insight into the skills needed to be a marketable social media professional - in other words, specific areas of social media to focus on discussing in interviews!

Web Communication 486

Welcome to my Web Communication 486 blog!  I intend to use this blog to reflect upon ideas introduced through this course as well as share my opinions, thoughts and perceptions on these topics. I am naturally quite interested in social media/web 2.0 and look forward to the many careers offered in this field. This blog may also contain some of my personal findings and research regarding the content that we will be studying in this course so that I may be able to contribute to the conversation of social media and its impact upon communication.