Shop Talk

Hi, my name is Jenn and I’m a habitual Facebook user. Hooray.

Has anyone else noticed the new applications that they’ve added?

I’ve added two – guilty as charged, though rather harmless. A platform for a certain presidential candidate and Twitter. I decided to blow the virtual dust off my Twitter account so maybe this will work.

Nevertheless, I’m curious, as I always am.

For months, we’ve read the news articles about sexual predators using MySpace and other social networking sites and have heard the whole “don’t post your personal information” spiel.

My alma mater publicly advised us not to post personal information on MySpace and Facebook when I was an undergraduate and I’m sure other colleges and universities have done the same. Given the fact that you don’t know who is reading your profile(s), it’s a safe bet to say as little as possible. OK, ideally, because we know the majority of people don’t think that way. (i.e. I’m safe just as long as I restrict my profile to ‘friends only’).

However, with the addition of these new applications, aren’t they just a welcoming gesture for stalking? I’m sure there are safety measures blah blah blah beyond privacy controls and this is going to make Facebook a lot of money, but when there are applications that will allow people to send text messages through a Facebook page (without showing the person’s number, of course), I can’t help but think that someone who has access to this client can become harassing if he or she doesn’t have good intentions. I haven’t heard of anyone becoming a victim due to Facebook, but that doesn’t mean it can’t happen.

Is it just better to scrutinize whom you’re adding as a friend or is it safer to just refrain from posting personal details altogether? … That is the $64,000 question.

Just a thought, as always.

I’ve recently started volunteer work with one of Pittsburgh’s premier performing arts organizations. Yesterday marked my first opportunity to work one of their events. While sitting with the other female volunteers, the discussion progressed into cell phones. An interesting topic indeed, given that I was the only 20-something year old and the rest were senior citizens. Of course, they had their opinions – some people seem to have a phone attached permanently to their ear, some people think their conversations are important enough for others around them to hear as well and so on. Actually, I couldn’t disagree with them. Having experienced the types of people they were talking about, I would say they were right, or at least, on the surface.

One of them brought up the subject of blogs. I don’t remember exactly what she said, but the basic gist was that bloggers profess themselves to be self-important, as if their words have actual meaning. In other words: WHO CARES?

Instead of saying nothing, I should have opened my mouth in a defense of blogs, if not for myself as a blogger. We all have our reasons for getting into blogging. I’d like to think that we’re all here in the long run for selfless motives, though that’s not always the case. She is correct, however, in some regard. We all know of bloggers out there who do think that they are top dog just because they blog and have a ton of traffic.

One of my peeves? The term, “A-list blogger.” It sounds more like a high school popularity contest. Unless that’s what all of this really is and I missed the boat somewhere along the line.

Anyone can set up a blog and write something, but what’s important is that the blogger is properly engaging his or her readers to think. In addition, the blogger should possess the means to participate beyond just writing an entry. Why blog if you’re not willing to read and respond to what other people have to say?

While I admittedly do not keep up with my feeds as much as I used to, I do still feel like I learn something new with almost everything I read. It’s like an intimate look into the mind. I’m invited in for a peek and allowed to leave with a new piece of information, a tiny section of that person’s brain. After time, the pieces fit together and I can take that information and store it into my own knowledge bank. I hope that, at times, people feel like they can take a trip inside my mind as well. I’d advise to watch out for cracks and cobwebs. There’s some major renovations underway. :Insert wink here:

The free exchange of information and ideas - that’s what this is all about. Not self-importance or meaningless conversation. Not everyone will see it that way, but those of us who have the means to convince people otherwise should remember that silence is not always golden. Speak up when you have the chance.

These testing kits actually run about $70. They are being provided to you at no cost, however, due to the generosity of the National Marrow Donor Program. Please consider doing this! It’s quick and painless. You can really help make a difference in someone’s life. - Jenn.