Expressing yourself in profile pictures

Growing up, I was always taught that I shouldn't care what others think of me. However, today that idea sits a little differently.

With employers now scouting future employees and family members checking out your every move on Facebook, it's important to be aware of how others are perceiving you.

In an comedic article by Andrea Bartz and Brenna Ehrlich on CNN, readers are taught how to avoid portraying themselves as "tools" on Facebook.

We all pick unflattering photos. The point is to be aware, to decide how you want to be portrayed and to act on it. To avoid being hypocritical, I will show my own profile pictures as examples.

5 Facebook Profile Photos to Avoid:

– The "MySpace" shot – This is when a person photographs himself or herself. According to Bartz and Ehrlich, the "MySpace Shot" occurs when "men pose shirtless in front of their bathroom mirrors and women pout into their boobs."

While it may draw attention to your "assets," having this picture may make others think you're vain.

– Subbing in an inanimate object/pet/baby – Your friends want to see a picture of you, not a "crude drawing of a dinosaur," Bartz and Ehrlich say.

– Liquoring up – If you want to be seen as a professional, avoid drunken pictures or pictures partying.

– Group shots – Once again, people want to see you. Don't hide behind your friends, Bartz and Ehrlich say.

Furthermore, you may meet someone and want to add them on Facebook. When searching, it's more difficult to find who your looking for when the person uses a group profile picture.

– Finally, the Holiday or wedding pics ... months after the wedding – Having a profile picture of you in your Halloween costume for weeks is overkill, Bartz and Ehrlich say.

"The same goes for wedding photos," Bartz and Ehrlich say. "It's really nice that you got married, and we all pored through every shot from the ceremony, but leaving up a portrait of you in full bridal garb for several months is akin to shoving your ring in your friends' faces daily."

Adding to this, breaking out the senior pictures when you are a junior in college seems a bit ridiculous.

So what's left, you ask? Although this article seems to be telling people what they can and can't have as profile pictures, I think the point was to make people aware.

I don't completely agree with all of these rules. For example, I don't see anything wrong with having my profile picture be of my adorable niece. I love her. There's nothing wrong with showing it.

The main idea is to keep your profile picture tasteful. Also, keep it appropriate if you think your employer will be seeing it.

In the end, it's your decision. It's your profile. You can display whatever picture you want. However, remember this picture is for everyone to see.

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Try New Social Media

Social Media. It's all we talk about. It's what we crave. It's how we learn.

In "The 19 Strangest Social Networks On The Web: Zombies, Hamsters, Implants And More" by Catharine Smith of The Huffington Post, readers who "are looking for something more personal or unique" can see 20 different "crazy," social mediums.

Below are the three sites that I found most interesting:

- REMcloud, or "the Twitter of dreams" according to The Wall Street Journal, lets readers post brief descriptions of dreams they had the previous night.

Creators say REMcloud is about "making deep connections happen for people all over the world, around the most unique and powerful experience we all share: OUR DREAMS."

The site focuses on people connecting after seeing that they share the same dreams. However, the site seems to have more humor to it than a deep connection. People seem to share only their most ridiculous dreams.

- HAMSTERster, just like Dogster and Catster, is a site modeled after the original Friendster. Creator David Hornbuckle says the website "is intended to be amusing but is not a complete joke."

People can share photos of their pet hamster, make friends with other hamsters and add hamsters to their family. And, if the unthinkable happens, users can check the box that says "Hamster Heaven" if they wish to make a profile in memory of their favorite friend.

- Ravelry, describes itself as "a place for knitters, crocheters, designers, spinners, weavers and dyers to keep track of their yarn, tools, project and pattern information, and look to others for ideas and inspiration."

Users can keep notes and ideas about their projects on the site, get patterns for projects added by others, share ideas and give encouragement.

If you're feeling even more outside the box, Smith shares more social mediums such as Lost Zombie– a "zombie themed social network whose goal is to created a community generated zombie movie" – which received Best of Show at the SXSW Interactive Web Awards.

Personally, I use three primary social networks: Facebook, Twitter and Flickr – a photo-sharing site. However, there are plenty of other social mediums that people – especially college students – are now using.

Two fairly popular social media sites are Texts From Last Night and FMyLife.

Texts From Last Night is just what it sounds like: people share the texts they received the previous night. The site is completely anonymous, providing an area code the text came from rather than a name.

According to the website, two friends created created TFLN "for reasons that may or may not include: the tendency to press send more easily as the night turns to morning, friends' social habits, disgraced government officials, exes, law school, closing down bars and leaving tabs open, general debauchery and/or a common disgust for all negativity surrounding the 'sexting' phenomenon."

FMyLife lets people share short descriptions of unfortunate events that happen to them during the day. They can be: funny, sad, scary, ironic.

Each post beings with "Today,..." and ends with "FML." Viewers, after reading, can click on either "I agree, your life sucks" or "you totally deserved it."

I think when people are trying to find a social media website, they need to find their niche.

If you interested in networking yourself professionally, use websites such as LinkedIn that connect employers with future employees.

If you just want a humorous website, try HAMSTERster or Texts From Last Night.

If you love being connected with everyone you know, join Facebook or Twitter.

Social media is a great resource for anything your heart desires.

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Graphing Relationships on Facebook

It's Facebook official!

It's complicated.

An open relationship?

Single.

Whether we want to admit it, Facebook plays a huge role in our relationships.

It's the way we find out who's dating who, and the way we hear of––gasp!–– the dreaded break-up.

It's the way we find information about our significant others. I have seen many relationships pop like bubble gum after an hour of a boyfriend or girlfriend creeping and viewing their beau acting a little too chummy with Monday's lab partner.

Countless status updates tell play-by-play news of a break-up or provide a way to make digs at a former sweetheart.

In a recent article, "Facebook Status Update Tells the Story of Romance Gone Awry," Mashable's writer Brenna Ehrlich posts a data visualization from "infographic wizard" David McCandless.

From past posts, you might remember that I am officially a sucker for data visualization. McCandless created one that shows "the most common times a year that people break up."

By looking at 10,000 status updates with the phrases "break up" or "broken up," McCandless concluded that

1) People commonly break up before Spring Break. There were also high numbers during summer.

2) Relationships often end on Mondays. Could this maybe be the result of bad choices on the weekend?

3) In the weeks before Christmas couples end it.

and finally 4) People actually have the audacity to break up with their honey on April Fool's Day.

It's almost comical how big of a role Facebook plays in our relationships. Makers of "Facebook Infomercial Parody" agree.

This YouTube video "pokes" fun at Facebook terms for relationships–– married, it's complicated, etc.–– as well as the stake people put into them.

Any time I see a relationship status move to "single," I clench my teeth. I always see comments responding to it saying "Why?" or "This better be a joke." Even worse, when the person actually responds and puts intimate information of his or her relationship on Facebook for all to see.

This is just too much. Why do users feel the need to press people for information about their personal lives on a social medium? If you really want to know that badly, call them up!

Furthermore, talking about how you "don't know why you broke up. He just came to my house and said it was over," will just make it awkward for former couples later when everyone knows every detail of their separation.

In the end, however, users of Facebook see status updates as a way to get through the tough times of a break-up. I can completely understand that. It's important for people to not hold all of their emotions in.

However, remember that this is a social medium. You should be cautious of what you all share on the topic.

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How To: Become a "Popular Kid" on Facebook

In his article, "Cracking the Facebook Code," columnist Thomas E. Weber released a list of 10 discoveries after a one-month experiment to break Facebook's algorithm, which decides who appears in a person's news feed.

Weber used the example of "that guy I barely know from the 10th grade" that keeps popping up in his news feed to pose numerous questions including "Why do some friends seem to pop up constantly, while others are seldom seen?" and "How much do the clicks of other friends in your network affect what you're shown?"

Weber's experimentation using "virtual tests" is very interesting, and I encourage all of you to read the complete article at.

At the end of his data gathering, Weber arised with a set of 10 "rules" that Facebook's algorithm seems to follow:

1. "Facebook's Bias Against Newcomers." Weber says that if you are a "newbie," your activity on Facebook won't show up in people's news feeds.

2. "Facebook's Catch-22: To get exposure on Facebook, you need friends to interact with your updates in certain ways."

3. The Velvet Rope: "Top News": It's difficult to get into someones Top News feed. Facebook is selective about who appears in people's news feeds because they don't want users to become over-whelmed with too much information.

4. "Most Recent"News is Censored, Too. This is for the same reason as above.

5. "Stalking" Your Friends Won't Get You Noticed. If you're like me, you breathed out a sigh of relief after reading this discovery.

6. Having Friends Who Stalk You WILL Help Your Popularity.

7. Link Trump Status Updates

8. Photos and Videos Trump Links

9. The Power of Comments. When a person commented on the test subject's post, or continually commented, the subject appeared in more people's news feeds.

10. Why Facebook Really is Like High School. Who your friends are will determine how often you appear in news feeds.

If you are only friends with the "popular kids," or "users of Facebook with 600 or more friends," you are less likely to appear in news feeds. Having friends with less friends leads to more posts in news feeds. This leads to more friends commenting or clicking on your links. This, of course, leads to you becoming more popular and being in more people's news feeds.

Facebook's algorithm can't be changed by users. However, users still have some choices for what is shown in their news feeds. Being comfortable with all of Facebook's settings is key.

By understanding how Facebook works, users can have a more fulfilled experience each time they log in.

Whether you are trying to "get your name out there" through Facebook, or are simply curious why Susie keeps appearing in your news feed, Weber's story gives readers valuable answers.

Furthermore, with Weber's references to "Facebook Stalking" and the "popular kids" in High School, you can't help but chuckle while reading.

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Microsoft Falsely Uses "Angry Birds" Image

Through one way or another, everyone seems to have heard of Angry Birds- an addicting app for the iPhone, as well as numerous other phones, that has sold over 6.5 million copies, making it the prime example of an app success story.

Angry Birds gained further attention when recent promotional images for the Windows Phone 7 showed an icon of the game, leading viewers to believe Microsoft's smart phones would now have the app.

In a Twitter post, however, Angry Birds developer Rovio Mobile denied the claim.

"We have NOT committed to doing a Windows Phone 7 version. Microsoft put the Angry Birds icon on their site without our permission," the company said.

Microsoft later admitted that it had made a mistake, saying that the Angry Birds application was accidentally included on the website.

This is an obvious case of Microsoft jumping the gun with a promotional add. Microsoft may have been making arrangements with Rovio for the use of its app, but I think that it's safe to say that any agreement is now off.

Rovio is- to say the least- angry. And, it should be. The image of Angry Birds belongs to Rovio, and the fact that Microsoft used it without Rovio's permission is wrong.

Yet Microsoft fans shouldn't give up hope just yet. Rovio said in later tweets that "

We could do a WP7 version of Angry Birds, not the issue. We have not agreed to do that (yet). Will support all relevant platforms.”

I think that if Rovio is smart, it will work with Microsoft. The company will make big bucks if it expands its market to Microsoft users.

Furthermore, Microsoft should play a little nicer with Rovio and other developers if it want Angry Birds and other must-have apps that smart phone users now crave.

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Make Way for Data Visualization

Journalist Anthony Calabrese- who specializes in data visualization and digital storytelling- said in his article "Six Stunning Projects that Show the Power of Digital Visualization," that "data visualization is taking the web by storm and, with a little luck, it might be the next big thing in online journalism."

Your question then, of course, must be "What is data visualization?"

According to Calabrese, a data visualization is a visual representation of information that comes in the form of a motion chart, an interactive dashboard, a timeline, and many other things.

Journalist can use data visualization to tell stories or present information in a way that will draw viewers in and, in some cases, awe them. Statistics become more interesting; ideas become easier to understand.

For example, Journalist Latoya Egwuekwe wanted to show how the Recession has affected employment in the United States. Her choice to use data visualization in The Geography of a Recession put her in national headlines.

If you didn't understand the country's unemployment rate before viewing her visualization, you will after.

Furthermore, data visualization has the ability to make figures that may be confusing- such as the nation's spending- easier to comprehend.

In his visualization entitled The Billion Dollar-O-Gram, David McCandless provides an easy-to-understand visualization that shows viewers where the United States is spending it's money.

One visualization I found intriguing was from Randall Munroe- who is the author of a "XKCD," "A Webcomic of Romance, Sarcasm, Math and Language."

Munroe's data visualization called Online Communities 2 shows social media sites in the form of land masses: Facebook takes up most of Asia and includes the "Northern Wasteland of Unread Updates."

As bloggers, we must remember that presenting our information in the fastest and easiest way is of the utmost importance. We want our readings to enjoy what they are viewing.

Data visualization takes confusing statistics and shows them in a new light and morphs fun facts into amazing visuals.

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Mashable Names Top Travel Apps

Being informed about where you are going should always be important to travelers.

It helps you understand the culture around you, it helps you make sure you don't get lost, and as Mashable blogger Sarah Kessler said in her post "7 Ways Mobile Apps are Enriching Historical Tourism," it helps you distinguish famous historical sites from "just another old house or pile of rubble."

Although there are ample amounts of mobile travel apps, Mashable chose seven that they believe are among the most "innovative and impressive."

Of course, this should be especially important to my fellow college students, who may be preparing for future May Term trips.

Many students will be traveling to England for their May Term trip this year. The Time Travel eXplorer London app not only provides you with over 750 points of interest in London with personal guided commentary, but also gives you the ability "time travel" by switching from antique maps to a present-day map.

Other apps listed also boast cutting-edge technology.

The Walking Cinema: Murder on Beacon Hill app was the first app to be accepted as an entry into the Boston International Film Festival due to its documentary-like feel, and the Chicago Gangland Tour app was created by former Wall Street Journal reporter Jonathan Eig.

Need to save a few dollars? Getting an app for your mobile phone rather than paying for guided tours is a great way to save money. Furthermore, it can save you time and, more importantly, impress your fellow travelers.

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Blogging your Way to Success

Recently, I have been dabbling in the idea of starting my own blog outside of Beginning Newswriting and Reporting class. However, a few questions arise:

What in the world am I supposed to write about? Who would want to read what I have to say? Do I have the qualifications to write a “real” blog? And, what about my time? Do I have enough?

Luckily for my fellow, future bloggers, I have the answers.

According to Nathan T. Wright of Lava Row, you can write about anything at all. Wright presented "The Brand of You" at Simpson College tonight, in which he talked about making yourself a marketable brand. One area of branding Wright encouraged was blogging.

This means that if you're interested in writing a blog about sex and relationships like Glamour Magazine's blogger Erin Meanley- whose most recent article was entitled “Can We Please Discuss the Hotness That Was Last Night’s Dancing with the Stars?” -you can!

There are all types of readers around the world, so you shouldn’t ever worry about people not being interested in your blog.

And remember, anyone can write a blog. You just need to have the drive.

Don’t know how to get started? Here are some sites to help you out:

- Wordpress

- Tumblr

- And of course Blogger

Overall, they follow the same general set-up. You just have to find the one that is right for you.

As Wright said, “There is no barrier to entry.” You just need to have the will and the time (at least once a week) to get your blog going.

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Photojournalism Makes a Comeback

In a time where journalists are expected to write, photograph, shoot, and edit their own stories, a question arises: what is the future of photojournalism?

We are all told as journalists that in today's economy, where jobs are scarce and job security is a thing of the past, having just one niche is a deal breaker. A journalist must not simply be a

triple threat, but a quadruple threat.

With photography cooperatives such as Luceo Images and Magnum Photos popping up, however, hope isn't completely lost for a career in photojournalism.

Blogger from The New York Times, James Estrin, said in his blog entitled, "If Photojournalism Is Dead, What's Luceo?", that although "there's no doubt that there are dire economic changes in the photography business and fewer assignments to cover news," an economically efficient photojournalism career is still possible.

Rather than working through agencies where the photographers are tossed around like playing cards, photography co-ops like Luceo give individual photographers a chance to further develop their abilities and to take the reins by allowing them equal roles in the organization.

However, although a picture is said to be worth a thousand words, the topic of whether it is also worth a thousand dollars is debatable.

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