Have you ever wanted that song you heard on a youtube video? This article expalins that google has allowed you to do that by placing pop-ups and icons that allow you to buy a song from a youtube video from iTunes. “‘If you like the song, you don’t need to leave Google or leave the site to buy it,’ said Bakari Brock, business affairs counsel at YouTube.” Social networking sites are becoming more interested in revenue from their users than expanding what they are truly good at making the site for the users rather than for themselves.

For those in the habit of drinking and e-mailing then Google’s new Gmail feature may help your logic.  Google’s  “Mail Goggles” is a series of simple tests that test your brain before you write that e-mail that you may regret in the morning.  Some of these brief quizzes include simple math problems to ensure that you write something stupid.  “If your logical thinking skills are intact, Google is betting you’re sober enough to work out the repercussions of sending that screed you just drafted.”  This is an example of the web interacting with our personal selves.  This feature could make or break a relationship with someone or help make one more capable of decision making or perhaps the least it would do would make you think twice about a situation.

A false report that Steve Jobs had suffered a heart attack appeared on iReport, a CNN feature that allows people to post their own news in forms of video, articles, blogs.  A.k.a citizen journalism.  This report from Techcrunch explains the problems associated with citizen journalists.  It is unclear if the false “journalist” was “just a short seller trying to make a quick buck, or someone trying to see how fast and far they could spread a false rumor.”  However, this should not hamper citizen journalism because it is so widely used and helpful to many.  This is because news can arrive more quickly from a citizen journalist who is already at the seen.  One incident such as this should make some people wary of the risk of false news but in no should this drive away those who use citizen information on a daily basis.

Doggyspace is a social networking site that allows canine owners to share their pets aside from just themselves.  A combination of Youtube and Myspace, dog owners can post videos, blogs, and pics of their pups.  “It’s not so much social networking; it’s having a social experience around things that we care about, so pets are just such a great example of that,” said Fred Stutzman, an Internet researcher at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  Doggyspace can be a source of information about pet breeds, diseases, support for first timers, etc.  “Connie Mandrozos found the site while searching for information for her 12-year-old golden retriever, Boomer, who has cancer. She received an outpouring of support from other dog owners with similar experiences.”

Although my class is pretty far into IMS 201 I thought it would be interesting to find out how bloging and social networking/media all got started.  First I searched for the founder of blogging and I stumbled on a Brian E. Redman and did a google search which led me to this website on “The History of Social Media.” I found it very interesting that blogging could be traced back to the days of Julius Caesar when he wrote De Bello Gallico.  In 1690, when Benjamin Harris published the first independent newspaper, he left the last page blank so readers could write in their own input.  The list goes on into some pretty interesting detail.

The Wall Street Journal’s website is adopting features that would normally be seen on facebook or myspace to make navigation on the website easier and more interactive.  “Paying subscribers create personal profile pages with their real names, job details, interests and photo.”- AP/ANICK JESDANUN Monday, Sep. 15, 2008.  This allows discussion groups to be formed and comments as well as advice to be given.  This article explains to us that even though newspaper websites are slow at catching up on interactive media that facebook, myspace and youtube already have they are implementing what they can to make current events more accessible and easier to discuss.

This YouTube video by Lee Lefever explains “Social Networking in Plain English.” Using cartoons and simple animation Lee effectively demonstrates how social networking works and doesn’t work. He also explains what social networking can lead too depending on how the user uses it and what how user generated content can effect the outcome of a business or social relationship.

A new facebook type program called A-Space has been incorporated into 16 U.S. intelligence agencies. “It’s a place where not only spies can meet but share data they’ve never been able to share before.”  Instead of posting pictures and videos of your friend’s birthday party, one could post videos of al Qaeda activity, secret messages and so on.  This type of site was spawned from facebook, myspace and other social-networking sites that allow user generated content to influence others in the same departments.

This intriguing article written by Steve Outing explains his “11 Layers of Citizen Journalism.”  Outing clears up the confusion of what exactly CJ is and how it can help web designers incorporate it.  ”Citizen journalism isn’t one simple concept that can be applied universally by all news organizations. It’s much more complex, with many potential variations.”  By reading this article these complexities will become clear and understandable.

This interesting article explains, in detail, User Generated Content, where it came from, how it developed, and its byproducts such as blogs, wikis, content sharing, social networks and the like.  This article also ties in how user generated content effects advertising and where it is going in the future.