Interpersonal

1.       How does the tool relate to the topic of the week?

The topic of the week is interpersonal. We used the tool meetup.com to relate to the topic of the week. Meetup.com is a site used to create interest groups for people in the local area to meet and participate in something they are all interested in. Meetup.com is related to interpersonal as internet interpersonal relationships are intimate, social/professional relationships brought together over the internet.

2.       What function does the tool serve?

This tool allows people to form local community groups online that relate to their interests then meet up in a face to face setting to meet with people who have the same interests as them. There are many different groups just in the Davenport area that are for fun, hobbies, or professional meetings.

3.       What did you find most interesting about the tool?

I thought this tool was interesting in that anyone can join the groups and just meet up with everyone and do something they enjoy with others who enjoy it. It is nice that its just not an online social media site. People actually get to meet one another face to face unlike the other interpersonal site we learned about.

4.       What did you find most challenging?

I thought the site was pretty easy to understand. It was easy to sign up as all you had to do was click the sign in through facebook button on the group you wanted to join. The only challenging thing was I could not find many sport and recreation groups in the Quad Cities which was surprising.

5.       How does the tool improve or complicate communication?

I think this tool improves communication as people have to be organized and dedicated to going to the meetings or else you can be kicked out of the group. Also it is not only online communication it is face to face communication with people in the area which can help with networking skills. The more people you know the more they can help you with specific things like jobs.

6.       What is your critique of your experience?

I thought it was a good way to meet people with the same interests as you. I think I would use this if I was new to the area as I saw quite a few people in the Davenport meet up site were doing, but I don’t think I would want to sign up for one of these groups by myself. I would make sure to bring a few of my friends along with me if I went to one of the events.

Blogging

1.       Blogging allows for individuals to openly express themselves whether it’s under their real name or alias. Blogging is for professionalism, creativity, personal interests, information or anything as people can freely state their opinion on these topics. Blogging allows for people to be more honest as they feel they won’t be judged for what they say.

2.       Blogging allows for people to be more open about their opinions either as themselves or under an alias name. People can share anything they want with whomever they want. Individuals can use it as a way to vent or to have fun. It is anything you want it to be and that’s why so many people use them today.

3.       The thing I found most interesting was customizing my blog. I liked that we can pick the background and put widgets on our blog that display who we are. It was fun to try and find the perfect template to show what we like.

4.       I thought the most challenging thing was figuring out how to display everything how you want it. I had troubles downloading different templates and getting them to fit on my blog. Everyone I downloaded had some kind of issue with it either it took away links I needed to get to the home site or it had additional things on it that did not need to be there for me.

5.       I think a blog improves communication by letting people speak their mind. They can be more honest and communicate with people that have the same interests. I also think there are disadvantages to blogs as they are distancing us from offline communication. More and more people are losing their face to face communication skills as we develop new technologies.

6.       I don’t think blogging is something I would be really into unless I had a blog about a personal hobby. I just am not into sharing everything I do on the internet. I know there are ways to make it private, but it just seems like there is always a loop in people finding you on the internet. I really liked making my blog with my own design, but I’m just not that into posting a lot of personal information.