My Journey In the Digital Age: Loving, Fearing Twitter

A study that was recently published shows that teens and tweens (age 11-13, I think) in the United States spend about 7 hours a day online or using social media. I think this is a powerful example of the nature of the “digital age”. It's everywhere. The rise of Twitter, Facebook, and Online news coincides with the decline of print newspapers, a crisis in publishing, and shifting nature of advertising.

The experience of news and entertainment is becoming all-digitized. From News feeds, to Satellite Radio to Netflix, the tools of the digital age are giving us the ability, as has been said many times, to create our own news and entertainment realities. This has given me a lot to think about.

This course has also given me a great opportunity to reflect on some of the trends and issues in digital media, such as popular new tools.

The things I learned about for the first time are: RSS, GoogleMaps, and how to Tweet. It was easy. I never expected to use Twitter, but I joined Twitter and I instantly had several followers; people listening to my messages sent out into the digital world. It is a great feeling. For me, it also comes with the fear of not saying something meaningful. In a more positive light, this course has helped me to start to notice how the media organizations I work with are using tools like RSS feeds, blogs, and social media. This course has given me more tools (and knowledge) for better collaborating with my colleagues.

In this course, the most useful tool for me to learn about was GoogleMaps. I love the way that GoogleMaps lets people illustrate their own personal experiences (and values) related to physical spaces and locations. I think this tool is most interesting to me because it is not self-referential. It does not lead to more digital worlds, but outside...out into the smelly, fresh, fetid, stormy, and sunny air of the real world!