I am blogging goodbye

Unfortunately, this will be the last blog post  I write for the course Business Information Technology.  About three months ago I posted my first blog and I didn’t know what to expect at that moment. Would it be easy or difficult? Would it be fun? Am I good at it? I learned that blogging is definitely fun to do. You can share your knowledge about all kinds of subjects with other people, while you also learn some new things yourself. In addition, in my opinion blogging looks more difficult than it is. In my eyes, the most important thing is to clearly define  the topic of the blog and decide which information should be in it, before you start writing. Just write down some keywords and think about the order in which you want to process the different subjects and information. While writing, you can always add some subtopics, but in this way it is less likely that you forget the goal you had in mind.  This approach worked well for me, but it is possible that this differs from person to person.

Are you thinking about blogging yourself? Check out some of the sites below to find tips about writing and promoting your blog.  

http://bit.ly/kJrqq3  ( blogger help)

www.dailyblogtip.com

www.quickblogtips.com

www.jaapstronks.nl

http://bit.ly/3AEwK

Goodbye and good luck with it!  

A new ‘Pig’ in town

According to scientist Palme, there are several motives for people to use CMC (computer  mediated communication, e.g. msn messenger, skype, sociale media) namely:

-          Status and self-esteem, e.g. the possibility to communicate with experts

-          Self-confidence, e.g.  by improving their own expertise

-          Comradeship, e.g. possibility to fight loneliness with interaction with others

-          Inspiration, e.g. exchange ideas with others

-          Generosity, give and receive support from others

      A logical assumption is that the more possibilities a form of CMC offers to meet this needs, the more satisfying the use of the CMC will be. When a social media website meets all these motives, does that mean that this form of social media immediately become really popular? The answer to this question is: no. Namely, there is already a social network site that meets all the motives for use: the social search engine Aardvark.  Despite the fact that it exist for a couple of years already, it still has not grown to a globally known and used website. Of course this needs time and there are still many people who believe that Aardvark will be the new trend in Social media, including Google.  In 2010 Google bought the social search engine, created in 2007 by two former employees of Google, back for 50 million dollar.

So, will Ardvark be the new trend in social media? Read the rest of my post and decide for yourself.

Aardvark, what is it?

Aardvark is a free search engine,  but not one as we already know.  Instead of directly providing information available on the internet, it searches for people in the social network of the users who can give answer on the users’ questions.  It works as follows:

First sign in to the website www.vark.com. After signing in you can ask a question about all kinds of subjects.  Aardvark sends this message to people in  the global aardvark network who probably have the right expertise to give answer to your question. These people answer your question and send it back to Aardvark, then Aardvark sends these answers back to the asker of the question by e-mail. Aardvark selects the answerers for a question, by analyzing their profiles and ask and answer history.  

Why react on a question of others?

The answer to this question is actually quite simple and is fully consistent with 4 of the 5 previously mentioned motives for the use of CMC. People can give their opinion about different subjects and can show that they are the ‘experts’ in that area. They also can help others out and increase their network by meeting new people.  Because the use of Aardvark makes the users ( the questioners, but also the answerers) start thinking about new subjects, it can also contribute to enlarging their field of expertise.

If you want to learn more about Aardvark, just try it out sometime! I had four answers to my question in less than ten minutes. 

OnRoute: A new travel application is born

Do you know the feeling of being lost in a big and crowded station, while you have got only 2 minutes left to catch the train or to find your way to the right bus stop? This is when a travel application can be very useful, but unfortunately the applications currently available usually only show at which platform you have to be, but not how to get there.  In addition, many apps do not combine information about different kinds of public transport properly. These are two of the most important improvements for travel applications, that we ( group 15 of the course User Interface Design) established on the basis of (1)short interviews with users of the public transport and (2) a user test of three different travel applications: NS Xtra, OV992Pro and Trein.  In addition to determining whishes and needs for the use of a travel application, a goal of the user research was also to get insight into the positive and negative experiences people have with using different sources to search for travel information.

The major findings of part 1, the interviews with travels, were as follows: 1) Travelers indicated that a downside of using travel signs on stations is that there is no information available about the duration of the trip. 2) The information on the digital screens is not always correct, especially when there are delays or revised departure tracks. 3) People prefer the use of websites and applications above the use of information provided on the stations. The major findings of part 2, the task assignments, were as follows: 1) Common advantages of  existing travel application are that the meaning of buttons and icons are not clear and that people do not notice they can click on information to get more specifics. 2) The applications do not meet the needs of the users to combine different types of public transport or this option does not work properly. 4) The respondents indicated that they find a simple design most suitable for a travel application.

In addition, both part 1 and 2 of the research showed that according to users of public transport a travel applications must provide at least information about:

·         route planning

·         departure platforms and time

·         delays and alternative routes

·         duration of the route

·         different kind of public transport

·         map of the rail road network and (large) stations

·         surroundings and how to spend time while waiting

On the basis of these outcomes we developed a high- fidelity proto type of OnRoute: a new travel-application.To meet the requirements of the user we identified the following key principles for our design:

1. To design a user-friendly travel application which combines different types of public transport

2. Which allows people to get the necessary information they seek with a quick glance on their mobile phone

3. Which provide them with walking routes on (large) train stations and alternatives on how to spent time while waiting. 

For a better understanding of our product and the steps we walked through, watch this video, starring Eugene, Jan and Etienne, our lovely group members who also implemented the prototype, by clicking on the following link: http://vimeo.com/23954159

The dark side of internet: addiction to online games

World of Warcraft, Entropia Universe, Runescape, Final Fantasy . All names of online shooting or role playing games that popped up in the media over the past few weeks, after a study of health scientist Tony van Rooij showed that over twelve thousand Dutch teenagers are addicted to online games. Van Rooij is certainly not the first scientist who has conducted research in this area and very likely also not the last one. Online gaming is a popular topic and despite the fact that it is widely known that online gaming can have some dangerous side effects,  the number of users of these games continues to increase. A large number of online games have succeeded to create an extremely high degree of customer loyalty. How did they achieve this level and what makes people continue to play online games?

There are several aspects that contribute to the level of addiction of a game. Many researchers provide evidence that, among other things, the quality of graphics and audio techniques used in online games could contribute to this. Yet, the reason for repeatedly playing certain online games is generally related to the quality of costumer experience. The key design aspects that a game should include to optimize the user experience are personal and social interaction. Personal interaction is for example the possibility to achieve goals and the presence of operators and feedback in the game. This challenges the player to achieve a increasingly higher level in the game and triggers them to keep on playing.

Social interaction applies especially to role-playing games, because in these games users often can talk to each other, form a team and discuss strategies. Some people even form new friendships through online games. Pleasant social interactions with other people connected to the internet is an important reason to continue playing a game. In addition, in role-playing games as well as in shooting games, players are often rewarded after completing a goal, e.g. with a new armor. Receiving many rewards is related to the level status of a player and also to its social status. Social interaction can be facilitated by providing users with appropriate communication places and tool, for example with a chat window or a quick messages system.

While there becomes more information available about the causes of addiction to online games, little is known about the way  it can be prevented. Some people also believe that online gaming addiction is not even a real addiction, while the consequences can be very seriously.  Teenagers with a severe form of addiction are often depressed and isolated from others. It is really important not to underestimate the seriousness of the problem.  For parents and guardians it can be very difficult to deal with the addiction of their children, and although it is often not easy to solve, it can be helpful to set clear agreements and rules for internet use. 

Twitter revolution; fabrication or not?

All over the world, especially in Arab countries such as Egypt Tunesia and Libya, large revolutions are taking place. Most of you probably are familiar with the Jasmin revolution, Velvet revolution and the Islamite revolution. All three names of political and social revolts that took place in recent years. Many people and researchers believe that social media as Twitter had a significant impact on the establishments of these revolutions. This idea is better known as -the much discussed phenomenon in the media-  the  Twitter revolution. According to the supporters of this ‘theory ’, Twitter and Facebook were indispensable channels in the mobilization of the masses in Egypt and Tunisia. Yet, there are also many people who believe that the Twitter revolution does not exist and is just a fabrication. The most important reason for this statement is that long before the existent of social media and even before the existent of the internet, there were already mobs of people who took to the street to protest and demonstrate.

To get a better picture of the Twitterrevolution, we ( project group of the course Business Information technology) interviewed Prof. Dr. G. van Oortmerssen, full proffesor in Evolution of Internet at Tilburg University, to look at these revolutions from a scientific point of view. This leads to a discussion about WikiLeaks because some people say this project from Jullian Assange led to these revolutions. To conclude this interview, van Oortmerssen explains his article about the Value Driven Web. You can watch the highlights of this interview by clicking on the screen below. Hope you enjoy it!

The morning after: drunken posts on social media

If you’re living in the Netherlands you probably all know this commercial of Hi;  Friends share everything, because one day without posting, is one day wasted. But if you are as drunk as the people in this commercial, you might disagree with this statement, especially when you wake up the morning after you drunken debauchery and find out that all people who have access to you Facebook or Twitter page ( basically everybody) saw that embarrassing picture or message. And if that isn’t enough already, it is also possible that your post or picture ends up on special websites or social network profiles that collect the craziest posts on social media from the last night. If you want to see some examples, check out www.textsfromlastnight.com  or passedoutphotos.com.

The best way to prevent that your drunken picture or message ends up on the internet is obviously by not placing it on you profile at all.  But for the people who cannot help themselves, Apple comes with a solution: the Last night never happened app.

This ‘ morning after’ application helps people erase all their posts from the night before in a few simple steps and keeps the posts from spreading out all over the internet. So when you come to that point during you night out when you start making embarrassing pictures of you and your friends with your Iphone and immediately place them on Facebook or tweeting the most embarrassing things on Twitter, LNNH can help you out. LNNH works as follows: choose if you want to log in on Facebook and/or Twitter, set the number of hours how far back you want to clean up, hit the last night never happened bottom and confirm. All the posts you placed after that time are deleted in a few seconds. You can download this application in the Apple Iphone store.

Unfortunately, there isn’t an application for the mobile phone yet that really prevent you from posting drunken messages. But the people who have a ‘nice’ evening at home on a regular basis can install the Social Media Sobriety test on their computer. This browser extension for Firefox and Chrome aims to prevent you from placing posts on the internet when you are not sober by letting you do some sobriety test, for instance following a moving object with the cursor. If you do not succeed you will not get access to your social network sites, so you cannot post anything. But there is a catch: the program might prevent you from placing something stupid, but it places a post for you instead that says that you are too intoxicated to post right now. I think this is actually  even worse than placing a stupid message. And after all, when it comes to the point that you need these kind of programs an applications, it might be a good time to cut on your alcohol use.

The paradox of social media; protecting information

In my last blog I have already discussed  that social media allows people to tell the right things about themselves and leaving other information out to make a good impression on the people who view their profile. This can influence the way people think about them and talk about them, also called social identity. However,  online social identity is not just based on the information user place on their social network profiles, but also on a number of aspects where one has little influence on, for instance messages or pictures other people place on your profile and even the kind of people you have in your friend list. In addition to this it is also possible that there is some information you want to share through online network sites, but not with everybody. It is actually kind of ironic this paradox of social media: people create an online network profile to share information with the rest of the world but also try so hard to protect that same information.

Still, it is possible to protect our privacy on social network platforms. Most of the social network sites allow their users to change several privacy settings so they can decide by themselves what information they want to share and which part of this information is public and which is not. Especially Facebook has many options when it comes to privacy and  they also simplified their privacy settings in 2010 to make it easier to shield personal information. However, a lot of users still do not know that it is possible to shield information or how to do this. Do you know how much of your information is public? It is very easy to check this:

·         Click on the Account link  in the right corner of your Facebook page

·         Open Privacy settings and click on Profile information.

·         Click on Preview my profile

By following these steps you can see at one glance which information on you profile is public and which information is only visible for your friends and change these settings if you want to. In addition to ‘choose’ how to share your information you can also  edit your list with blocked persons and applications and  edit your setting for the use of games and websites. For more information about Facebook and privacy, check their privacy guide : http://www.facebook.com/#!/privacy/explanation.php

Despite the fact that users of social net worksites can control their privacy to some extent, it can happen that you or someone else (accidently) place information on the site you did not intent to share. In general these platforms cannot be held liable for this, because they are developed to share information with all people over the world and when you create a certain profile and agree to accept the user terms,  you automatically give permission to make all the information you place public. To avoid awkward situations caused be social media, it is therefore important that users are aware of privacy risks and that they thoroughly consider what information they post on their own profiles and also on others' profiles.

Are you one or are you two?

In kinder garden we already learn that 1+1= 2. Obviously, this is arithmetically correct, but there are also a few exceptions to this ‘formula’. For instance in the area of chemistry; when you mix two liquid substances with each other, you still end up with one substance and not two. The romantic people among us will say that love is also one of the exceptions, that two lover become one. I say that there is also an important exception that has to do with social media. In the world of social media, sometimes 1+1=1 and sometimes  1+1=2.  For those who are losing track now, I am talking about humans and their online identity and identity online. In some cases the online identity of individuals is the same as their offline identity, but often people present themselves in a more positive way online than they really are. In addition there are also people who have a completely different identity online than in ‘real’ life.

So we are talking about online identity, but what is identity exactly? There can be a distinction made in two forms of identity, namely personal identity and social identity. Personal identity is the way we see ourselves and the things we tell someone else about ourselves. Social identity is the way other people see us and the things they tell about us to other people. This post focus on the personal identity of people. The reason that the online identity of people often (slightly) differ from their offline identity is simply because the internet and social networks are very suitable for this. By telling the right information and leaving other information out we can change ourselves into the person we want to be, into our true selves and maybe even into our ideal selves.  Social networks allows people to think about their identity, and change ourselves online to who we want to be can also transform the way we think about ourselves and in the end even can change  our offline identity. So, an optimize self-presentation online doesn’t necessarily have to be a bad thing. It can serve as a way to gain more self-knowledge and as a possibility to improve your personality.

In addition to people who optimize their self-presentation online, there are also people who have one or more completely different identities on the internet.  This we call ‘ identity online’. Experimenting with identity happens mainly online, because it is more easy to give yourself another look and it is much more anonymous than offline experimenting.  Therefore Identity experimenting also takes particularly place in anonymous CMC’s as MUD’s and MMORGH’s, like Second life and World of Warcraft. Motives for experimenting with identity are often very innocent, like curiosity or  recreation (games). For others it can be a way to escape the real world, to be who they want to be or to avoid harassments The experimenting with identity has less and more extreme forms. A less extreme form is for example that when you want to play 'World of War craft' you have to choose a fairy figure like a dwarf or an elf, which you can make look like yourself. In that case you still stay close to your own identity. But there are also other people who act completely different online, for example by gender swapping. I think there is nothing wrong with experimenting with your identity, but it is important not to lose yourself into it. After all, our identity offline is still the identity we have to live with for the rest of our lives, even when we are too old to use the internet.

Why social media is more than just fun

Welcome (back),

First of all, I am sorry that it took me so long to post this second blog. Because of several circumstances I just couldn’t find the time to start writing earlier, but from now on I will make sure that I place a blog post more frequently.  Secondly, I have decided to change the overall subject of my blog a little bit. It will still be about the content of my education, but I will focus on Social Media. Most of you probably see social media as a fun way to stay in contact with your friends, meet new friends, or share all your interesting and also uninteresting thoughts and pursuits with everyone who likes to know. Off course this is true, but when you look at social media through the eyes of a researcher, it suddenly becomes so much more than that. Over the last years many research on social media is done and the number of studies concerning this subject is still growing.  This also means that there is always something to write and think about. For instance, have you ever thought about the impact of your behavior on social network communities on your identity and reputation? Different parts of your profile page can contribute to your social identity( the way people see you): the information you place about yourself, your pictures, messages from others, your friends etc.  Off course, it is obvious that placing a drunk picture on you profile isn’t the smartest thing to do, but even posting a picture of your child as your own profile photo can influence the way people think about you. Peoples ‘online’ reputation become more and more important now a days. For example,  the number of employers that screen candidates online, and even reject candidates based on information they obtained online, is growing.

Another well discussed subject in social media, is the way people form relationships online. Does this depend on your personality or the way you interact with others in ‘real’ life? There are many different theories in this area, all well-founded but also contradictory to each other. In addition to this, there are also people who believe that social media network sites are not suitable at all for friendship maintenance. Originally, these network sites were not even developed for social purposes, but for business use. In addition to social network sites, there are also other forms of social media worth discussing, for example online games. 

Now you have a better view on the kind of subjects I would like to discuss the following weeks, I hope that you've become more interested in social media. If you already want to read more basic information about it, you can check the following site: www.social-media.nl. It provides more information about what social media is and which categories of social media can be distinguished. Have fun with it!

The revelation

Welcome to my very first blog

Yes, you read it right, at this moment I’m writing my very first blog EVER. Now you’re probably wondering why a non-blogger like me all over sudden starts writing a blog. The answer to that question is actually quite easy: I simply had to.  I have to blog and twitter for  the course ‘Business Information Technology ‘ which I am following at the University of Tilburg. That is actually kind of fun isn’t it, blogging and Twitter as homework?  I think the most of you agree with me on this point, but I can hear others of you ( especially the older generation) think: ‘ that can’t be an adequate education, when students wasting their time by sending stupid messages to each other on the internet’.  Well, here comes the tricky part of the assignment: I have to design blogs and send messages about subjects that really matter.  The topics of the posts have to be about something I learned in any of my courses at the UVT. I’m actually kind of excited about it, which is unusual, because normally I’m glad that I no longer have to think about school when I get home. Is it possible that I’m finally having the revelation in my career as a student? Could it be that this is the part where I’m actually enjoying doing my homework? It sounds too good to be true, but time will tell. If you’re as curious as I am about how this will end, than you definitely have to continue to follow me on blogger.com. The content of the following blogs will be about all kind of interesting things I learned at the university and so they will be more seriously than this blog. However, this doesn’t mean that they won’t be fun to read!

I normally do not spend my free time writing, so my very first attempt to write a blog might sound like a lot of grab to you. Nevertheless,  I hope you enjoyed reading it and I hope you’ll decide to come back some time. I really hope to see you soon!