Forums, Blogs, and Community Sites – What Are They?

No cliques or showoffs here...........................we're above that.

When do I get a Shiney?

Congrats kramrat! You have the coveted post #1!

A recent thread here at CR4 got me thinking (unusual I know), and I pursued some definitions of what a blog really is. One of the interesting things I found was this from Wikipedia:

Although not a must, but most good quality blogs are interactive, allowing visitors to leave comments and even message each other via widgets on the blogs and it is this interactivity that distinguishes them from other static websites.

Thanks for my Shiny award Doorman!!! I'm really feeling special!!!!

On a serious note, since this is a blog that doesn't seem to be garnering much attention......................it would be interesting to have a discussion about the sociological implications of the wired world.

I mean, kids text more than talk.

Little sponge brains feel a personal connection to idiot actors and music stars because they receive tweets every 15 minutes.

On a personal level, CR4 is the only place I spend any time, but I've made connections with people I'll never meet in person.

Is all of this healthy?

Are we weaning ourselves off from face to face contact?

Most of us are older, but what about the kids? Is the digitization of their lives a good thing?

I think online relationships are partially healthy and partially not healthy. Healthy because the online environment allows collaboration with people you might otherwise not meet. Not healthy, because at the same time, you close yourself off to a limited group. (You might say the Internet is unlimited; it's not. Even CR4 is limited to the interests of a certain subset of people. And some people aren't online at all.)

As far as forms of communication, we've already seen (at least I have seen) how basic fundamentals like spelling, sentence structure, and grammar are falling by the wayside on this forum alone. Some think that's just the way culture is shifting - that those things won't matter any more.

I think there's a time when each form of communication (texting vs. emailing vs. calling vs. in person) is appropriate. But also consider the fact that people prefer to receive information differently. My husband is a visual learner; he needs to be shown something to understand. I like to write things down. My mother's a speed-reader that can synthesize a page in seconds. A co-worker prefers documentation for all procedures so she can go through step-by-step at her own pace. I think that the online format can provide a way for almost everyone to digest information according to preference.

As far as forms of communication, we've already seen (at least I have seen) how basic fundamentals like spelling, sentence structure, and grammar are falling by the wayside on this forum alone. Some think that's just the way culture is shifting - that those things won't matter any more.

CR4 is the only forum that I spend any time on, and it's been the opposite for me. As long as I'm here anyway, I put effort into sentence structure, punctuation, spelling, my typing has improved, and just working on the ability to put thoughts into written form here has been helpful.

The internet itself is awesome. It's like having a massive library at my fingertips. It's especially helpful on my home projects.

As far as the sense of community, and friendships that I've developed on here.........................it's a little odd. It's something that never would have existed without the internet, and yet it feels completely normal.

As far as the kids go................I don't know. The digital domain has provided bullies with a new medium through which to torment people. It's terrible when these little girls suicide themselves due to online garbage. I think when kids are young, face to face interaction is important in their development. We'll see what becomes of the texting generation.