The Copy/Paste Generation??

(image credit: Marknad)

"Newly awarded Nobel Prize winner, Doris Lessing, used her acceptance speech to tell the world that our relatively new-found best friend, the Internet, makes us dumb, as Duncan Riley of TechCrunch.com noted."(From:Internet Makes People Dumb, Methinks Says Nobel Laureate. By: Vlad Constandes, SEO News Editor)

Are search engines and the internet in general making youngsters less creative? Is it a 'creativity CRIME' to read sparknotes in bed rather than walk to your nearest library to check out the whole version?

Without a doubt the internet has made it much easier to skim books, check movie times, read periodicals, and even looking up historical figures all in one place: your laptop. This is extremely convenient and has and will continue to overcome some of the more traditional ways the public accesses information. But is this source of convenience also a potential source of making our younger generations dumber? I personally don't think so. Although it may make them lazier, the resources on the internet keep expanding and expanding, and the number of users on the internet keep expanding with it. With this growth I see the internet as solely a valuable source of information which hopefully will act as a partner to paper resources rather than an alternative.

The Nike Palace

The new Nike ID section of Nike-town in New York City is never very crowded. However that isn't because they aren’t popular, or because the high price of these shoes scare away consumers... rather it's because in order to create a custom pair of Nike ID's you need to call and make an appointment for a hour block to personalize and talk to a customer service representative at Nike Town.

Nike's newest hot idea is taking personalized shoes to another level. The option has been available to personalize shoes for along time, however never to the extent Nike has recently taken it to. Regardless if you want stripes, neon colors, low tops, or a leather tongue, Nike probably has an option for you with their new Nike ID's.

This idea of consumers becoming the designers also has brought about another change. This is the option to be able to share what you created with your friends. To quote Business Week's article "Customer/designers can then email their creations to themselves or to buddies, or buy the new design inside Nike-town."(Nike's New Public Design Studio -- Where Consumers Become Designers. Posted by: Reena Jana on October 04).

Is this trend of customizing new shoes bringing along a trend of new ways to share your newest purchases with friends? One thing is for sure, Nike has more than just new shoes, Nike's new marketing strategies may also help to shape the way we shop.

Click here to learn more about Nike's global idea for Nike ID.

Paintball, a study of teamwork

Teamwork is currently one of the most beneficial skills in this era's job market, and after my experience this weekend paintballing, I feel as though I now have a new perspective on teamwork (especially under pressure). Before this weekend my experience in teamwork has consisted primarily of teamwork in terms of school, which is really mandatory teamwork. This weekend I experienced teamwork in a new way.

Five of my friends and I went back to New York City this weekend to play a group of strangers in paintball. And to cut to the chase, we ended the night bruised and bloody. However more importantly, the pressure that was put on us during the match really made us all bond together and communicate in a way that would not have been possible under other conditions, such as school.

Although I feel as though in high school/college professors are doing their best to promote teamwork, and teach the importance of teamwork, I believe teamwork is a skill which people learn themselves under pressure. I believe teamwork is a skill which one learns 'in the field' if you will. Although teamwork is learned/taught in school, it is a skill that I believe students will truly learn once they get into their field of desired study and have experience under pressure working towards a common goal.

Relationships in your Network

Are all of my relationships defined by statements such as homophilous relations or a connection with propinquity. No, but these two words are discussed in depth in “Introduction to Social Network Theory” by Charles Kadushin.

When I transferred to American University from New York City last Fall I remember the first conversation starter amongst other students was always "Where are you from?" And with some reflection, it doesn't take long for me to realize that I have a pre-disposition to believe that I get along better with people from New York City, or that have shared a significant mutual experience, such as attending a New England Boarding School with me. In my personal experience, almost all of my relationships however are through the propinquity property. Whether it is because I feel people from New York all share a certain quality, or just because I like being surrounded by people from New York, all of my friends are from New York City. Strangely, I spent all my middle school/high school years at boarding school in Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Montana. Additionally, at these schools, most of my friends are in not way homophilous connections.

Think about your network of friends, and see if your relationships are more homophilous or follow the propinquity property.

Blog#1

This blog has been created for ITEC 333: Social networking & business at American University.


"On my honor, all posts on this blog are my own"