From Pencils to Pixels

The main argument of this text is that the technology and the computer has changed the way we read and write and therefore has altered literacy.  We must adjust to the new technological advances and society as it develops new things.  

Literacy, as defined in this article, is someone’s ability to be technologically in tune with modern advancements in society.  It is an implicit definition of literacy.
The author talks about what he believes is the gateway to literacy, which is technology and in particular the computer. I fully agree with this statement, because as we evolve more and more technology is becoming prevalent in our everyday lives. If we do not take the time to learn how to work and understand these advances, we will become the few who can not evolve with the world as it does. Also, the computer provides us massive amounts of information with the click of a button and therefore we can learn more faster.
The pencil is technology because it allows us to create ideas, stories, plans, etc. in a visual image which helps us to organize our thoughts and also share these thoughts with others.
Plato disliked writing/written word because he thought that it took something away from us. He believed that it weakened us because it took away oral conversation and and the exchanging of ideas.
Thoreau believed that pencil technology was the best because he thought that other technologies were just an illusion and not actual hard evidence of ideas.
The telephone combined both talking and writing and made it easier for people to communicate with one another. People's tones of voice could be more easily recognized and understood but it did not express facial expressions and gestures which also changed the way we communicate.

Yancey's Writing in the 21st Century

In Yancey's article, he addresses three challenges and opportunities of writing in the 21st century.  These include developing a new method or model of writing, coming up with a curriculum to support such methods, and then creating models to teach the methods.  This article urges Americans to write more and also wants us to encourage others around us to write more so that we can create a more literate society.  Yancey's article addresses the problems within our culture that underrate writing and its influence.  Yancey also discusses the emotions attached with writing and reading.  Reading has a positive connotation that invokes pleasure but writing has gained a negativity around it that is often referred to as painful and isolating.  The 21st century is becoming the Age of Composition because people are starting to involve themselves a lot more heavily in writing.  Could the 21st century come even closer to closing the literacy gap that is so prevalent in America?

Brave New World of Digital Intimacy

In Thompson's article, he argues that social media and things like Facebook are both destroying and also building literacy, in different aspects.  His main claim is that the way that we interact with one another, make friends, and keep in touch with those friends is changing due to the presence of social media in our lives.  With things like Facebook we can instantly know who is doing what with whom, who is in a relationship with whom, and also what their likes and dislikes are.  We keep tabs on everyone no matter how close we may be with the person we "Facebook stalk".   This social media is aiding literacy in that it is expanding communication and the way that we pass on culture, knowledge, and experience.  But it is also limiting literacy because it has taken away the reading and writing that is so prominent in the literal definition.  Also, it is not making us go out and research information instead we are skimming through a newsfeed of people we may not actually care about.  Although the article argues both defending and attacking how social media affects literacy, it defines literacy in a whole new way.  Thompson defines literacy as the ability to create and expand friendships through communication on social media and by reading what someone posts.

Gin, Television, and Cognitive Surplus

In this article, Shirky's main point is that we should do something productive with our free time versus watching television and wasting the time away not thinking.  He tries to argue that we waste so much time doing things that are not making a difference in the world when we should be trying to use our free time to its fullest advantage.  In this article I found more than one definition of literacy.  Illiteracy can be defined as the ignorance of people to the time that they waste watching countless hours of television and spending an unlimited amount of time on the computer.  But also, literacy can be defined as someone's ability to understand information and not go any deeper into its meaning.  Also, throughout the article he brings forth facts about the millions, billions, and trillion hours people spend watching television, playing on the computer, or doing nothing.  He may keep reiterating this as to point out to the reader that this time can be better used in making a difference in the world, like the millions of hours spent creating Wikipedia articles that help to further people's knowledge.

Is Google Making Us Stupid?

In this article, the author talks about how in the present day, with so much information available to us with the click of a button, we are losing our ability think for ourselves and expand our knowledge.  Things used to be so simple and they continue to get more and more difficult as time passes.  Being an author, he utilizes the internet for research instead of sifting through multiple stacks of paper to find the answer to a simple question.  But he has realized that now because of the internet, he no longer just sits and immerses himself in a book for hours on end, but instead gets onto the internet.  He says that the Net has become a universal medium and the main source for all information that his eyes gaze upon.  The internet has changed so much about the thought process of human minds.  It has also changed to reading process because instead of taking the time to read a book, we google a summary.  Although it is a lot quicker, we do not think for ourselves anymore or think deep into the meaning of a book.

Unit 3 Brainstorming: Identity and Social Media

Blake Shelton's twitter feed is filled with responses, retweets, and promotions of himself and his team during each season of the voice.  He does a great job of responding to his fans tweets to him and also promoting his team and the show The Voice.  Blake Shelton always speaks his mind on his twitter account and isn't afraid to let it all out whether it be a tweet saying "I'm sober......bitch time for a drink" or dissing Adam Levine after every episode of The Voice is filmed or aired.  But on the other hand, him and his wife Miranda Lambert exchange sweet and loving tweets between one another when not together, showing a softer and kinder side of Blake Shelton.  He emits a fun-loving, care-free, hard-working personality through his twitter profile, which is a pretty accurate representation of his life as well.

Social Media: What Does Your Tattoo Say?

I feel that I represent myself on social media very well.  I do not post inappropriate Facebook posts, tweets, or instagrams, but on the other hand i do not completely censor myself so that an outsider would not be able to get to know me from looking at all of the above.
When on twitter I tend to speak my mind , yet I try to make a point of not posting anything that could one day be detrimental to myself.  My tweets range from me raving on how much I love Auburn to something interesting that has just happened to me while walking down the street to something I'm craving to eat.  For Example:
"GAAMMEE DAAAYY (hump day voice)"
This shows my school pride and how excited I am to be at Auburn.
"To the two kids arguing over the reflective state of the window: I promise there are bigger things in life:"
This is just one of the many interesting things I have overheard while walking to classes everyday.
"I want great mex taco Tuesday. That is all"
This tweet expresses a craving for food from my hometown.
There is a girl wearing heels to class, with her Nike shorts. That is all.
Again this is one of the many crazy things i see walking across campus.
The sunsets here. I'm happy.
This tweet expresses my love of sunsets, which, if you know me well, is one of my favorite things in the world.

From my tweets, one can see that I love my school, love my friends, and love food. But these are only a few of the things that define me as a person. If someone were to look through my Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, one could also see that I love to have fun, yet can crack down when it comes to studies. This would be an accurate representation of me and my life. I try to keep up with social media because nowadays it is the way that my generation communicates and spreads the word about important issues. You can even get a job that has to do with keeping up on social media and keeping your business relevant on social media. I would like to believe that I censor myself enough that if i sat down for an interview and was handed a copy of all my tweets, instagrams, and facebook posts i would still get the job. I try to keep myself in the best light possible at all times, of course we all have slip ups and the bad thing about social media is that the internet is forever, but that doesn't mean that we can not try to correct those wrong doings through future posts.