Course Blogs

Jan 14th :Techno-landscapes

http://shegeeks.net/have-you-lost-your-job-because-of-technology/

I found this blog that started a conversation about whether technology has taken away jobs. I know that technology has taken jobs away from people but I believe it has created jobs as well. First, technology is created by people and people are hired to repair and maintain whatever technological product is being used. Second the development of new innovation to make life easier requires the research and ingenuity of many people. Third, the development of new technology can create marketing & sales jobs, so, one job loss can create another job. Human beings do need social contact so I cannot see machines taking over everything but there certainly is a change these days, for example, you don’t have to see a teller at a bank,& you don’t have to see the cashier at a grocery store. With new advances in technology, people require more education too. Advances being new challenges and so I really see that jobs are just changing, but require more education which many people cannot afford. Technological advances bring new challenges to out economy and society as a whole.

Jan 21: Social media

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpIOClX1jPE

this was cool, social media in Plain English. It provides a good analogy for understanding the positive effects of social media.

January 28th : Obama & Social media

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/us_elections/article5542182.ece

this article was written in January when Obama was interviewed by CNN saying he felt he was going to win the battle to keep his Blackberry. Mr Obama told CNN that the BlackBerry was "just one tool among a number of tools that I'm trying to use, to break out of the bubble. To make sure that people can still reach me. But if I'm doing something stupid, somebody in Chicago can send me an e-mail and say, 'What are you doing?'" Obama is now known as the first "wired" President of the United States, and he is very interested in using technology to communicate directly with the American people.

Feb 10th: Blogs Gone Bad

The thing I want to comment on is that blogs can get nasty. I think that since people feel they are anonymous they can say whatever they want. I don’t think that many people who blog would say what they do in a blog to people’s face. Now, perhaps that is just being socially correct and blogs give us freedom to say what we want to but I do believe, if you cant say something to someone directly then don’t talk behind their back. Blogs give people a forum to say what they want but dometime people go too far, some have lost their jobs because of it as discussed in the article here.
http://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/blogs-gone-bad

February 27th : Social networking for jobs

http://self-employed-marketing.suite101.com/article.cfm/social_networking_to_get_work

Social networking sites are out there for professionals to get work, make new business contacts, or can be used for self promoting. The professionals in question fill out a business-toned profile, highlighting their skills, education, job experience, job related attributes, etc. and from there they meet like-minded professionals who may wish to contact them about work. This is how professional social networking sites work but according to this site it doesn’t necessarily work that way. This site discusses whether it is possible to get work with professional social networking site. They suggest that it is possible to make new contacts and meet new professionals, but not to count on getting a whole lot of jobs or opportunities through social networking.

http://www.hrtools.com/staffing/social_networking_survey_results_released_by_one_of_nations_largest_employment_law_firms.aspx

this site looks at a study that surveyed more than 100 employers in New York's metropolitan commuter areas to determine how on-line social networking sites have affected the employer-employee relationship. The survey, released in September [2008], found that many employers are monitoring employees' use of the Internet during work time and will terminate employees who violate workplace control and screening policies. Employers are also actively using social networking sites to screen new employees before hiring. Social networking has many implications for work. 1. it is a distraction at work, more and more people are checking their social networks for personal reasons while at work. 2. Social networks can be used as a screening tool for employers. If you can gain access to a potential employee’s Face book or My Space site, you might discover things that are not in keeping with company philosophy. 3. Social networking can be an effective tool to keep up on what is being said about your company by current and former employees. Employees might blog or say things about the company, both positive and negative on social network sites. Potential employees can access these blogs to find out if the company would be a good place to work This article did indicate that using personal sites for information on potential employees should be used with caution because it could be a violation of privacy, which I thought was important to say because we keep hearing we need to be careful what we post on our Face book for example because a potential employer might see things they don’t like. “Employers should note that such searches raise privacy concerns and may reveal information about protected characteristics such as race, religion, ethnicity and medical conditions. (Also worth considering: systematic use of such sites may muddy the waters of who is deemed a job applicant for affirmative action purposes.) Until this issue plays out in the courts, Rosen's advice is this: Only search the Internet and social networking sites with prior written consent and after a conditional job offer has been made.”

March 18th tid bits: Privacy Issues

http://redtape.msnbc.com/2009/01/post-1.html

Facebook scam: Identity theft.

People should read this article about Identity theft through Facebook, pretty scary. This man’s, facebook was high jacked & friends were asked for money, believing the request was coming from him. He caught it but not without a lot of hassle and stress.