We need Google.. today. Vallarie Perez SPC 260

The Googlization of our lives does absolutely compromise our privacy and independence. Anyone who hears or sees your name anywhere has the option of typing your name into Google and reading SOMETHING about you without your knowledge. They can even go as far as to search you in the white pages and access your home address and telephone number if they feel the need to do so. (I didn't know this until I was hired for an office job a few months ago.. it freaked me out.) Google has a pervasive capacity that is limitless. It disintegrates boundaries and provides access to things people who lived in past decades could have never imagined. I find myself wishing that I existed in the fifties or sixties quite often, and then I realize that wishing I existed in the past is pointless. What I admire about those decades though, is the fact that they were able to exist and get through life without being shackled to technology. There was a higher value placed upon establishing meaning on an individual level and a much lower level of dependence. Today's technology has created a false sense of security and validation, making us believe that people who know nothing about us actually care for a second about what we're doing. It makes us believe we're important, but the basis of these feelings, are illusive.

Google- The All Powerful Vallarie Perez SPC 260

In regard to answering whether or not Google has "too much power in our lives," my initial response was to say that it does not, as the internet has become an accepted part of daily life in contemporary society. However, after taking a moment to consider this question more carefully without the bias of today's norms, I'd argue that Google does have too much power and influence in our lives. Despite the fact that there are other means by which answers to certain inquiries, no matter how big or small, can be acquired, we default to Google. The convenience of having access to anything at the tips of our fingers via smartphones and laptops creates a more facile and expedient solution to any problem or confusion we may be experiencing. Instead of taking a moment to genuinely make an attempt at thinking the question or uncertainty through, we simply "Google" it. The desire to use our own intellect and imagination in regard to providing our own answers, whether or not they are correct, has been diminished and it directly affects our creativity without us even being aware that we're starving our own potential and the tools we have within ourselves.

Megan Reardon - Vallarie Perez SPC 260

The first thing that caught my attention about this particular blogger was her alias, "Not Martha." That was clever, and it made me giggle. It was interesting to me that she describes reading people's blogs as if it were like "reading someone's diary," because since blogging was newer at the time its surprising that people were so open to sharing their personal recollections and thoughts on the net. Her reasoning for initially using blogging was basically as an online "post it" for things she wanted to pick up on or reference later. This seems efficient. I should try it since I'm so forgetful. Although taking off comments may seem limited to some, it's probably something I would eventually do myself in order to avoid potential negativity or conflict in response to any personal opinions or ideas I might share, as those types of occurrences are practically inevitable at some point down the road. I like that she calls herself out about being a bit contradictory by disabling comments yet having an online blog to which she shares her thoughts. She has no shame in revealing that her reasoning for creating something like this did in fact stem from her necessity for a certain degree of attention. The fact that she embraces this and owns up to her true reasoning for creating the blog demonstrates character. I liked that. She also incorporates a bit of sass into her response about the question in regard to being "flamed." I enjoyed that also because it was an additional insight to her personality and the way she thinks. I don't follow blogs, but "4,000 unique users a day" seems like a pretty decent amount of people checking up on her. I found it interesting that she basically referred to writing in high school as painstaking. You wouldn't think that someone who didn't enjoy putting their thoughts together would take to online posts, however, once I thought it over, it made a bit more sense to me. Blogging disintegrates any type of creative boundaries, whereas assigned papers have distinct guidelines and points to be met.