Moving Forward

Photo from Flicker

At the beginning of this semester I was concerned about joining Twitter, like my fellow classmate Meg. I always considered Twitter to be for people who don't have a life and wish to know what celebrities are doing 24/7. Through ALES 204 I have gained a new respect for Twitter. By following Pacific Forestry Inc. I am able to hear about prospective jobs or future industry standards. Following CNN on Twitter is also very useful. I receive breaking news the second it happens which is very important since I don't have cable I feel very disconnected from current news. With Twitter, I can keep up with events with what is going on in my industry as well as in the world.

 I also enjoyed the subject of keeping your internet image professional by watching pictures you post and comments to other people. Although you might think that your Facebook is private, but once something is online it is almost impossible to remove it. Creating a professional Facebook page allows future employers to see relevant information and not think that we have something to hide. I have never considered doing this before since I always felt like Facebook was strictly for social use. After our class I decided to research Facebook a bit more and discovered many pages about people promoting themselves such as Knitwit Abner.

Throughout the year we have had the opportunity to branch into other peoples blogs and spread information and knowledge through comments on fellow students blogs. A few that I have found very interesting and commented on are Pierre, Becky, Jenna, Meagan and Loana. I have found these posts very interesting and all have made me think about the subject in a different way.

ALES was an interesting class, it really made me think about social media differently. A skill that I can continually improve upon.

Picture from http://doanie.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/bye.jpg 

I can make a Wikipedia?!?!

Wikipedia is a type of online encyclopedia. The main difference being that it is online and written by regular people. Generally the information is very informative and accurate but this is not a totally reliable source of information. Although, it is a great stepping stone to expand your research. It is Wikipedia's policy to have all the information used cited properly so it is easy to find the actual source of the information. Being such a computerized age it is important to have a website like this, all the information one can imagine is but a few finger strokes away and anyone being allowed to contribute to the mass of information. This also makes the site very unreliable. It can also be difficult to to edit an article because someone else may be trying to edit the same one, resulting in an "edit war" causing the information to be very unstable and ever changing.

I have recently made a contribution to the world of Wikipedia by editing and adding information to a stub about a tree, Asian Bayberry. Adding to a stub is the best idea because they are already connected to other pages, making it more likely that your page will be visited. At first I was very nervous about adding my own informative post into the world of Wiki. I always thought of it containing long list of computer code and that I am not knowledgeable enough to post about something for everyone to see. In reality a person like me or my classmate, Mark, are the perfect people to write a Wikipedia post. We have access to reliable peer reviewed articles and journals with the most recent information and we are passionate about our field of interest, which we love to share with many people. As for the series of code that makes editing your stub look like a mess of lines and words, it isn't as bad as I thought. These pages can be as simple or complex as one desires.  If I did happen to run into problems, which I did, there is a very informative help page that organizes everything into related, easy to read sections. As for me, once I found out how to use the proper citation name I was on a roll!

This is a great activity to make me realize that Wikipedia is not as reliable as I originally anticipated. I need to look at websites closer to ensure that they are peer reviewed and that the information may not be accurate. Wikipedia is a good first step to gain an understanding about the subject that you are looking into and to continue research using the references provided.

Technology

Before computers and cellphones, people kept their work life and their personal life separate. Call display did not exist, every time you answered the phone unknowing who was on the other line and you needed to say who was calling. The library was steadily used because that was the only way that people could gain the knowledge that they required. I feel that society has placed to much emphases on these gadgets that we hold so close to our hearts.

Without the internet, people are lost, their computers crash and it is the end of the world. No one thinks that they could go to the local library and borrow a book that has the same information or if they do think that then it is to much of a hassle. With employers seeking out potential employees internet footprint employees are creating online resumes to positively influence the employer, a subject my fellow classmate has tackled.
 I do agree that computers and the internet make life so much easier but we should not rely on these man-made-machines to do everything for us. Now there are cars that park themselves, isn't that a little much? If you don't know how to park your own car then maybe you shouldn't have gotten your drivers licence. I believe that computers should be used to aid our lives but not relied on so heavily that if your computer crashes then you might as well go home for the day.

I don't know anyone nowadays without a cell phone, most of which are smart phones. Although I love the idea of my iPhone, I feel that I am being sucked into it. It is wrong when people are hanging out with friends and they are to deep into their phone to know what the conversation is about or that they drop everything to answer their phones. I believe that the person that I am with has taken the time to come and see me and I do not need to drop everything just because my phone goes off. I know every person has had that gut wrenching feeling when they forget their phones at home and I feel that society needs to work on the reliance we have created for our for them. Cellphones should be used as an aid in our lives but not take them over completely.

Image is from: http://cache0.bigcartel.com/product_images/37896500/Recyclingsitecomputer002.jpg.accessed Feb.29/2012. 

With the internet readily available employers are beginning to look to Facebook as their way to background check future employees. Facebook is full of the information that future employers are looking for and it is the best way to access the information. The one being looked at may not be as happy about this research. To most people, Facebook is a private area that they wish to share only with their friends and families. There are many pictures or updates that may influence a possible employer and as stated in the article, many employers change their views of a prospected employee after looking them up on the internet. Creating a page on Facebook is an ideal way to show any future employer exactly what you want them to see.

Like my fellow Forestry classmate, Pierre, I have created a Facebook page that is basically my online resume that informs potential employers about my past work experience. This is a great way to present yourself to a future employer and is a valuable social networking area. Many jobs are now posted on Facebook and this is a convenient way to quickly share information about yourself. 

Hello, my name is Sara and I am in my second year of Forestry. I grew up in a family that valued the outdoors. We went hiking, camping, fishing and so much more and I loved every second of it. Throughout high school I knew that I wanted to do something outdoors and with animals but I had no idea about what I wanted to do specifically. I have always been very environmentally conscious but somehow found myself working in the lab at a pulp mill a few months after I graduated. I quickly began to realize these industries that I thought negatively about are essential for society today and the people there were working to limit their impact way more than the government regulated. Soon I became very interested in the environmental operations and quickly advanced as far as I could in that position. I realized that I needed to go to school so that I would be able to advance in my career choice.

(picture from http://iversonforest.com/)

I am excited to begin this career because I aim to educate people on the forest industry. It is a common misconception that forestry is an evil industry that wishes to destroy our forests. In reality, foresters are more concerned about the environment than people believe. This is our career, if there are no forests then we do not have a job. Communication is key for this career objective. I need to learn how to apply my knowledge and inform/correct the misconception of the forestry industry today. It is vital that I learn to communicate my message clearly so that society can begin to form a new understanding of forestry. For an article written about public perception of the forestry industry click here

I agree with Meaghan in that communication is an essential tool for every individual in any industry to posses. Although we are in different fields of work and have had different experiences we have developed a need for the skill of communication. While working at the pulp mill I had to deal with many forms of communication and confrontation and it is important to know how to deal with everything that comes at you in a professional manner. Management at the pulp mill relied on me to inform them of potential situations and ideas on how to improve our process and it was very important that I was able to clearly explain my thoughts and ideas. I am very excited to learn new methods through this ALES 204 course and I hope I will be able to integrate social media into my future career.