Learning how to navigate and find things was very overwhelming at first. After experimenting I got the hang of it and feel like I can navigate around the “world”. I found my way to SBCC and flew around (what an awesome feature) to find the library. I promptly found Kenley’s office and sat in the chair. However I felt self conscious about my outfit which I’m sure was a “stock” outfit. I played around with the clothing options for a bit and finally settled on something acceptable. Designing the shoes and hair were a bit beyond my abilities at this point, but I figured out how to give her a wool sweater! Pretty stylin’!

In creating this person/me, I was torn about how I should make them/me: Micha Callow – Should she resemble me or someone entirely different than me? I suppose this is a question everyone has to come to terms with when acting online. For me, pre-social media, the Internet was so anonymous because everyone “hid” behind a screen name. You could be anyone you wanted to be because it didn’t have to be “you”. When social media sites like MySpace and Facebook started popping up, they were more closely associated with who you were in real life. They used your real name and were based on your real life connections. I had gotten accustomed to a realistic portrayal of myself on the web. In Second Life I feel like I don’t need to represent me as “me” – just like a chat room. What an odd feeling.

There was no one around SBCC when I was there so it was a good space to look around and get used to everything. This definitely prepared me for the Community Event portion of the assignment. I searched through the events to find something that was starting soon. I wanted to hear some music so I found my way to a Jazz Club and Lounge called “Frolic”. This was by far the most bizarre experience. I made my way into the ballroom where people were dancing. Someone welcomed me to the club and people were very friendly! Three separate people approached me, said hello, and asked if they could help me find anything. I didn’t really know what I was looking for, but very friendly and helpful, none the less! Would those people have approached me in real life life that?

Then someone asked me to dance and that freaked me out. I ran out of there like a little girl. This triggered another series of questions – Do people spark online relationships over Second Life? – Are there marriages broken up because of such things? I asked my partner if he would be upset if I danced with someone on Second Life and he said “no”. Then I asked him if he’d be upset if I kissed someone and he paused… and said “why?…. I don’t know”.  He promptly changed the subject. I used to play The Sims and it didn’t bother him when those characters kissed. These characters are attached to real people though. Is it real? Too real? I definitely wouldn’t be comfortable doing anything on Second Life that I wouldn’t do in real life – even though it’s virtual.

This experience has truly made my head spin.

When we were planning the move, we decided we weren’t going to set up the cable TV right away. It was the summer, so it’s all re-runs anyways. We saw it as more of a challenge than anything – Can we really make it without TV?  Nine months later, we’ve found out the answer – Hell no we don’t!

All the offerings available online on top of our Netflix subscription has us entertained just as well! This is not to mention the savings:

Cable TV Contract Monthly: $65.49
DVR Monthly Fee: $9.99 ( you know you have to have it)

VS.

Netflix Subscription Monthly: $8.99 (1-disc, unlimited streaming)
Upgraded Internet Service: $15.00 (We’d pay for Internet regardless, so this is the price difference between basic Internet and faster Internet. Don’t want to suffer through “buffering…”)
Hulu Subscription Monthly: $0.00 (free “DVR” included with the Queue feature)
YouTube Subscription Monthly: $0.00 (kitten videos are endlessly entertaining, hah)
Everything Else on the Internet: $0.00

That’s a $51.49 savings per month which translates to $617.99 a year! We’ve already saved over $400. Completely worth it!

We set up our entertainment system to accommodate this new lifestyle choice, of course. I like watching the shows I watch online on the big screen instead of from my laptop. We bought a ridiculously long HDMI cable off Woot! for $5.00 (sweet!) that connects up to my laptop and streams all of our entertainment. This is truly the new age of television – Ditch the contract.

Extra Perk: If you ever have a problem, Netflix customer service agents are 1000 times friendlier than Cox’s. Who doesn’t like friendly people?

The system — called “SpeedSpike” — figures your average speed between two points, captures an image of your license place and reports you if you’re going faster than the law allows. Oh, and if you’re hoping Great Britain’s notoriously gray weather will save you, you’re out of luck; the system works even when it’s cloudy or dark.

Isn’t this going too far? You don’t even get the rare possibility of the officer not showing up in court because it’s not an officer at all, it’s a satellite… in space. This blows my mind. How unfair!

That being said, I’ve never been under the impression that law enforcement is “fair”. No matter what you do, some people that do very bad things won’t always get caught. And other people that do not so bad things will get caught. So many factors go in to police work that bias the effectiveness of the enforcement. I’ve heard that police ticket more red cars than any other color. As human beings, there are race/gender related biases that play into how officers issue citations.  Even car color, race/gender, and everything else aside, speeding tickets can still be issued in a sneaky way. Cops have been hiding behind freeway bushes on side roads for decades. I even see the occasional sign reporting that speed is being monitored by aircraft (something I doubt CA has had funding for in years). A satellite’s judgement isn’t clouded by the human condition and is certainly more objective. Perhaps this is the ultimate equalizer?

As always there are always tons of people updating their status t express their absolute disdain for the changes. Sometimes it’s hard to sort out the people who resist any and all changes versus the people who genuinely dislike the changes.  Many times I think that people just hate having to adapt to a new environment where they have to learn how to use this tool all over again. Whenever I log into Facebook and there’s a little dialog box at the top I get excited to see what they’ve come up with next and am eager to explore the new settings!  I’d like to think I’m open-minded (maybe I’m just naive) about the recent changes. I think it’s great for Facebook to create more connections and therefore, interconnectedness, on Facebook. It makes for more a much more integrated social experience. I use social media to connect with other people and from what I’ve read thus far the changes Facebook have made so far aim to make that process better.

Many people are concerned about privacy issues, which is understandable.  I have dug through the settings myself and found them easy to navigate, even with the new features. I am most concerned about the ability of companies being able to access my information through social plug-ins. I will certainly read into those settings a bit more carefully to make an educated decision. Although Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, has officially proclaimed that “Privacy is Dead”, which is… less comforting.

What do you think of these new features?

Sometimes after a long day at work all you really need is a warm cup of tea. I’ve always been a tea drinker over a coffee drinker. My body can’t seem to handle the caffeine in coffee like other people. One cup of coffee will give me a headache and shaky hands – not my thing. Tea however, is blissful alternative!

I thought I knew everything about tea. I went to the grocery store and poured over the options – green tea, black tea, fruity tea, combo packs – the options seem endless! But I had explored them all – each delicious in their own right.

Then I discovered Teavana. You may have noticed this new addition to the Paseo Nuevo Mall off State Street in downtown Santa Barbara. They give away samples out front and the tiny little shop is usually jam packed with people sampling and chatting. Teavana helped me discover that I didn’t know anything about tea. You walk in there scared half to death you’ll knock something breakable off the shelves because the walkway is so tight. But then you find a good spot, taste one of their concoctions, and you melt.

Eventually you make your way to the counter and pick a tea you’d like to smell. They have a wall of tea for goodness sake. And this is no grocery store people, this is the Lazy Acres of tea. They have a dozen green teas alone! I didn’t even know there were varieties of green tea in the first place! Ahh heaven! So you pick your tea, they open the canister and they wave the lid around brushing the delicious scent of the tea up into your face. I could visit them every day just for that experience.

Next time you’re around the mall or in the downtown area I highly recommend a visit! Are there any other tea-lovers out there??

Q: What is the primary element on a page?
A: Page Title

Q: What are three other elements on a page that can be optimized?
A: URL, headings, keywords

Q: Should keywords should focus on the website’s content, the page’s content or other keywords that don’t appear on the site?
A: The specifc page’s content

Q: True or False, SEO is just for the search engine spiders.
A: False. SEO is to help potential visitors navigate to your website over others.

Q: What are the five reasons that just adding keywords does not produce optimal results?
A: (1) Google doesn’t use keywords to create page rankings. (2) Too many keywords can trigger spam filters on some search engines. (3) Too broad for the specific page you are optimizing – not custom to the page’s content. (4) Can take focus away from writing to the visitor, and focusing too much on catering to search engines. (5) Other SEO techniques prove to be more effective.

Q: Other than optimizing a page, what are two other factors that affect search engine rankings?
A: The age of the URL and amount of incoming links

Q: What is the long tail of content?
A: Multiple pages on your site, blog posts that link back to your site, etc.

Samples of SEO optimization using All-In-One SEO plugin:

#1: “Become a Fan” of Facebook Post

#2 Skype Connecting Distant Friends Post

#3 SEO for all Mankind Post

Recently I reconnected with an old girlfriend via Skype. We lived across the hall from eachother during our first year of college in San Nicolas residence hall at UC Santa Barbara. She grew up in LA, the middle of three children, about 5’3″ and in a long term relationship. I grew up in San Diego, eldest of two children, about 5’8″ and recently single. We both led such different lives, but the magic of random room assignments brought us together.

We made it through freshman year together and grew very close. Going into our sophomore year we lived in the same house and we were dating men who were rooming together in Isla Vista – our paths had aligned and life was good. Due to a series of unpredictable events we entered our junior year more seperate than we ever had been. I was continuing on with school, dating the same guy, and loving UCSB. She left school, broke up with the guy, and moved across the world to do volunteer work in Thailand. That was the last I heard of her aside from an email here and there.

Reconnecting with her via Skype left me without words. To see her and feel so connected to her after such a long time apart was almost just as good as her being in the US in the flesh. We got to update eachother on our lives and chat just as we had while struggling through freshman year – but now we were chatting from across the world. Truly an special experience.

Facebook such a great resource for connecting with people both for personal connections and in interaction with brands/organizations. However, any resource that is good at connecting people is bound to collect quite a barrel-full of information that can be threatening!

Creating friend lists has always been one of those things I was going to “get around” to. I’m glad I finally did – It’s already been useful! However, I have trouble trusting it.  I would NEVER admit to playing hookie from work on my Facebook page even if it was properly targeted at the right people.

Do I have trust issues?

Find me on Facebook: www.facebook.com/michelle.kitson

I developed and manage this Facebook Page for my job. It’s my brain-child.

QUICK PLUG: If you live in IV you really should check it out!

“Life of the Party” on Facebook