Practicum 7-Foursquare

For my last practicum post I wanted to share my experience with posting information on Wikipedia. I looked over all the material already on the webpage for Foursquare and saw that there was nothing about the "Specials" that many people use Foursquare for. I decided to add some information about the Specials right underneath the Brands heading since they are somewhat similar. I just added what I knew about the specials from using the app all semester, such as how many businesses are associated with it, what they actually are, and some examples of specials. I had never put information on Wikipedia before and thought it was kind of cool to see my own information on an actual website.

Overall I thought this was a very interesting project and something that I have never done in any other class. I think it's important to keep up with the increasing technology that surrounds us today because it is only going to get more and more advanced as time moves forward. I think that studying this type of thing is very helpful for college students to learn and understand because it is something that we use everyday and will continue to use more and more.

Practicum 6-Foursquare

For my 6th blog post I thought I'd check out the desktop-based Foursquare website and see if I could find anything new. I decided to check out their blog which I found had new updates for the month of April. Most of the updates were about new badges that Foursquare was introducing. Some of them included the twin city badges for St. Paul and Minneapolis, Earth Day badges for getting out to run or bike, badges for Greek organizations and the newest one the Graduation badge. I thought the Graduation badge was particularly cool since I'll be graduating in May. So I will most definitely be "checking in" at my graduation ceremony on Foursquare to get this badge!

Blog Post 7-Computerized Devices

It's truly amazing how many computerized devices we use in a single evening. I actually had to consciously try and keep track of everything I used because I really just don't think about it. So here is what I came up with:

Obviously my cell phone is the most utilized and most important computerized thing that I own. I have a smartphone now, which is really great, so I can check basically anything I want, from Facebook to emails to movie times.

My laptop is another thing I use pretty much everyday. Today I've mostly used it for internet searches, Skype, checking email, and working on homework for school. I don't really use my laptop for much of anything else than those few things.

My iPod is something that I use quite frequently but it is not something that I really make sure that I carry with me (such as my cell phone). I like to listen to music on the way to class but if I forget it, it's not the end of the world.

Earlier today when I was working out at the gym I noticed that I was running on a computerized treadmill. It was one of those newer versions that you can plug your iPod into and it charges it and you can pick and choose your song from the screen on the treadmill. I do like the idea of these treadmills but sometimes just trying to figure out how to start a workout machine that has all that stuff on it is too complicated and I don't want to fuss with it when I'm trying to workout.

One last computerized device that I used today was an Apple TV. My parents just got one a few months ago and I came over to their house today and was so excited to use it. It is really a cool device and it's awesome how you can go onto the internet from the remote control or pick out any Netflix movie that you want to watch! Very cool.

So all in all I use computerized devices every single day, throughout the entire day. It is just crazy to think that this was probably not true about 10 years ago.

Practicum 5-Foursquare

I just replied to one of the comments left on my last practicum post about how "creepy" the idea of Foursquare really is and that it is a bit concerning. I do agree with this statement to a certain point because checking in everywhere you go is kind of dangerous when you think about it. Anyone can know where you are and locate you at anytime. Yet I do think there are a few arguments that could be made:

First, you do not have to share your location with anyone if you don't want to. There is a choice to share it on Foursquare, Facebook or not at all. So basically if you check-in and do not share your location you are just checking in for the check-in points.

Second, you choose who are your friends on Foursquare. Obviously you would not friend some random person on Facebook that you don't know. Well the same goes for Foursquare-I do not friend anyone who I don't know and I only friend people whom I've comfortable with and don't really care if they know where I am.

Yet, I understand that this does seem risky to some and that the fact that people are constantly updating where they check-in could get a bit annoying, but I don't see much of a difference between checking in on Foursquare and updating your status on Facebook. Do you? 

Practicum 4-Foursquare

For my practicum update I thought I'd share with you my experience with the Specials feature. Foursquare features over 750,000 businesses that offer specials when you "check-in" to their place. One of the really good deals I found in the Madison area was at Moe's Tavern and Grill. The check-in special was one free tap of Duff beer. I thought this was a pretty good deal and went in and checked in and told my waitress and she brought me a free beer. It was pretty sweet. I ended up ordering a few more drinks with my friends but the free beer was really cool. And best of all you could unlock the special every time you checked in! So if you went there everyday and checked in you could get a free beer! Very cool, and a great marketing tool for businesses that are just starting out or want to bring in more/new customers.

Practicum 3-Foursquare

It has been awhile since I last shared my experiences with the Foursquare app. Here is my current profile status:

Above show examples of some of my hard earned badges

-I have 5 friends
-I am at 169 check-ins
-I have 5 badges, which include the Newbie, Adventurer, Explorer, Local, and Super User badge

I have realized that with this certain locative and social network device it is really hard to use and benefit from when I do not have a lot of friends to connect with. Although I have many friends, I only have a few that are on Foursquare, and many of those friends live in states other than Wisconsin. It really doesn't do much to see that my friend is at a Starbucks in Orlando, FL...so my goal for my next post is to get a few more friends connected and start to really use the app for what it was built for-to connect and share with friends while exploring new places.

Since I will be presented on my practicum project tomorrow in class here are some questions to ponder:

From what you know about Foursquare right now, would you want to use this app or an app like this one? If so, what would be your biggest use for it? If you could add an additional feature to the app, what would it be?

You can answer one or all of the questions, I'd love to hear some of your responses!

Blog Post 6-Hulu vs. YouTube

For this assignment I decided to watch The Avengers movie trailer on both YouTube and Hulu. I started out with YouTube and of course there was an ad first. But it wasn't a normal ad you would see anywhere it was a negative political ad about Scott Walker that supported Tom Barrett. Also, even though the ad was about a minute long I was able to Skip the Ad when it was 5 seconds in. When it got to the video it was a high quality video that I had not seen before-aka it was not the one that was shown in theaters. The video was 2 minutes and 4 seconds long and then at the very end there was a screen with multiple other movie trailers that you could click on and watch.

After watching the YouTube version I went onto Hulu and searched for The Avengers trailer. I clicked on the link and there was just a static five second ad about the 5 hour energy drink. This version of the trailer was one I had seen before, because it was the one that was shown in theaters. The video was about 2 minutes and 30 seconds long, so a bit longer than the YouTube video which was nice because I really like watching longer movie trailers. After the video ended there was a small LeanCuisine ad and it said that another video would start in 5 seconds. The next movie trailer, which was A Little Bit of Heaven, played right after if I did not close the window or stop it.

I think the Hulu version was a bit better in quality but I don't really like the fact that another trailer (that you don't choose) starts right away. I like the fact that on YouTube there are multiple different trailers to choose from after the video is over. Personally I still like Hulu's version better just because YouTube is sometimes hard to navigate and it is hard to find the "main" trailer because there are so many versions. Hulu's video was simple and straightforward and really only offered one video from the search menu. So Hulu wins my vote.

Blog Post 5-Copyrighted Material Online

My experience with copyrighted content online is usually somewhat negative, but this is understandable. When I search for content such as videos/movies online and there is a copyright block it gets really annoying, especially if I'm just trying to find something harmless like Lady Gaga's latest music video or a TV clip of SNL. But it is somewhat understandable for blocking copyrighted content on some things because there is just so much of it and the people who created that content do not get the credit that they deserve.

Another copyright issue that I've had in the past is trying to download pictures. I am really into photography and am always looking at other peoples work. Sometimes I see a picture I really want on my desktop or to post to my Facebook, but most photography is highly copyrighted and will not let you download or do anything with it. In this sense I am very understandable of copyrighted content because a persons personal photography is something that they own but also want to share, but to download it would be like stealing it from a studio. So, in this sense I do agree with copyrighted material and its effect on internet users.

Practicum 2-Foursquare

My practicum project and overall Foursquare use has been a struggle to say the least. I try to check-in to every place I go, but sometimes I just forget and other times I find it pointless, like checking into Vilas 4 times a day. But my profile so far doesn't look too terrible-I've got 45 check-ins, 5 badges, no mayorships, and my most explored category is Bars (no surprise there). I've got 3 friends, 1 of which I do not know because my friend decided to push "Add Friend" to this random person who friended me so now I am "following" Joe B from Chicago. He comments on the places I go sometimes which is kind of weird since I don't know him...but anyway so far I'm still trying to just keep at it. Hopefully I will get some good deals at places or some new badges soon. I'll keep you all posted!

Blog Post 4-Google Search of Myself

So when I Googled myself I found mostly what I thought I would find but some surprising things as well.

The first thing I saw on the web results page was a picture of myself saying "1 personal result". It stated it was a limited profile so I'm assuming it was not publicly accessed.

The first link that came up was the homepage of Michelle Ruse who is a middle-aged woman at works at Iowa State University.

The next 2 links were about my profile on Facebook. These links only stated information that I securely provided for the public to see. Another link was on my LinkedIn Profile and stated information about my work experience and education.

Really, there was no information that I found that was inaccurate or inappropriate. The only surprising link that I found was a blog post that I did for a class last semester that was posted on the UW-Go Big Read blog. I thought this was kind of cool since I'm not really interactive in the online world outside of school and work.

All in all my Google search was successful and not too surprising.

Practicum 1-Foursquare

So this is my first post for the practicum assignment. I wanted to have a few weeks to try it out before posting anything about it. My experience with the locative service Foursquare has been an interesting one to say the least. Let me first tell you all about the Internet service first. Foursquare is a locative service that lets you “check-in” to any place that you are. You can see where your friends are, explore new places, and even get discounts and specials at certain places. Although this service has a lot on it and may seem to be useful to some, I do not yet feel this way. I only have 2 friends on Foursquare and both of them do not use it on a regular basis, so really I am just checking into places for no reason. Since none of my friends are actually on Foursquare it really has no use to me because I cannot see where they are or meet up with them somewhere. So I guess the only use it has for me is the discounts and specials that “checking-in” to a place will get me, yet so far I have only received one special and that was 20% off at bar in Chicago. Hopefully more of my friends will join and I can really experience all of what Foursqaure offers.

Blog Post 3: I-Doser

I have really never heard of i-dosing before and after learning more about it I was very skeptical about its effects people. After listening and viewing a few of the i-doser videos myself (here is one of them), my reaction is just as I suspected: it's all talk.

After watching a few of the videos the only effect I had was a headache from listening to annoying club music and watching over stimulating visual effects. I didn't really like the videos and see no point in why people watch them. I guess it's a cheaper and safer alternative than illegal drugs, but I don't really see the effect. It seems that the videos could be for people who are already on drugs and want to get a better "high", but being sober it didn't do much for me.

Blog Post 2-Video Response

It is amazing what the Internet has become from such a small simple idea. The video makes the creation of the Internet seem so simple, yet I can't even begin to imagine how much time and work was put in to make the Internet what it is today. I enjoyed the simplicity of this video, but it would be interesting to know how much time was put into this idea, who exactly were the people who used this, and how the invention of the early internet has had an effect on our version of the internet today.

Blog Post 1-Introduction

Hey CA346,

My name is Michelle Ruse, I'm a senior here at UW majoring in Communication Arts and will be graduating in May.

I'm very excited to be in this course and have heard many good things about it. Looking forward to a great semester!