Google!

You know a search engine has become a big deal when they officially turn the website name into a verb. For example, the word "google" is now considered a verb in the dictionary defined as "(often lowercase) to search the Internet for information about (a person, topic, etc.)." Myself along with many others can probably say the use Google multiple times a day to look up whatever they are wondering about. Some examples of things I google the most are: addresses, hours of operation, symptoms, recipes, definitions, homework help, lyrics, etc. Google is a very convenient and reliable website. I believe Google does have a lot of power over our lives now a days just because of how much we depend on it to answer all our questions. I don't know if I would consider the world addicted to Google because we have lived without it so I'm sure we could do it again. I just think people would be a little lost without it for a while due to how advantageous it is. Lastly, I do not believe that Google is endangering our privacy to independence because it is our choice if we want to rely on Google for answers or not. I am sure if we did not have Google, we would find another way to receive all the information we are looking for!

Convergence

During the past couple decades, technology has not only advanced but also converged. Think about a smartphone for example and how many things you can do with it. A smartphone lets you text, call, email, take pictures, take videos, watch movies, watch tv, listen to music, check the news, check the weather, use a gps, etc. Years ago, one would need about 10 different devices to perform all the tasks a smartphone can. If this isn't convergence then I don't know what is! Technology and convergence are making our lives a lot easier and convenient. Yet I also believe it is making the addictions to smartphones grow stronger due to all the tasks you can complete with one small object.

Trine-Maria Kristensen's Blog Interview

I read the blog interview on Trine-Maria Kristensen (http://www.rebeccablood.net/bloggerson/trinemaria.html). I thought her blog name was very unique. In Denmark, the saying meaning "to dare" is "head on the block." In Danish, this saying translates too hovedetpaabloggen; and this is exactly what she named her blog.

Her interesting blog name drew me in to read the rest of her interview. Kristensen graduated from Roskilde University, where she received her degree in Social Science. Kristensen now lives in Copenhagen with her husband, has written a book called Weblogs, and created a start-up called Social Square.

I really liked how inspiring Kristensen's interview was. She talks about how blogging did not come easy for her at first and how she felt very shy to open up on a blog. But once she started, everything else just flowed. She discusses how people of the blog world were very kind and opening to her. I think this gives new bloggers, including myself, hope that anyone can make a successful blog. She also states that although she has a decent number of blog visitors, the numbers do not matter to her. She says, "I prefer to have 15 engaged readers to 1500 who don't care about me or my blog." I completely agree with her and am going to remember this for my blog since I know I won't have too many viewers in the beginning. Another tip I took from her interview answers is to always keep your eyes open when you're searching the web. You never know when you are going to come across a topic or a page you want to link to. I also learned to not be afraid to express your strong opinions while blogging. Kristensen said she writes to provoke reactions often. She says it gets attention, gets many conversations going and is very fun! The last thing I really enjoyed about Kristensen's blog was that she talked about how blogs are great for business. She discussed how she learned to use blogs for her marketing career. This is where I really connected with her, since I am studying marketing also. Who knows, maybe I could continue my blog after class ends because of my majors!

I think Trine-Maria Kristensen's interview was a great read to get my blog started. I took a lot of tips away from her answers and she also gave me a lot of inspiration for the rest of my blog posts! I highly recommend all new bloggers to read her interview!