This Digital Life

This semester one of the classes I'm taking is about social media. It's not quite what I expected. I feel as if we've been reading serious, conservative articles written by people who I just don't relate to but then again I'm often impatient about building the background and learning about things that have no immediate practical use to me. This week I feel the connection and am starting to see what I need to do in regards to social media.

Ning

As part of my summer class, Virtual Learning Environments at the New School, we are using Ning and partnering with a non-profit as part of a project. After playing around some in Ning, I decided to start a social network for Denver DIY crafters. Hopefully it will be a way for people in the Denver area to connect and keep up with the craft scene in Colorado.

Bacon Bacon Bacon

Through the wonders of Facebook my love of bacon has been encouraged! In these times of economic hardship it seems that indulgences in the food spectrum make us feel better.

Several weeks ago Downtown Boulder posted a note about a news segment on Bacon-Chocolate cupcakes.

I couldn't help myself. I had to have one of those cupcakes, and sure enough before taking the first bite I felt the need to take a photo with my phone and post it to Facebook.

After proclaiming my love of bacon in my status several days in a row on fb, friends posted bacon related stories, and today my friend Charlie posted a New York Times article about Bacon Explosion.

Oh the wonders of social networking! While the NYT article is certainly about this concoction called 'Bacon Explosion', it is also about the ways social networking was used to spread the word about this pork bonanza. It was mentioned on Twitter, multiple websites, and Stumbleupon.

Someone please help me recall how I learned of social trends before the advent of social media?