Cybervetting...Is it really wrong?

"Cybervetting," using information found on the internet to determine if someone is a viable candidate for a position, has become increasingly popular.  Many people, like Andrews, think that this is not right and even in a sense "unconsitutional."  Andrews proposes the idea of adopting a Social Network Constitution that would protect our online rights.  She strongly believes that social networks are private spaces, a space where people can post what they want, not feeling prohibited.  I understand where Andrews is coming from, but I strongly disagree with her.  Social networks are clearly not private, if you are putting something on an online space then you know that other people can potentially access it.  When you become part of a social networking site you need to take responsibility for what you post.  If you do not want something to affect possible jobs/schooling then do not post things online that are inappropriate.  If you feel a strong urge to post something that could be used against you, do it smart.  You can create more anonymous profiles that won't come back and bite you in the ass.  I do believe, however, that companies being able to pay for private profile information should never be allowed.  If you are posting something on a private setting you should not have to worry about people accessing it that aren't really allowed.  This is something that I view as uncostitutional, but otherwise if you post things online companies have every right to use it to evaluate a possible employer.  So be aware of what you are posting!

More Does Not Mean Better...A Baker's View on Online Recipes

For Easter we went to my aunt's house to eat delicious food, celebrate the holiday, and see the little kids running around all excited about what the Easter Bunny brought them.  There were so many delicious desserts; afterword’s I felt so lethargic, like was it Thanksgiving all over again?  It was funny though because my cousin warned us NOT to eat the cupcakes she brought.  Her daughter was so excited because she helped make them and was making everyone try them, telling her mom that people said they were good. I did not try one, apparently they were god awful. 

My cousin said that she found a new recipe on Pinterest and was like "why not try it out?"  Well as I think everyone who bakes can agree, not every recipe we find online is necessarily a good one.  Sites, like Pinterest, make it so easy for us to find new recipes for pretty much anything.  They show a picture of what it should look like and it always looks AMAZING.  What I have come to learn, more does not mean better.  Online offers us so many more recipes than what a cookbook would, but you have to weed through to know which ones are reliable.

  

I love getting recipes online.  I love the variety and accessibility, oh and the fact that the recipes are FREE!  However, you do need to pick carefully when choosing a recipe and it can often take up a lot of your time looking through recipes.  I know I have spent hours just looking at different cookie recipes online.  The aspect I love about recipes online is that you can read reviews from other people who have tried out the recipe for themselves.  This is not something that is in your everyday cookbook.  People not only tell you what recipes work and don't, but sometimes people will tell you great suggestions to alter the recipe and make it even better!  Overall, I think that online has made baking that much greater, but be careful when choosing what to bake! 

Google...Why not be addicted?

I'm just going to come right out and say it, I love Google. I remember when I was in middle school and if I didn't know what a word meant my mom would tell me to "look it up in the dictionary," but what a pain in the ass that was. Now whenever I need to know anything from definitions to directions I just pull out my phone and "google it."  Yes, Google has become so popular that it is often referred to as a verb.  

Does this mean that google has too much power over our lives?  I think for some of us, yes.  We can no longer imagine a time before Google, it is too scary to imagine that everything would no longer be literally at our fingertips.  The generations after us do not even know of such a time because they are growing up in a world where they can Google everything. We have to remember, however, that not everybody has a computer, tablet, or smartphone and thus does not use Google or Google affiliated products.  Google does not have power over everyones lives, just the majority.  I personally do not care that Google has as much power as it does because it makes my life much easier and even more enjoyable.  

In my free time I like to go on YouTube and watch videos, movie trailers, or even listen to a popular song.  Speaking for myself, I am addicted to Google.  I use Google Chrome as my web browser, I speak with my friends abroad through Google+, I work on projects with classmates using Google Docs, communicate with people using gmail, watch videos over YouTube, and I use Google as my search engine.  It has made every aspect of my life easier.  There is never a time when I am on my laptop and don't have Google open in a tab, you never know when a question might pop in your head. Seeing people around me, I know that I am not alone.  Just sitting in the library at work I look and see that the librarian next to me is looking up information using Google.  It's everywhere, it's accessible, why not be addicted? 

Some critics would greatly disagree and say that being addicted to Google is a major problem. Their main reasons being that google endangers our privacy and independence, however, I, for one, just do not think that matters.  Yes, Google takes away some of our privacy, for example it knows what we search for.  We let Google take away our privacy though, if we were so worried about it we wouldn't be using Google in the first place, and some people don't because they are afraid of it.  Many ways that Google takes away our privacy, however, it is just trying to advance technology and information. Also, it helps narrow our searches even more by remembering what you've searched, who you've talked to, and where you've traveled in the past.  Everything Google allows us to do makes our busy lives, just a little bit easier.

Blog to Remember

The interview that caught my attention was Megan Reardon's, known from her blog Not Martha.  As a crafty person myself, I was immediately drawn to her interview and ended up viewing her blog.  She is really into baking which is something that I can really relate to.  When viewing her blog there were many posts that dealt with food and traveling which are two things I love! 

What I like about Reardon is that she is so down to earth and blogs for herself.  She did not create the blog thinking that it would become as popular as it has.  When asked why she thought her site was popular she responded "I cannot be certain, a clever name and longevity perhaps. (Is the site popular? I'm a little uncomfortable saying that since I don't really know if it is, I don't have any perspective on that.)"  She seems thrown off and does not want to assume that she is a known blogger. However, she does like the feedback she gets from people and how blogging has helped her talk to people she would never have met otherwise.  These are things that have motivated her to continue.

 I believe that blogging is typically something personal and I like that Reardon felt the same way.  She said that the reason she began blogging was so that she could write things down.  She was tired of cluttering her house with all the information and did not want to forget things.  I found it intriguing that she did not just open up a word document and write things down for herself.  She began a public blog so that others could she what she was writing.  Looking at Reardon's blog and reading about her interview definitely got me more excited to write on my own blog! 

My First Post

My First Post