Tweeter, Twitter.. Tweedle Dee... Tweedle DAYUM!!

Ok, so I have to admit, I was not too crazy about doing the "Twitter thing".  A few years back, it was all the rave and I told myself, I do not have to be like everyone else and do what everyone else is doing.  Boy oh boy was I wrong!!  I am not entirely computer illiterate.  I can navigate my way around the internet if I need to, however, I was not aware of all of the different things you could find on just one social networking forum!!

I created my Twitter account, all of you can find me at Twitter @ Morg_Kar1975... I was able to follow the BUFFALO SABRES (sorry, they are my favorite hockey team even though they aren't doing very well) find a bunch of my friends that are on Facebook, quite a few business forums that I am interested in following, health and wellness forums, cooking forums, weight management forums and so on.  I am even following Professor Ferree on Twitter :-)

Being that I am employed by New York State, I do have limitations as to how I am allowed to conduct myself on the internet, even in my personal life.  It is not acceptable for me to post anything negative about my job or the State of New York on Twitter or Facebook, it is not acceptable for me to post anything "internal" that may be going on within the State or State business, it is unacceptable for me to conduct myself in a crude fashion (half naked or full naked photos of myself, etc..) and it is unacceptable for me to post anything negative about my co-workers or any other aspect of State business.  Of course we are allowed to have our lives outside of work so we can post photos of being out with friends, things we do with family, we are allowed to swear and what not.. we are simply expected to act like upstanding employees who work for NYS.

The strengths that I find in creating a Twitter account is that I have the ability to "follow" things that I am truly interested in.  Though I find that I am unable to do this for career reasons at the moment, it will benefit me personally :-)

SYMBALOOOOOOO :-D

Hi Everyone,


I just created my Symbaloo page and set it as the homepage on my computer!  I LOVE IT!! It has everything you need in one place and it is so easy to use.  I have added webmixes to my own such as the Buffalo Sabres, Food Network, Fitness and Shopping so far. 


In the business world, this would be a very handy tool for keeping up with stocks, those who are in competition with your business, human resources tips and forms, etc..  I cannot wait to dive into this assignment more because this is something that I would definitely find useful in my life.  I'm sure there are webmixes on the internet for things you can do with your children and family as far as vacations, fun and east craft ideas, cooking, games and more!!  People of the world... REJOICE for the Internet is really not all that evil :-)

Having a Tough Time...

Hello Everyone,

I'm sorry I have not been blogging for awhile.  My grandma went back into the hospital and we thought we were going to lose her, but thankfully, dialysis pulled her through once again.  The past few weeks have mostly been spent working, going to the hospital, coming home and going to bed :-(  Not only is she in Stage 5 Renal Failure, she is now dealing with Congestive Heart Failure, but she refuses to give up the fight.  Dialysis seems to be working very well for her and we are praying every day that she will be with us for a few more years.

From the research I have done on a Personal Learning Network (PLN) I can only see maybe two or three areas where this might help me in my career.  My job changes on a day to day basis and there really isn't anything that is consistent with it.  Working for the State of New York is tough in the aspect of being able to download things onto our computers at work and so on.  There are so many policies and rules regarding computer usage and downloading, which though annoying, is completely understandable due to the security breach factors. 

My personal opinion of a PLN is that it is a fantastic tool for those who like to be organized and steadfast in their career.  I could see how this might help me more in my personal life than it would at work :-)   Having the ability to put everything you need in one place and at the click of a button, it pops up on the screen is AWESOME!!!

AND “What Is This?!?!?” You Ask?

In reviewing Chapter 2, I thought it might be a good idea to share a little story with all of you while going over the things I had learned.

My mother, who is 63 years old and just starting to learn her way around a computer,  is what I like to call “completely technologically illiterate” (to put it nicely).  This past weekend, I was trying to explain the Internet, as well as the plethora of information you can gather from the Internet to her, while she just sat there and gave me the “deer in the headlights” look. 

Being that I had grown up in a technological era, I guess I have come to take it for granted that I know my way around a computer and can do things with it that my parents and grandparents probably cannot.  As I was referring to the address bar, the icons, the photos, links, ads and privacy statements, my mom had to stop me several times to ask “What’s that?”.  As I began explaining to my mom that each computer is assigned an Internet Protocol (IP) address by the Internet Service Provider (ISP) and this is used to send and receive information over the Internet and through other networks, she slowly began to understand the “inner workings” of a computer system and the Internet. 

We ran through the basics of a URL address and domain name, as well as how to “surf” through multiple web pages.  However, I think her favorite part of the lesson was when I taught her how to shop online J She also learned how to use her security features, such as the SmartScreen filter and InPrivate Browsing/Filtering.  Now that she knows she can shop securely online, I’m sure UPS and FedEx will be very busy!! :-)

Net Neutrality? That's a GOOD question...

According to author Paul Kapustka, net neutrality is defined as "shorthand for the idea that Internet service providers shouldn’t be allowed to block, degrade, or charge extra for legal content and applications that run on the Net".
After reading Net Neutrality and watching the video, I would have to question if it really matters whether the government (FCC) is given the power to mandate net neutrality laws or not? Internet Service Providers are going to keep spending money to make money.. it's called business. If they choose to block their customers from accessing content or services that have been legally paid for, they will do it as long as they can (until they get caught by the FCC)
If you think about this realistically, cell phone providers who provide data plans for their customers decided to forgo the "unlimited data plans" because they realized that they were not making any money by providing this service. Now, they charge a "data plan" fee every month, on top of the cost of the cell phone plan. For example, my cell phone provider charges me $89.99 per month for my cell phone and my boyfriend's cell phone to be on one plan. However, because we both have Android phones (which "require" a data plan), I am charged an additional $60.00 per month for both phones to have data plans. Needless to say, my cell phone bill runs us pretty close to $200.00 per month and God forbid we go over on our minutes. Not to mention that my home computer has internet service that is provided through the same carrier as my cell phone and I am paying an additional $44.99 per month for my home internet.  I am paying the SAME carrier twice for the SAME internet service.
Though there are no known cases of net neutrality occuring in the present, one never knows when it will rear its ugly head. In the reading, the author, Paul Kapustka, questioned whether or not wireless broadband should be exempt from Net Neutrality regulations and in my personal opinion, I feel that wireless broadband should be exempt. Cell phone companies are charging the customer for a "data plan" that they could very well access from a home or work computer and getting away with it because we, as the consumer, find it to be a "must have". Should we as consumers rebel against the cell phone companies and remove data plans from our cell phones so we are not paying twice for one service?