Smart Mobs and Wiki

"A smart mob is a group that, contrary to the usual connotations of a mob, behaves intelligently or efficiently because of its exponentially increasing network links. This network enables people to connect to information and others, allowing a form of social coordination." (Wikipedia) 


Ha, take that academia! 

Working in Groups

Throughout my academic career I've had the opportunity/misfortune to work in a number of group settings. On the whole i prefer group work but I've had a few projects that i would've been much better off doing it all on my own. To me, the worst part of the group environment is not the Controller or even the Monumentally Busy person that can never meet; it's the Slacker. If you want to control the project thats fine with me, i know i can manage a group and probably even get the project done before the eleventh hour. If you can never meet with the group i'll have your email and phone number and you will be given work to contribute; if you don't do it then i'll have someone else (or myself) do it last minute and your name will not be on the completed project. 

I'm currently taking 22 hours of class and i am a member of a Heavy Civil/Highway Construction project team so i have no problem letting someone else take the lead role in most group settings this semester since i'm too busy anyway, but i refuse to let my grade suffer as a result of someone elses ineptitude. That said, if the controler begins to fail at their controlling position and misallocate work or take on too much for themselves, i will be the first person to tell you about it. 

Through numerous experiences in the "real world" of the construction industry i have found that a higher sense of pride and commitment exists and that while you may still have a Slacker in the group, they're no where near as useless as they are in the academic arena. If they Slack too much for too long they'll be fired; i'm ok letting them sign their own headstone.

Its all in the eye of the Beholder

Tuesdays class began and ended like most, but there was a time in the middle where i could swear i was in a philosophy class. Other the being mildly entertaining, the philosophy lesson drove home a good point; context/situation. The so called "poem"/homework assignment we discussed showed just how much we as readers rely on context. Not only do we rely on context, we unknowingly give an authority figure superiority; represented by the second class not asking any questions about the "poem" but rather just immediately fitting meanings to the words. Additionally, let us not forget that readers draw on their own experiences and expertise to derive meaning from text.

Now i laid all that information out because the combination of them lends itself quite nicely to the notion that text cannot be defended once it leaves your hands. This an idea we discussed in the first few class meetings but it was embodied by the example from Tuesdays class. It was unique to see how people, as readers, draw their own, individual conclusions based on personal knowledge and perceived situational indicators.

Seeing how easily a written statement can be misinterpreted definitely made me think a little more about my own instructions.

Instructions

I'm discovering that while i know seemingly exactly how to do the task i am writing instructions for, i am still struggling slightly. For me the ultimate problem, i think, is truly defining the audience. I don't know quite how much background/teaching to include. If i assume a very skilled audience then its easy but most likely i'm dealing with an audience somewhere between beginner and expert and that a broad range to write instructions for.

The other major issue i have come across is simply writing down every action that goes into the process. Certain movements or thoughts i take for granted while i'm acting out the task must now be clearly and concisely communicated to the reader.

My task is one that i essentially learned how to do by simply doing it, normally that makes the instructions easier but in this instance  it means going through the process several times and identifying exactly what is needed and in which order; eliminating my own learning curve from the instruction set is proving more difficult than i had initially thought.

Anyone else running into similar issues?

Seems kinda silly but this little assignment is really grinding my gears lol

Obama

After reading Obama's remarks on the Ground Zero mosque and after hearing a few peoples opinions i decided i should shed some light on why it my be perceived in further class discussions that i do not like the current administration. This may get a little long but Let me see if I got this right...

- IF YOU CROSS THE NORTH KOREAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU GET 12 YEARS HARD LABOR.

- IF YOU CROSS THE IRANIAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU ARE DETAINED INDEFINITELY.

- IF YOU CROSS THE AFGHAN BORDER ILLEGALLY, YOU GET SHOT.

- IF YOU CROSS THE SAUDI ARABIAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU WILL BE? JAILED.

- IF YOU CROSS THE CHINESE BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU MAY NEVER BE HEARD FROM AGAIN.

- IF YOU CROSS THE VENEZUELAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU WILL BE BRANDED A SPY AND YOUR FATE WILL BE SEALED.

- IF YOU CROSS THE CUBAN BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU WILL BE THROWN INTO POLITICAL PRISON TO ROT.

- IF YOU CROSS THE U.S. BORDER ILLEGALLY YOU GET............

1 -  A JOB
2 - A DRIVERS LICENSE,
3 - SOCIAL SECURITY CARD,
4 - WELFARE,
5 - FOOD STAMPS,
6 - CREDIT CARDS,
7 - SUBSIDIZED RENT OR A LOAN TO BUY A HOUSE,
8 - FREE EDUCATION
9 - FREE HEALTH CARE,
10 - A LOBBYIST IN WASHINGTON,
11 - BILLIONS OF DOLLARS WORTH OF PUBLIC DOCUMENTS PRINTED IN YOUR LANGUAGE,
12 - AND THE RIGHT TO CARRY YOUR COUNTRY'S FLAG WHILE YOU PROTEST THAT YOU DON'T GET ENOUGH RESPECT.

I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE I HAD A FIRM GRASP ON THE SITUATION...

And what about that stimulus package we were all promised? Well aside from not delivering it promptly, it is littered with almost $20 million dollars in "kickbacks" and other suspicious money. Not only that, the money promised to all the states for highway and infrastructure construction requires PLA's (Project labor Agreements) What these agreements do is mandate that any federally funded project over $25 million dollars be built using UNION LABOR. First off, most any infrastructure project is going to cost several hundred million dollars, thus they will all be built with union crews. Union crews drive up the cost of any project because they get paid a lot more per hour than any open shop company. Now think for a moment where we live, the southeast, we do not have unions! That alone is why BMW built in Spartanburg and why Boeing built in Charleston; and is expanding that plant rather than any other plant. What does all this mean? It means that our local (southeast) contractors wont even be allowed to bid on most of the stimulus projects in our region and if they can bid they will still be required to use union labor; which is not the local labor force whose unemployment rate in construction is nearing 20%. Sound like a good thing to you? 

But who says that Obama hasn't created job?, Take a look at this...

"In my own life, in my own small way, I have tried to give back to this
country that has given me so much," she said. "See, that's why I left a job
at a big law firm for a career in public service, " Michelle Obama

No, Michele Obama does not get paid to serve as the First Lady and she
doesn't perform any official duties.. But this hasn't deterred her from
hiring an unprecedented number of staffers to cater to her every whim and to
satisfy her every request in the midst of the Great Recession. Just think Mary
Lincoln was taken to task for purchasing china for the White House during
the Civil War. And Mamie Eisenhower had to shell out the salary for her
personal secretary.

How things have changed! If you're one of the tens of millions of Americans
facing certain destitution, earning less than subsistence wages stocking the
shelves at Wal-Mart or serving up McDonald cheeseburgers, prepare to scream
and then come to realize that the benefit package for these servants of Miz
Michelle are the same as members of the national security and defense
departments and the bill for these assorted lackeys is paid by you, John Q.
Public:

1. $172,2000 - Sher, Susan (Chief Of Staff)
2. $140,000 - Frye, Jocelyn C. (Deputy Assistant to the President and
Director of Policy And Projects For The First Lady)
3. $113,000 - Rogers, Desiree G. (Special Assistant to the President and White
House Social Secretary)
4. $102,000 - Johnston, Camille Y. (Special Assistant to the President
and Director
of Communications for the First Lady)
5. $100,000 - Winter, Melissa E. (Special Assistant to the President and Deputy
Chief Of Staff to the First Lady)
6. $90,000 - Medina , David S. (Deputy Chief Of Staff to the First Lady)
7. $84,000 - Lelyveld, Catherine M. (Director and Press Secretary to the
First Lady)
8. $75,000 - Starkey, Frances M. (Director of Scheduling and Advance for the
First Lady)
9. $70,000 - Sanders, Trooper (Deputy Director of Policy and Projects for
the First Lady)
10. $65,000 - Burnough, Erinn J. (Deputy Director and Deputy Social
Secretary)
11.. $64,000 - Reinstein, Joseph B. (Deputy Director and Deputy Social
Secretary)
12. $62,000 - Goodman, Jennifer R. (Deputy Director of Scheduling and Events
Coordinator For The First Lady)
13. $60,000 - Fitts, Alan O.. (Deputy Director of Advance and Trip Director
for the First Lady)
14. $57,500 - Lewis, Dana M. (Special Assistant and Personal Aide to the
First Lady)
15. $52,500 - Mustaphi, Semonti M. (Associate Director and Deputy Press
Secretary To The First Lady)
16. $50,000 - Jarvis, Kristen E. (Special Assistant for Scheduling and
Traveling Aide To The First Lady)
17. $45,000 - Lechtenberg, Tyler A. (Associate Director of Correspondence
For The First Lady)
18. $43,000 - Tubman, Samantha (Deputy Associate Director, Social Office)
19. $40,000 - Boswell, Joseph J. (Executive Assistant to the Chief Of Staff
to the First Lady)
20. $36,000 - Armbruster, Sally M. (Staff Assistant to the Social Secretary)

21. $35,000 - Bookey, Natalie (Staff Assistant)
22. $35,000 - Jackson, Deilia A. (Deputy Associate Director of
Correspondence for the First Lady)

 *There has NEVER been anyone in the White House at any time who has created
such an army of staffers whose sole duties are the facilitation of the First
Lady's social life.. One wonders why she needs so much help, at taxpayer
expense, when even Hillary, only had three; **Jackie Kennedy**** one; **Laura
Bush**** one; and prior to Mamie Eisenhower social help came from the
President's own pocket.**

Note: This does not include makeup artist Ingrid Grimes-Miles, 49, and
"First Hairstylist" Johnny Wright, 31, both of whom traveled aboard Air
Force One to Europe.

WAKE UP PEOPLE!


Tell me again, what is it about Obama that makes him so brilliant and

impressive? Can't think of anything? Don't worry. He did almost all this, and more,
 in his first year (maybe two) as president -- so you'll have plenty of time to come up
with an answer.