For those who still question the useful of social media sites

Social media allows you to connect with others but these sites are about more than letting you know what your friend is having for breakfast. They give us a forum to share knowledge with each other and unlike the past it is knowledge that you want. You seek out this knowledge by subscribing to someone who posts what you want to know about and if you don't like it you can easily unsubscribe anytime. Following people has increased my world view, introduced me to new topics, allowed me to keep in touch with friends and family all over the world, keep abreast of current news, the benefits go on and on. So if you want to keep learning subscribe to others today, who knows what you'll find.

Older people flocking to Facebook

Are older people using Facebook more? A new study by online marketing firm iStrategyLabs says they are.

It is great to see older people embracing technology. Peter Corbett, chief executive of iStrategyLabs, told the Chronicle that the influx of older users could be attributed to job networking during a struggling economy but I hope this is a permanent change instead of a recession-inspired fad. When there have been elderly people in my life that have not used modern technology such as past colleagues, bosses, my parent's and their friends, etc. it felt like it took longer to accomplish the littlest tasks. I hope the new Facebook users will have a good experience and branch out to other forms of modern technology.

On another note, I had a busy week. In my HR essentials class I was very pleased after learning that I got an A on my midterm. I am keeping up in my reading and am currently studying Total Rewards and Compensation, Variable Pay and Executive Compensation and Managing Employee Benefits. I'm starting a new recruiting project at my volunteer gig. And while salsa class ended this week, I finally got to try my dance steps out in the real-world by attending Shattuck Down Low's salsa night and learning some new moves and waltz is still going strong.

Is Facebook Copying Twitter?

Ha, Facebook's status updates are becoming more and more like Twitter every day. The article "Facebook vs Twitter Its On!" (link in title) says Facebook is beta testing a way to let you make your status updates available to everyone, not just your friends. This sounds like it could be a good and bad thing depending on how people use it. I use Facebook to share with my friends and tell them what I did over the weekend or review the last movie, anime, tv show I watched or the last book, manga, comic I read. I also use it to get "friendly" information such as what is a good, cheap, Indian restaurant in Berkeley. I use Twitter (and my blog) on a more professional basis to tell the world what I'm doing at work, learning in class, etc. The information I ask my followers relates to my field and I click on news links I am interested in to stay informed.

It also sounds redundant, that is what Twitter is for. If you want everyone to be able to see your updates then just join Twitter.

On another note, I just started Waltz class today and it was fun. I learned the basic box step, hesitation, half-hesitation and a turn. I met a lot of great people, saw some old friends and was able to work out.