Instagram, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Return to Social Media

HAPPY NEW YEAR, everybody!  It took much longer than I anticipated, but I'm back blogging like I eventually said I would be.  I should explain what I mean, though...

Months ago, back in September, I wrote my first blog post since the summer, proclaiming like Michael Jordan and LeBron James that I was back and ready to get back to blogging/writing  I was excited because I felt like the time off had helped me recharge my creative juices, and there was so much going on in the world to inspire me.  But then life happened and I got distracted.  I had to apply to jobs (which I'm still doing), save up paying for loans, attend family events, etc.  It was busy and tiresome, so I lacked the energy to write consistently.  And it's like I've said in the past.  If I can't give it my all, I won't do it at all, so I held off on writing, putting my blog in jeopardy.  If I was done blogging, I had nothing to be ashamed of, since I went farther than I ever expected with it, from all the posts I've done, to all the readers I've gotten.  Not to mention, I am trying to write a novel, so it's best to focus on one piece of work.  Yes, after thinking about it, I thought my blog was history.

But then something changed.  The past few months, while looking for jobs, I kept thinking about one thing my teacher told me during my last year of college, which was how important networking was.  She meant it in the professional sense because the more people you know, the better chance you have of landing a job, but I thought it applied well to life also.  In the past, I've thought of social media as negative because of how useless and invasive I thought it was, and how repetitive all the different platforms seemed, among other things.  Now that I've thought about it, though, I can see I was a little mistaken.  It does have aspects of the negativity I felt for it, but it has its positives.  Through Facebook and now Instagram (which I installed yesterday), I've connected with my friends and people I care about in more ways than one.  Yes, I always prefer real life or personal contact, but it's nice to see the different ways they express themselves, like through pictures since it gives me a chance to learn about them and keep in contact, which is obviously harder as we get older in life.  Part of me is still skeptical and even a little worried about social media, but I'm willing to try it out, if not for me, than for people I care about and the potential it can have on me.  It'll still be awhile until I see true results, but I can see some progress already.

There's no guarantee I can write on this blog consistently with life being the way it is, but I'll try. 

P.S, My Instagram name is matttoy6 for those who are interested.

Video Of Your Life

Videos are obviously very big in the world now with Youtube, social media applications like Vine, and with how intricate our phones are now.  With so many ways of putting up a video, you'd think that using video cameras to record things would be a thing of the past, but that's not the case for my sister, who is assigning me to record parts of her wedding on a video camera.  She gave her explanation why she chose me for this assignment, but I still don't like doing it.  Sure, it doesn't have as much pressure as being in the actual ceremony, but if I mess something up, I know she's going to be angry at me.  Not to mention, I just suck with technology.

I've been learning how to use our old video camera the past few days with some success, but there are some issues, since it's so old and can barely go 10 minutes without dying.  Hopefully, we find a solution to fix the camera quickly, or else we'll have to get another alternative.  I personally wouldn't mind a new video camera because it would probably be easier to use, but I know it would cost more.  Like I said though, I wish I didn't even have to do this at all.  A wedding is supposed to be one of the happiest moments in a person's life, but with the ways things have been done, I can't wait until it's over.

Everything that's happened over the past few days makes me question videos.  I understand why they exist, and get huge enjoyment from watching them, but why have videos of yourself when you can have a picture, or just have the memories, which can capture everything better than some camera can, and have the uniqueness of what every individual person remembers.

Reconnected

Yesterday, I reactivated my Facebook account for the first time in about 3 and a half years.  It was a momentous occasion because it had been so long, but I remembered why I left in the first place: because of personal reasons, it distracted me from school, and it was starting to get boring to the point that I wasn't even interacting with my friends anymore.  That was why I left, but I decided yesterday now was the time to come back.  And after waiting the mandatory 24 hours it took to reactivate my Facebook account again, I was back online.

My first thoughts were on the new format, since the last time I was on, timeline didn't even exist yet.  It took forever to get used to everything, but after hitting a few buttons and moving some things around, I think I'm getting used to it.  Although, like many, I'll always like whatever the previous format was better.  After doing that, I un-friended about 230+ of my 320 friends, which was harsh because some of the people were people I really liked or used to talk to, but that's the point.  We used to talk and be friends, but not anymore with everything that's happened, and all the time that has passed, so for Facebook to truly be mine and personal, I had to give many people the ax.  Hopefully, they don't take it personally.  It feels weird having so few friends, but it feels so right too.  I'll always have issues and worry with privacy when it comes to social media and anything online, but this is a step in the right direction, and having only the people I want know about me.

With it being over 24 hours since I've been online, I have to say, it feels good to be back on Facebook, being caught up with the world, and my friends, who are always going to be the most important people in the world (besides family).  I've been so overwhelmed with the likes and positive comments I've received, thatI could cry.  Is Facebook still distracting?  Yes and no.  Yes, because it's social media, so like anything involving people, it will distract, but the time away has made me realize I don't need to be on it all the time.  And with the new format, that isn't too hard to do.  You've been gone from my life for awhile Facebook, but I think now, I'm here to stay.

Having A Facebook?

Facebook is one of the most recognizable companies in the world, connecting billions of people daily.  But for those who know me (or those who read my film review of "The Social Network"), they know I haven't had been on Facebook for three years.  At the time, there were a variety of reasons why I got rid of it, with the most important being that I needed to focus on schoolwork.  When I first off of it, it was hard not being on it all the time, but after awhile, it slowly disintegrated from my life.  Now I don't even really miss it.  Yet, as I approach three years off, I wonder if it's time to come back?

I'm wondering this because in one of my classes at school, they mentioned with the job market currently, it's a lot easier to get a job with social media.  I didn't know if that was true since I don't know the job field that well, but thinking about it, it made sense.  Jobs and companies can look at your Facebook or any resume site such as LinkedIn, and decide if you're the right person for the job.  Since I'm a person who doesn't know what their future holds, maybe it'd be worth bringing back Facebook for that reason.  Along with that, it could bring exposure to my blog, which is something every blogger wants.  To be honest though, I think I'd want to bring Facebook back just to be able to connect with my friend's since they're all so far away, and texting can only work for so long.

Of course, there's concern with privacy and dividing time on it, but that concern is everywhere.  Sites are better protected now, and I think I have more restraint than I used to.  The question still remains if I really want to go back though, especially since so many people say Facebook is useless and it sucks (yet they can't get rid of their own Facebook).  Whatever I decide though, there's no doubt social media and technology is the present and that's where the future is.

What do you all think though?  Do you think Facebook is a necessity in life even with its pros and cons?

Realizing What You Say

On TV, they have commercials featuring Hilary Duff and Wanda Sykes confronting people who use the word "gay" when they want to say something is bad or stupid.  To some, the commercials may be lame, but I like them and commend them for spreading an important message that people shouldn't discriminate against others.  You'd think it would be something obvious, but it's something around us all the time.

With that in mind, I have to talk about Kevin Durant.  I know you're probably wondering why I'm talking about an NBA player with this topic, but it has to do with something that occurred with him over the week, when he was posting pictures of his new fiance on his Instagram when a person commented on it saying "she looked like Rondo", a comment he obviously didn't like.  Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but there comes a time when someone has to realize when to not say anything.  A celebrity or a person posting personal stuff online is doing it to celebrate happiness or to share with friends, not to be attacked verbally by someone's opinion.  One person's opinion may not matter in the grand scheme of things, but it's always hurtful when someone criticizes someone you care about whether it's a family member or significant other.  You wouldn't want it done to you, so like the ads that say knock off saying something is "gay", don't be rude to people on social media.  That's just bad taste and a reason why I don't have a Facebook anymore.

The Social Network

The Social Network (PG-13)

Grade: B+

• Directed by: David Fincher
• Produced by: Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca, and Cean Chaffin
• Screenplay by: Aaron Sorkin.  Based on the novel, "The Accidental Billionaires" by Ben Mezrich
• Starring: Jesse Eisenberg (Mark Zuckerberg), Andrew Garfield (Eduardo Saverin), Justin Timberlake (Sean Parker), Armie Hammer (Winklevoss Twins/Josh Pence), Max Minghella (Divya Narenda), Brenda Song (Christy Ling), Rooney Mara (Erica Albright)
• Cinematographer: Jeff Cronenweth
• Music by: Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
• Studio: Relativity Media, Trigger Street Productions
• Distributed by: Columbia Pictures
• Released: October 1, 2010
• Running Time: 121 minutes/2 hours and 1 minute
• Language: English

"You have part of my attention, you have the minimum amount.  The rest of my attention is back at the offices of Facebook, where my colleagues and I are doing things that no one in this room, including and especially your clients, are intellectually or creatively capable of doing."

-Mark Zuckerberg

The statistics on Facebook currently are staggering when you look at it.  As of 2012, it has over 1 billion users (about 9% fake), and recently raked in 5.1 billion dollars.  Not bad for a company started by a group of Harvard students less than a decade ago, which "The Social Network" wanted to show.  The film seems ridiculous based on it's concept (a film on Facebook, really?), but after watching it, I have to say the film is as close to a masterpiece as can be, besides a few minor flaws. 

When we are introduced to "The Social Network", we encounter a young Mark Zuckerberg sitting in a bar with his current girlfriend Erica.  She's interested in his conversation at first, but is put off by his attitude towards exclusive clubs, so she dumps him, a decision he doesn't find favorable.  Because of this, Mark and his friend Eduardo Saverin create a site called "Facemesh" to rate girls based on their appearance.  The thing is, it gets so popular that it crashes parts of Harvard's network, getting Mark in trouble.  On the upside, he gets notoriety, which leads him to the Winklevoss Twins, two people who can potentially help him start Facebook, but what leads from their helps drive the film to its core.

There are so many things I love about "The Social Network" that I don't know where to begin.  First off, I love the cast from Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, all the way to Justin Timberlake, which surprised me since I'm not a fan of his, but he and everyone did a fantastic job in this film.  Eisenberg was the cold, deadlocked person I expected a businessman to be, Garfield was the vulnerable friend I had most sympathy for, and Timberake was just an obnoxious asshole.  Any performance can leave an impact on a person, but everyone interacted so well as a whole, and when they had a scene together that was joyous or gut-wrenching, I felt it.  Secondly, I love the attention to detail they gave to things like the look of Harvard even though it really wasn't.  And lastly, I give praise to the screenplay because I never thought a film about Facebook would be an interesting film, but as usual, Aaron Sorkin just writes great screenplays.  

The only flaws I had with "The Social Network" relate to Aaron Sorkin though.  And while he does write terrific screenplays, there are some flaws I noticed with it.  Although they seem more personal to my taste, such as the film seeming to be misogynistic.  Also, he made the characters the strength of the film, but I wish he focused more on how Facebook was actually built, since I don't think he spent as much time on that, and everything he did show seemed simplistic.  I'm not complaining since I enjoyed the film, but as a everyday person, it would be interesting to see how everything is really done.

With everything I've said about "The Social Network", the pros outweigh the cons.  If you see it once, I think you'll be impressed by it, but after seeing it a few times like I have, its lost its luster like a lot of Aaron Sorkin screenplays (i.e, Moneyball).  The reason why I think everyone should see the film though is because everyone is basically on Facebook now, so I think people should at least see how something they use got created, even if it is loosely based.  Also, I think it accurately shows that Facebook may keep everyone connected online, but it doesn't necessarily serve it's purpose of keeping people friends.  Cyber friends can never be a substitute for real ones, which this film poetically shows, and is the reason why I don't have a Facebook anymore.