Google Enhances Its Social Media Ties

Google will now have, what it calls, a real time search page. Google's new real-time display will be more interactive than the usual static search engine results page we have seen previously. The display will feature a scroll along bar with a pause button that will allow people to stop and start results pages and the paid advertising on the side. With this new infrastructure, google will be partnering with Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace to get help with their real-time results. This will also give the most up-to-date trends for people to be able research.

My first reaction when reading this news story was, what difference will this really make with search results and why did Google think it necessary to take this step? I soon found out! Google's partnering with Twitter comes from the ever-growing competition and pressure Bing is putting on Google's search engine. Google hopes that this new partnership and real time search display for the most updated trends and search results will help leave Bing in the dust. Is this effort by Google enough to keep Bing away? Only time will tell.

The Impact of Social Media On Sports

Sporting events are not just games anymore, they are businesses. Professional athletes are not just players, they are brands.  One of the major contributors to this shift has been the use of social media in sports. Fans can now instantly connect with players and teams through Twitter and Facebook, creating a more personal relationship and an insider perspective for the fans.  Shaquille O'Neal is on Twitter with over 21,000 followers; followers who day in and day out can know what he is doing at any given moment. Not only is this beneficial for the fans, but it is also a way for players to build and promote themselves as a brand. Tweeting about their new shoe lines or making an update on their Facebook pages about where they'll be the next day to sign autographs, has allowed more room for the promotion of teams and players alike without the cost of expensive media campaigns. Social Media has made a major impact on how sports teams and players market themselves, their events, and their brands. Social Media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and Blog sites have forever changed the way communication streams between fans and the players they love. It is now easier than ever to promote a team, a game, or a player. Our favorite pastimes have turned into a ring of global communication that no one predicted.

Check out this social media video slideshow for interesting information on Social Media in Sports

A Look at the Instantaneous World We Have Created

First it was myspace, then it was Facebook, then Twitter and LinkedIn popped up. These social media sites have given way to an aspect of communication that has become second nature to us. This aspect is the instantaneous way society now receives information. The world heard of the deaths of Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett on Twitter before any news medium could report on it, and when those news stations did report the story, the video of the coverage was instantly available on YouTube. And vice versa, ordinary citizens who have the ability to upload personal videos on YouTube become overnight sensations and end up on Good Morning America because of people like Ashton Kutcher tweeting about it. Remember "Jill and Kevin's Big Day" video? If you don't, here's a refresher :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8DCt3Lmi28

The biggest question I am left with is what does this mean for our news stations, journalist, and more importantly how our generation and generations after us will gather information? Will journalists be replaced with celebrity's publicist texting Kim Kardashian a news story who will in turn tweet about it where it will be picked up by hundreds of thousands of people in a matter of seconds? Will TV news stations cease to exist and become one person behind a computer updating a Facebook page with the top news stories of the day? Moreover, how will this affect the sources we use to get our news to gather information for reports, papers, secondary research and our personal knowledge consumption?

The social media tendencies our generation has now will greatly affect how information is produced and gathered for generations to come.

http://twitter.com/GMA

http://twitter.com/CNN

http://twitter.com/nytimes

Twitter Experience

I have had a twitter account since March of 2009, but never really saw the "amazingness" of it or used it regularly. This class assignment forced me to go onto the site and actually comment/reply on others and update my tweets regularly, which was actually really fun and allowed me to learn a lot about different people and industries who I was following. I thought this experience was very helpful for me and was a great tool to learn about various happenings in society. I think that even after the assignment I will continue going onto Twitter and tweeting a lot more than I had before this assignment, because I am actually excited about sharing my experiences but also learning things happening at Marquette, in Wisconsin, in the United States and even the world. I think I will primarily continue to use Twitter as a news tool to help enlighten me about things going on in society. Overall, this helped me see Twitter in a new light as a great news tool and also helped me share experiences and stories that I found worthwhile.

About Me!

What’s your full name: Elizabeth Ann Kemmeter

Were you named after anyone: My great grandmother

Do you have a nickname: Ellie

What’s your astrological sign: Cancer

Are you a morning person or a night owl: Morning Person

Do you wish on stars: I wish, but not upon stars

Do you untie your shoes when you take them off: Nope- i go the easy route and have slip ons!

Do you have tattoos: No but I have always wanted one specific tattoo.. I just need the courage to do it!

What do you do most often when you are bored: I go on facebook or watch reruns of tv shows i like

Donkey or Elephant or Neither: Neither

What makes you angry: Ignorant People

What did you do last night: I went to class until 6:45, then did laundry, made dinner and did about 3 hrs of reading homework

What frightens you: The Unknown... and animals... i am deathly afraid of animals

How many keys are on your key ring: 5

What do you do to relax: I take a nap or sit on the couch and veg out

Do you believe in superstitions: Not usually

Have you attended a church or religious event outside of your own: Yes: Luthern, nondenominational, and protestant

Name a foreign language that you know: I know part of the French National Anthem and Some Spanish

Name three things most people don’t know about you: I have one BLUE eye and one GREEN eye, I have a scar on my head where no hair grows now, i have two nephews

Family, Pets, & Friends

Do you have any siblings: I have an older sister and a brother-in-law, and one younger sister still in high school

Who is your best friend in high school: Carly

Do/did you have any pets: we had a fish named Shirley, but it died in about 2 days. We had a hamster named Squirt for about 3 weeks

Cat person or dog person: Neither-- i am not an animal person

Who is the last person you talked to on the phone: My cousin Mike

Travel

What states have you been to: Um a lot but i haven't been to New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Texas, Hawaii, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, or Utah.

What countries have you been to: Canada, Germany, and Italy

In how many states have you lived: 2-Wisconsin and Minnesota

When is the last time did you take a train: Fall 07 when I went to Notre Dame

Food

What do you like to eat for breakfast: Either multigrain Cherrios or Toast with Peanut Butter

What is your favorite food: Either Pasta with Meatballs or Enchiladas

What foods do you dislike: Ice Cream and Green Beans

What ethnic food do you like and dislike: I really like Oriental Food, but do not like really spicy Mexican Food.

What is your favorite chip flavor? Dill Pickle

What is your favorite sandwich: Peanut Butter

What is your favorite drink: Skim Milk

What is your favorite ice cream flavor: None I do not like Ice Cream; but I like Orange Sherbert

What’s your favorite salad dressing: Caesar

Plain, buttered or salted popcorn: Kettle Corn

What’s your favorite pie: None, do not like it

What’s your favorite fast food place: Noodles&Co.-A&W-Qdoba

Media

Which Harry Potter characters are you: idk i have never seen or read Harry Potter

What was the last film you saw at the cinema: High School Musical 3

What is your favorite TV show: Law and Order: SVU & So You Think You Can Dance

Last book you read: Where are you Vodka, It's Me Chelsea? by Chelsea Handler

What picture is on your computer wallpaper: Dance Inc. Company Picture

What is your ring tone: Down by Jay Sean and Lil Wayne

What are three favorite songs on your iPod: Misery Business- Paramore, You Can't Stop The Beat- Hairspray Cast, Everybody Knows- John Legend

Do you have a Facebook page: yes

Do you have a Twitter account: yes

Do you have a blog: i do now!

Wishes

Where would you retire to: overseas somewhere like London or Australia

If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go: London and Paris

Would you ever bungee jump: NEVER! Skydive: NEVER

If you were a crayon, what color would you be: Tickle-Me-Pink

What writing means to me

Writing allows the expression of myself in various ways. I can express happy thoughts, sad, thoughts, anger, or joy through my written words. I feel through writing I can communicate a more thought out, concise, and articulate message than when I simply am talking to someone. Writing allows me to reach more people than just talking to someone. I can communicate to all 800 of my facebook friends at once, rather just a few people in a single conversation. I find creative writing a comfort and a release, but formal writing is just as enjoyable.

One way in which I am able to reach out to people is writing through social network communication:

http://www.linkedin.com/in/elliekemmeter

http://twitter.com/ekemmeter