The Future

I feel like sites like Facebook will have quite a run in the future. There’s something about its simplicity and fun applications that draw users in and help to socialize from far distances. E-mail is not the front-runner in doing such a thing anymore. It’s all about being able to post videos and photos to share with everyone and everybody you know. Maybe, one day, Facebook will actually take a fall and become the past, but a new site will be built on why Facebook met its defeat. Maybe that new site will allow users to call and video chat to one another while leaving comments, gaming, and posting images up. A new social network to do it all. Perhaps even all websites will merge into one mega super duper website! But, that will likely not happen due to every business wanting to be able to stand on their own. Every new social networking website will be working hard to create a sleek clean look that will please all audiences. I believe simplicity is best, but others may not. And there’s the issue right there: how are you suppose to please everyone at once? That’s the most difficult task in created a networking site, I believe. Just like all the social networking sites we have now, the site runs numerous tests to create the site they have now. I just hope that the next best thing doesn’t allow immature teenagers to join and think they’re the best things since a bag of chips. It’ll time will show us the next best thing.

My First Tumblr Experience

This site seems to join together people who love to say short things and show pictures to one another. Almost anyone is who the community is for this site. The first thing I was told to do when I joined was to add a photo of myself. I just inserted a drawing I used for anther website I’m a part of. The site went on and on about how to use it and promoted ways of promoting itself, such as using the Facebook app which could show Facebook users that you’re using Tumblr. The goals of the users is to search upon each others site and share what someone had just posted or post your own to show to others. Interactions are simple, you can follow someone and see what they’re up to. The key thing that Tumblr wants users to do is follow other people so you can be a part of the community. Social status is measured by how many people are following you. To be socially successful is to have great things posted on your account and to be known by following others so they follow you and see what you have up. In a way this site reminds me a lot like Twitter, but … better. You can post photos and videos and your words can be more than just one hundred and forty-five characters. What I do like about the site is that it’s extremely easy to use. But maybe that’s just because I’m a bit tech-savy so sites like this come naturally to me.

MySpace to Facebook

The first social media I ever used had to be the social network: MySpace. During high school, Internet was becoming a larger craze than it had been before, in my eyes, and all the students were into this MySpace thing. I joined and befriended almost everyone I knew in school and other schools. In a way, it was just a feeling of being “connected” that brought me to become a user. I do not use it anymore because MySpace is infested with immature high schoolers trying to look “sexy” and the pages that allow users to customize look a mess. Now I am a current member of Facebook. It started at the end of my high school years because Facebook had opened itself to the high school audience. It seemed a lot more mature and had a simple interface that was used for everyone’s profile. Slowly I began my merge from MySpace to Facebook. Up to now, I still use Facebook, and I do enjoy it, except I do wish Facebook had kept to college students only.

Design Questions

1. Just like any other virtual world out there, players must be able to chat in some way with other players. In the image is where users can type in a message and send to people who are currently present where the player's avatar is. When beginning the game, the screen has pop ups that appear explaining how to do specific tasks, like send gifts to other users. Also, the game asks if you would like to post your doings on your facebook wall and users are allowed to accept or decline the offer.

2. When you click on another user's avatar, this menu (shown on the right) pops up. It gives you options through images of what you can do with this players. You can kiss them, fight them, dance, random doings. When fixing your house to your liking, you can drag and drop pictures of furniture into your room and move them wherever you would like. When changing outfits, the users can click on what clothes they'd like to wear.

3. Color is everything in YoVille. It helps to give a distinct difference to characters. For example, I know my character has green eyes and black hair, as for my friend has blue eyes and brown hair. Color lets the user be an individual in this virtual world. Depending on where the mouse is makes the user face a certain way to specify who or what the character is looking at. Also, music plays in the background fitting whatever scene the user is brought into which puts a certain mood with the image.

4. Throughout the game, multiple pop ups (like the one on the right) come up and suggest to you things that you may want to do. Getting involved in such activity makes your character grow with experience to give you more things to your account and have a higher status. Many of these pop ups are to interact with fellow users. Other than joining a fight, players can give gifts to one another.

5. For some reason, purchasing things in the game really make me feel like I am there. Perhaps its the natural want for materialistic things that drags me in, although the things I purchase are not real. I guess one could say it is a sad obsession to have anything I want even when I do not need it.

6. Whenever I saw other avatars, I would give a simple "hi there," or "hello." I would either get a reply or get shunned. Talks never went so far as a greeting and a how are you. Unfortunately, my character, Banana J, isn't much of a talker unless someone engages. I guess people were not really interested in my little man. What was terrible about trying to socialize was that some people were away from the computers and I would not know unless it specifically said the user was offline, which only is seen in homes.

7. In this world, a way to earn money is by going in daily to the Yo Factory and clicking on a machine to work. By doing that you instantly earn at least 250 coins. Just like real life, you need to work for your money. Other ways to earn money is by participating in activities with friends, such as fighting them or dancing with them. Just being active can help to gain items and/or money.

8. My favorite in-world activity would have to be just buying things for my character. I become a beast when it comes to creating a character. I like making them look fantastic, or at least what I believe is fantastic. I like looking at what the creators of the game have made for characters to wear. Sometimes the creativity is lacking a bit, but I still enjoy browsing none-the-less.

9. Just like the image for questions 7, pop ups are all around to tell you how and what to do. Everything is mainly based on a click type usage. All you need to do is click this or that and you can get whatever it is that you are trying to get.

10. In the Agency Chapter, the writer explains how character begin with nothing and they end up with a lot. Although it is true, the beginning starts out rough and it takes a while to begin earning the big bucks. It's all about being involved in the game and continuously doing random tasks to get money. A bit of a forceful socializing and gameplay time.

"i need a gf"

The title of the event Banana J joined was called "i need a gf." It was very desperate sounding event, yet it brought in a pretty large crowd. Everyone was chatting here and there and I was not quite sure if the creator of the event was quite serious. Other people were saying they needed a partner, but if it was a jab at a real life partner or just a YoVille partner, I had no idea. Just like Banana J, he just stood there observing others. Women here and a few men there. They all seemed to desperate to put themselves out there. He got a few "hey's" and a few "hi's" here and there, but no one seemed to want to engage because he did not respond back after replying his own greeting. It was not the type of place for him to go, so he left. Partner looking events are just not his cup of tea.

Events like this, online, are either comical or sad, in my opinion. Those are the two ways I see it. People tend to poke fun at how they can use their avatars just like real life situations. Others tend to use them as a mask and seek out people through these virtual worlds because they seem to not socialize in reality. People are so different and we all think differently. So, it's hard to tell what is going on exactly. But when people really do try to create a real life relationship ... it's quite awkward in my eyes. But if it works for them then ... bravo.

Who is Banana J?

Virtual World: YoVille

Name: Banana J

Description: Banana J is one cool punk. He is the guy in the room who will keep quiet and is a bit mysterious that makes the girls wonder who exactly he is. But in reality, once someone gets to know him, he is really shy. As a kid, he’s always been the type to just observe and just take in the moments. He dreams of becoming a psychologist one day and he takes his observing to study people. He tends to overanalyze people and it creates somewhat of a judgment towards specific people. Banana J realizes that he shouldn’t judge people, but he just can’t help it. Because he spends most of his time alone, Banana J knows how to play the piano and guitar. He spends his time as wisely as possible.