Family Online

Midterm #2 is tomorrow. I don't think I know all of the material very well. Or, if I even know the material at all. Hoo boy. Thankfully, we have another midterm and the final, and whichever one we get the lowest grade in we can drop.
That doesn't mean I want to get a crappy grade though. That would be ridiculous.

Due to the fact that the world is getting digitalized, everyone seems to have some online identity. I certainly do, with the blog and things like Facebook. The Internet was made for my generation, or at least we have adapted to the Internet the best.
Then there are the parents. Oh, the parents. Once upon a time, Facebook was a place for college alum, and slowly it moved out to the rest of the world. Slowly the adults joined in.

I'm not the first to make this observation, but people tend to act differently on the Internet. I certainly try to censor myself, and there are others that have complete personality flips with the Internet. This can affect adults on the Internet.
For instance, I have an aunt who I adore in real life. She's fun to talk to, and always interesting. Online though? She's like a 14 year old girl who just learned how the Internet works. She'll post things like "LOL ohemgee!" She comments on statuses with the most awkward comments. It's like a completely different person, and it's not fun.

Then there's the instance with my mom. Oh mom, don't take this the wrong way. I love you, but you don't have to follow me on every Internet resource available. This is a conversation that occurred recently:
"So... you got a Twitter? ...Why?"
"To follow you!"
"Oh."
"I hate it."

Then why get it? Seems ridiculous to me. The point of making accounts online is for the purpose of using the for entertainment/business. That's why I didn't go up to her and say, "Hey I got a Twitter follow me" like I did for my blog. Because it wasn't really a thing I wanted her to follow. (Not like I say anything terrible, but still). I knew she wouldn't like a Twitter, so I didn't think she would get one. I suppose she found it from the blog, but I didn't even think she read this anymore.

My point is the Internet exaggerates things. So the embarrassing thing that your relative says at Thanksgiving will quadruple online. Oh dear.

Do your parents/relatives follow you on any Internet sites? Is it embarrassing or okay?

Commenting and the Internet

So I have a confession.

Sometimes, when I say that after I have a long run, I just move slowly. For a lot of the time, that's true. However, sometimes I just want time to chill before I go off and do other things. That's what's happening now. Then again, that could really be part of me just moving slowly after a long run as well.

Actually, I have another confession.

I am a lurker. Okay, that sounds creepy let's explain that shall we?
Online, there are many wonderful places, and things that people create. Blogs, for instance. And with many of these things online, there are places where others can comment. Comments are what can fuel some of the Internet community to do great things! Sometimes the fans of something can say things more witty than the creators of such things. That's where I have a problem. I'm terrible at commenting on things, and I know that commenting is awesome. There are times where I will go through the entire archive of something and never comment. I have about 20 blogs on my blog roll. I regularly comment on about 3 of those, and sometimes I'm iffy then. There are a few channels on YouTube that I really enjoy watching. Have I ever commented on these videos? No. Why is that?

I think part of the reason for my lack of commenting comes from the good ol' comparison problem. You see, some people have incredible fans. That's intimidating. It shouldn't be, but for me, I try and compare to the most amazing fan they have. What if my comment seems dumb in comparison? Then again, there are the boatload of other comments on the Internet that involve "BOOBS DICK", but I don't compare myself to them. Why is that? Hm.
I suppose another thing is I'll think of a comment, think about writing it, then forget. I'm kind of lazy sometimes, remember?

Another thing that I realize is that commenting on blogs can help get others to take a look at my blog. And make others more likely to comment on my blog as well. Because currently, I think five people, including my sister and mother read my blog. Yeah.

I like commenting, I just never know if my comment is going to come across stupid. Still, I really ought to try and comment more. I think I just want my first comment on any blog/vlog/whatever to be a witty one. Like anyone will remember? No. Who cares? It's a comment, they feel nice. Just another example of me, over thinking a situation.

Speaking of which, my sister was talking to me the other day and she asked, "Who's this Kat that said something about urban U of O or whatever?"
To which I replied, "Oh, it's another blogger, I read her blog too."
"Wait. You've never actually met this person?"
"Nope."

Oh, the power of the Internet. (And I'm still thinking about doing a U of O life thing, but if I do it won't be until I actually get down there. So we'll see.)

Other than that, been bitten by a lot of bugs lately! What's the deal with that?

What's your online status? I.E. are you a lurker or an avid commenter?