Protecting your image online

When things are put on the internet, it's almost impossible to completely get rid of them. That is why it is important for people to be careful about what they want others to see. They need to find a way to control what can be found about them. Most personal information is found from profiles on social networking sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, Flickr, etc. All of these sites have privacy settings that a user should look at very carefully to control who can see what content. You can make sure only friends can see what you put up, friends of friends, or specifically pick who you want to see. Maybe there are some things you only want a handful of people to know; depending on the site, you can make that happen.

People with common names are less likely to have information found about them. Chances are if you have a common name, there are multiple people who have a more significant footprint on the internet than you. It is almost like you have privacy in obscurity. They might be famous for whatever reason, or an important figure in a big organization or cause. If you have a unique name, you should pay attention to privacy settings much more as any information is a lot easier to find.

Obviously, all of this is depending on what you want people to know about you. If you want to remain an insignificant speck of dust on the internet, the easiest thing to do is avoid using your real name. Maybe use a nickname, but only something only your closest friends and family know. As a general rule, just don't put up any information on the internet you don't want people to know. All these social network sites have options for birthday, address, employer, phone numbers, etc. Don't fill those out. If there are photos, videos, or something you wrote that you might be ashamed of, don't put it on. Once it's out there, it's nearly impossible to get back, so better be safe than sorry.

COMMUNITY

A community is a social group that share many of the same characteristics. A community might be under a single government. They may practice similar religions. They are all on the same technological level. In more general terms, it's just a group of people who share the same ideas, interests or beliefs. They all are working towards the same goal or place. Everyone shares resources and ideas, which can lead to new advances or ideas among others in the same community. All of these ideas and beliefs are different compared to everyone outside of their community; those aspects are mostly only in the community, but not necessarily the larger society which the community exists within. Online, community can be brought up or organized through many sites such as Facebook. Groups are created and easily found. Material and other content, like on YouTube or Twitter, can be tagged so people can search an interest and find relevant material. Online communities are not necessarily like in-person communities that focus on government or religion, although they can be; they usually focus on a similar hobby or interest. If you use a search engine looking for an interest, you might come across blogs or other user-content that is relevant and interesting.

Defining culture

http://www.blurtit.com/q470255.html
Blurtit is is a question-answer site where anybody can ask or answer, so validity may be a little questionable. On this answer, the author includes where the word "culture" comes from, mostly focusing on the origins of the term.

http://madisonian.net/2006/12/20/defining-culture/
The Madisonian is a website that focuses on technology and society. There are multiple references and seems very reliable. The authors are all highly-esteemed professors at universities, or someone else within the administration of the schools.

http://www.roshan-institute.org/474552
According to the to headline, this website "promotes cultural understanding through education and communication". It includes bulletpoints on the various aspects of culture, along with succinct details for each point.

http://www.carla.umn.edu/culture/definitions.html
This is under a program at the University of Minnesota, so seeing as it is from an academic institute it is very reliable. The article focuses on strictly defining the term of culture, with multiple definitions from different people, all together on one page.

http://www.anthrobase.com/Dic/eng/def/culture.htm

This site is a dictionary for anthropology. This specific page uses little sources, mostly referencing others works already on the site, with scarce external references. However, it seems put together very well, and many of the other references have external sources. It is loaded with useful information.

Four tools of CMC

Twitter - allows for some interaction, but limited on actual site. Most things are links of outlets to different sites because Twitter itself is pretty basic.

C4PLT - did not have much interaction or feedback. Was just basically a directory of all different tools for someone to use.

Prezi - very high in interactivity because any member of the group can edit anything they want. Has visuals, links to videos, photos, other sites, etc. Most other sites that are based off of Prezi have a fair amount of interaction as well.

Blogger - allows for a lot of interaction, and can focus more on a specific topic. Each blog is usually dedicated to a single topic so those with similar interests can follow it.