hi

hi again. every Thursday we do not have class, what are we gonna do that time? is that right that we gonna spend a time on online lecture and is that it? thank you

hi

hi all, i am having trouble with finding the right book for the class. i stopped by the University Bookstore and i saw the book "There Goes The Neighborhood" by William. is that the right book?
thank you

Blogging=Third Place?

Blogs can be useful in this sort of academic setting specifically. Also, I would expect that recreational blogs are a good form of social capital as well. Blogs bridge physical gaps, as well as psychological gaps. UW is a huge school, and it can be especially difficult to reach someone that you may not be very familiar with. It brings anonymity and equality in the form of the internet. It is easily accessible to all, especially since we are on a college campus.

Virtual Social Capital and Third Places

Blogs are a good way to communicate with others, to express opinions, and among other things, to get involved with the internet. For these reasons, blogs can definitely be seen as a way to enhance social capital. By communicating with someone on a blog, a different type of social capital is created that might encourage you to post back on someone's blog. On the other hand, it could be a good topic of conversation for future in-person meetings. What this points to is that blogs enhance social capital because they enhance communication between friends and total strangers. Blogs as third places though, is a little bit harder for me to believe. I understand a third place to be physical, not virtual even if it does have some of the characteristics. The main issue that I see is the "home away from home" characteristic. I don't find the internet as this because it is virtual, even if it is almost always accessible and can have comforting graphics.

The Blog as a Third Place

For our community I think that we can consider the blog a third place. It is a low profile area since our discussion can only take part in it. For us, the blog is a place to create a conversation with out having to worry about any negative remarks. The blog is also is easily accessible for all of us because we all have access to a computer and the internet.

Bridging so we don't fall down

Among social capitol, I think bridging is the most important. Bonding is important to a person's well being (mental, most likely), but it is the bridging that connects us to everything. It's like the six degrees notion, you are connected to everyone through six people. If you know someone who is well connected, or bridged out, in society, then you are going to benefit from it, as well as they from you and who ever you know. This class is an excellent way of bridging, since most of us probably didn't know each other before hand. But through the blog and the class discussion, hopefully bridging can be turned into bonding or at least, say, from a wooden bridge to a steel one.

Bridging

I get the impression that this blog is an example of bridging, because already just from reading the short introductions about people it seems like we all have different backgrounds and interests. For example most of us grew up in different cities or states in the U.S.

Though I think this blog could be looked at as a third place, it does not really fit many of the requirements only because it is not a physical place. However conversation is the main activity and it may fit the characteristics in a broader sense than the library that was shown in lecture.

Social Capital & Blogs

I think that, overall, Blogs are very good examples of third places for a variety of reasons. Primarily, Blogs are neutral ground... open for anyone to join, anyone to read, anyone to be a part of. Because of this, they also serve as a levler... People aren't excluded from Blogs, and since the format is generally the same on all of them, the background of the individual doesn't matter. I think Blogs meet the rest of the characteristics of Third Places, including conversation, accessibility, and a low profile. I think characteristics that may be lacking in terms of Blogs as a third place would be the regular characteristic, the home away from home, and the playful mood. I don't know if Blogs can have regulars since people are more free to come and go as they choose. In terms of the "home away from home" part, that doesn't seem to apply since technically Blogs aren't a physical place at all. Lastly, since blogs allow individuals to post whatever they want, the mood can range from playful to sober and everything inbetween.

I believe that this class will be very beneficial in helping to build social capital because through the Blogs, everyone is given a chance to speak and express themseleves. Everyone else is then free to read and comment others' thoughts, which encourages bridging since we all come from a variety of places and backgrounds, allowing us to learn from one another.

Next post thingy

I think this class blog will be a great tool to use social capital. We can get to know each other and cooperate in studying and such. Some people will miss lectures and the notes will be needed so we can all learn to help each other. In most of my discussions i only see the people for about an hour a week and i dont really get to meet them. But now with this blog i can easily contact my class mates and get to know them. I think this is a great tool to build a community and social capital as well as to bridge amongst each other.

The Blog as a Third Place

In many ways, this blog does represent a third place. First of all, it is on neutral ground. The internet is arguably the most neutral ground on a college campus. I am almost positive that every student here has very easy access to the internet. Conversation is by far the main activity on a blog. As far as I know it is the only activity on a blog because I am new to this. The regulars using this third place are all of us students in this discussion. One could argue that the blog is not a home away from home since it can be accessed from a home computer, but theoretically cyberspace could be considered a different place. The only reason I could see that this blog would not be considered a third place is that some people may not use this blog outside of assignments. If a student is just going on when their grade depends on it, then the blog may become a stressful place and not a playful one.

I think that this class blog could be a third place for many of us because it is somewhere where we can express ourselves and let our guard down a little bit. We can all add to this community by contributing ideas and opinions about specific topics. This is an example of social capital because we are each adding to eachother's knowledge base by expressing ourselves and bouncing ideas of one another.

Social Capital & Third Place

This blog is a form of social capital because we are all forming relationships with each other and getting to know one another through our posts. Also, all of those relationships form a little community within our class. The knowledge and information we will share with each other throughout this blog is our social capital. We are bridging and bonding in a way. We are bonding because we are all college students and most of us are from the U.S.. However, everyone has different levels of knowledge on the topics we will be covering and we have all had very different experiences which will bring together different cultures and create some bridging as well.

This could be considered a third place in some aspects. The most obvious characteristic of this blog that is consistent with Third Place is that conversation is the main focus. We are all able to give our thoughts and comment on the thoughts of others. It is also accessible to all of us at any time.

Social Capital Within Our Discussion Group

I feel like this discussion group is going to be a great opportunity to learn about people from various backgrounds. A lot of us have pretty similar characteristics, but the experiences we've had over the course of our lifetimes are probably completely different from those had by other members of this class. I think that sharing those experiences are what are going to bridge the divides between us. I really think we all have a lot to learn from one another, and this blog is a great way to start.

The blog in regards to a "third place"

This blog has very few characteristics of a third place that were defined in Tuesday's lecture. However, I think once you get beyond the fact that it isn't publicly accessible, and is meant solely for our section of students, you would be able to notice a few more third place characteristics within the blog, such as #1 neutral ground, #3 conversation is main activity, #4 accessibility and accommodation, and #5 regulars, just to mention a few.

Third Place

In my opinion, this class would not be a third place because it formal and not really voluntary. The online blogging portion of the class, however, I think would be a third place. It fits the criteria that it is neutral ground and a leveler, conversation is the main activity on the blog, it is fairly assessible and accommodating considering most students have computers or access to one, there are regulars or the people in the discussion, it is more low profile and playful than the actual lecture or discussions,and I don't really know about being a home away from home, but I guess it could be for some people...

Third Places

Being a student here in Madison I am overwhelmed by the number of third places that I see here. Just walking down state street you see tons of people partaking in activities away from their home or work. An example of a third place that I think is one of the more prominent third places is the Starbucks Coffee shop on state street. This is definitely a place where students, faculty, and many other people go where conversation is the main activity and people can just relax. It is always tough finding a seat in the Starbucks because of all the regulars that go there on a daily basis. The shop is located on neutral ground and accommodates anyone interested in the store. It has a playful mood and the design and interior of the shop is definitely a home away from home. There is a relaxing fireplace that you can sit by which gives the shop a very homey feel. I definitely believe that the Starbucks Coffee shop is a great example of a third place.

To me, I believe that this blog could be a third place. It does not have all the same characteristics as the Starbucks Coffee shop but in its own way it could be a place where people go to get away from the stresses of daily life and just relax. This blog is also about communication so that is definitely the main focus of this program. I have to disagree on the playful mood section because I do not believe this blog is very playful.

State Street

I was thinking about third places. State Street is a third place because, among many reasons, it is a place where anyone can go and is also a leveler for college students. But, as we were discussing, it also in some respects does not feel like a third place. When I walk down state street i automatically feel awkward when i am approached by a homeless person asking for my spare change. It changes from somewhere I want to be, having fun with friends, to wanting to get out of the area. I would definitely say that certain third places can be made less "third place" by the inhabitants. A public place does not equal a third place.

Social Capital?

This blog may be considered a "low key" third place. It follows many of the characteristics discussed in class: it is on neutral ground where we all can come and go as we please, conversation is the main activity, it is very accessible, given we all have access to a computer, and, posting will become regular, though it is not expected everyday. I think this blog most represents neutral ground, because it gives us all, shy or not, a chance to talk at our leisure, without feeling the pressure of thinking on the spot. Moreover, I would consider this a type of bonding. Within this class, though we do have different interests, ethnicities, and culural backgrounds, I don't think there are any discrepancies in getting to know each other. We won't really have to go out of our comfort zone bridging to get to know others of the same age, and common purpose attending this school.

I think that our "community" that we have built is on its way to becoming a third place. It is our goal as in any discussion, to make this a comfortable atmosphere. One in which people feel free and entitled to voice their own opinion. Hopefully we will develop a sense of trustworthiness through the level of comfort that we develop.
At first I think that there will be some bonding bringing us all together and today, while posting about us helped to conquer the step of bonding. I feel that in a community that doesn't know each other, bonding is the first step, where as in bigger communities it might be bridging. And then from there we would figure out how to bridge those certain and specific bonds.
I think our community will be accomodating where conversation is the main activity

The Blog: Our Bridge

This blog is a bridging tool for this class--we may have some things in common but we are here for different reasons, from different backgrounds, and have some other types of diversity among us. But, isn't that the purpose of this class? To learn to see the gaps in order to recognize where the bridges need to be built? And wouldn't it be appropriate to begin practicing in class rather than learning it from a distance? I think this blog will be a convenient interchange of ideas and opinions which contain small parts of ourselves through our thinking. Information then connects us all.

It is very neutral and equal (we all have assignments), it levels us as students regardless of age or gender or race, it is obviously for communicating thoughts, etc. so it effectively offers us a Third Place. The playful mood is something I'm banking on, but the home away from home seems a bit hyperbolic.

Third Place-- Leveler?

After our class discussion.. I feel that there are many places that are deemed to be "third places" where they are levelers and the "clientelle" are are supposedly equal, but are they? I worked at a Dunkin Donuts back home in NY for three years and every night the same man (mind you had he some problems) came in and ordered a coffee/donut. Most nights he didnt have the money to pay for them and due to his odd appearance, sat alone in his filthy clothing and no one in the store looked or talked to him (conversing being a huge portion of third places). Even though he was not banned from being inside-- is this type of establishment an equalizer? Yes, he was a regular who frequented the store for his nightly dessert but was the mood playful for him? The workers and the clients had a friendly bond with each other but from his POV, is he included in that? And yes, this was a "home away from home" for him but conversation was NOT the main activity. So for him (from the POV's of himself and of others) was this a third place for him?

As well, we discussed Social Capital on a broad scale. Going back to the aforementioned paragraph (my strange donut-eating client) did he have the abilities to network and form bonds? What defines Social Capital?-- Is it this man speaking to the people behind the counter to name drop so he could apply to work there? It is very shrouded to me as it doesnt seem that there is equal opportunity when it comes to acccessibility of Social Capital.

Concepts From Lecture

I think we will all gain Social Capital from this class because we aren't all the same race, gender, from the same socio-economic status, or from the same background. So it's briding in that sense, but it is also bonding because we are classmates (or a community). I think that we can learn alot from each other, and maybe hear about experiences that others have encountered that may be different from our own. Hopefully hearing and discussing these things will broaden our horizons and we will be able to see things in a different light. It's important for all of us to keep an open mind!

About Me

Hi! My name is Paige Thompson. I'm a first-year student with a major in Nutritional Sciences. After I graduate, I'm hoping to go to Graduate School to become a Dietitian. I'm from Eau Claire, Wisconsin and I enjoy music, hanging out with friends, playing with my dog (Mocha), and going for runs. I love it here in Madison! Although I can be really shy in person, hopefully I'll be able to open up easily and share my thoughts via the Blog. I've never really used a Blog before, so this is a new experience for me. I'm looking forward to getting to know everyone better, and a great semester!

Introduction

Hey everyone! My name is Ben Selle and I am a sophomore here at the university. I am working towards a dual degree in Biochemistry and Exercise and Movement Science. I am from the Twin Cities in Minnesota and that is where I have lived all my life. I enjoy many sports such as hockey, tennis, golf, table tennis and water sports. The reason I chose this class was not just to get my ethnic studies requirement out of the way but it also seemed like a very interesting class that focuses on an important aspect in today's society. Being able to obtain information is important in any career you choose and there is still inequality in the society making it difficult for some people to do this.

I chose to add the picture of Tiger Woods to this blog because he is definitely my favorite athlete and I love golf. He works so hard to be as dominant as he is and I look up to his dedication for the game.

About Me

Hey everyone. My name is Tom Rehwaldt and I am an undecided engineering sophomore here at UW Madison. I am originally from Wayzata, Minnesota, a suburb of Minnespolis. I just recently transferred here from the University of Minnesota (don't hate me) and like it here a lot better. I enjoy playing hockey as much as possible, paint-balling and SLEEPING IN. I feel like a picture of Niklas Backstrom, the goaltender for the Minnesota Wild, is a perfect picture for my introduction because I not only like playing goalie, but I love going to Wild games when I am back home. I have never participated in a blog before so this should be a fun and interesting experience for me. I haven't taken many classes like this because most of my schedule is full of math and science classes, so this should be a good change of pace for me.

hi all

hello my name is Orgilbold Badrakh. I am from Mongolia. i wanted to be more specific about me at this time. my nick name is Tony. i finished college in Colorado. this was my first place in US. i came to US on August 2006. I am a junior at this university. I am majoring Risk Management. i have been lived in 3 different countries, which would be 3 different societies or communities. i could bring up these different things to the class or talk about these. this picture you may know who is he or you may not. those of you, who do not know him, let me introduce him. He is Chinggis Khaan. He was Mongolian king, greatest leader ever, also knowns as leader of the largest continuous empire in the history, and the one who could built up this nation as Mongolia, today during the hard times. i am a big patriot. the reason why i posted this picture is, i know how to get used to in different culture and community. i might have something that i can share with others from my experiences.

Hi! My name is Julie, and I am from Eagan, MN. I am a Communication Arts major with a focus in television/film. My hometown is a suburb of Minneapolis/St. Paul, however, I feel it lacks diversity. I am excited to learn about other ethnic backgrounds and contribute to the discussion on the digital divide in this class. Hmmm, other comments about me. I am a golfer and absolutely love it. And that's about it for now!

About me

Hi! My name is Molly like I said last wednesday. I am a sophomore here at madison, studying Kinesiology. I'm from Pepin, Wi. Its a very small town and I actually only graduated with 23 people. I grew up on the lake, so I love the summer and everything that goes along with it! I love watching sports... me and my roomates will sit down and watch ESPN for hours. I also love to play the piano, I started playing when I was about 5. In this class I hope to learn a lot about the information society and how it is divided through diversity. I think this is a subject that people don't know a lot about.

About Me

Hi, my name is Lauren. I'm from Lake Geneva, WI which is a small town with very little diversity. I'm really excited about being in this class to learn more about divides in society, not only through lecture but from all of your input in discussion as well. I'm a junior majoring in Econ. I really like sports. My favorite is tennis. I live near a lake, so I also like to go boating, wakeboarding & tubing in the summer. This is a picture of my on my friend's boat on Lake Geneva a couple summers ago.

Introduction

Hi! My name is Jenna Hoerth and I'm from De Pere which is a suburb outside of Green Bay. Growing up next to Green Bay and driving past Lambeau almost everyday of my life it is hard not to be a fan. I have always been really close to my family, especially my nephew so I really miss not being able to see them everyday.

This is my first time time taking a class that discusses how the digital divide effects different minorities. I'm curios to figure out why minorities shelter themselves from the digital world and why others choose to take part in the digital world freely. I hope to contribute to this class my own thoughts and ideas that will hopefully encourage good discussions.

Hey!

Hey Everyone!

I'm Katie, I'm a freshman here at Madison and I live in Sellery. I'm originally from Stoughton, WI, which is a small Norwegian suburb of Madison about 20 minutes away, so I'm pretty familiar with the city. I'm not Norwegian at all.
I'm interested in the biological sciences, I'm not sure what I'm going to major in yet, but my plan after completing my undergrad is to get into the Physician Assistant Master's Program, hopefully here.
I enjoy eating a lot of food, spending time with my friends, taking my dogs to the dog park in my hometown, and watching the Office in my free time.
I haven't experienced much diversity living in a small town, so I hope to learn more through the articles and discussion in this class!

Photo Explanation: This is a picture of a friend and I dancing on the beach with our boss's two grandchildren in Florida last year. I think this is a good representation of me because I feel like I'm a pretty free-spirited person and I like to live for the moment and have a good time.

Zak Cocos

Hello,
My name is Zak Cocos and I'm a Freshman here interested in studying Business and Math.
I like to go on skiing trips especially when I can make my own path.
I have decided to make this "about me" section rhyme.
Despite not having composed such a verse in a long time.
There's not much about me that I am looking to put in this post.
Except that I have traveled from coast to coast.
I also believe that we made a good choice in Commander in Chief.
And the Democratic party is where I hold my beliefs.
Thanks for reading, this has been Zak.
And please don't be critical about the above writing in Black.
Oh yea and I forgot to write about community.
I have lived all my life in the Milwaukee vicinity.
It was there that I saw lots of diversity.
Especially being an active member of the JCC.
I attended Nicolet High School, where Whites were barely a majority.
And this rhyme has gone on too long so I hope your day is a beauty.

Axel Hernandez

What up. My name is Axel but my stage name is Young Smash(mixtape coming soon). I like writing, reading, sleeping, and eating. I was born and raised on the East Side of Milwaukee, WI. I went to Rufus King international baccalaureate World School aka Milwaukee King aka the one good school in milwaukee. I played soccer, played in the band and enjoyed padding my resume in high school. Im one thousand percent Boricua and both my parents were raised in the motherland of Puerto Rico. My mom did all the raising in my house because my parents got divorced. I have 4 siblings and im the youngest. I work at the chem library and campus and im in the army rotc. I hang out with a diverse group of people and am from one fo the most segregated city in the US.

This picture is from Gender Bender day in High school for spirit week. I think it shows how im not afraid to put myself out there ha and i look good in heels.

Hey, my name is Kaitlin Czech. I'm from the Twin Cities, Minnesota, where there is a rich culture of diversity, as well as many inequities. The library system of my hometown reflects the people of my community well; diverse, comfortable, accepting, and financially stable. I myself am Korean-American and feel very welcome in my city and its libraries.

I added this picture because even though I am not from Wisconsin, I have learned to love it here and enjoy things unique to its culture such as cheese.

Hey Bloggers! My name is Becca Feinstein and I hail from New York. I am a die-hard New York Mets, Giants and Rangers fan. For a girl-- I know an awful lot about sports. I read one book a week and I read Israeli newspapers online every day. I know a lot about Mac's and nothing about PC's. I love to travel (especially European travels) I know none of these are relevant to the class- but since this is my first blog.. that is just a little something about me! I like to write and I really look forward to writing my thoughts about our readings or the findings from class!

My Name Is Mason...

Hi everyone,
My name is Mason Friebel. I am a freshman here at UW, originally from the small town of Seymour, WI, near Green Bay. Seymour is predominantly a white, suburban neighborhood, so obviously I have tons of ethnic knowledge. I am a huge movie junkie and a diehard Packers fan. I love playing sports and doing anything competitive. I have never blogged before, so this may be an excellent learning tool for me.

About Me

Hey everyone!

My name is Caitlin MacCoun and I am a sophomore majoring in kinesiology and possibly Spanish. I am from Johnson Creek, a small town between Madison and Milwaukee. Coming from such a small town, I don't have a lot of experience with diversity. I'm hoping that this class will expand my horizon. This is my first time blogging, so I might need some help.

Hey, All!

I'm Tara, a Sophomore majoring in Math Education. I'm from a small, unheard of city in Wisconsin. Music and the arts constitute a major portion of my interests, as I play the flute and danced for 11 years. Blogging is very new to me. Through this online social networking and in class, I hope to get to know you all better!

Hey there!

Hey Everyone!

My name is Kayla and I'm a freshman. I can't decide on a major, but today (I say today because changing my mind is something I do pretty frequently) I'm leaning towards Journalism. I grew up in an itty-bitty town about half an hour outside of Madison called Blue Mounds--If you've ever been to Wisconsin's own 8th wonder of the world, Cave of the Mounds, then you might know what I'm talking about. I'm really outgoing, talkative, and willing to share my opinions. Can't wait to meet you all!

Alyssa : )

Hey, I'm pretty excited for this class because I'm hoping to pursue a masters degree in Library Science and Informational studies, so maybe I can offer a different perspective to things discussed in class. I'm currently a freshman and majoring in Religious Studies. I'm planning on going to India over the summer for a month and studying Jainism. I grew up in Germantown, WI and I was in a lot of activities in High School. I love to run and I have a goal to run a marathon before I graduate from Madison. I'm looking forward to using this blog to to discuss topics and looking at things from your perspective!

Minnesota and Me

I am Julie, a sophomore from north-central Minnesota. My town is actually two towns that grew into each other, and the combined population of both is like 20,000. It's small, familiar, and not diverse.



There is one soup kitchen, one movie theater, one police department and, well, you get the idea. Madison is the biggest city I've lived in, but I enjoy the change. When I first got here it was a little strange to learn to use public transportation, but I enjoy the different cultures I find on campus. I'm interested in learning about how cultural cornerstones come to be and the bridges society builds between them. Also to understand how cities work.

About Me: Jackie

Hello!

My name is Jaclyn, but most people call me Jackie. I am a junior, and I waited a while to take an ethnic studies class. You will probably recognize me as the girl who walked in late last discussion, and the one who likes Michael Crichton books. I was recently accepted to the business school and am still deciding what I want to do for the rest of my life. I am excited to start blogging because I never have. I am usually a bit shy in discussions, so I hope I can start to feel more open with my thoughts.

Me

Hi,

I'm Rachel Vesco. I'm a sophomore, although I just transferred here this year from Ohio State. I'm from Green Bay, and love the Packers! I'm majoring in Journalism, as long as I get into the school!, and Political Science. After graduation, I'm thinking I might go to Law School, although I'm not 100% sure. This semseter, I'm the State Editor for the Badger Herald, so that consumes a lot of my time. Other than that, I don't really do much... I go to class, study, and spend time with my friends.

I look forward to getting to know all of you better over the semester :)

Hello World!

Hello World!

I'm Rick Jensen, and here's some of the more mundane/standard info about myself: I'm a Senior Computer Science major who loves to read, mostly sci-fi and things like Eragon, LotR, etc. I'm from Chippewa Falls, WI, home of the leinenkeugal brewery. I also make chain maille, as in armor that the knights of old would wear, not as in emails that say "send this to 10 people to have good luck forever." I have also been to a number of castles in Europe. I'm looking forward to a fun and exciting semester!


Oh, and for those of you who got the joke, props to you!

My name is...

So... I already wrote one quick note, but here's a little more about me. I really love to travel, probably because I have moved so much. From about 6th grade to my Freshman year of high school, I switched a school every year. It taught me a lot about the inequality of schools, even within the same district, and how schools differ throughout the country.

I really enjoy music in all forms. My friends say I have very eclectic taste, since I have a little of everything on my computer. Although you probably won't hear me sing, I do enjoy to do so as well as play guitar and piano.

I'm a big sports fan, even though I would rather be playing them than watching. I ran cross country and track in high school, and running is something I plan to do the rest of my life. (I'm addicted to runner's high.) Probably my favorite sports to watch though are rugby, soccer and basketball.

So... those are some of my interests. Others include books (I love the classics and Shakespeare), drawing, painting and friends, of course. Any questions feel free to ask!

The New Class Blog!

Yeah!  The new class blog is up!  I'm excited to get to know everyone better through in-class discussion and the blog as well.  If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask! :)