Chapter 2- Facebook
“Facebook more than any other social medium has grappled with the complex nature of online friendship, and has attempted to fine-tune online friendships to better correspond to their offline realities.” (page 15, Levinson)
The above sentence summarizes the chapter well. From my own personal experiences with Facebook, I have experienced all of the types of online friends that Levinson talks about. Current and old friends are the obvious choices while deciding who to send friend requests to on Facebook. It is extremely convenient to give your thoughts or send pictures to selected groups of people and connect with people who you have never met in person, but share the same interests as you. Although online and offline friends share similarities, online friendships are largely made possible by social networking, especially Facebook.
Chapter 3- Twitter
“…Twitter is not only the most immediate written medium in history, but it is also the most integrated combination of interpersonal and mass communication.” (page 31, Levinson)
I must be the last person in the world to have never used Twitter. I just do not see the appeal in giving updates on how much I toasted my bagel this morning, or how much I loved the pasta dish that I just devoured. Regardless, Twitter is definitely focused around providing information immediately to the public. It also incorporates direct messaging, which is an important component of communication (if you only want to share something with a certain person). I feel that this sentence encompasses everything that I know about Twitter into a simple and concise sentence.
Chapter 4- YouTube
” The amateur or unknown YouTube producer can point the camera at himself or herself, friends, the general public, or celebrities (if they’re close at hand) with almost equal facility.” (page 50, Levinson)
I believe that this is the most important quality of YouTube. Yes, YouTube enables us to watch music videos of our favorite celebrities and clips of movies with ease, but it also allows anyone with an internet accessible device to post any video, as long as it doesn’t interfere with a copyright. This can give enormous exposure to musicians, artists, and other talented people all over the world. Many of today’s stars were discovered because of YouTube, the most prominent being Justin Beiber. This aspect of YouTube coincides with Levinson’s definition of New New Media to a tee.
Chapter 6- Blogging
“The personal control that the writer has over his or her blog means that the blog can be about any subject, not just news.” (page 83, Levinson)
Of all of the topics that Levinson covers in the blogging chapter, the “Blogging About Anything, Forever” section stood out to me. Blogs are all about writing and sharing about what you are interested in and have a passion for. If that means that your blog is a bunch of recipes and cooking tips, then that’s great and you will find just as many people interested as if your blog was discussing theories as to how How I Met Your Mother will end. Regardless, it is important that when it comes to blogging the writer be able to discuss whatever topic they want.