A personality that I follow online is UVic Anthropology as a friend on Facebook and a follower on Twitter. UVic Anthropology posts links to interesting articles, blogs, events and news all pertaining to anthropology and archaeology, locally and globally. The online presence of UVic Anthropology provides insight to the current trending topics and news in the industry, as well as insight as to the local talks and social events that are happening. By following UVic’s Anthropology Department, I am becoming more engaged with the people, staff and organizations in my local field as well as becoming more inspired to dive into my research interests.

The UVic Anthropology Department is worth following online because all of their posts are extremely relevant and most importantly, useful. They always post reminders about social events with all of the details (time, location, cost, etc) and encourage socializing as well as academic research within the field. Having a presence on both Facebook and Twitter has given the department a lot more attention in recent times. The articles they post online are the item of small talk between faculty and students, on a daily basis, and receive a lot of shares and reposts on social media sources. UVic’s Anthropology Department is also being extremely effective in using social media, as they are able to “get with the times” and create more of a fetching bond and rapport with the faculty’s students. I would include UVic’s Anthropology Department as a source for my Personal Learning Network as a source of inspiration and insight because they are a strong example of the positive impact that technology can have in academia. Taking a students university experience to the next level by engaging with their peers and subject of study outside of the classroom.

UVic Anthropology Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uvic.anthropology?fref=ts

UVic Anthropology Twitter: https://twitter.com/UVicAnthro

Blog #4 Tetsu Ozawa

They are not quite mentor because they motivate me to study my major by ignite my anger, hate, and any imaginable negative feelings. I am discussing how Japanese people use internet as a strong propaganda tools in Japanese society, and now, there is a “mentor” for Japanese young kids. There are two people and two homepages that influence Japanese student. One is the super-right wing politician Toru Hashitomo (http://www.hashimoto-toru.com/), one is also the super-right wing politician, and former air force officer Toshio Tamogami (http://www.toshio-tamogami.jp/), the other two homepages are called Hachima-Kikou (http://blog.esuteru.com/) and Kyoko-Shinbun (http://kyoko-np.net/). First of all, those two politicians are recognized as super-right-wing, that are keep justifying Japanese invasion of WWII, keep claiming that Nanjing massacre is a fake that is made up by Chinese government, and Japanese (as a race) is the most superior humankind that was chosen by the god. Then, why those two are important? Because those two politicians use Twitter in order to “teach” their followers that what is the “truth”. On the other hand, the two news sites often support those super right-wing politicians with spreading exaggerated or fake information that is insult Korea, China, the U.S. and even Taiwan (known as a Japan-friendly country). Especially, Kyokou-Shinbun means “Fake Newspaper” in Japanese, but still many of those Nationalist Japanese students believe in those “welcomed lie” rather than “inconvenient truth”. And more, I also consider that the Internet itself is also a Mentor for those Nationalistic movements, because all people more ore less may have nationalistic thoughts, but those ideas usually surprised by the people around them. However, internet let them connect with those Authorities and huge number of groups that are strong enough to justify their idea, and drive them into super-right-wing thought. This may be the process I must analyze and find some method to stop this cycle.

—-below this is not a part of assignment—-

this is totally off the topic, but Toru Hashimoto’s first name’s Chinese character is same as mine. I feel  ashamed a lot these days because of that fact 🙁

Through previous research for this class I ran into tech blogger Christina Bonnington. Since I am not technologically savvy or aware of what is going on the tech world, many blogs or articles tend to go straight over my head. After being able to actually understand what she was talking about I began to follow her on twitter (@redgirlsays). Christina’s twitter, vine videos and articles are hilarious and provide me with information I am actually interested in.

Christina Bonnington is one of the writers for Wired’s Gadget Lab, where you can find tons of information on any type of up and coming tech device. I found myself drawn to her articles as I am very interested in new apple products and iOS and she specializes in this area. She covers their apple rumor watch titled This Weeks Apple Rumors, Ranked from Dumbest to Most Plausible. This week’s edition can be found here.  After finding this blog and then specifically the articles written by Christina, I have found myself going back to casually browse and through this I have become more and more technologically aware.

I also find myself connecting with Christina personally through her comedic tweets and her passion for cycling. Her dedication to living a healthy life is something I relate to even though I am not a cyclist. The best part of following Christina is that she is extremely effective at getting her message across in a fun and occasionally sarcastic manner. Her articles and videos are short and to the point while also being entertaining and full of information I find useful.  I would definitely add Christina Bonnington to my personal learning document as my favorite online tech personality as she has and continues to provide me with entertaining insight into the world of technology that I was formerly very unfamiliar with.

I am going to be completely honest about this as there is no point in attempting to stretch the truth. I do not have a virtual mentor. I know that many people have one, but I just do not see a reason for one.

I do follow some interesting people on social media and YouTube. Most are critics for media such as TV, movies, and video games. Then there are others who do food related videos such as cooking and candy. However, I have never felt the desire to look up to them for what they do. To me, I find that being a mentor requires you to look up to them and requires them to be experienced with what they do. With all the people and sites I follow, I cannot see someone who is that experienced enough to be someone that I would follow for everything they have done.

The closest to following someone is Eatyourkimchi. I see them as a mentor for some on Korean culture, but I don’t see it applying to me.

I might have the definition mentor wrong, but to me I just do not have one.

Marianne Elliot is a human rights activist, yoga teacher and writer from New Zealand. She describes her site as “a watering hole for do-gooders, wanna-be do-gooders and recovering do-gooders. If you’ve ever thought the world could be a kinder, safer, fairer place – and maybe you could play a role in making it so – this site is for you. It’s a place to remember you are not alone, to meet others of your kind and share your stories.”

I first discovered Marianne’s website while I was working in Toronto for a nonprofit organization and in great need of instructions in self-care. Her website spoke to me because she addressed the danger of burn out that often comes with working in nonprofit environment while presenting the idea of self care without making it seem too wishy-washy.

I’ve followed her blog as she was writing her memoir, and she shared her doubts, hopes and joys throughout the two years of writing her memoir. I think that this was a brilliant business strategy, because by the time her book was ready to be published, she had already created an online community of supporters eagerly anticipating this book. Her writing is honest, intelligent and compassionate. She talks honestly about her anxiety, grief and guilt that she has experienced as a human rights lawyer working in war torn countries – I think that this perspective is often missing when we talk about heavy political topics. In this way she brings a human quality to global stories.

Marianne, who describes herself as a “recovering human rights worker” now devotes herself to helping people heal through yoga and writing. She runs online yoga classes, 30 Days of Yoga, and is innovative in her approach by creating a community through forums that participants can access and personalized emails. I don’t think that there is any other yoga class like it.

I took one of Marianne’s 30-day yoga courses when I was first interested in yoga, but wasn’t brave enough to attend an in-person studio class. Her online class offered the privacy to do yoga from home, but with the support of an online community of other students. Because of the nature of online communication, I think that I actually had more engaging connections with these students than would have been possible in an in-person class.

She highlights other aid workers and healers on her blog through interviews, guest blog posts and other media, building a active community on her website. She is active on Twitter and Facebook and her writing has appeared on various online news sources.

I think what I find most inspirational about Marianne is that she is a great example of a successful online entrepreneur who brings a human quality to her online persona. She has taken her experience, skills and passions, found a niche in the online world and built a community around it. She shows that any skill or service marketed the right way can be implemented into the online world.

The website I chose out of my personal array of sites I choose to follow that have to do with technology is one of the best of the bunch. This website is extremetech.com

I chose this website because at the moment I am very interested in the newest technologies. I like knowing what other people are capable of inventing, for instance, with regards to technology.

This particular website makes them more interesting and worthy to follow because they talk about everything and anything to do with the newest technology. More particularly they go above and beyond most technology sites by going in-depth with each technology they showcase on their website. For instance they look at the behind-the-scenes of these technologies, which is different than the normal technology sites out there. This site has users and experts writing their entries that according to them are “seeking to answer the unanswerable questions of technology”. And to do this they use very easy to engage with and understand language, which is again out of the ordinary for other technology sites. This makes is so that anyone in the public can read their site entries.

They use their blog style website to communicate effectively by including many different category links, so if a person is looking for something in particular they can easily access it on the front page. They also include on their front page “top searches” and “trending” links. This is very effective for the audience because they are able to see what other people are looking at and what the most popular technologies are of the moment.

I would include them in my own Personal Learning Network because they have a particular sense of humor and easily understandable entries on their site. The sense of humor and beginner vocabulary that they use on their site makes it very easy for me to read and follow along. This in turn allows me to become interested in what they are writing about.

An online personality that I find inspirational is Ann-Marie MacDonald from the CBC. Ann-Marie is the host Doc Zone, CBC’s critically acclaimed documentary program. She is also an author, actor and broadcast journalist. I am a huge fan of her program because she is great at breaking down complex societal issues (that often involve technology) into easy to understand pieces on her show. Topics covered on Doc Zone range from surviving the future, investigating the organic food industry, to exploring the dangers and consequences of sexting and Facebook.

Her show brings controversial issues to light and provides the general public a look inside very mysterious and secretive industries. I think the documentary format is a highly effective way to communicate with viewers as it features commentary from the parties involved as well as commentary from the host. It provides the viewer with a balanced view of the topic on hand and lets the viewers decide for themselves whether or not something is good or bad or can be trusted.

I have included Ann-Marie MacDonald into my personal learning network as her work is easily accessible, interesting, and the topics she covers are unique. Her work manages to surprise and inspire me to learn more about the issues covered on the show. Doc Zone is an excellent program to watch if you want to learn something new and exciting. It can be found here.

Extra Credits is a web-series started by Daniel Floyd. The episodes are generally written by video game developer James Portnow, and narrated by Daniel’s high-pitched voice. The topics have always been about video games, ranging from advice for aspiring video game developers, critics about the state of the industry, addressing issues within the community, and looking into the psychology of video games.

I began watching the series in 2010 just after starting university. As someone who played a lot video games at the time and wanted to become a video game developer eventually I was ecstatic to find a smart show about video games from people involved in the industry.

Extra Credits have discussed a lot of topics that will be useful to refer to in a video game developer’s career. They’ve looked at poor game designs like using Skinner Box reward systems to keep its players to keep playing instead of using a genuinely rewarding system. Issues with how gender, race, and sexuality have been portrayed in games have been addressed. Extra Credits have covered other concepts useful for developers to learn, such as the concept of failing faster and proper software testing.

As I go forth with my career I’ll be sure to keep what I’ve learnt from Extra Credits in mind, and hopefully these lessons will take me far!