Thing 12 - ("divpadsmit" - LATVIAN)

I decided to mix it up with Mixx.com after looking at all of the other sites. What I like about Mixx is that, to me, the layout is easier to read and follow being a newbie to this. I went to Startribune.com and shared an article on teen driving and using a device that could report the speed of the car. It is being developed at the University of Minnesota. I rewrote the description and put in a few tags.

This was all interesting, but I don't see the whole, big picture, yet. I watched all of those videos. I understood how to use the sites and what they are offering in service, but I kept asking myself "Why?" I don't know if I was just being stubborn or close minded, but it seemed to me like a popularity contest of news. That is just weird to me. I noticed similar features and tools like this on other sites. The Startribune website has a most popular and most emailed tool about stories. I guess it does give you an insight on what everyone else is interested in. For me, I can only ask questions.

Should I conform with what everyone else is interested in and read those stories? (I did just finish watching the movie Into the Wild....maybe that is why I asked these questions....great movie, though)
Is this how I want to receive information?
Does my sharing an article say something about me? Is that fair?
How does my participation add to my life?

I know I sound like an old mushroom growing on a pile of pooh, but I am just being honest.

Back to being professional (smile). I do see how this can be applied in the classroom. Students could look at these sites for current events and interact with them either directly or indirectly. Students could be involved on the site (direct) or write essays about what they find on the site for classroom work (indirect). Students could even blog their opinions and viewpoints and share it on the sites (both).

Photo from Flickr.com from Madonnica and Brian's photostream and edited by me using picnik.com.