Week 4 Blog 8 Reflection on Blogging

I’m not exactly what you would consider to be a social butterfly. I’m usually content to stay home and watch TV as opposed to going to a social gathering somewhere. One of my part time jobs at a restaurant forces me to be social while my other job is in solitude. I prefer to work alone; however, web 2.0 can make it so that people like me can do both. I can literally work alone at home while collaborating with others. Whether I’m working on my Action Research Project or a course project with a team, or if I’m using web 2.0 in a job, I love the notion that I can work with others, yet still be alone. I’m still not into the whole Second Life craze, (my avatar is still the same basic guy) but as the need arises, maybe that will change. I’ve probably barely even scratched the surface as to what’s out there as far as useful tools go, so if anyone has any knowledge of any tools for the deaf, please let me know. My nearly six year old daughter is deaf and my Action Research Project has to do with developing signing lessons on the web, so any insight, leads or URLs will be appreciated. Even if I don’t use them, it’s nice to know that somebody reads my blog. Back to the group thing, I have a sister in NA and a brother in law in AA and I was wondering if there are any tools in web2.0 that would be of use for people in addiction recovery. Couldn’t group therapy be conducted over broad distances with people they know? Could they use the web to make amends with old friends and relatives? I don’t know; maybe there’s no good substitute for a hand written letter or a personal visit.

There is one thing that I know of that is probably the biggest, yet unnoticed and underrated movement on the web and it is not slowing down: family history. People have begun to search for their ancestral roots in droves and it’s so compelling it seems to be driven by some unseen force. I’m a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons) and we strongly believe in eternal connections to our ancestors (Malachi 4: 5-6), but Mormons are not the only ones interested in this work. They used to have to travel to distant states and counties to look up records or even visit the actual cemetery to get information. That still may be the case in many instances, but web 2.0 has made it so much easier because now, distant (geographically and/or biologically) cousins or any combination of relatives and friends can collaborate in finding, organizing, and sharing those valuable records that are often more precious than gold to those who seek them.