The Amazing World of Twitter

Twitter. I'm sure this name sounds very familiar because it can be seen everywhere. From other social networks to newspapers, Twitter can be found. This social network is widely used because there are many things to do with it. You can find a job, see recent news, and (like Facebook) connect with friends, family, etc. on Twitter. I'm not an expert in Twitter, but these are the things I've noticed within the first week of having an account (my account)

In my Twitter experience, I've learned many things. First off, I've learned that you can find a job through Twitter. Now you might be thinking, who would want to find a job through a social networking site? Even though this may not be a good idea for some (provocative pictures, etc.), finding a job can be convenient for others. Nowadays, more and more employers are creating an account through Twitter (and Facebook). An employer's main reasons for doing this are for finding potential employees and having present employees to connect with their business. I'm not the only one who has learned this, however. Syed Balkhi, a frequent Twitter user, has stated 25 Reasons Why Someone Should Join Twitter. 

Secondly, you can connect with friends and family just like you do with Facebook. On Facebook, you have friends, but with Twitter, you can follow people AND have followers. It may seem weird that you can have some followers and not actually follow them, but they can be of some benefit to you. They could possibly be a business and be interested in you or a friend that you may not remember. Either way, don't be afraid of unfamiliar followers. In Twitter, there are things called "tweets" which are simply "posts" in Facebook's terms. When you tweet someone, they can reply back, with a simple @ symbol followed by their Twitter ID. Even though the format is different than Facebook, communication seems to come at a faster rate. By faster, I mean that people are only limited to 140-characters so anyones' thoughts are short, sweet and to the point. 

Lastly, you can view recent news by following news stations or newspapers. Just go under the "Suggestions for You" and click Browse Interests. Clicking this will lead you to some headings that contain broad subjects. You can simply click on a subject (or subjects) that interest you. 

From what I've learned, Twitter has been very useful to me. It is a neat social networking site that can let you know what your peers are up to, and possibly find some potential employer(s). Those, and above, are the various reasons as to why I am going to continue my Twitter account.

Diversity Event: Leveraging Diversity

This diversity event was held at Howe Hall and the speaker was Scott E. Page. Dr. Page has spoken at many universities and worked (works) at the University of Michigan. In his presentation, he wants to bring diverse ideas into the engineering world (that's why he spoke in Howe Hall). These ideas are practical topics so everybody in the workplace can be more productive. Dr. Page has been doing research on this subject for over five years discusses many sections of diversity.

Dr. Page first starts off talking about that hiring diversity is the right thing, not just required by law. Doing so, this enlarges the pool of people and talent. When hiring, ability matters most. He continued talking about how as a society, we adapt so fast to diversity or anything around us. This discussion led into the big idea of the night; two heads are better than one. In my view, this is mostly true. When there are two heads, that generally means two ideas. However, those "two heads" might not agree with each other or might not be able to come to a consensus. 

He then discussed prediction and how that relates to diversity. Prediction usually involves astrology, atmosphere readings, dreams, and/or palm reading. Despite the assumed predictions, diversity can be best predicted by models. Dr. Page talked about all sorts of mathematical models that were confusing, but when put in layman's terms, they made sense. One of the basic models that he used was crowd error = average error - diversity. This makes sense because diversity comes form all pile sorts; a diverse group + an average people = geniuses. Dr. Page tested this by creating a bunch of agents with diverse perspectives. They were ranked on performance and one of the groups must be "smart". The diverse group almost always outperformed the "best" (or "smart") group. 

At the end of his presentation, Dr. Page closed with a comparison to running and a bike. When someone runs, they can run only for a short time before being exhausted. Yet, when riding on a bike, you don't get as tired as running. This directly relates to diversity. When only the "best" people are put together, they can only make it a short distance before ideas run out (like running). However, when a diverse group of people gather, ideas seem unlimited (like biking). 

In my opinion, this diversity event was very interesting, except for the whole complicated mathematical model idea. Dr. Page gave me a new view on diversity. I feel that having diversity in a workplace shouldn't necessarily be a requirement, but should be highly recommended. Diversity can bring all sorts of talent into a company and could possibly raise production rates. Overall, this was a very effective diversity event that opened up my eyes to diversity. 

A Time in My Life When I Was at My Best

A time in my life that was the best, but not always at times, was during my four years in high school band. In high school, I played the clarinet and the alto saxophone and enjoyed it quite well. In band, I was in everything. I was in jazz, honor, symphonic (AKA: concert), marching, and pep band. 

My life was pretty much made up of band. Wake up. First class: band. After my 5th class: band lesson. After school: band practice (jazz, marching, pep, or honor). At night: practice my instrument at home. Even though this sounds way too overwhelming, I loved playing my clarinet (I only played my alto saxophone for jazz band). 

However, I was somewhat forced by my instructors to participate in events such as: honor bands, all-state, and solo, duet, and trio contests. I didn't want to practice for these contests and I felt too overwhelmed, but somehow I pulled through. These events actually ended up being enjoyable! I enjoyed being with my friends, who were going through the same torture, and how all of the long hours of practicing very tough music paid off. This is a very cheesy story, but I felt that this was the time I was at my best.

This can be translated into my first year because like I pushed myself and persevered through hard music, I can definitely push myself for college-level homework. I've realized that by dedicating to myself to practicing, I can also commit myself to homework and various projects here at Iowa State.