Currently Eventing: Guy Jumps Off The Top Of The World

Isn't it funny how, when looking back on the past, we tend to see it with a old-film, sepia-tone, Polaroid-style hue? It seems so other-worldly when something doesn't happen in your lifetime and events of the past tend to feel like they were always supposed to happen the way they did.

In our own lives, everything seems normal, nothing seems groundbreaking, people have to tall us when history is being made.

Take, for example, this weekend which was normal for me in most ways: go to work, catch up on college homework, hang out with friends, etc. I was in fact hanging out on Facebook when I realized a man, Felix Baumgartner, had just jumped out of a specially designed craft/balloon from the top of the Earth. History had just been made and I missed it because I was busy socially networking.

As it turns out, a few really great things were accomplished that day.

First, it was the highest skydive in history. At 128,000 feet, Baumgartner was basically jumping from outer space.

Second, he was the first person to break the sound barrier without aid. This comes on the anniversary of the first person to break the sound barrier 65 years ago.

Third, Baumgartner now has the fastest free-fall with a top speed of 834 mph.

With all these record breaking achievements comes some much needed data for NASA including the use of his jumpsuit which could prove useful for future NASA missions.

It was, in all, an incredibly historic event, whether or not I was aware of it while it happened.

This story may soon be yesterdays news, but yesterdays news is always tomorrow's history, and looking forward I realize my grandkids may be asking me where I was when Felix Baumgartner jumped off the top of the world.

Social Media: Is Facebook Better Than Twitter?

I have been on social media for almost 10 years now. Though I would hardly consider myself an expert, I have been involved long enough to see it change and take shape into what we know and use today.

Xanga was great for writing long posts and was my first introduction into true blogging. Myspace came  next and was only really good for having friends and finding new music. Then Facebook showed up and at first it was only a place to share pictures, and to be honest I was not super impressed.

Then there was Twitter, and Twitter changed everything. The introduction of 140 words or less that could be immediately posted and read by followers via phone notifications was amazing. I remember having full conversations on Twitter when notifications were sent to my phone. This was the best thing ever.

Then Facebook changed their whole "wall" format to essentially interact the same way, and Twitter soon became a thing of the past. I remember thinking, "why be on twitter when I can have everything on Facebook?" At that is the way it has remained for a couple of years now.

I have recently started using Twitter and I am beginning to see it's usefulness again. I can follow people/ news organizations/ tv show I admire. I can easily stay updated on national and world news as well as hear about the latest events going on in my area. Twitter serves a purpose in my life yet again.

Ultimately, I would say about Facebook and Twitter both are equally useful and both serve a different purpose. One I can hear about the personal lives of my friends and family, the other I can stay up-to-date about other global cultural happenings.

When it comes to the integrity of journalism, though, I believe Twitter would win. Facebook relies more on word of mouth whereas journalists are using Twitter to post about news in a more formal way.

Social Media has really come a long way, and I believe it has a long way to go still. People now are taking advantage of the many different outlets afforded them and are turning them into what they need them to be. I'll be interested to see how far we go in the next 10 years.

Intro: Beth Bolyard

Hello, my name is Beth Bolyard and I'd like to take the next few moments to formally introduce myself.

I currently live in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and attend the University of Southern Mississippi. I have been studying at this university for over a year and I have lived in Mississippi for over 2 years. I am majoring in Mass Communication and Journalism with an emphasis in public relations. I am also minoring in art, though I am thinking about changing that to English soon. It turns out that if you aren't serious about being an artist, art classes are pretty much useless. 

Attending college has been a long and arduous journey for me. I've been down a few different career paths already, including film school, and I haven't really found what I'm looking for yet. I dabble in photography and have been told my work is pretty good. Unfortunately I don't really feel compelled to pursue this solely as a career. I also play the guitar, ukulele and piano, though I am not really proficient at any of these instruments. 

I have been interested in journalism as a career for a while now. I love news and I love to write. The truth of it is I really just want to be in the middle of it all. Anything great happening in the world and I want to be there. So I suppose being a journalist would go hand in hand with that.

I also really love a good story, whether it's fictional or based in reality. So I suppose what I really want to do is tell stories, good stories, stories worth repeating, writing about or filming. 

 So, here I am at USM trying to make sense of what I want to do and how the university can help me do it. I suppose I'll figure it out one of these days. Until then, thank you for reading.