Chad Gesser

Left Wednesday Dec. 17th, didn't get out of town until 4pm, hour late than planned. The Dish Network guy with the plumbers butt had some extra work to do. I wanted the tv fixed prio to returning so we would have a tv when we got back for Christmas. We got hung up in traffic outside of notion, which delayed the first leg of ourgeip to Macon. Haven't been through the ATL in quite sometime. Apart from the pressure o 8 lanes, traffic was not too bad on a Thursday night. Came through around 11pm. But, the sky line for mw was breathtaking. It was stunning. The tops of the buildings were well lit in the nighttime sky.

A look at the demographic profile of digital natives in the U.S. Networked Learners (MVU Keynote) View more presentations from Pew Internet & American Life Project, Pew Research Center .

Quite a thought provoking NYT's article about race, identity, and opportunity. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/06/weekinreview/06Luo.html?_r=1

Below is an interesting self analysis of sorts regarding the psychology of achievement in videogaming. This is also interesting as an illustration of Mead's work on the social significance of play and games. http://www.pixelpoppers.com/2009/11/awesome-by-proxy-addicted-to-fake.html

so Chik Fil A is offering a free meal deal for a year, or something...people are camping out for this?? --at http://thesociologyblog.blogspot.com

Very interesting analysis of changes in immigration over time http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/03/10/us/20090310-immigration-explorer.html

Fantastic look at the current unemployment rate by demographic category.  Some telling numbers. http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/06/whos-hurting-the-most/

--at http://thesociologyblog.blogspot.com

The following report contains a reassessment of the role of technology in fostering connections and social networks. Appears the use of technology has exceeded normalization, and is becoming an important aspect of communication and ongoing connection? https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2009/11/04/social-isolation-and-new-technology-2/

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/03/the-story-so-far-in-one-picture/

Since when did vehicles "Improve the Environment"? Do they repair the ozone, clean up the rivers, reduce pollution?

This pic was snapped by a family member in Jeffersonville, IN. Take a look at the wording at the top of the sign on the left. He told me he did a double take when he saw the sign.

--at http://thesociologyblog.blogspot.com

Collaborative Tool? I currently use Google Docs, Twitter, Facebook, FriendFeed, Blackboard, and a blog (and other things, believe it or not), and while Wave at this point is very interesting, I could not in this form use it productively with my Sociology students. At current there is just not added value as a collaborative tool beyond what the aforementioned tools provide for me. It is sooooo freeform, which is good to a point. Beyond that the information seems to get lost, individual Waves themselves fall apart. There are no logical endpoints. Humans just are not ready to alter interaction and communication effectively in this way. I see Wave could be a lot like Twitter: a core product is made best by add ons, extensions, and third party apps. I believe Wave could be used for creative thinking, on the fly input. It is so difficult to massage/guide/facilitate the flow of input, information, and the formation of knowledge utilizing Wave. Perhaps implementing a tag/keyword function withi

Making Information via Waves Useful First off, if you are not using Wave or are not familiar with how it works, this post might be difficult to understand. Something I have been wrestling with for several days is making the use and product of Waves useful (see Google Wave Review 4). The labeling and/or tagging what are called blips is important to prevent duplication; and more importantly, to allow the categorization of information and knowledge. Here is why this is important. There are several Waves centered around the same topic and discussion; sometime with duplicate users. Why...continue...to...duplicate? For the sake of conversation, ok. But there needs to be an manner in which like information can also be shared across Waves. I know tagging within a blip is a lot to consider, so perhaps the ability of the Wave creator to categorize groups of blips, comments, etc...? Then a "bank of tags" or something of the like could be housed. Think del.icio.us Users over time can t

Functionality A popular theme, as expected, on Google Wave that I've noticed amongst a group of educators is the functionality of Wave. Beyond the fact that it has bugs (slow, locking up), much discussion in the educator section (some found here ) is how could Wave be used in the organizational setting. Amongst the ideas: wikis, customer service, advising, and discussion boards. A standard that is bubbling up is the number of people suitable to make a Wave useful. I participated in one Wave that had over 400 people, and it stopped just short of chaos. Early on participation in the Wave was robust, but after a very short time hundreds of messages can appear in the Wave, and it simply becomes impossible to keep up with. Hence, that Wave came to a grinding halt. Talking about functionality at this stage of Wave is perhaps a bit moot as we begin to see bots, gadgets, and extensions being built for Wave. Just as the Twitter core was developed, Twitter did not gain a wider spread use

Why Collaboration is a sticking point It will be very interesting to see what informal and formal situations will guide the use of Google Wave. Given the heightened nature of interaction, how often, and how deep will participants Wave? There's no question that social networking sites as Facebook and Twitter have filled a gap of connection for nearly every cohort, at least in US society. But what about the depth of interaction, the willingness to "work together" on not only relationships, but informal and formal projects? At a basic level, will users get together via Google Wave to plan a night on the town, a short field trip, or share images, video, and other artifacts regarding an event or experience? For organizations that thrive on collaboration of ideas and projects, an adoption of the Google Wave "system" into their existing communication structure would be ideal. This potential that I garnered from watching the initial Google Wave video struck me as pr

Well, I was fortunate enough to get a Google Wave invite last night, and I spent about 4 hours playing around with it. Here are some initial thoughts. After "waving" with three people, what struck me the most was the sense of melding of communication. When in a "wave", you can see what the other person(s) is typing in real time, you can be typing at the same time, and you can enter into another one's comments as they are typing to address something that perhaps you find in the middle of their sentence. That is an extremely interesting notion, one that will take a while for folks to become comfortable with. After waving for a bit, and because of this, I at least got a sense of fulfillment. I waved with three people that I had never met before, and the openness and willingness to share was something very "cool", maybe extraordinary. I use the word extraordinary intentionally, because I believe a significant issue with using Google Wave will be the wi

\ mLearning: Mobile Devices As Research, Communication, and Teaching Tools View more presentations from Chad Gesser .

--at http://thesociologyblog.blogspot.com

This week in Intro to Soc we have been discussing Georg Simmel's "The Stranger" . We've also been discussing the tenets of Erving Goffman's Dramaturgical Analysis . I was pleasantly surprised....wait, THRILLED when Ricky Lax sent me an article from the Las Vegas Weekly about a little "experiment" he conducted at the Town Square. Too funny!

Discussion in our Introduction to Sociology class today centered around symbols and the social construction of language. What you see below is the effort of a five year old kindergardener concentrating diligently on constructing her letters. Not too far to follow is linking these symbols to construct words. Understanding their meaning will begin to occur over the next few months as well.

--at http://thesociologyblog.blogspot.com

In my hometown, religious sayings and "inspirational quotes" are quite the norm. But this? Does this overstep the boundaries of acceptable denominational messages? --at http://thesociologyblog.blogspot.com

Data piece: 50% of those entering college for a degree don't make it. --at http://thesociologyblog.blogspot.com

Teen Technologies presentation, July 15, 2009 Teen Technologies July15 2009 View more presentations from Chad Gesser .

A good look with some sociological examination of discrimination at the private pool in Philly http://is.gd/1zJ6V

In the article below, local officials highlight successful efforts at cost savings and reduction in the use of energy. City government signed on to a "Cool Cities" initiative, already meeting the Kyoto Protocol standards. While recycling efforts continue to be stonewalled and minimal, it is encouraging to see these efforts and progress. http://m.apnews.com/ap/db_15980/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=7RE8H4pw

Social media is obviously changing the landscape of the production of information in our world. What has not been discussed much in the sociology is the role that information technology, particularly mobile technology, can and will play in sociological research. I have experimented with the use of smart phones in my personal and professional life substantially over the past six months. I started out with the LG Vu and then upgraded to the iPhone 3G. What I will discuss below can largely be applied to current smart phones on the market (obviously combined with the appropriate data plan) that allow the following: * the function to take photos * the ability to text message (SMS) * the ability to record audio and/or video The sharing of such information/or research depends on the user's capacity to upload that information to be shared with others. A smart phone along with a the proper data plan can unleash the sociological imagination in anyone's world. I particularly have us

How The Average U.S. Consumer Spends Their Paycheck Talk about timely! This better highlights the exercise we did in class regarding a basic needs budget.

Came across this article today, and was quite intrigued by the suggestion of division of social networking tool use based on social class and possibly race. Does Social Networking Breed Social Division? - Gadgetwise Blog - NYTimes.com

#Krugman on Malthus: goes wayyyyy ol' school with reflections on population growth, technology, and subsistence http://is.gd/1oNR5

This video was brought to my attention by a current soc student. These are always interesting, but keep in mind we always have to question the reliability and validity of the information. How would we verify the accuracy of the video? Thanks WL!!

Ahhhhhh.....so pretty. Remember when this lake at Yellow Creek park had e-boli/coli or something? --Via mobile bloggin'

The following link provides an excellent early assesment into the sociology of group formations Iran Election Crisis: A Social Media Timeline http://bit.ly/NXSPI "

...found from the Graphic Sociology Blog at Contexts.org Another good visual of global distribution of income Conley, D. (2008) You may ask yourself: An introduction to thinking like a sociologist . New York: W.W. Norton and Company. p.392.

The New Socialism: Global Collectivist Society Is Coming Online http://www.wired.com/culture/culturereviews/magazine/17-06/nep_newsocialism Reading: interesting article on the emergence of social order online.

Greetings bloggees, students, friends, and fellow humans. Been taking a much need break, and am feeling so much better for it. Got several items on the agenda in the coming weeks. Looking to try some new things with two summer classes which begin Jume 10th. Also been staying in tune with national and international news and trends. Stay tuned for more posts, likely to pick up in a couple of weeks. --Via mobile bloggin'

This is a word cloud created from all the words appearing in this blog. This was created at Wordle . Very cool.

Obesity and the Fastness of Food - Economix Blog - NYTimes.com An interesting graph of time spent eating per day vs. the national obesity rate. What factors might explain the vast discrepancy in time and obesity rate between the U.S. and say, France?

This video was sent to me by student John Dixon. This highlights items similar to contagion theory and collective behavior. A similar phenomenon to this video here is called "flash mobs". Read a bit from wikipedia here . A highly popular flash mob can be seen here , and here . Interesting stuff!

An interactive map of vanishing employment across the country. - By Chris Wilson - Slate Magazine This is an awesome interactive map.  There is so much information to be discerned regarding job gain/loss over time, by county across the United States.

China's birth limits create dangerous gender gap The news report above was sent to me by soc student, S. Tanner.  After reading the article, what else is assumed about violent crime as it relates to men and women?  Lastly, 5 extra credit points to the first student that can go to the Population Reference Bureau website , and post as a comment to this post the following information: *  the top five most populated countries in the world and *  the number living in each of those countries

Keep in mind I have been sick with the flu the past three weeks. So cut me some slack! The video watched in this presentation can be found here: Michael Wesch's Information R/evolution

In light of the changes in society we've recently discussed in the Intro classes, this blog post from Brian Solis provides a clear understanding about the significance of Twitter, Facebook, etc...relationships between people. Question:  Do you think social networking tools such as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Blogs, and others will become important parts of our lives?  What function do they serve?

This pic appeared on the front page of one of the primary sections of today's local paper. First of all, social service agencies and volunteers do what they can to provide skills training and education development to the inmate population. But, this picture brings several questions to mind. The first I will pose: Is this an effort to train inmates to be circus clowns? This image strikes me in many ways. What other questions does it bring up?

I received a question today about whether the information in the Did You Know video were facts. Here are some interesting links to the authors of the presentation. They are reputable folks, and yes I take the data to be accurate. Karl Fisch Scott McLeod

(Click image to enlarge) Just saw this from the Pew Research Center ; research regarding public awareness of the current financial crisis. These numbers surprise you? They do me, seems like many folks in the U.S. are following along.

This is who I got to hear speak today. Dr. Morris sent me a link to his work last year. Got any creative ideas as to how to get students engaged using Web 2.0?

While watching, or when you've finished, what comes to mind? What does this make you consider, to think about, to wonder?

Any application of contagion theory?

ETA on our region "going green"?

Love this bridge

Currently doing some annual reading about Collective Behavior and Crowds. I'm heading to Indianapolis on Friday for three days, lucky enough to catch the Louisville Cardinals play on Friday. And of course if they win, they will play on Sunday. I'll be posting some pics from the Road to the Big Dance. In the meantime, check out some preliminary reading on Collective Behavior . Pay particular attention to "Theories of Crowd Behavior". I'll be posting pics as well, and will offer questions through the weekend that you can answer for extra credit.

krogerchick on Twitter sent this to me today: krogerchick@profgesser i saw someone refuse to drink from a water fountain after a lesbian drank from it. absolute chaos! made me think about soc krogerchick@profgesser a man saw two girls all but makin out in front of the store & he went to get a drink later, but saw 1 girl get a drink 1st. krogerchick@profgesser he says "i be damned if i is gonna drink outta the same fountain as some homo bitch!" she freaked. crazy. So, in terms of getting a drink from the same water fountain, what do you think the man was worried about? Why?

I'm currently reading through the Placemaking Initiative report regarding downtown development in Owensboro. I'm currently President of the Board of Directors at Theatre Workshop of Owensboro , and we were hoping to acquire the Goldie's Opryhouse facility with the assistance of local government. I have found interesting references in the Placemaking Initiative report about "synergy of the arts", and "historical preservation." So the question is this: Is requesting $250,000 for the purchasing price for Goldie's too much in the face of a $79 million incentive plan to reinvent downtown Owensboro? Should a public entity with a proven track record, and as the oldest arts organization in Owensboro, be shown preference to acquire the facility to "synergize the arts"? Or, should local government rely solely on the private sector?

Would certainly be remiss if I didn't include a link to the Turtleman video that we watched early in the semester. Posting this for entertainment purposes.

I saw this picture today. This is the car I've spoken about in class. It is no longer in use as a marketing tool. I believe it was originally donated. Some questions we have explored in class were regarding the purpose and effectiveness of this vehicle. Does using it as a marketing tool do anything to curve, prevent, or have other impact on meth production and/or use?

Pic of a painting made at the Nov. 2007 event. Just ended, will edit all posts into one later.

Suggested reading, The Next Form of Democracy

Now discussing deliberative democracy..integrating citizen voices into decision making

Emphasizing systemic solutions for systemic problems.

.highlighting Obama's Memorandum on Open Government: Transparency, Collaboration, and Participation

..now speaking to "Changing the Way Gov. Relates to People".

..audience member questions

First question is regarding the role of technology in polling and gathering large amounts of data and making sense of it.

Taking questions and comments from the audience. First question is regarding the role of technology in polling and gathe -- ================================================================== This mobile text message is brought to you by AT&T

Placing significance on public space. What are the public venues for citizen engagement in decision making?

She started out citing the Jeffersonian ideal of by the people, of the people, for the people.

Dr. Lukensmeyer is now speaking. She has great words to say about O'boro's effort.

Listening to Shelly Nichols, Exec. Dir. of We the People Owensboro. She's currently providing an overview of work conducted over the past two years. More info regarding their work can be found at their website. Will provide that link later, but can be found with a Google search.

In November 2007, Owensboro held an unprecedented event, the We the People Town Hall meeting , facilitated by the non-profit group AmericaSpeaks . The founder of AmericaSpeaks, Dr. Carolyn Lukensmeyer, will be speaking at Blandford Hall in the Humanities Building at the community college on Thursday, 3/12. In addition, an update will be provided regarding the local We the People activities. The event begins at 7pm, and I do believe that all attendees will find the information meaningful as it relates to Sociology and community politics.

Sent from chad.gesser@kctcs.edu's mobile device from http://www.cnn.com. Tents on wheels give homeless people roof and pride Brenda Gardenhire shows off her new home with pride. It looks like an oversized shopping cart covered with a khaki canvas. But to her, it's "wonderful" -- a stepping stone to get her off the streets and get her life back in order. "It's like your own home, your own apartment, your own room," she said, showing off the 7-foot-long living space on wheels. "No one else can come in here but me." Gardenhire is talking about her makeshift home called an EDAR, which stands for Everyone Deserves A Roof. The units are being distributed to homeless people in the Los Angeles area by the Everyone Deserves A Roof nonprofit organization. It's the brainchild of "Revenge of the Nerds" movie producer Peter Samuelson, who has spent much of his life working with charities to help impoverished children. He got the idea to help t

Has anyone noticed that the new Kroger parking lot was punk'd by innovative stripers, promoting a uni-directional parking design?

a waste of school funds or a lesson for life?

Click the image above to enlarge. This is an interesting piece of information just released by worldpublicopinion.org.

Tricked out mopeds...the future of individualism

This is an interesting discussion about the black experience, identity, and the future political implications.

Saw this on CNN, a report about foodstamps and meeting basic food needs. Embedded video from CNN Video

Does this restaurant sign violate cultural norms? Is it odd to see political expressions mixed with pizza?

there i am, the blur on the left!