First I want to do a little definition as is done in the video. A visitor is presented as someone who will go online to do what they need to do and come away afterward. The phrase used was, "they leave no trace", or no social persona, the internet is their tool box. Interestingly enough the first person I thought of after hearing this was my mother. Let me sum up her use of technology by informing you that she currently still does not use text messaging, and uses a flip phone.
What is so interesting about my mother is that it is not due to lack of ability that she refuses to text or use a smart phone, but really she does not understand the need for these items or technologies in her life. Up until recently I am not even sure I would have called my mother a visitor of the internet. You might ask, well, what happened recently? Let me summarize in one word: GRANDDAUGHTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yup, my wife and I live in San Diego, and are both from Baltimore with family still on the east coast and we have one thing that everyone wants to see, hear, hold, or skype with. A beautiful little girl named Mieka.
Now this brings me to the second type of user, the resident. This user is described as an individual that lives out a portion of their life online, sees the internet as an open social space, and has a persona online even when they are not. Their presence may however fade with time if effort is not put into this online persona.
My mother has converted and is now a resident of a very small 200 square foot apartment of the internet. In the past five months since Mieka has been born she has commented and liked several of my photos and posts on social media. The same social media that she swore she would never use. Most recently we took a trip to Baltimore, and got some pretty amazing photos with the grandparents. A few days after returning to San Diego I was surprised to see the very un-personal, un-identifiable dogs (pets) that were her profile picture had been replaced by a picture of her holding Mieka.
Well, I was supposed to reflect on the type of user I am but got very distracted and rambled on. I use the internet as a tool to learn from, teach from and read current events about sports and the world, as well as post photos of my recent cycling, surfing, or spearfishing events. On top of that I post photos of my family for a very large select audience who has direct access, and I am sure many friends of friends.
I would say on the continuum of visitor and resident I land somewhere in the middle. Using the internet as a tool as well as a social platform. One area i could improve upon is a professional presence.
I still have yet to make a tweet...
Reference: "TALL Blog." TALL Blog RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Aug. 2014.