Internet Celebrities

Ever since the internet was handed over to the common folk, there have been many instances of self-promotion through out the web. People have used earlier sites such as sixdegrees.com, to showcase their talents, skills, and personalities. When youtube.com came on to the scene there was an explosion of videos from people aching for attention. These videos would consist of any thing from amazing feats, to "vlogs" (video blog). Most of these videos have gone unnoticed, and unnappreciated, and rightly so. Some videos however, spread like wild fire, and even reached the national spot light. The people involved would inturn become an overnight celebrity for their amazing abilities, or just down right strange behaviors. Any regular internet user can probably tell you who the "numa numa guy" is, or explain to you the "evolution of dance". These videos may not share the same qualities, but both share the attention of one of the largest stages in the world. Here is a list of some popular internet celebrities that have intrigued the online public for the past decade...

• Numa Numa Guy
• Flea Market, Montgomery!
• Peanut Butter Jelly Time .... (Really annoying)
• Angry German Kid ... (dont bother watching the whole thing)
• Star Wars Kid
• Kid gets shot with paintballs

All Around Us

As i lounge in the Westin Hotel near down town Minneapolis, i cannot help but notice how convenient and widespread the internet has become. I relied on my labtops wireless connectivity to write this blog, but when i heard there was no wi-fi available i did not stress, because i have realized just how easily accessable the internet has become. The web is litteraly available anywhere you can possibly imagine. As we were driving through fargo the weather started to worsen, so my roomate Shane google'd highway conditions on I-94. With in seconds we were informed that we were going through a small snow storm and we would be out with in no time. While we were visiting an Apple shop at the mall of america, i was amazed at how i could watch my friends youtube videos in alaska, from just a demo I-phone. It really is amazing how convenient the internet makes our lives. From checking our bank account balances, to ordering pizza, it seems as if everything is moving to the cyberworld. And why not? It boasts the largest audience in America, and grows everyday. The internet is the most amazing source of media, because it teaches, informs, entertains, and connects us together. No other medium can top what the internet has done, or will do. I am excited to see what the web has instore for us in the future, and cannot fathom the amount of possibilities in holds.

Social Networking

As early as 1994, websites such as theglobe.com and tripod.com have been trying to bring people together to share thoughts, ideas, and personal information. With a very limited crowd of internet users, it was not until 2003 when social networking sites took off. Myspace.com exploded on to the scene, with its user friendly interface, and convenient access to friends and family. People across the globe turned to Myspace for so many reasons. Myspace helps people to keep in touch with relatives, meet new people, and be better acquainted with co-workers and schoolmates. In 3 short years, Myspace recieved its 100 millionth user in September of 2006, and has 200,000 new users every day. Facebook is the only other site to rival Myspace's success, and in 2006 they took the lead when it allowed the non-college student community to join in.

Unfortunately, social networking is not all lollipops and gumdrops. People have took full advantage of these sites using them with shameful intents. Fake accounts are created to "fish" people on to other web sites, kind of like a forced advertisment. Degrading comments and message boards are made viewable to the public, by resentful users. And an increase in online predator "attacks" have surfaced due to easy accessablity to other accounts. There have been several changes made to eliminate the negative factors of social networking, but people will always find a way to create havoc.

All in all, social networking can be a great tool when used for its designed purpose. Although it is one of the most convenient ways to interact with others, we must not rely to heavily on this source alone, or we may lose our skills to effectively communicate with others. 4 minutes left!Peace

Switching Gears - The Internet

After 2 posts and 3 weeks i now finally understand (i hope) the criteria for which i am suppose to blog about. Since i realized Alaska is not a medium, i have been racking my brains for new topics to write on. So i will NEVER run out of things to blog about, i have decided to choose the Internet for my medium. As a little warm-up for the upcoming weeks, i will begin with a brief history, an overview, and some other random facts i find about the "information superhighway".

In the early 1960's, during the cold war, ARPA (Advanced Research Projects Association) headed by Dr. J.C.R. Licklider assembled to improve the militaries use of computer technology. ARPA's goal was to find a quicker, more convenient way to transfer government and military files through the use of computers. The ARPAnet was created to test this idea, by sharing information between the University of Utah, UCLA, and the Stanford Research Institute. Long story short, the friendly internet that we use today began in November of 1992 when independent commercial networks started to grow, and allow users to travel between commercial sites, and away from the government's NSFNet.

The internet today is the greatest source of communication in the world. You can literally find anything your looking for on the web. There are sites for literally everything, from facts about the blue whale birthing process, to how skateboards are made. There are online super-communities such as myspace and facebook that link people across the globe, and web based buisnesses like ebay, and amazon, that sell whatever you can imagine. Now that i feel like im selling the internet, here are a few random facts.

• There are 18 billion search results for the letter a on google.com
• In Africa 3 out of 100 people use the internet
• In America 70 out of 100 people use the internet
• About 18 countries dont have internet connection
• About 20% of internet users are from the U.S.

Number of Years each took to reach 50 million users

• Radio - 38 years
• T.V. - 13 years
• Cable - 10 years
• Internet - 5 years

Blog 2 - January

The month of January has brought some pretty intresting news to Wasilla and the rest of the state. (kinda)

Two days after the end of Christmas break, on December 8 WHS was evacuated due to a bomb threat. Staff called 911 after finding the lone word "BOMB" on a blank sheet of paper in the library. Students who drove were released from school, while others who rode the bus were escorted across the street to the middle school. The perpertrator has still not been found because of the difficulty to trace such an act. The Wasilla Police Department say it was most likely harmless, but had to follow through with the procedure anyways. More Info

On December 13, Wasilla Bible Church, made famous by Sarah Palin, reached the national spot light over its 1 million dollars in fire damage. Within minutes of the fire departments arrival, authorities declared the act intentional. After a month of investigations, police last week discovered that the arsonist used gasoline. The WPD state that this was a huge find, and will tremendously help narrow their search. More info

Some other random news....
3 year old gets bit by dog
Super Icey Roads
Colony High School Band goes to D.C. (Colony is Wasilla's rival, we hate them)
New Jail going up

Oh and Jesse, 2008 was a record year for bear attacks with 8. I thought itd be alot more. Heres the site where i got it.

Blog 1 - Intro

Hey guys, my names Beebo Russell, and this is my first time bloggin, so bare with me. For the next 16 weeks ive chosen to blog about the news surrounding my hometown of Wasilla, Alaska. Wasilla is a pretty good sized town, but if there is nothing going on, i will blog about anything intresting in the rest of the state (if any). Most of my info will come from Wasilla's newspaper "The Frontiersman", "The Anchorage Daily News" or my mom, haha.

Now a little background info.. Wasilla was an old mining town named after the local indian chief Wassila. It became a part of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough (roughly the size of West Virginia) in 1974. Located in South Central Alaska, it is about 45 miles north of Anchorage, and 320 miles south of Fairbanks. Wasilla and it's surrounding area has a population of about 60,000 people, the 5th largest city in Alaska. Wasilla is most famous for the Iditarod, which i will cover in a few months, and Governor Sarah Palin (who should be vice president right now, but i wont get into that).

Some Random Facts

• Alaska has highest suicide rate per capita in the nation (i think)
• Highest Point in North America - Mt. McKinley 20,320 feet
• World Record Cabbage - 98 pounds (Greatest soil in the world baby)
• Total Population - 686,000 people and eskimos
• Total Area - 663,000 sq. miles (WAY bigger than texas)
• Voted best State in America 47 times

My next blog will have actual news, just thought id give you a little introduction. If any of you guys have questions about Alaska dont hesitate to ask via comment or whatever.