What it means to be Phil + the first assignment.

Since this is the first post on my Technology and Culture in America blog I thought I would talk a little about myself and then go on to analyze some of my Internet usage as required in the first assignment. I want to mention that this is the fourth blog that I have created in my life. For those who know me, this might come as a surprise and with that I'll let you determine the success of my previous explorations in the world of blogging. Anyway, I'm in my fourth year here at Rutgers and hope to finish in May with a degree in Information Technology and Informatics... you know, like computers and stuff. I'm also an American Studies minor so taking this course seemed like a pretty appropriate decision for me. I work for the Office of Information Technology here at Rutgers where I am a consultant in the computer labs on the College Ave campus. It's a pretty great job and I'd definitely recommend it to anyone looking for on-campus work. When I'm not working or going to class I'm pretty much always tinkering around with guitars and other musical instruments. I play in a couple bands and am an avid supporter of the independent music scene here in New Brunswick.

So now that I've said a little about a myself allow me to talk more about myself in terms of Internet usage. I kept a log of how much I interacted with the web from Thursday 9/9 to Saturday 9/11 and I was actually quite surprised with my results. For someone that has such a life built around technology my web usage was pretty minimal. I had work on Thursday at the computer lab in Records Hall so that forced my to be on the computer for 3 hours during my shift. I spent most of my time there emailing with a professor about getting a special permission number and trying to finalize my schedule on the last day to drop classes. Needlessly to say, it was pretty nerve wracking. I managed to secure a place in the class so after work I gladly walked over to attend it. I had off on Friday so I spent the morning watching Netflix, then I helped clean my basement and enjoyed the cool weather. On Saturday I was out of the house most of the day and was hardly on the web. I logged on to check my email just make sure I wouldn't be late for a work meeting today.

I feel like my Internet usage will rise quite a bit when I start getting deeper into my classes this semester. Not just because the classes themselves will require me to be doing work on the Internet, but also that they will force me to sit at a computer where the urge to procrastinate will surely get the best of me.

Thats all.
-Phil