Talk:Alex Wu
Hi Alex,
Let me start by saying your formatting in your avatar page was fantastic. I think you used effective pictures that were laid out very strategically. I definitely got a sense of your honesty throughout the page and enjoyed the fact that you gave us a background to your life before you started using Facebook. It puts your personal Facebook use in perspective.
While your analysis of the primary elements of your Facebook was outstanding, I felt like you missed out on the opportunity to really delve into how the secondary elements of your Facebook come into play. Your avatar page seemed to be missing some key information on how you use Facebook to interact with others.
All in all, you did a great job with honesty and comparing your avatar to your real-life self.
Jad
Alex,
I like how you describe your real life identity and background in the introduction and your passion for computers. Your paragraph on your “Initial Facebook use” is appropriate in setting up the rest of you autobiography. I appreciate you honesty for the reasons you deleted you FB in 2010, and it was the first clue that your online self is perhaps not a full, real representation of your real self.
As far as suggestions go, I would encourage a second look at refining your grammar or rewording sentences. Also, you include great descriptions of your primary elements on FB, but do not explain much about your secondary elements. These are also important for explaining whether your online identity is a genuine and accurate representation of your true, real life identity.
I feel as though your analysis is honest and thoughtful, and I really appreciate a certain sentence in your concluding paragraph: “The Facebook representation of myself is only a snapshot of my life at given moments.” You choose what parts of yourself you want your online community to see, and manage and filter yourself through your online avatar. Overall, wonderful job and I really enjoyed reading your article! -Gabrielle
Alex,
I think it is interesting how you aknowledge a clear difference between your original Facebook and your current Facebook. It shows how you used Facebook as a tool for two very different forms of reflection. The original would arguably more resemble your true thoughts, ideas, and emotions where your current one goes through a filter of what would be acceptable for employers and strangers to see. The concept of photos and posts being a snapshot of your life was intriguing though, I wonder how that idea in general effects the overall interpretation of your facebook for a stranger.
One critique I have of the post is of the "Digital Affection" section. I feel as though the section is more or less unnecessary to the overall post. You go into great detail about your love of technology and computers, but that theme never seems to resurface in the rest of the post. I might suggest either elaborating in other sections as to how that aspect of your personality affects the way you use Facebook and how your view of it is different from an average college student because of that, or else editing down or scrapping the section all together. This isn't to say that as is it is poorly written or uninteresting at all, simply that it doesn't seem to have significant relevance to the rest of your article. Besides that I felt the article flowed together well and was overall well written.
- Brendan Fahey
