I Won a T-Shirt! I Won a T-Shirt! I Won a T-shirt a few days ago! Hey, Hey! :)

Last summer, my roommate and I were planning on going to a local battle of the bands competition at the Velour venue.  The day of the show, I was on campus when a band member from Searching for Celia, one of the bands competing, stopped me and told me about the band.  This sparked my interest.  I looked them up that day on the Internet (including a little Facebook stalking) to find out more about them.  As a result, I discovered that I loved their music.  Next, I looked them up on Reverbnation, a great social networking site for music.  You can read more about it in one of my past blog posts.  We went to the show and had a great time.  I have been to several of their shows since then.

On their Facebook page, they have asked several times for people to help advertise by posting about upcoming shows, which I have done on Facebook and Twitter.  Recently, they asked for help advertising once again, with the incentive of winning a free custom-made t-shirt.  I shared, and they announced me as the winner.  :)  I met with the artist designing my shirt, gave her my input, and will soon have an awesome Searching for Celia shirt that is one of a kind.  I will share a picture once I get the shirt. :)

Now, why would I share this experience?  Because so many useful connections can be made through contacting people through the Internet on social networking sites.  You never know what the outcome could be...a new friend, someone you can discuss your ideas with, a great band, a free custom t-shirt, or maybe even a pickle (for those of you who caught The Little Rascals reference made in the title of this post).  :)

My experience on Facebook has allowed me to keep in touch with friends, share messages about the gospel, and to talk to many prospective freshmen about my experience at BYU.  Twitter has allowed me to have a personal written response from a celebrity, Troy McClain, from the TV show, "The Apprentice," connect with people who are also interested in e-learning, and know what people I am interested in are currently thinking about.  Goodreads and Flixster allow me to see what my friends are reading and viewing.  Goodreads has also helped me find great reads that former classmates, teachers, and librarians have read, rated, or/and reviewed.  Reverbnation has helped me keep in touch with friends who have an interest in local music or are working on their own music.  I have also been able to explore the local music scene of both the Provo area and the music scene back home.

In regards to Ophelia and the issues of control and her suicide, I have found many social connections.  I was able to start a discussion on Goodreads (also here is a link to a discussion on Jane Eyre from last year), and I received comments on status posts on Facebook about Ophelia and the issue at hand.  These helped me to further develop ideas I had already had and to spark new thoughts on the subject of Ophelia.  The Internet is full of ideas, and just like Buckwheat, if you are willing to pay a small price by searching and putting yourself out on a limb by actually contacting others, you will be able to find great gems of knowledge through others online.