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Who Do You Want as a Friend on Facebook?

November 16, 2009 in community, culture, deconstruction, friends, internet with 1 Comment

Relevant Magazine asked a “Question of the Day” and I replied.

Q: If you could have any person, living or dead, friend request you on Facebook, who would it be? And let’s assume that you’re already friends with Jesus so you don’t need a friend request from him.

A: Nice question. It would completely depend on why this person would friend request me. So… can we qualify the question? Here is what I need to know:
- Is this someone just wanting to really be friends and hang out sometime?
- Is s/he just trying to keep the friend stats high?
- Are they wanting me to contribute to a publication or be his/her personal assistant?
- Does s/he want to give something to me or get something from me or operate with reciprocal relationality?
- Rather than me wanting him/her to be my friend, is s/he wanting to be my friend (b/c i’m a big deal; people know me)?

So how about you? If you could have any person, living or dead, friend request you on Facebook, who would it be?

What does it really mean to be someone’s friend on Facebook?

Your Input Needed… Please Comment.

November 15, 2009 in college, culture, internet, perspective, sociology with 8 Comments

My number (1) strength as identified by the Clifton StrengthsFinder assessment is “Input.” Essentially, I am inquisitive and collect as much information as possible primarily in words or books. Though I am quite aware of the cultural shift from word to image and value input from video, image, and social media resources, I am highly skeptical of propaganda.

Recent propaganda from Verizon Wireless is promoting the “smartphones” that run on the Google Android operating system. Motorola makes the Droid and HTC makes the Droid Eris. Both function somewhat similarly to the Apple iPhone. I would like to use an iPhone (since I have a MacBook Pro and like the simplicity and syncability) but it is only carried by AT&T whose coverage area in the United States is awful. I have also checked out various types of Blackberry phones such as the Storm, Storm2, and Tour. There is also an Apple iTouch that I have that must be factored into the equation. It came with the MacBook Pro and I have yet to open it trying to decide whether or not to use it. It would work great seeing as I live on a college campus with Wi-Fi everywhere but would be a secondary device.

I would like to think that I do not need an iPhone, Blackberry, or Droid, however…

(a) The demands of my new position at MVNU are beginning to necessitate higher mobile technology access.
(b) Social media and their equivalent mobile applications have become standard for communication and marketing.
(c) My current LG Chocolate phone is no longer charging properly.

What should Travis Keller do? What is the most socially and theologically responsible decision and why? What should I purchase or not purchase?

Conversion of Identity? To Mac from HP.

July 15, 2009 in college, consumption, design, Education, internet with 15 Comments

I have now fully converted. Gone are the days of attempts at working, studying, and social networking on a 3.5 year old Hewlett-Packard. As the television commercial says, “I’m a Mac.” Wait… really? I’m a Mac. Is my identity formed by the type of computer that I own? If it is then I don’t own a Mac, a Mac owns me. Unfortunately I think there are many that carry a MacBook as a symbol of status and identity. Otherwise, Apple would not have an advertisement that directly discusses the identity of those who use Macs or PCs. Additionally, they have excelled beyond all other attempts at marketing by creating a sleek and modern brand appealing to younger users.

I appreciate the simplicity and minimalism of the aluminum encasing but mostly like the ease of use and functionality of my new laptop. It was necessary for me to switch computers in order to complete my fully online Master of Arts of Religion in Missional Leadership degree. While working and studying last year I would sit and stare at the screen waiting for the computer to start up and for pages to load. I could type full lines of text before they would actually appear as text on a document. I’ve even been in the middle of papers and posts and the computer would just shut down and then it would take another 20 minutes to fully reboot. Here is a list of all that was wrong with my HP:

1.) Random and unexpected shutdowns.
2.) CD/DVD Drive won’t open or eject.
3.) Limited processing for multiple applications.
4.) “Y” key popped off and had to be pounded.
5.) Charger cord torn and repaired 10x+ with electrical tape.
6.) Cracked hinge.
7.) Screen separating from encasing.
8.) Speakers cover broken.
9.) Slowed processing speed did not allow video and audio to be played.

Now I have 4Gb of RAM rather than 512Mb and a 160GbHD rather than 80Gb. The CD/DVD drive works and I can perform multiple tasks at one time. I’m staying organized using stickies and iCal and will be able to put together higher quality presentations for the course I teach. I may begin to attempt the utilization of iTunesU.

Am I a Mac? No. Has my identity been converted? Hmmm. I’ll tell you what I am later.

The Nature of Blogging and Relationship.

January 15, 2009 in community, culture, Education, image, internet, language, relationship, time with 8 Comments

I updated my previous installation of WordPress 2.5 to 2.7 using Fantastico within my AN Hosting account. Due to heavy reading expectations in my M.A.R. Missional Leadership program, I have had a difficult time keeping my blog posts recent and current. Hopefully, the new look and feel of my upgraded dashboard will encourage me to continue posting regularly. I really am enjoying the flow and usability along with the fresh and appearance.

I also hope to continue to refine the look of subversiveREFORMATION.com as I continue to learn CSS and HTML along with web hosting and image creating/editing. I don’t find the process of blogging and learning web-languages an irresponsible use of time. Our culture is one that has become dependent upon  or at least adjusted to online forms of connectivity and communication with images, video, and instant response systems at the core of interaction.

An interesting question arises with web-language and communication technologies: What is the appropriate Christian response to decreasing human-to-human interactions ?

Facebook Flair.

May 3, 2008 in community, internet, reformation, sarcasm with 7 Comments

DISCLAIMER:
This post is part I of II of possibly the 2 most shallow and unthoughtful posts I’ve ever written and may or may not include a certain amount of sarcasm.

If you have Facebook and you are reading this blog then I assuming that you are awesome enough to have the application “Pieces of Flair” included on your profile. Please add the subversiveREFORMATION flair button that I created. It may be found by searching the keywords “travis,” “keller,” “mvnu,” “church,” or “reformation.” So far it is being used by 62 dedicated friends.