This is boring.

[It's pretty obvious that the average CollegeCandy reader has some very strong opinions. Opinions that she likes to share with everyone on the site. We love a strong woman (unless she happens to be charging at us with her fists raised), so we thought we'd give her a real forum to discuss her thoughts, feelings, and perspectives. Every Friday I'll be featuring a hot topic (like soul mates!) and leaving it up to you, the readers, to duke it out. So, read it and get your debate on in the comments section below!]

Schools all over have been experimenting with social media lately – some of them getting into it and some of them encouraging their students to stay out of it. Now Harrisburg University of Science and Tech are blocking all social media from the school’s network including Facebook, Twitter, Myspace and AIM for a week. They’re not the first school to try a move like this, but my question is, is it right?

I think we’re all willing to admit that we’re maybe a little over-connected, maybe a little obsessed with our social media and it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world not to check our Twitter feeds every two minutes. I’m not striking out against the school not supporting social media – it’s their network and if they don’t want students using it that way, it’s their prerogative to block those sites. My problem is that this is an experiment. That’s right, a guy at Harrisburg saw his teen daughter juggling a lot of social media and decided to see what would happen if he took it away. Except, instead of conducting this little experiment in his home, he chose to use his position at the college to pull a social media blackout for a week. And then proceeded to tell virtually no one about it. My qualms about the experiment’s ethics aside (hello, consent?) the bigger question is, is this something the school should really be policing?

Read More »

At the bar this past weekend, I saw a flash go off in the corner of my eye. A group of seniors lovingly grouped together to document their last first-night out in college. Moments later, as they began to separate from their completely posed positions, I heard a backwards-hat clad boy shout to the cameraman, “Tag me, bro!”

This scene is absurdly common. In fact, I am relatively shocked if only one “OMG… DETAG!” reverberates through my ears a night. The aforementioned seniors, and everyone with an Internet connection or cell service, were so busy documenting the moment that it’s extremely plausible to ponder: were they actually living in it?

Between Twitter, Facebook, BBM profiles and statuses, etc., citizens of the world are constantly connected at all times.

“I just got my first kiss!! ilu Johnny <3” popped up on my Facebook Newsfeed the other day.  The user was 14. (Perhaps the real issue is why am I FB friends with a 14 year-old…). That same evening, a friend was doing a bar crawl in DC and Foursquared his whereabouts half-hourly.

Sure, these examples could all be deemed as a total overshare of information, causing you to suddenly unfollow their Tweets or “hide” their actions on your Newsfeed. But, let’s be honest, they are far from uncommon.

As a society, we have become obsessed with sharing our lives via social media outlets. It’s almost as if a something didn’t happen if it wasn’t documented on the Internet. Read More »

Um yes, a mother of 8 should dress her age

The secret to why the Social Media Network trailer was so intense

D-List celebs! They’re just like us!

Let’s come up with a better term for when we…you know

5 trends that you can keep from last fall

Enter to win a $50 gift certificate to Laura Mercier

How to budget shop

10 Commandments of Facebook

How NOT to be that girl at the bar

Susie just unlocked the "Lazy Sack of Sh*t Who Never Gets Out of Bed" Badge!

I’m one of those annoying people who go on rants about the negative impacts of social media.  I’m the friend who picks up the phone instead of writing on your wall.  I’d rather talk than Tweet.  And don’t even get me started on the horrors of MySpace.

Sober I’d never admit this, but after a few drinks you might find me slipping up and publicly “checking-in” with my phone.  No, I’m not talking about having a heart-to-heart with the lovely people at AT&T.  I’m referring to Foursquare.

Before you start throwing rotten fruit and calling me a two-faced liar (“But Foursquare is the worst of them all!” “You tool!”), let me tell you the inner conflict I experience is eating me alive.  Time to weigh the pros and cons of putting yourself on the map… Read More »

[It's pretty obvious that the average CollegeCandy reader has some very strong opinions. Opinions that she likes to share with everyone on the site. We love a strong woman (unless she happens to be charging at us with her fists raised), so we thought we'd give her a real forum to discuss her thoughts, feelings, and perspectives. Every Friday I'll be featuring a hot topic (like electronic attendance! ) and leaving it up to you, the readers, to duke it out. So, read it and get your debate on in the comments section below!]

Facebook. Social network, amazing way to stay in touch, the single greatest contributor to my finals-procrastination mental breakdown. Love it or hate it, Facebook pretty much owns our asses – the question is, has it gone too far?

It’s not really hard to hate on Facebook. Like the mythical siren it draws you in and crushes your time management skills. It also forces you to endure the unending stream of Farmville posts (I don’t care about your pink cow, damnit!) and your mom’s worried little comments about that drunk status update you posted (seriously, why did I ever show my mother how to get on Facebook?). And as if having to know that the girl you hated in high school is having her fairytale wedding to Prince Charming even though she has to take off time from her amazingly fulfilling high-paid job for the honeymoon (bitch) isn’t bad enough (not to mention the privacy issues), FB is also basically ruining our ability to actually connect with people! Friends, guys, it’s so much easier to FB message that to actually call and have a conversation – and by making it easy to do it’s also made bothering to keep up your relationships seem less important.

Hell, even Betty White knows it’s a waste of time! Read More »

Conan O’Brien speaks.

7 ways to break up using social media.

Which celebs had the best hats at this weekend’s Derby?

And which were partying at the White House?

Uh oh. PLEASE don’t let this be true.

These advertisements are brilliant.

BREAKING NEWS. A study done at The University of Maryland shows that students are addicted to social media.

….Wait a second, we needed a study to prove this??

It is no secret that social media outlets run our lives.  Whether it Facebook, Twitter, or the variations trying to prove their worth (what up, MySpace?), we are constantly connected.  Even on the go, we can count on our trusty iPhones and Blackberrys to bring these outlets to us.

But back to the study. The participants were forced to go one entire day without media of any kind and then blog their feelings when the 24-hour period was up. (Seems a little counter-intuitive, no?) Those who made it through (not surprisingly, some did not) reported that although surrounded by people, they felt completely isolated.

“Texting and IM-ing my friends gives me a constant feeling of comfort,” wrote one student. “When I did not have those two luxuries, I felt quite alone and secluded from my life. Although I go to a school with thousands of students, the fact that I was not able to communicate with anyone via technology was almost unbearable.”

At first glance, that student seems rather pathetic. But think about it: most of us can easily relate to the feeling. Whenever something happens, many of us instantly turn to Facebook or Twitter to share it. That’s why sites like that, and others like TFLN, exist. We are constantly sharing with others and every time a new outlet pops us that allows us to do so, we hop on board. It’s gotten to the point that if some worthy (or even unworthy) news event is not on Facebook, it is as if it never happened. Read More »

Every week I count backwards from ten. I know, I’m kind of a big deal. Usually these countdowns have a theme like which phrases really grind my gears (“grind my gears” should be mentioned) or how I’m I heart not drinking (which is a hard list to replicate cuz I’m really loving beer right now), but this week I’m leaning to my geekier side.

This week, I’m counting down the ten craziest technologies. Whether they’re crazy in the “what the f&!# way” or crazy in the “I need that NOW” way, I’m listing them all, from social media to iPhone apps. Gen-Y has access to the wackiest and most innovative technology right now and here’s my “Weekly Ten” take on all of it:

10. Twitter Peek
How have we reached this point? A device solely for Tweeting? The end is near.

9. Last.Fm
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: if you’re a music junkie like me you MUST get last.fm. You can download an app for your computer that scrobbles (crazy jargon!) whatever you’re playing and can show the world what you’re listening to. I love seeing what my friends are jamming out to. Last.Fm also creates a personal radio station for you that kicks Pandora’s butt by a mile. Love it.

8. Skype
Phone calls, video chat and texting. All in one and it’s international. You can even place calls thru Skype via the wifi on your iPhone. It’s a little buggy, but still pretty cool to call your friends abroad. FOR FREE. Read More »

Sarah Merion is a “Social Media” pioneer for Gen Y. She has her own website, SarahMerion.com, where she educates on Social Media and challenges people to think about using social media to benefit their business. She has a cult following on Twitter (check her out @SarahMerion) and has even hosted multiple workshops on using Twitter and LinkedIn at her campus at Northeastern and at MIT. Her RoofUp Tweetup was the biggest in Boston and Northeastern approved a grant she wrote to finance her trip to a Social Media conference in Chicago called SOBCon.

On top of all of that, she’s only 21 and still a student at Northeastern, studying Spanish, Management Information Systems and Finance, currently on internship in NYC doing data analysis for a mega media company. Not to mention, she’s sassy, hilarious and can we say: Coolest. Hair. Ever. When I discovered this girl, I knew I had to bag an interview, so I contacted her via YouTube to grab her attention (don’t laugh). It worked and we quickly began collaborating on this interview, on top of a few other projects in the works. Sarah Merion is an inspiration for college girls who want to be entrepreneurs while still in school and proof that maybe, just maybe, the finance world isn’t as screwed as we thought.

5 Questions We Ask Everyone:

1. What is your most ridiculous college memory/most trouble you’ve ever gotten into?
Haha, no comment. Definitely did not involve me dancing on a bar. Hoo boy.

2. What are five things you can’t live without?
1. MAC foundation.
2. iPhone! Hello Tweetdeck, I love you.
3. Pink and black Herve bag. I seriously carry it EVERY. WHERE.
4. Hanky Panky underwear
5. Classic cherry chapstick. Wait, no! Friends! The TV show. Oh also, vanilla Yoplait light yogurt. And Kashi GoLean. Kashi GoLean Crunch. Grande non fat cappuccino with one Splenda. Shoot, that’s more than five, isn’t it? Read More »

Do you ever feel like you’ve heard so much about an artist that you don’t even bother to listen to them? Maybe it’s just that I like to discover music on my own, but if someone over-talks a band or a musician, I sometimes feel like I know them and don’t take the time to listen to them. This week I took the time to listen to a musician I’ve been hearing about for years: Pete Yorn. And I gotta say, I finally know what all the talkin’ was about. I also discovered a totally new artist(s), God Help the Girl, and went back to an old favorite who performed some of his classics live, Michael Buble. Read More »