A Reflection Based on Persona Poster - Essay Example

Teacher Reflection The discussion in about social technologies and its application particularly in the social media was very interesting and relatable but did not really surprise me. It did not surprise anymore because my generation had been using it without even realizing that we are already using it. The most popular use is the social media Facebook, Twitter and Instagram where we post a lot of things ranging from our teenage angst, rants to personal ideas and thoughts, including pictures, links and videos. Everybody I know in my generation uses it especially in the university. The use of social technologies however is not only limited in social media such as Facebook and Twitter. We also used it in doing business, doing transaction and research although we may not realize it that we were already using it before the class. For example, when we buy some goods online where there is a camera for us to check it, it is already a use of social media. Checking online for an internship or summer job is already the use of social technology. Of course the class taught concepts about user research. They are however too generalized and I cannot relate to all of them. There are some concepts that are alien to me such as explanation of the hardware used in social technology and there are others that I could very much relate to it such as the application of social technology in social media. But of course, who would not be able to relate to social media with people of my age when almost all of us are engrossed with it. So my understanding of user research is basically personal empowerment. User research provides me with most of the information to become functional and productive as well as to be nonproductive. I mentioned that user research provide me with the most information to become functional because it enables me to do the things that I need to do. For example, user research provides me information needed to complete school works right at the comfort of my home. I can access the library or other books online. I can even do transactions online without having to leave my home. This is consistent with my statement when I said that user research makes me productive. I can pay my bills, inquire information about the things that I need to know and even enroll myself in school online which would have taken a lot of time and effort without the facility of user research. Research could also serve as a distraction when I have to surf the net with useless things when I need to finish something such as checking my Facebook when I have a home work that needs to be done. This research is used to create a persona by basing it on my own personality and the people I know who does research online and well, who also uses social media often. My feelings on the use of personals in user centered design is very personal because I based the persona on my own personality as well as the personality of most people of my generation. I can very much relate to the persona because in a way, it is me. Persona creation cannot veer away from our personality because our concepts, ideas and creativity always depends on the kind of person that we are. We can be creative yes, but that still involves our personality reflecting on the work. I used personal experience as a basis of my research so I could easily relate and create a persona where I could easily relate my feelings on the persona because I am aware how the demographics of the persona think and feels being in that demographics myself. The persona that I would like to create will assume a tangible presence, I would like the persona to be male (gender) around 20 years old, a sophomore student in school and highly sociable. He is also cool and have his share of teenage angst and rants to make him normal and relatable to everybody his age. In a way, the persona is no different from any teenager my age except for some variety such as ethnicity and cultural background. Beyond the factor of ethnicity and cultural background, almost all teenagers are the same. Everybody likes to use the social media which is the byproduct of the social technology of large scale networking. Regarding the use of social technology, I believe social technology is already integrated in my life. I interact with it almost every day especially the applications associated with particularly the social media. I used it in checking the posts of my friends (and admittedly some random strangers whom I find interesting), trending news in all aspects of life be it in politics, technology and showbiz. It could even be a source of entertainment because there are some funny and interesting videos that are posted there. But of course, I have to be careful in using social media particularly Facebook because sometimes, there are virus crawling that inadvertently post some lewd links on my wall. So I have to be extra careful on what I click. My use of social technology however is not only limited to social media. I also use it to buy something online especially when I buy some items where there are cameras that I could check. Doing banking online is also a use of social technology that saves me time and energy. But again, I have to be careful because hacking is prevalent these days. I also visit some forums which is a function of social technology especially when I do research about a product, concept or anything under the sun that I need a second or third opinion about it. In sum, I cannot imagine how life would be without social technology and its application in the social media because it is already intertwined with my life and I have already became (and so are most young people my age) dependent to it. Read More