The Irony of Inauguration

It's no secret that both the Canadian and U.S. economy has entered a recession. We have been bombarded by notions that our economy is in the toilet.

That being said, I am appalled at the amount of money spent on the inauguration of president Barack Obama.

I am not anti-Obama. In fact, I think he is the perfect man for the job. He is an inspiration and a role model. I could not be happier to see power restored to the hands of the Democrats. I am thrilled to have been able to witness such a historical landmark. Change is coming. Change is good. Change was definitely needed. Change deserves to be celebrated. However, change is expensive.

It can be argued that the inauguration of Barack Obama was a perfect opportunity to celebrate; to boost the morale of the American public. While I agree, the irony of the elaborate nature of the ceremony has left a bitter taste in my mouth.

I wondered if I was the only one who felt this way. I mean, the swearing in of Obama into office was a huge deal; the whole world was watching in celebration.

I surfed the net, and quickly came across this article among others. I was relieved to see the headline. I was not the only one who felt this way. $170 million is a lot of money. In fact, it is more than triple the amount spent on past presidents' inauguration ceremonies.

The concerts, the hooplah and the donations made by Wall Street excecutives and employees contradicted the very nature of the state of the economy and the very words spoken by Obama himself.

"Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered..."

The above quote was taken directly from Obama's inauguration speech.

If a $7 billion bail-out isn't enough of an indicator of a recession, then what will be???

Etymology of Widget

Ok, I realize that many of my readers (I hope to have at least several at this point) may also be social media virgins. Seeing as the title of my blog is “What’s a Widget?”, I deem it necessary to define the term.

According to Wikipedia (postings on this online encyclopaedia are sometimes referred to as “Wikis”), “Widget” is short for “window gadget.”

Essentially, a widget is a virtual button or icon that provides easy access or links to information--sort of like an 'easy button'. Widgets appear on a computer’s desktop in order to access information quickly by clicking directly on the widget itself. Widgets can also be embedded into websites or blogs to provide quick links to relevant information or sites from one central access point.

Confused??? So was I. After much web browsing, I found the following site:
http://www.widgipedia.com/faq/

If you are still unsure of the definition of “widget”, I encourage you to check out the above link. Or, if you can explain this term better than I did, I invite you to comment on this blog posting.

*I dedicate this post to the word sniper.

My Social Media Journey

Up until now I thought a widget was an economic term used to describe a hypothetical unit of production- a gadget of sorts. However, it has recently been brought to my attention that a widget has a whole different and computer-related meaning.

I was made aware of the meaning of “widget”, when my Online PR teacher, Jessica McLaughlin, mentioned the word several times during one of our classes. I turned to my classmates and asked, dumbfounded, “what’s a widget?” They laughed and made me aware of the fact that I had a lot to learn with regards to social media and many of the terms associated with it.

Thus my blog was born.

I am a social media virgin. Sure, I have a facebook account which I use to post embarrassing photos of my friends and connect with old acquaintances. But as I enter the field of Public Relations and Corporate Communications, I am becoming more aware of the many uses of various forms of social media.

So, I invite you to journey with me as I begin to “tweet” on twitter, uncover the meaning of social media jargon and venture into other social media domains.