"Fame is a double-edged sword." – Kevin Bacon --I can compare my web presence to a double-edged sword because of the associated advantages and disadvantages. In a positive sense, it has allowed me to establish a professional presence that I use to showcase my work to my colleagues, professors, and potential employers. In a negative sense, it has changed the way I communicate with friends and family, which has stifled some relationships, making them less personal than they would be without the “help” of the web. When I first came to State University, I tried to minimize my web presence by selecting privacy settings that would not allow people outside of the state community to view my work. I was under the false impression that if someone could get to know you through Google search you need to be more discreet online. However, when I finally started to understand that the web can be used to improve the online appearance, I set myself the goal of developing a professional presence that accurately reflected me as a person. individual. I achieved this through a variety of online programs such as ePortfolio, LinkedIn, and Yammer. By establishing an online presence through a variety of professional outlets, I have been able to share and reflect on my experiences in a way that has helped me grow as a person and as a student. This links to Levinson's chapter on blogging where he refers to bloggers as “citizen journalists” to highlight the fact that “you don't have to be a professional journalist to write and publish the news” (81). Levinson goes on to state that the act of blogging has given us a “liberation” and that virtually anyone can blog (81). In a way, blogging is a form of reflection on that p... in the center of the card... ace. Additionally, when friends live in different states or countries, Facebook and Twitter offer free and reliable means to stay in touch. Therefore, the advantages and disadvantages of Facebook basically balance out as long as the user understands the differences between a digital friendship and a real-world friendship. Evidently, the web has radically changed my life in more ways than one. While it may alter how I interact with others, it has improved countless relationships and enriched my overall knowledge base. I am grateful for the developments and progress that we as a society have made that have simplified our lives in some ways and allowed us to become better, more connected versions of ourselves. Works Cited Levinson, Paul. New new media. New Jersey: Pearson, 2013. Print. The virtual revolution. Dir. Dan Kendall. BBC, 2010. Film.