Blog 3 - Generative Research

Close To Me

Inner Circle

People & Family

My support network makes all the difference in my life. My family and friends keep me grounded. People are wired to seek connection, and the quality of those relationships is one of the strongest predictors of happiness.

iPhone

I tend to feel like a piece of me is missing when I don’t have my phone on me. It keeps me organized and connected to the people around me. Also, it’s small enough that it’s extremely portable, so it’s easy to keep at an arm’s length at all times.

Glasses & Contacts

I would be so lost without my glasses or contacts…literally.

Energy needs – Sleep, Coffee, Exercise

A decent portion of my inner circle revolves around energy. I sleep to refresh, and supplement with coffee when I don’t get enough ‘Z’s” (which is all too often). I also like to stay active and exercise. It keeps my endorphins up, and I sometimes feel lethargic if I go too long without it.

Outer Circle

Planner

My planner is my life. It has all of my due dates, events, and reminders in it - I’m a constant note taker.

MacBook

My computer is definitely an important item, but because I can do so much with my phone, my Mac doesn’t quite reach the inner circle of importance. At the same time, I feel much more on top of things when I have my computer to use.

Music

Life would be very dull without music. Usually I listen to it in the background of what I’m doing, it creates a sort of life soundtrack. I usually listen to music that reflects my mood, or to certain genres in an attempt to change how I’m feeling.

Digital Ecosystem

Reddit is probably my primary source of news, information, updates, and other content. I’m subscribed to subreddits that range from world news and business to humor and music. I know that I can always count on Reddit to give me a wide snapshot of what is going around me.  It also keeps the information that I receive varied, and breaks up more serious topics with funny memes or stories.

Facebook is integral to how I receive information. I am connected to Facebook for a significant portion of my day – I receive updates on my phone, and it’s usually running in the background on my computer. Most of the news I get comes from peoples’ statuses and article postings. Facebook is definitely not the best way to get news, but it functions as a good source of personally relevant information because of how frequently I use it to keep in contact with people. 

In addition to Reddit and Facebook, I keep my homepage set to the New York Times website. I usually scan the page when I first open it, and read articles that catch my attention if I have the time. I don’t usually watch TV, so this helps keep me more attuned to what’s going on in the world.

Typical Weekday

When I wake up, I usually check the weather so that I know how to dress and if I need to bring an umbrella with me. The first time that I check my computer is when I sit down in my first class. My homepage, the New York Times, is the first page I see, but I only have a few minutes so I scan the first page and make a mental note of any articles I want to read later.  During my classes, when I’m going to the gym, or cooking, my information search tends to be relevant to my task at hand. I look up recipes when I’m thinking about making dinner, and pull up definitions or related articles to class topics. Sometimes I get off track, but this is generally the case. I access the highest number of information categories during my down time – my break for lunch, and during the evenings when I am working on homework, finding distractions from my homework, and catching up with the people in my life.