Timeline is a new user interface introduced and made available to facebook users in December 2011. According to Facebook, Timeline  "gives you an easy way to rediscover the things you shared, and collect your most important moments. It also lets you share new experiences, like the music you listen to or the miles you run."  Personally I dont like timeline. I prefer simplicity sometimes and I find the little I have seen of timeline to be too troublesome for me to navigate through(or maybe it's my inherent laziness talking). Now this is a simple case of judging before experienceing but I doubt I would be enamored with this new facebook feature. On 24th January, however, facebook announced on its official page that it will start a global rollout of this new feature and switching will be mandatory in a little bit. Now i like making choices and not having one in this case does not make me any happier about Timeline.  It's not surprising that facebook wants to introduce new products and features in an attempt to probably have more of an engagement than they already do.Case in point is a new facebook application which was created this month by engineers from Facebook and reperesentatives from the advertising agency R/GA, part of the Interpublic Group of Companies. The new app, 2012 Matters: What Matters Most, will have facebook users who install the app to rank the top three  issues out of nine (economy, health care, immigration, social issues, energy, Social Security, debt, national security and the environment) that are most important to them and opt to having the results, including their Facebook profile photos, broadcast on the Reuters billboards.  This app was created so that users' could share their political views on digital bill boards in Times Square. John Mayo-Smith, executive vice president and chief technology officer at R/GAstated that " We're at the Iintersection of social media and branded event advertising." That pretty much sums it up, I'd say. Now this would be existing news for Facebook users who love openly or not openly love political stuff. I fall into neither category. Needless to say, more innovative ideas will be developed for social media that would only expand its already overarching reach.
 I have never been excited or abundantly grateful about the major site changes facebook has had over the years. I am pretty sure this will not be the last time i will feel that way.  But back to Timeline, am I the only one who doesnt want timeline?

For someone like me who likes to keep things in her head, blogging is going to be quite an experience. I, however, march on with hopes of doing this right!
I believe it's only fitting since I am a first time blogger to talk about my first time experience in the United States and how media (particularly mobile media) played a significant role easing my way into life as a student and socially as well. I should point out that because I am an international student, I might bemoan the weather conditions more than once and talk occasionally about differences I  observe between my country, Ghana, and here especially in relation to emerging media. 
I came to Milwaukee with three suitcases and a smart phone as my life line. Even though I did not place much thought or importance into the fact that I had  a smart phone, I quickly realised its infinite use. I used it for everything from looking at places to rent, being on facebook, corresponding with my professors, looking for grocery shops, to looking at furniture to buy as well as keeping in touch with my family. My phone, most importantly, saved me from death from boredom particularly since I was alone for almost a week. So yes, my phone is a life saver! Until I got my laptop (which i searched for on my phone), I was never more than five minutes, if ever, away from my phone.  To answer a question asked earlier of what choice one would make, I would choose my phone over my laptop anyday!  Would you?