APPLICATION #1: Madison Kerr

Madison Kerr is an 18-year-old from Edmonton.

Here is Madison's video application:

Here is Madison's current situation:

I am keeping myself busy with a assortment of both creatively challenging hobbies, and future career opportunities. This of course includes doing photography, keeping an active YouTube channel where I v-log about my life, a weekly podcast including my favorite music, and a full-time job as a Barista.

Here is Madison's blog post:

The Generation of Social Media

Today I had a thought, what would my life be like if I didn’t have social networking? How would things be different if I went an entire day without pinging, or poking, or tweeting, or anything of the sort? I quickly realized that this was a silly observation. This is why:

Our generation (17-25 year olds) is THE generation of social networking. With the introduction of such outlets as Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, YouTube and more... Most of us have combined our online lives with our offline lives to the point where the integration is seamless. This of course, is such a positive thing.

For example, say that you want to start your own business. Using Facebook, you start a group detailing your company. You upload photos, share the group with your friends, integrate YouTube commercials you have made, tweet about your newest products, etc. Suddenly, there are hundreds of people connected with you and what your company is doing. You’ve used all of these different mediums to benefit your one cause. How amazing is that?

The speed in which we can share information is baffling. For example, minutes after Michael Jackson was announced deceased, I read about it on Twitter. I had a natural sense of scepticism, but just moments after reading, it was confirmed by notable sources. It blew my mind to know that in seconds, an entire news story can unfold right in front of my eyes. And this was all through these platforms of social networking.

Social media is also keeping our world connected. I am part of a YouTube collaboration channel where 4 of us, all from different countries, make videos detailing our lives. On a daily basis, I have the privilege of talking to someone in Sweden, USA, and England. Without programs such as Skype, there would be no way for us to be in constant communication. Unless of course we would want to rack up an unbelievable phone bill... Yikes.

As technology continues to advance, so will our use of this technology. I cannot wait for what the future holds for us in terms of more online integration and social networking.

We may not have flying cars (yet), but what we do have is a generation of connected individuals with so much potential, it's mind-boggling.

Madison