Go get Em

(Image taken from Google Images)
The Technology world is evolving constantly and to discuss the concept of technology you have to keep a close on it and integrate into the new activities available through different websites. Discussing the thousands of social networking sites and the craze of things like second life takes an inside look to really understand what there doing and how users are reacting. Now that anyone can become a star by simply posting a video on youtube who knows whats going to happen with world. Everyone is getting a voice with there own blogs and some people even achieve fame through voicing there opinions on the Internet. Its the most efficient way to connect people all over the world and keep people constantly updated on the most modern news. A lesson I've learned over the course of these past 5 months is to be cautious of how available you make yourself on the Internet. Once you voice your opinion or post pictures of yourself on a public domain your integrity and online reputation could be at sake. If you do feel what your saying or showing has a message that needs to be heard then all the power to you thats why it there!

MyFace and Spacebook

Over the time of this class we have taken a deep look into a popular part of our society. Everyone has been spending time on these various social networking sites but not many people take time to look into what really happens with these websites. The difficulty and challengers of keeping its users interested well not taking away from the sites original purpose. Advertisements are a big issue for people because of how it adds to the noise on a particular site and makes it difficult to read through. What doesn’t usually go through the users mind well their surfing through these sites is the necessity for people in charge to create revenue and keep the site running. We also spent time in this class looking at the amount of social networking sites there are competing with each other. The list I viewed of social networking sites was all jam-packed into http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_social_networking_websites. I’m sure another handful has hoped into the competitive pool within the time it has taken me to post. This aspect of it makes it difficult for the user to know which one will best first his or her purpose of social networking online. It also makes it difficult for people creating sites to try and serve a unique purpose that will keep the users at bay.

Where did I leave my CellMP3CameraGPSInternetPhone?

(Image taken from Google Images)
Remember back in the day when there was never space in your pockets when you would go out on a Saturday night. You had your cell phone, camera, pager, IPod and any other necessity all separate and unique. With these innovative ideas for phones I think we will be able to cook popcorn with our cell phone before 2010. People have these phones that can connect to the Internet with a click of a button tell you your exact location through GPS and even capture a moment in time with high-tech cameras. I understand the desire to have all these tools in one easy device but when do you draw the line. People can spend all day on their phone and never need to engage in conversation because all their tools are right in their pocket. It’s difficult to make an argument that would compel people to change because the convenience of having everything in one place is what we love. Wal-Mart and Iphones will never be boycotted against because we love that kind of simplicity. I feel like there should at least be an age limit before a child should be allowed to own an Iphone. Having that kind of technology right there at all times has to be detrimental to some aspect of growing up and socializing.

To Care or Not To Care?

I was reading an article that although very interesting was a very boring matter. The presidential race is not a secret after the smoke has cleared from the last few months the final two big dogs are almost foreseeable. This article I read discussed the difficulties of editing presidential candidates webpage on Wikipedia. Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia available in 250 languages and constantly being updated because any Joe Schmoe with a computer can decide to edit a page. A point made in the article was that when a candidates name is googled the first thing to come up is their Wikipedia site, which makes it an important online resume for that candidate. Where I felt the whole argument discussed in the article lost its integrity was when it discussed the content of what was being edited. Whether it was an image of a naked black man being deleted from Obama’s page or minor details to a candidate’s actual name. I understand the issue at hand but feel there should be a greater emphasis on the candidate’s policies instead of whether their name is Fred or Freddie.

Watch What You Write

Over the past few weeks I’ve felt torn over one particular idea. How available should you make yourself on the Internet? From the different stories of people losing their jobs over Facebook photos and just the importance of having a good reputation online available to the world I’ve been much more cautious. Thomas Kyte had some interesting ideas on the matter that were very enlightening. Things to put into consideration are your political and religious views and the amount of private information you may non-chaulauntly put on your LinkedIn profile or Blog that could have serious consequences. I’ve heard more and more stories of people deleting their profiles on different social networking sites because of the risks associated with them.
Now the big realization is with what were doing in this very class. Blogs are now a key way for employers to get a better look at an individual before hiring them. As we move into a more technology savvy generation companies are also progressing past interviews and resumes to get a deeper look into the potential employees. Your Blog is now viewed as an online resume and needs to written with care and consideration for yourself and others. Will everybody be more cautious well writing their next Blogs now that this is so widespread?

Digg your way to the top

The next stop throughout my journey of the online community involves a deep look into social news sites. For some it’s a tool to branch out and advertise their ideas or product well others use it for its general purpose of posting the most interesting stories in a place that could attract a mass audience. When discussing the big dogs of this crazy world, Digg is the first site to some to mind for most people. Digg is a very large and well-known social news site that posts stories by category and popularity. It has so many users right now that on the front page of the site which shows 15 stories posted by users the 15th story was posted only five hours and will be pushed into archive pages by the time the sun comes up.
Social news sites are considered a revolutionary new way to get a voice and gain supporters especially now that Digg decided to allow political stories on there site. Allow is a funny word when it comes to these kind of sites because even though the goal is to give the little man or the nobodies a voice the editors can quickly take it away. It works effectively if the goal is to stop hate stories or false stories all together but I do find it kind of contradictory to do such a thing. If these sites were made for that exact purpose it doesn’t seem fair to only allow a selected few to be posted on the site. Overall I would say social news sites are a great idea but when the get to the size of one like Digg where hundreds of stories are filtered in daily it becomes much more difficult to continue following the original goals for the site.

More maybe Better I think not

Throughout the last couple months my digital world has opened up to many new ideas, cultures, and beliefs. I have read and posted on different activities and events that take place in the real world and transfer into the digital world. Starting with the obvious Second life and all the issues I have with what this program has done to our society new issues come into play. After reading through what Milestone Company believes and what NetAge Endless Knots has posted on the website the idea of virtual brainstorming being more beneficial than face to face brainstorming is the new argument. There are very compelling arguments for both sides but I still feel more confident that working with the physical person and not just there voice are web cam version of them is more effective. There isn’t much of an argument against the numbers saying virtual brainstorming groups find more solutions alone then groups meeting and brainstorming together, however, is more solutions necessarily better? If your working at the top level of a corporation in making million dollar deals and decisions the amount of solutions is hardly the most important issue. I would say having people come together and brainstorm creates a stronger bond between people and better solutions. The only reason why more solutions come up when brainstorming is done virtually and alone is because no one is opposing them.