Random Blog

So as the semester ends, I have one last blog to post about how technology affects our culture. My overall thoughts describe my feelings on how I think technology has positively and negatively affected our society. On one hand, technology is a beautiful thing. It allows us to communicate with just about everyone in the world within a few seconds. Even though I have family out in California, for example, I feel like sometimes they are in the same room as me. With programs like Skype and Facebook, those who have internet access can now stay connected to the ones they love and care about no matter where they are in the world. The type of connection and communication poses good and bad outcomes. We no longer have to go somewhere for a long time and miss the ones we love because we are now able to see and talk to them like they are with us. Yet, this instant and direct communication does not allow us to have privacy and basically draws our attention elsewhere. I feel like people are so concerned with who is calling them, who they are texting, who Facebook messaged or wall posted them and who is doing what, that no one is really giving a crap about THEIR own world and reality. Everyone seems so concerned with what is going on with other people, I feel like we have lost touch with reality in some way. I understand that reality for human lives has changed due to technology, but I also feel there is a reality where technology does not exist and we are losing contact with it. The "real world" is happening around us and right in front of our eyes, yet we are so immersed in technology, we are failing to see what is happening around us. Everyone is constantly on their laptops, on their phones, watching TV, listening to their Ipod, etc. No one is really paying attention to what is going on and this poses a problem for true face-to-face communication skills. People are becoming so used to Facebook messaging and text messaging, I feel like people are losing contact with the actual people around them. This is creating problems in the workplace, where people forget how to communicate and respond to co-workers. Th workplace is a place where communication is key, yet if everyone is forgetting how to communicate, what is that going to do to the social structure of employee relationships? I believe with the ever-growing use of technology, people are forgetting how to communicate and these skills are becoming less and less valuable. This, in my opinion, is a problem in our social world. It is becoming more difficult for people to have family dinners without half the kids on their cell phones or getting up as soon as possible to sit on their laptop for 5 hours after dinner. It is getting more difficult for kids to pay attention in school and in the classroom because they are too busy texting and playing games on these cell phones that can basically do anything now. I feel like although technology is a great way to open up communication lines between people through a computer screen or text message, it has caused a problem with real, face-to-face communication skills, which are still needed to interact and connect with actual people that reside in the world around us.

My Final Thoughts about my Final Essay

As I completed my paper, it dawned on me just how much our environment is affected by the e-waste generated by our society. Our culture is so used to throwing things away that we do not even consider the environmental effects. I think we don't necessarily "see" the effects happening, therefore we don't take them into consideration. Facilities that burn or improperly dispose of e-waste are severely polluting the earth's atmosphere. Some of the chemicals that Slade mentions in his book are rediculous. I had to look most of them up to see what they actually were and how they affect the air and ourselves. One of the main chemicals burned cause skin diseases and infertility! Yet, it boggles my mind that people are still allowed to dispose of electronics that way. It is all done for financial purposes of course. What isn't these days? The whole reason for technological obsolescence is to increase finances within companies and manufacturers. Our economy is essesntially driven by the constant flow of new products arriving on the market. Without them, our economy would be in a wirse state than it already is. Yet, with so much new technology, goes all that old technology. And where is it going? Into landfills across the world. It is poisoning our soils, polluting our waters and toxifying our air. Slowly but surely, the environmental effects that e-waste has on our planet will be so bad that people will have to consider a new way of living. We all want the newest electronics, yet we don't consider what we do with our old ones. So next time you throw away a cell phone, make sure you use a recycling program that you know will be environmentally friendly.

Beginning my Final Thought Process

So, as I think about an argument for my final paper in this course, I have to say that the option #2 is going to be the one I am attacking. Slade's "Made to Break" was a pretty interesting read and I think that there are many valid points about how and why technology is such a huge issue for the environment. Our society is consumed by the use of cell phones, TV, computers and so forth. I always wondered where all these used electronics wind up. Our landfills are becoming increasingly populated and overwhelmed by these eletronics. It's amazing that we even have room on this Earth to provide for such obsolescence. Environmentally, we are trying to become a "green" society, yet with all of the electronic components we constantly trash, is it really going "green?" I don't really think so. So, as I contemplate the argument for which my paper will be about, I am thinking about the potential effects that these electronics will have on our envrionment, but I'm also thinking about the cultural and social effect that technology imposes on our society. We all want to have the best and most up-to-date things, yet we do not think about where our old stuff goes or how it is affecting the Earth. Being an eco-friendly type person, I am excited to learn about the effects of technological obsolescence on the environment. I can honestly say that I am not satsified with how government handles the issues of the enviroment, but I can argue that something definitely needs to be done about the landfills being overtaken by electronic waste. As a society, we need to think more clearly about where our stuff goes and how it is being disposed of before we throw it away.

The Facebook Effect Part III

The last part of this read follows facebook's overall success in the recent year. Companies could use facebook as a platform for advertising, sponsorships and business building. Zuckerberg's idea as Facebook as a platform was unarguably successful. "Activity on applications, he argued, would generate more activity in Facebook," (221). And so it did...These applications allowed for politics, non-profit organizations and music-sharing apps such as iLike, etc. to be publicized and user-generated. These examples were just some of the social applications that "brought offline behavior into this new online world," (228). Global advertising was also an opportunity that allowed for growth on Facebook. Half of Facebook's users were international, therefore Facebook had to start advertising globally with Microsoft as a partner in order to create more world-wide usage and growth. This critical step in the process of expanding Facebook was all about timing. Zuckerberg never rushed into accepting advertising company's offers and for this reason alone, Facebook came into a lot of advertising money at the right time. During this financially successful growth, Zuckerberg also hired a new COO, Sheryl Sandberg, who became his "#2."
Facebook generates ads based on user info, age and location, which greatly increases sales revenue and allows for Facebook to make a huge profit. Zuckerberg's key state-of-mind is that what really matters in this process is the growth of the user base. Facebook, therefore, got really big, really fast. This was because of a simple user-interface and a "friend-only" nature. Also, by maintaining a language that people around the globe speak online and offline made Facebook the ultimate social tool for everyone. Facebook is also used as political tool, as we see in the FARC event at the very beginning of this book. "Facebook has been embraced by many governments as a tool to communicate more efficiently with citizens and employees, in situations both large and small," (294). Zuckerberg called his Facebook community the "gift economy." "I create some news for you, you create some news for me," (295). This type of giving and receiving is what drives Facebook. People will soon be able to go anywhere with Facebook in their pocket. It's becoming available on most phones and hand-held devices, which allows for people to constantly be connected. Yet throughout all the possibilities, Zuckerberg's ultimate main concern is about who controls your information. This is essential to people's social availability and growth.
Facebook is a constant connection to the people in your social world. Since there are less and and less people everyday who DON'T have Facebook, it is obvious that updating your status and posting on someone's wall is becoming the number one form of communication between people all over the globe. No longer are we forced to meet people at the mall or in a coffee shop. No longer are people's lives kept private and isolated. It's now easier than ever to send a message or post an event and have hunderds and thousands of people respond or comment on what you are doing and what you have to say. Even the most anti-social person can communicate with others effectively through Facebook. It is the ultimate social tool. Everything you post or say is read by your "friends," which links you to hundreds or thousands of people with a click of a mouse. Our thoughts are now exposed and it's amazing how freely people express their opinions, what they are doing and/or how they are feeling to everyone they know in an instant. Is this good or bad? Well, on one hand, it is the simplest thing to express a feeling of joy, happiness or content to those you love and care about. People are connected through these comments and most people feel appreciated because they can now know what their loved ones, friends and family feel on a daily basis about whatever is going on in their life. On the other hand, Facebook has exposed people's personal information for almost anyone to see and has generated this feeling of "I have to post this thought to share with others" within pretty much everyone who uses it. I myself am hesitant to post things because when I truly sit back and think about what I am doing, I don't really want people to know what I am doing and/or how I'm feeling. Like, who cares? But...people do. That's what keeps Facebook going and it amazing to see how it has effected our daily lives and the world around us.

Solo Current Event Presentation

My presentation was about a "space-time" cloak. Scientists are trying to configure this technological article of clothing by using extremely advanced technology and metamaterials (molecular materials that could bend light). The cloak would ultimately move a moment in time and hide an event. This concept is obviously very abstract and insane. To think that a burglary could be hidden from surveillance cameras or someone could cross a highway within the blink of eye is extraordinary. The immense amount of technology needed for something like this to be successfully invented is, with the way things are going, not far in our future. Scientists have only figured out how to do this an a small scale so far, but the concept is pretty cool and can be completed within our lifespan. The fact that people may be shooting in and out of time and space like this is just one example of how technology is truly impacting our world. Scientists are constantly thinking of new ways to boggle people's minds and use technology to create life-altering phenomenons. Not that everyone will be walking around in these cloaks (which will probably not be available to the public and/or they'll be so expensive only true scientists will be able to experiment with them), but it is the concept that ultimately has me thinking. If something like this could be invented and a person could move in time and space, the concept of reality will be completely thrown off and examined. Gee and I thought the "Real World" was a phenomenon. Looks like we have a whole new way of "being here" and "being there" in present time thanks to technological advances and science.

The Facebook Effect Part II

Throughout these chapters, Kirkpatrick discusses the economic expansion that Facebook went through. Facebook's team went into some long term investing committments with companies like The Washington Post, although Zuckerberg had a hesitant attitude towards investing changes. He did not want the company moving too fast into a direction that could ultimately hurt the company and cause it to fall apart. Yet, with offers like $80 million from comapnies like Accel, who could turn that down? Zuckerberg relied on Parker to do most of the negotiating and talking to the investors because he was good with his words. These types of settlements gace Facebook the financial boom it needed. Now that Facebook had no money issues, they had to hire more people to keep up with its rapid user expansion. As more employees were hired, the more fruitful Facebook became. Advertisers were desperate to have a part on Facebook. Clever advertising was done by target advertising. For example, Gwen Stefani's hit song "Holla Back Girl" was used in specific profiles (like those of cheerleaders for example). This ad would go into any Facebook profile that mentioned cheerleading somewhere in their profile and targeted the prime audience that would be interested in this type of music. The succes advertisers had on Facebook was extraordinary business for the companies and Facebook itself. "The combination of real validated identity information and extensive information about individuals could yield insights no Internet service had previously had seen, (143).
Meanwhile, Zuckerberg and Parker were having issues. Parker's arrest for drug possession and erratic behavior jeopordized his position at president of Facebook and he eventually stepped down. This change gave Zuckerberg control of three seats on the Board of Facebook, which ultimately gace him the most power in the company. With changes in the company's employees and constant addition of users and schools, Facebook was exploding more than ever. Zuckerberg was constantly thinking of new ways to enhance the Facebook experience. His ideas included photo sharing, tagging and uploading, which ultimately becomes Facebook's most popular feature among users. Furthermore, Zuckerberg end s up getting millions of dollars worth of offers to sell his company, but keeps refusing and turning them down. he does not want to sell the company too early and/or make any mistakes. He has a smart head on his shoulders and decides to take things at a slow pace with the company to avoid jumping into anything too fast and causing a downfall. Zuckerberg also avoided too much advertising on Facebook. "Zuckerberg remained uninterested in advertising that interrupted the Facebook experience and distracted users' attention, no matter how lucrative it might be," (177). This way of thinking is what keeps Facebook so financially stable. To further facebook's popularity, the invention of the News Feed was established as well. This was crucial to people keeping up-to-date with each other's lives and knowing what they are doing and when they are doing it.
It is amazing to me to realize how much money Facebook made and how fast they made it. I think Zuckerberg's slow-paced and "chill" attitude throughout these business and financial experiences is what ultimately keeps Facebook alive and keeps investors and advertisers on their toes. Not everyone in the business and financial worlds act like Zuckerberg. His slow decision making and laid back type of style keeps him apart from the average millionaire or billionaire company owner. I think that Zuckerberg knew how big Facebook was going to be the entire time and it was imperative that he kept a cool and collective head in order to make the right decisions. He knew how much money he was riding on and how popular his company was going to be. As far as the cultural impact, I think this invention of Facebook was the biggest impact to our culture in the past few years. I think this is what Zuckerberg wanted most out of his ideas and his site too. I think he realizes how much of an impact Facebook has had on our culture and I believe this makes him more successful than anyt financial aspect. His ideas and ways of structuring the site are what keeps Facebook so popular and ultimately keeps every user going back for more. I don't think he doubted himself for one minute and it is so interesting to see how Facebook has become the cultural phenomenon of our decade.

Wikipedia Mid-Term Follow-Up

In my opinion, Wikipedia should definitely not be used as a scholarly source for researchers and readers. The biased and controversial information we found on just one article is enough to prove that Wikipedia is not the best website for valid information. It does have some positive attributes though. It is a great start for researching information and can give the reader a general idea about what they are trying to find out. It has substantial information that can be used as a guide to research, but not entirely. I believe that because it is edited so often and by so many different people, it is impossible to have valid and reliable sources and information within the content. This is where its weakness lies. The sources (whichever ones are not a dead link) are not particularly accurate and informative as primary sources. Most of them are articles in magazines, personal blogs and so forth.
These strengths and weaknesses ultimately prove that technology is advancing and becoming a primary candidate for information sharing and editing. It has become to popular to share information and let the world know something as soon and as fast as possible. This is what Wikipedia does. It shares information through the internet in a timely manner to millions of users worldwide. Then if someone has something they want to add or delete, they are free to do so. Technology in this way is awesome because it allows for us to access information about anything within seconds. On the other hand, it has created a controversial website that cannot be depended upon for accurate information. Technology in this sense has effected the culture of our world in such a way that now anyone is a researcher and expert on information. It thwarts the talents of true researchers, but gives the average person a chance to shine.
After completing this project, I learned how controversial Wikipedia really can be. At first, I had no idea that there was so much useless information on the website. I used it all the time. Now, I will definitely think twice about citing Wikipedia as a source for any of my research papers. It has opened my eyes to the world of information editing and clearly demonstrates the power of revision.