Last Blog

I learned a lot about technology and its roll in communications. At first I thought this class would focus on technologies and what they do. The concepts that stuck with me were the ones about community. Before taking this class I didn’t realize that the internet could be viewed as a single community with the potential to change the world. Bloggers, forums, special interest groups, they all have the power to unite people all over the world in a way that could rock the foundations of what it means to be a nation.
Not only is the internet helping invent communities, its also being utilized to aid less fortunate ones. The articles about setting up WiFi networks in rural areas put into perspective just how fortunate I am to be able to have access to technology. In my research I found that the technologies that we enjoy everyday, and take advantage of, hold great benefits that really help communities develop. A village in Uganda was able to increase profit on its crops by keeping up with prices and communicating via VoIP with neighboring villages. It’s pretty overwhelming to think that the emerging standards today are just going to get better and more refined. They will someday be replaced as well with newer technology. We are at a pivotal time in technological growth. We get to witness numerous revolution unfold and shape our media landscape. Pretty soon we will be just like our parents 30 years down the road. Email, VoIP, WiFi will be for us what postal service, NSTC and television was to our parents. Today they’re inserting microchips in us to start our cars and unlock our house doors. Tomorrow we could be receiving emails straight to our brains while talking on the phone with friends and family across the world in the middle of dinner without the aid of any personal devices beyond the size of a stick of gum. What I learned from this class is that technology is changing at such a fast rate that it is reasonable to ask when these changes will happen as oppose to if.

week 9 blog

This article relates to my research topic. VoIP has the potential to revolutionize the way we use telephones. I think the biggest potential use is being able to use wireless internet connection to make phone calls from personal devices such as PDA’s. When I read about the disadvantages it does point out that the technology still has a long ways to go from being a viable replacement for analog lines. The fact that it does depend on wall power to operate makes me think that there will always be a place for analog lines, since they do not go out of service with the loss of power. The issue of a reliable emergency call line is one that is a hot topic with government regulators right now. VoIP services do not have a system of regulation that will assure that this technology will work in emergency situations. I think the time that that happens will also be the time that the technology really takes off towards replacing the old standard. After researching the technology I believe that VoIP will follow a similar path of adoption as email. While we do heavily use our email accounts, there will always be a place for traditional “snail” mail. Having a very reliable analog system set up as we do today, I see no reason to tear down this system even if the new one takes off.

1. Will VoIP leave no incentive to use analog phone lines?
2. Can the government successfully regulate a technology that has a low barrier to entry?
3. How much of an issue will security be?

week 8 blog

Wireless technology has evolved to the point where anyone can have it. It’s now possible to give wireless connections to phones and internet at cost effective and quality rates. Providing wireless services to communities would be great to enhance the communication atmosphere for small communities. This reading reminded me of another article about how internet access is being implemented into regular power outlets to further make access that much more widespread. Education would benefit greatly from internet access. The wall to this widespread access is the cost of computers. Not all small communities have access or funds to afford computers to take advantage of the wireless services. Not only that maintenance and upkeep on computers can be very costly as well. I think as technology grows so does the price of entry. Now you can get a perfectly capable internet computer for 300 dollars. That is a small price to pay for the potential revolution a computer network can have for the economy and education of a small village. It gives opportunities to those who otherwise would not have the means.

Is wireless access a waste of time and money at this day? Or an early investment?
Are the policies proposed in the article reasonable?
Is a profit driven strategy to universal wireless use the right one? Can it be profitable?

week 7 extra credit

In a way it seems like you can link the website designs to party goals. The mention of the Kerry/Linux and Bush/Windows relationship suggest difference in corporate stances. I think the aim of the sites also suggest difference in goals. Most of Bush’s supporters are in areas where there is a lower concentration of internet users, and the lack of issues concerning voters suggest that the website is geared toward organizational parties likely not from those low user base areas. Kerry’s site seems more traditional but still features some annoying features that only net-newbes would fall for. This suggest to me that the website is geared towards the majority of people that use the internet rather than a specific group.

week 7 blog

Trippis’ campaign tactics are refreshing. I think he really understand today’s political audience. Whenever I see the traditional methods of political campaign the first thing that rings in my mind once I see the flyers, buttons, and lawn signs is that this person just wants something from me. There isn’t any real connection. I think with all the traditional methods people are starting to see campaigns as unfeeling and uncaring. All those signs and flyers weren’t made for me specifically. They were made to get a lot of people. With these gorilla-type tactics Trippis has used, it seems more fun, spontaneous and, most importantly, unrehearsed. Breaking the stiff traditions of campaign plans gives people a sense that the candidate is a person instead of a figure. This makes it easier for people to relate to them.
I can’t say I’m too surprised with the findings of the “The Role of the Internet in National and Local News Media Use” article. I can see the internet becoming the primary source of political, and all news. But I also think there will always be a place for newspapers because you can take them with you much more conveniently than an internet personal device. I’ve read about new technology that allows for a digital newspaper. One that is filled with an ink that reacts to electricity, allowing it to be updated electronically. It could be a new revolution for an old medium.

1. Are traditional political campaigns too impersonal?
2. With all the talk of new media replacing old, do you think old medias can experience a rebirth through updating the format?
3. Can the internet in its current state be a reliable substitute to traditional news formats?

week 6 blog

The concept of people-against-the-media is interesting in “We the Media.” I didn’t realize it before but the bloggoshere is like a rebellion against the corporate controlled media landscape. With variety of voice severely diminished the people have naturally take a stand to provide their own unhindered voices to the public. Unfortunately with big corporations buying up blog services and social networks, the blog atmosphere could share the fate as the other media. It seems that capitalism is the natural enemy to the free press. The pursuit of profit has effectively aided in blinding us from the truths that we should and deserve to know.
Podcasting is an interesting new technology that could one day have a big impact on journalism. Podcasting give people the opportunity to take their blogs to a visual and audible format. The portability gives people the chance to take and listen to clips whenever they want. Of course big corporations are going to take advantage of the format as well, but the difference is that there is no restriction on who can start a podcast. With radio and television there were limited channels. The internet gives us more space to have multiple voices.

Does capitalism stifle media outlets?
Are podcasts the next blog?
Is commercialization of media outlets avoidable? Or inevitable?

Week 5 Reading

The Cluetrain Manifesto really puts in perspective how detached we’ve become in the customer-to-business relationship. The days of real one on one communication have been replaced by the unwanted commercial we watch when we sit at home. This method surely is more convenient. We no longer have to get up and go to the store to know what’s new or on sale, but the method is also a lot less personal. I don’t think it’s all the businesses fault. I think customers to a degree have chosen to become consumers. We want things and we want them fast. The current market system gives us that at the cost of the personal experience. I think consumers want it that way, but there are those that want, or need, that personal experience. Many businesses have adopted customer service models that provide a catered-to-the-customer atmosphere because it draws more business. Maybe this shows that a more personal experience is actually more effective.
I think the proposed second superpower is an interesting and relevant one. The online community is growing everyday with the advancement of technology. Internet protests and rally’s are able to gain many supporters because of the convenience of access. Those who are not able to participate in live protest can do so from home. It seems like only a matter of time before these voices can no longer be ignored, although the tactics of harassment and embarrassment sound pretty underhanded.
GNU proposes a system that would free us from corporate controlled operating systems and software. Ideally it provides an environment that’s goal is to continually improve software to benefit everyone. The idea’s intentions are good but I do see programmers making less or even nothing in such a scenario. This could then turn off all incentive for people to make improvements at all. Computers could then turn less mainstream since only hardcore users will know fully what they are doing.

1. Are businesses turning us into consumers or did we want it that way?

2. In light of the second superpowers potential to unify people from many countries into one through online access, does this way of organization/protest pose the same de-personalization that has occurred in our commercial industry?

3. Are people able to handle a open ended software system?

Week 3 Blog

Roger Fidler explores the mountain of information that has become available to us and how ill-equipped we are to process it effectively. The amount of information in one newspaper now is likely more information than any one person had access to in a lifetime back in 17th century England. We all know that one newspaper is but a fraction of the information we take in on a daily basis. With internet and television we have access to news the second that it happens. We no longer have to wait a day to read about what happened yesterday. I do agree that our ability to access all this information is inadequate. How many times have you missed something on TV you would have found interesting? Or how never saw that website everyone has been talking about for the last couple weeks? We’ve created such a large environment that it’s difficult or even impossible to obtain all the information that we need. This falls under Fidler’s explanation of information overload. We do have search engines and TV guides to help give us direction but even these tools themselves can be daunting for some people. Even if we do find what we need easily the difficult part becomes verifying that information. New tools must be developed to help the average person find the accurate information that they need.

Christopher Carlson writes about Information Overload experienced through search engines due to the increasing amount of internet pages. The ratio of signal-to-noise, as he put it, is degrading exponentially. With so many irrelevant websites up the amount of noise we get is growing and makes it difficult to find the information that we really need. This is also true about emails. I never thought of it that way but it is true that spam is a type of noise. Constantly having to filter my class emails from the mountains of spam I receive in my UW account has increasingly become a chore and even makes me less inclined to check my email at all. Perhaps even these blogs only serve to add to the growing amount of noise on the internet.

Discussion Questions:

1. Is technology allowing us to access more information than we can humanly process?

2. Will the problem of verifying information ever be alleviated?

3. Are technology-based solutions to information overload really something we should avoid?