I am not a fan of blogging and I don't think that I will ever be. Writing my thoughts on a computer for the world to see is not really my cup of tea. I am a reserved person as is and I don't think that people need to know what I think about or my ideas on topics people do not care about. It's kind of like twitter. I don't need someone telling me that they are going to the bathroom or saying goodnight to the world. You get the people that are egotistical and think that everyone is hanging on their next word and you create people who think they are more important than they actually are.
I honestly believe that blogging creates no significant impact on our society but of course this technology will continue to gain in popularity. People want to express themselves and write about themselves at all times. This is why facebook twitter and individual blogs exist. To let people become self-involved and to show look what I am doing. It is quite annoying if you ask me but they are making millions doing this so it is hard to argue against it. Even the people who do food blogs come off as pretentious and snobby. I tried to follow some but people on them just ooze with the i'm better than you mentality and it is too much to get past to enjoy their blog.
Of course it is not a good thing that any one at anytime has the power to publish any idea or thought to the world. Is it a good thing that the KKK can spew their hate to the world. They are free to recruit new people and share their beliefs for all to see. This goes along the same lines of the recent outrage when bloggers hit the web with their racists comments of the Hunger Game Characters. The fact that people can write have a movie was ruined because a black person was cast just sickens me. These people are able to hide behind the cloak of the internet and can say anything they please. This is why such comments can exist because ideas that people would never say in public, are able to be written without any consequence from society.
It's great that we live in a free country where you can express your ideas but some accountability needs to start happening. When people are able to spew hatred and in some cases incite violence upon others, people need to start paying for their actions.
Monday, April 9, 2012
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Blog Assignment #8
I think that there is a huge privacy problem online but I also am under the impression that not many people really care enough to do anything about it. Take Facebook or pretty much anything online that you need to agree to the terms and conditions for. I recently downloaded the new version of Itunes and the very first thing you must do is agree to their terms and conditions. Obviously I am not going to read through the pages and pages of terms and so I really have no clue what I am agreeing to. But it is necessary to agree in order to use their service. You do have the option to not agree but then you do not get to use Itunes. So I am giving up my privacy rights because apple has hooked me with their product.
It is the same with Facebook but this is were most of my concern comes from. After our class on Privacy issues and talked about Facebook, I went home and checked my settings. Before they changed their policy, I had all of my settings set to friends only so that no one else could view my information. Apparently Facebook thought it was appropriate to circumvent my wishes so that all could see my info. Needless to say they got a very long pissed off e-mail to their support which they will probably trash without reading.
It is a concern that almost every where you go, you are probably being tracked but I don't see what we can really do about it. Sure we could protest or stop using certain products or services but there will never be enough people to agree with the cause to put a dent in any businesses. The government and companies will get what they want because if they don't they can just create law that will allow them to just like what the Patriot Act did for our government. So no matter what you do, you will always have big brother watching over our shoulders.
It is the same with Facebook but this is were most of my concern comes from. After our class on Privacy issues and talked about Facebook, I went home and checked my settings. Before they changed their policy, I had all of my settings set to friends only so that no one else could view my information. Apparently Facebook thought it was appropriate to circumvent my wishes so that all could see my info. Needless to say they got a very long pissed off e-mail to their support which they will probably trash without reading.
It is a concern that almost every where you go, you are probably being tracked but I don't see what we can really do about it. Sure we could protest or stop using certain products or services but there will never be enough people to agree with the cause to put a dent in any businesses. The government and companies will get what they want because if they don't they can just create law that will allow them to just like what the Patriot Act did for our government. So no matter what you do, you will always have big brother watching over our shoulders.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Blog Assigment #7
Personally, Video Games have had a very large impact of my life. Starting at a young age, video games played a vital role in my learning process. As I said in my previous blog, I loved playing NFL Math because yes I was learning math but it did not feel like it since it was based around an NFL game. I look around at what kids have today and can't help but feel jealous. My brothers have the Leap Pad, V-tech, online games designed to teach specified fields of learning. There is so much interactive material out there I think I would be a genius if I had all that material. They make it so much fun that my brothers have to be told to stop doing their HW so much. They block out everything around them and focus on the HW they do not know they are doing. I believe video games will only continue to grow as a vital tool in learning development for kids.
Another role video games played for me was bringing people together. One of my fondest memories was playing Zelda, Ocarina of time with four of my cousins every weekend growing up. It brought together four people who honestly probably would not have hung out with each other in another scenario. But this game captivated all of our minds and we had to see what was going to happen next. I guess I could say the same for Intellvision but I was not as interested in it as were my older cousins. My family also had a tradition of playing Mario Party when it was out on the Nintendo 64 along with Mario Kart. These games were very competitive but also a lot of fun. It was a way for almost all my family members to spend time together and bond. I can't even begin to explain how much the Wii and Xbox Kinect have once again brought my family together. With both of these improvements in video game technology, even more of my family has become interested in playing with the family. These games have become heavily user friendly and allow people from 3 to 100 to easily compete against anyone in the family. I also believe it does help with hand-eye coordination because many of these games require players to use and increase their hand-eye coordination.
There are some downsides to video games. I think people who are playing the World of Warcraft or any of these games usually have some kind of problem with going out or talking to people. I know the 5 or 6 people in high school who played this would refuse to hang out on weekends because they wasted to play the game for 24 plus hours. There have also been reports in Japan and other countries where people have died because they drink Red Bull and play the game for well beyond what any normal playing time is. I remember writing a report a couple years ago about a boy who killed his mother and I believe shot his dad as well who survived. The boy was upset because he played too much of the game Halo and his parents locked the game away. The boy was so outraged that he found the game along with a gun and shot both of his parents. Many critics said it was the video game and the industry to blame. I think this theory is a crock of you know what. So many people buy video games and a couple people go crazy and it is the video games fault. When would these kind of statistics stand up in any kind of scientific study. This is obviously either a problem with the parenting or the child. People can't keep trying to make video games the scapegoat and expect everyone to just accept it.
Another role video games played for me was bringing people together. One of my fondest memories was playing Zelda, Ocarina of time with four of my cousins every weekend growing up. It brought together four people who honestly probably would not have hung out with each other in another scenario. But this game captivated all of our minds and we had to see what was going to happen next. I guess I could say the same for Intellvision but I was not as interested in it as were my older cousins. My family also had a tradition of playing Mario Party when it was out on the Nintendo 64 along with Mario Kart. These games were very competitive but also a lot of fun. It was a way for almost all my family members to spend time together and bond. I can't even begin to explain how much the Wii and Xbox Kinect have once again brought my family together. With both of these improvements in video game technology, even more of my family has become interested in playing with the family. These games have become heavily user friendly and allow people from 3 to 100 to easily compete against anyone in the family. I also believe it does help with hand-eye coordination because many of these games require players to use and increase their hand-eye coordination.
There are some downsides to video games. I think people who are playing the World of Warcraft or any of these games usually have some kind of problem with going out or talking to people. I know the 5 or 6 people in high school who played this would refuse to hang out on weekends because they wasted to play the game for 24 plus hours. There have also been reports in Japan and other countries where people have died because they drink Red Bull and play the game for well beyond what any normal playing time is. I remember writing a report a couple years ago about a boy who killed his mother and I believe shot his dad as well who survived. The boy was upset because he played too much of the game Halo and his parents locked the game away. The boy was so outraged that he found the game along with a gun and shot both of his parents. Many critics said it was the video game and the industry to blame. I think this theory is a crock of you know what. So many people buy video games and a couple people go crazy and it is the video games fault. When would these kind of statistics stand up in any kind of scientific study. This is obviously either a problem with the parenting or the child. People can't keep trying to make video games the scapegoat and expect everyone to just accept it.
Monday, March 5, 2012
Blog Assignment #6
The very first time I remember using a computer was when I was in 6th grade. I think I was 11 or 12 and it was all very confusing to me. I used to play a game called Doom and Simpson's Doom which was loaded onto 8 floppy discs and had to be run off of ms-dos. I didn't really know what I was doing so I had to have my dad set everything up and I would just play.
This all changed when he installed a CD-ROM drive into his computer. I was very surprise that you could put a disc in to play games instead of the 8 floppy discs. My dad took me to a computer fair and let me choose a game to play on the new drive. I chose NFL Math. I remember this because not only was it my first game on cd-rom but it was my favorite for many years to come. The game consisted of choosing a pass or run on offense and a blitz or normal rush on defense. After choosing the play, you would go to a math quiz section where you had to answer a series of questions. Depending on how you did on the math section, the teams would simulate the play on the field. I loved it because I couldn't get enough of the football game and my dad thought it was great because it helped with my math.
I don't really remember the first time experience with the world wide web. I remember AOL and having to sign up to play SOCOM on the original Playstation. It was $10 a month to play online with other people. This was I guess the first experience with online gaming. It was very slow and lagged a lot so it was not really a good experience with me. I would mostly use my dad's computer to check standings or scores for sports that I could not see at home.
I guess I didn't use the internet heavily until freshmen year of high school with My Space and eventually Facebook showing up. I didn't really understand why I was always on these sites but I was just because it was the way to contact your friends and share stories with them.
My first major mistake on the internet was not realizing that when you put pictures up on My Space or Facebook, it is not private to those you want to see them. I come from a heavily religious background and my family was not too happy to see pictures from the weekend before. I learned quickly that if I was going to post anything, I needed to either block family members or not post them at all.
I think an accomplishment is just being able to figure out most problems I encounter with computer or internet use. I help my family and friends with their problems and haven't really had a bug I couldn't figure out. It is nice to not have to worry about paying ridiculous amounts of money to have someone fix a relatively simple problem.
The PC and internet may not have had the much use in my early days but now, it is a controlling factor in my life. Everything is on my laptop, videos music, school work, home work, everything. I would be lost without the use of a computer and Internet. I basically run all of my entertainment life through my computer and internet. A great example was a couple days ago when I lost power and subsequently the internet. I was so confused at what I should do and I felt a little lost or out of sync. It was very disheartening to realize this but I wasn't going to change my ways. I don't know how I would pass my Spanish classes without the internet because so much of it is based online with assignments and tests.
This all changed when he installed a CD-ROM drive into his computer. I was very surprise that you could put a disc in to play games instead of the 8 floppy discs. My dad took me to a computer fair and let me choose a game to play on the new drive. I chose NFL Math. I remember this because not only was it my first game on cd-rom but it was my favorite for many years to come. The game consisted of choosing a pass or run on offense and a blitz or normal rush on defense. After choosing the play, you would go to a math quiz section where you had to answer a series of questions. Depending on how you did on the math section, the teams would simulate the play on the field. I loved it because I couldn't get enough of the football game and my dad thought it was great because it helped with my math.
I don't really remember the first time experience with the world wide web. I remember AOL and having to sign up to play SOCOM on the original Playstation. It was $10 a month to play online with other people. This was I guess the first experience with online gaming. It was very slow and lagged a lot so it was not really a good experience with me. I would mostly use my dad's computer to check standings or scores for sports that I could not see at home.
I guess I didn't use the internet heavily until freshmen year of high school with My Space and eventually Facebook showing up. I didn't really understand why I was always on these sites but I was just because it was the way to contact your friends and share stories with them.
My first major mistake on the internet was not realizing that when you put pictures up on My Space or Facebook, it is not private to those you want to see them. I come from a heavily religious background and my family was not too happy to see pictures from the weekend before. I learned quickly that if I was going to post anything, I needed to either block family members or not post them at all.
I think an accomplishment is just being able to figure out most problems I encounter with computer or internet use. I help my family and friends with their problems and haven't really had a bug I couldn't figure out. It is nice to not have to worry about paying ridiculous amounts of money to have someone fix a relatively simple problem.
The PC and internet may not have had the much use in my early days but now, it is a controlling factor in my life. Everything is on my laptop, videos music, school work, home work, everything. I would be lost without the use of a computer and Internet. I basically run all of my entertainment life through my computer and internet. A great example was a couple days ago when I lost power and subsequently the internet. I was so confused at what I should do and I felt a little lost or out of sync. It was very disheartening to realize this but I wasn't going to change my ways. I don't know how I would pass my Spanish classes without the internet because so much of it is based online with assignments and tests.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Blog Assigment # 5
I could not agree more with the authors point of view on older people giving up on adapting and making excuses about how stupid the technology is or how they don't need it. I work at Best Buy and this is constantly the most grueling interaction of the day. An old couple wants to buy something they are familiar with but when you explain to them technology has changed and you can do so much more than before than tune you out and say I just want what my old machine did and nothing else.
My grandparents are in Hawaii and during a visit, I tried to show them how to use Facebook because in their words " you darn kids spend too much time on those fancy phones and not enough time with us" They wanted us to keep them informed and up-to-date by visiting Hawaii as much as possible and tell them in person. I explained that with Facebook, they could see what we were up to or the latest family pictures. It is an instant way to stay on top of all the happenings of the family. They hesitated but then agree to let me show them. 30 seconds in they were done. What do you mean I need to make a username. Why do they need my name, why is it so hard to set up. I was guiding them through the process and without giving any effort, they immediately got into the mind set of this is to difficult for me so I am not even going to try.
I have to admit that I have had a couple of instances where I did not feel like adapting and it does frighten me a little that I may be becoming an old man. I have absolutely no interest in Twitter. I think it is stupid and I don't need to know your opinion every second nor do I need to see updates on what you are doing minute by minute. My friend tried to sign me up and I refused to even let her show me how it works. It is the same way with the new Facebook Timeline. I am not even going to attempt to set it up because I like the familiarity of my Facebook and it seems to daunting to set up. I like the way things are and I don't want to stray away from that.
My grandparents are in Hawaii and during a visit, I tried to show them how to use Facebook because in their words " you darn kids spend too much time on those fancy phones and not enough time with us" They wanted us to keep them informed and up-to-date by visiting Hawaii as much as possible and tell them in person. I explained that with Facebook, they could see what we were up to or the latest family pictures. It is an instant way to stay on top of all the happenings of the family. They hesitated but then agree to let me show them. 30 seconds in they were done. What do you mean I need to make a username. Why do they need my name, why is it so hard to set up. I was guiding them through the process and without giving any effort, they immediately got into the mind set of this is to difficult for me so I am not even going to try.
I have to admit that I have had a couple of instances where I did not feel like adapting and it does frighten me a little that I may be becoming an old man. I have absolutely no interest in Twitter. I think it is stupid and I don't need to know your opinion every second nor do I need to see updates on what you are doing minute by minute. My friend tried to sign me up and I refused to even let her show me how it works. It is the same way with the new Facebook Timeline. I am not even going to attempt to set it up because I like the familiarity of my Facebook and it seems to daunting to set up. I like the way things are and I don't want to stray away from that.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Blog Assignment #3
I believe that in my experience with my family, I would use the displacement theory to talk about how television affects my family. I have very few free moments in my day between full-time school and work and we I do get a free chance at home, it is usually spent watching tv. The theory says that participation in one communication domain takes away from others and would be definitely say that watching tv takes away from interpersonal communication within my family.
When I am home on the weekends, my family and I communicate occasionally but most of that is disrupted with what is on the tv. We are constantly around it and it pretty much is the center piece of our entertainment. Don't get me wrong, it also brings us together because we would all probably be in separate areas if we were not watching the tv but it does make us communicate with each other a lot less than we use to.
The one thing I do not like about our tv is how it is used by the government and media to basically try to put fear into the citizens. Every commercial for a news station is designed to put fear into your mind and make you tune in to see what is out to get you. It is ridiculous how much violence and scare tactics are used in order to try and grab ratings. Michael Moore spoke to this in one of his documentaries when he should a normal news day in Canada that was pleasant and had no stories to try and drive fear into people's minds. He also showed a correlation between the news and media being pleasant and the number of violent acts with firearms. Maybe if our media stopped this tactic, you would see a decrease in violent crimes.
The future of technology is one that I am fearful for. I don't know if it can survive in the future if every home has a DVR. Advertising and commercials are what keep the shows on our television from leaving. When companies look at data and see that everyone is starting to skip over the commercials, what is the point in investing money for the commercials. I could see it becoming like Pandora or Hulu where they only allow a number of skips or force you to watch a commercial before moving on in the broadcast.
I also think there will be a lot more focus on internet tv. There are already many people looking for a way to ditch cable or satellite and many companies are trying to seize the opportunity. With more and more people cutting the expense out of their lives, there will need to be more inventive ways to capture people's attention online.
When I am home on the weekends, my family and I communicate occasionally but most of that is disrupted with what is on the tv. We are constantly around it and it pretty much is the center piece of our entertainment. Don't get me wrong, it also brings us together because we would all probably be in separate areas if we were not watching the tv but it does make us communicate with each other a lot less than we use to.
The one thing I do not like about our tv is how it is used by the government and media to basically try to put fear into the citizens. Every commercial for a news station is designed to put fear into your mind and make you tune in to see what is out to get you. It is ridiculous how much violence and scare tactics are used in order to try and grab ratings. Michael Moore spoke to this in one of his documentaries when he should a normal news day in Canada that was pleasant and had no stories to try and drive fear into people's minds. He also showed a correlation between the news and media being pleasant and the number of violent acts with firearms. Maybe if our media stopped this tactic, you would see a decrease in violent crimes.
The future of technology is one that I am fearful for. I don't know if it can survive in the future if every home has a DVR. Advertising and commercials are what keep the shows on our television from leaving. When companies look at data and see that everyone is starting to skip over the commercials, what is the point in investing money for the commercials. I could see it becoming like Pandora or Hulu where they only allow a number of skips or force you to watch a commercial before moving on in the broadcast.
I also think there will be a lot more focus on internet tv. There are already many people looking for a way to ditch cable or satellite and many companies are trying to seize the opportunity. With more and more people cutting the expense out of their lives, there will need to be more inventive ways to capture people's attention online.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Blog Assignment #2
I listen to music and other forms of entertainment on a few devices in my life. The first and most used item would be my Iphone. It is the source of all my entertainment running through iTunes. I think my use comes mostly from the Gratification Perspective because it is very convenient to have all my movies and music on one device that I can take anywhere I go. It allows me to never become board while walking around or waiting in line for things. I also listen to the radio once in a while but I mainly use my radio to listen to media on my phone. I listen to music and podcasts almost any time that I am going somewhere. If I drive anywhere, I am listening to something. I also listen to media when I jog or go shopping. I feel like my life has too much media in it but it is very difficult to try to cut any of it out.
I definitely feel as if people do not really have any interpersonal communication while walking through UofL's campus. I am guilty of this too but it seems that everyone has headphones in and no interaction among the students take place. I keep my head down and listen to my phone and when I do look up, almost every student is doing the same thing. They are either listening to their music or doing something on their phones.
As far as the type of media that I listen to through my phone, it is somewhat mixed. I listen to music but no where near as much as all other forms of media. I like music but it is not as entertaining to me as podcasts or movies are. I listen to a number of different podcasts. They are mostly of mix of sports talk and comedy podcasts. I find them very entertaining and I like to to laugh more than listen to music. I am addicted to getting my sports talk fix so I listen to almost any ESPN feed or NFL or NBA podcast available. It gives me a way to catch up on my teams and sports when I do not have time through the internet or television. I don't know what I would do with my time driving or doing errands or even walking around campus if my podcasts were taken from me.
I definitely feel as if people do not really have any interpersonal communication while walking through UofL's campus. I am guilty of this too but it seems that everyone has headphones in and no interaction among the students take place. I keep my head down and listen to my phone and when I do look up, almost every student is doing the same thing. They are either listening to their music or doing something on their phones.
As far as the type of media that I listen to through my phone, it is somewhat mixed. I listen to music but no where near as much as all other forms of media. I like music but it is not as entertaining to me as podcasts or movies are. I listen to a number of different podcasts. They are mostly of mix of sports talk and comedy podcasts. I find them very entertaining and I like to to laugh more than listen to music. I am addicted to getting my sports talk fix so I listen to almost any ESPN feed or NFL or NBA podcast available. It gives me a way to catch up on my teams and sports when I do not have time through the internet or television. I don't know what I would do with my time driving or doing errands or even walking around campus if my podcasts were taken from me.
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