I just submitted my final paper and I am now officially done with Technology and Culture of America (after this post....). It has been an interesting semester, learning things that I never thought I would learn in a college class, but it was a very nice surprise to experience such a class. I used to take technology for granted and never thought about the underlying meanings and potential consequences. Now, though, I know better.
As my last blog post, I wanted to talk about something that I found inspriring and interesting, which is the success people get through just the web. A lot of talent is hidden in the world and a lot of the times, it's discovered via the web! Singers like Sean Kingston and Soulja Boy were discovered on popular sites such as myspace and youtube. Others make their living through the internet, such as bloggers and online store owners. Case in point: http://www.cnngo.com/hong-kong/shop/local-online-brand-hanalie-latest-hong-kong-fashion-success-613688?page=0,0, and http://www.cnngo.com/hong-kong/shop/how-make-money-beauty-blogging-987709?hpt=C2.
It's pretty amazing that these people were just doing what they liked, not for any financial reasons. The financial gain that came later was just an added bonus for them. Interestingly, this would not have been able to happen if not for the infinite reach of the web. The one part about the first article that I thought was really interesting was when the second blogger said she refused to only give raving reviews about the companies that sponsered her. She basically told them from the start that she wouldn't lie to her followers, which is very admiring. The second article talked about how two students who weren't even experienced in the fashion industry ended up reaching success through their online shopping site that features pieces they wanted for themselves! This is seriously a strike of luck.
If people can get this kind of success from simply doing what they want online, they have no reason to pursue another path just for the money. I feel like the web has enabled people to carry on with their desires and freed them to be happier! Yes, critics can say this type of life is not guaranteed, it's risky, hard to manage, too time consuming, etc.etc.etc, but for these people, it was well worth the risk and we should applaud them.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
final essay, just about done!
So I'm at the wrapping up stage of my essay with about a page and a half to go, and felt that I needed to take a break. Although, this break will be used productively and not wastefully! The question for me now is how I should be concluding the essay.
Looking over my essay, I fear that I might have focused a bit too much on just the negatives of technology. One of my sources is http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/02/education/02cheat.html?_r=1, which talks about how plagiarism is a growing problem in the generation jaded by the amount of information ready to it. As we even talked about in class, students plagiarize not only because it is easier, but also because they don't know what actually constitutes as plagiarizing and what doesn't. Maybe I'll write about positives of technology, like online courses and what Dean Markowitz talked about a while back. Case in point: http://www.tuftsdaily.com/online-courses-play-growing-role-in-higher-education-1.2423651. It looks like my 6 page paper will be extended (haha yay!).
.......................................
My whole paper just changed.
I think that technology has benefited higher education more than damaged it. Oh snap. Restructuring the essay is going to be painful but hopefully, it'll be worth it. Despite the negative pressures, technology has enabled society to advance, and the integration of it within higher education helps future generations prepare for the future. Even if there are some things lost on the way, it seems crucial that students learn as much about technology as possible.
Looking over my essay, I fear that I might have focused a bit too much on just the negatives of technology. One of my sources is http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/02/education/02cheat.html?_r=1, which talks about how plagiarism is a growing problem in the generation jaded by the amount of information ready to it. As we even talked about in class, students plagiarize not only because it is easier, but also because they don't know what actually constitutes as plagiarizing and what doesn't. Maybe I'll write about positives of technology, like online courses and what Dean Markowitz talked about a while back. Case in point: http://www.tuftsdaily.com/online-courses-play-growing-role-in-higher-education-1.2423651. It looks like my 6 page paper will be extended (haha yay!).
.......................................
My whole paper just changed.
I think that technology has benefited higher education more than damaged it. Oh snap. Restructuring the essay is going to be painful but hopefully, it'll be worth it. Despite the negative pressures, technology has enabled society to advance, and the integration of it within higher education helps future generations prepare for the future. Even if there are some things lost on the way, it seems crucial that students learn as much about technology as possible.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Final Paper.....topic one...?
I left off my last blog regarding the final paper with the decision that I would pursue the second topic.....but I decided to change my mind, I think!
Just last Wednesday, I had a unique opportunity to have a decent conversation with Dean Markowitz. The specifics of how it got to that are unimportant, but I will just say that I was lucky and smart enough to chat with him despite having a cancelled Business Forum class. One of the many things we touched upon was how he was creating materials for an online course that students will be able to take in the summer. There were various tools that made possible for him to engage in the same kinds of activities that he would normally do in class, and students taking the course would be able to get just as much from it as anyone who physically took Dean Markowitz's class. This conversation immediately reminded me of how technology is changing higher education.
"Are modern-day college campuses technopolies?"
Technopoly - a self-justifying, self-perpetuating system wherein technology of every kind is cheerfully granted sovereignty over social institution and national life (according to Postman)
In other words, did technology take over our college campuses?
Well, in a way, yes. Actually, scratch that. Definitely yes.
But I think the real question is if technology has helped or worsened the conditions within Universities. The problem is, it has done both, depending on the situation. I don't quite know how to clearly state one way or another. Perhaps an overall exploration will suffice for me.
The only thing I'm worried about, though, is the fact that I have to use "ample citations and/or quotes" from the Postman book....seeing that it was the second reading we did, I don't quite remember every little detail. Hopefully I will have enough time to re-read the book and have a clear idea soon enough!
Just last Wednesday, I had a unique opportunity to have a decent conversation with Dean Markowitz. The specifics of how it got to that are unimportant, but I will just say that I was lucky and smart enough to chat with him despite having a cancelled Business Forum class. One of the many things we touched upon was how he was creating materials for an online course that students will be able to take in the summer. There were various tools that made possible for him to engage in the same kinds of activities that he would normally do in class, and students taking the course would be able to get just as much from it as anyone who physically took Dean Markowitz's class. This conversation immediately reminded me of how technology is changing higher education.
"Are modern-day college campuses technopolies?"
Technopoly - a self-justifying, self-perpetuating system wherein technology of every kind is cheerfully granted sovereignty over social institution and national life (according to Postman)
In other words, did technology take over our college campuses?
Well, in a way, yes. Actually, scratch that. Definitely yes.
But I think the real question is if technology has helped or worsened the conditions within Universities. The problem is, it has done both, depending on the situation. I don't quite know how to clearly state one way or another. Perhaps an overall exploration will suffice for me.
The only thing I'm worried about, though, is the fact that I have to use "ample citations and/or quotes" from the Postman book....seeing that it was the second reading we did, I don't quite remember every little detail. Hopefully I will have enough time to re-read the book and have a clear idea soon enough!
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
The Facebook Effect: The Inside Story of the Company That Is Connecting the World PART III
After reading the final section of David Kirkpatrick's "The Facebook Effect:The inside Story of the Company That is Connecting the World," I realized how little I actually knew about the way facebook works, despite my earlier prconception that I would be among those who were on top of their "facebook knowledge."
Although the third part did include more of the background of the company and its finances, I was mostly engulfed by the way it can and has been helping people around the globe. Regular people can become activists and leaders in their communities with the start of an event on facebook, such as Oscar Morales, who was mentioned again in this part as a speaker to a conference of youth activist groups. Facebook was one of the 5 companies who helped to organize, fund, and carry out the conference, which discussed the importance of web 2.0 and how these groups can help each other in their journeys (p. 291). Facebook acts as a 'safe' nd 'guanranteed' medium for dissatisfied people to express their thoughts, and as illustrated on page 289-290, the majority of them do get the effect they wished to get in the first place. State scholarships, drug raids, and jail expansions were among those which prompted people to speak out.
Not only do individuals gain from facebook, big companies also have the opportunity to reach out to the people and reap in benefits. For example, Mazda was able to get its name out to millions of people by asking its fans on Facebook to help design a car for 2018. Similarly, Ben & Jerry's asked its fans as to what their next ice cream flavor should be. Every time their fans contributed, their friends would see that so-and-so participated in an event hosted by Mazda or Ben & Jerry's. In other words, this was a genius way to get the companies' names out to people for very cheap, if at all. Small companies can also benefit from facebook by purchasing ads and having the ability to present them to a very specific market, made possible by the real information facebook has of its members.
Another thing that really caught my interest was the first chapter of this section, which dealt with applications, especially the games. Although I had to stop, I was an avid user of facebook games, such as Restaurant City, Country Story, and even the infamous Farmville. It was really interesting to see how the whole community of applications progressed from a small group of fun albeit useless ones, such as Food Fight and Fluff Friends. Mark Zuckerberg was "disappointed at the silliness of many of these apps" (p. 228), but I feel that's the reason why so many of these applications were so successful. People were on facebook for enjoyment and entertainment, not to be "serious" all the time.
As a final note, I was just wondering how the new facebook profiles are to be impacting the users as well as the creators. I know that a lot of people dislike the new profiles, but I wonder if we will all just get used to and come to love it, as we did for almost everything else. Also, I wonder if the creators can see all the negative responses they are getting and are considering changes.....
Although the third part did include more of the background of the company and its finances, I was mostly engulfed by the way it can and has been helping people around the globe. Regular people can become activists and leaders in their communities with the start of an event on facebook, such as Oscar Morales, who was mentioned again in this part as a speaker to a conference of youth activist groups. Facebook was one of the 5 companies who helped to organize, fund, and carry out the conference, which discussed the importance of web 2.0 and how these groups can help each other in their journeys (p. 291). Facebook acts as a 'safe' nd 'guanranteed' medium for dissatisfied people to express their thoughts, and as illustrated on page 289-290, the majority of them do get the effect they wished to get in the first place. State scholarships, drug raids, and jail expansions were among those which prompted people to speak out.
Not only do individuals gain from facebook, big companies also have the opportunity to reach out to the people and reap in benefits. For example, Mazda was able to get its name out to millions of people by asking its fans on Facebook to help design a car for 2018. Similarly, Ben & Jerry's asked its fans as to what their next ice cream flavor should be. Every time their fans contributed, their friends would see that so-and-so participated in an event hosted by Mazda or Ben & Jerry's. In other words, this was a genius way to get the companies' names out to people for very cheap, if at all. Small companies can also benefit from facebook by purchasing ads and having the ability to present them to a very specific market, made possible by the real information facebook has of its members.
Another thing that really caught my interest was the first chapter of this section, which dealt with applications, especially the games. Although I had to stop, I was an avid user of facebook games, such as Restaurant City, Country Story, and even the infamous Farmville. It was really interesting to see how the whole community of applications progressed from a small group of fun albeit useless ones, such as Food Fight and Fluff Friends. Mark Zuckerberg was "disappointed at the silliness of many of these apps" (p. 228), but I feel that's the reason why so many of these applications were so successful. People were on facebook for enjoyment and entertainment, not to be "serious" all the time.
As a final note, I was just wondering how the new facebook profiles are to be impacting the users as well as the creators. I know that a lot of people dislike the new profiles, but I wonder if we will all just get used to and come to love it, as we did for almost everything else. Also, I wonder if the creators can see all the negative responses they are getting and are considering changes.....
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