February 10, 2010
I am currently attempting to broaden my social media horizons and learn how to navigate Twitter. I am slowly learning, it’s more difficult than I thought. This seems to be a good place to find all sorts of information from other people. This is site is a prime example of why the Web is called the Web. It connects people with information, and more importantly, each other. Although I am a rookie on this site I have really enjoyed using it so far.
Follow me! #twitterilliterate
February 10, 2010
I have officially returned to the world of blogging and couldn’t be happier! It is now around a year later, and I can’t wait to get started!
May 13, 2009
Is print dead? Or is paper eternal?
The answer is simple, paper is eternal. Although print has seen a massive decrease in popularity these last few years, it will never die.
This point can be difficult to argue in a time when many big name newspapers are failing miserably. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean print will die.
Think about any major historical new stories that are featured on front pages of newspapers. Think about the front page of the paper September 12th 2001, when war was declared in Iraq, and when Obama was elected into office. When there are big stories that will go down in history there is no doubt that people will want a hardcopy to look back on years down the road.
Looking at a historical headline in an online archive won’t create the same feeling as holding a hardcopy.
I remember saving the September 12th, 2001, San Francisco Chronicle, and still having it to this day. I’m excited that I will be able to share that with my kids in the future (which will be a long time from now).
This article provides a good argument both in favor and against the concept of print being dead. However, in this case I would definitely have to agree with John Griffin, President of National Geographic.
This article basically sums up why newspapers won’t die, and why we pay for good journalism.
No, print won’t die. Paper is eternal. Which is something I will remember when I am showing future generations the hardcopy of the newspaper I saved.
May 6, 2009
Multimedia — solution or problem?
Although I fully support picking up a newspaper in the morning and catching up on the news, there is only so much traditional media can offer us.
We are currently at a place in time where we are constantly immersed with rich media, and the benefits are undeniable.
Research shows that multimedia use improves learning, especially because information is presented in many different ways, catering to different learning styles.
Anything that helps better education is obviously beneficial.
Think about the countless number of ways that multimedia can positively influence our lives; this article highlights a few.
From personal experience, I know that multimedia has supplemented one of me previous blog posts. The term “a picture says a thousand words” is true in this case. If a picture says a thousand words what does a video say, or a sound byte?
Multimedia also allows for easier interactivity, connecting the global tech community.
This website is a good place to start for those who are interested in learning more about multimedia.
Multimedia offers many positive aspects, therefore should not be regarded as a problem. But my question is, what is it a solution to?
April 28, 2009
This website, and this link to the NY Times, had me scratching my head for a good few minutes. I didn’t even realize the hoax until I looked at the titles of some of the articles, and the URL’s.
I can see people, like my dad, who are less Web inclined not being able to decipher the difference whatsoever. Therefore, believing the untrue stories, taking away from the credibility of the real content the NY Times has to offer on the Web.
This reveals some of the downsides of the Web in regards to accuracy, truth, and credibility.
This reminds me of high school when catty teenage girls found humor in making fake MySpace pages for people they didn’t like. They would post malicious, and untrue information about their victim. Thus, taking away their credibility and ruining their reputation. Which in high school seems to be the equivalent of the world ending.
Credibility problems on the Web have been problems for numerous companies and celebrities alike.
People need to become more wary about the information they see on the Web, as the first two NY Times websites exemplify.
Stanford University is partaking in Web Credibility Research, and evaluating what causes people to believe what they see on the Web.
Be skeptical about everything you see, hear, or read, especially on the Web. Which is a place where almost anyone can post anything.
In the word’s of Napoleon Bonaparte, “Skepticism is a virtue in history, as well as philosophy.”
April 23, 2009
Web 3.0? Semantic Web? Tim Berners-Lee’s idea about creating a semantic web seems a bit ___________ (fill in the adjective).
“If it isn’t on the Web, it doesn’t exist.” — Tim Berners-Lee
It seems a bit overwhelmingly, a world full of A.I., information whenever and wherever you want it. No limitations? Or as Berners-Lee explains, “The Web will be a place where the whim of a human and the reasoning of a machine coexist in an ideal, powerful mixture.”
Web 3.0 is trying to achieve the unachievable.
But not according to the Web’s founders.
We need to slow down and take in Tim Berner-Lee’s statement, read it, and repeat. Did I miss something? I am pretty sure there is so much significant stuff in life that will NEVER be on the web. Let’s not forget we’re talking about reality here.
Sure the Web’s convenient, and you’re using it if you are reading this right now. But think about happiness in your life, something that brings you joy. I can confidently say, it probably isn’t something from the Web.
Wake up and smell the coffee (and read a newspaper while your at it)!
The bottom line: It does exist, even if it’s not on the Web.
April 7, 2009
I vividly remember my childhood trips to the local library with my mom, and how I would leave the library with a large stack of books, which I would immerse myself in for the next few weeks.
Now, I sadly don’t even own a local library card. With emerging technologies such as e-books, and Google Book Search trips to the library are becoming less and less frequent.
Interestingly enough, we recently discussed an article in class that explains that people don’t wholly read content online, they merely scan it. It seems that something may be lost in translation.
The Web is taking away from the fine quality of information that we get from books. This commencement speech makes some of the most important points in regards to books. It states, “Underline, make notes in the margins, and after a few years, go back and read it again. Make use oft he public libraries. Start your own personal library and see it grow.”
Another article sadly addresses the point that because we are used to browsing over content on the Web it has caused us to lose the ability to focus and concentrate when actually reading long texts.
Maybe its just the changing time, or perhaps its part of me getting older, but the days of struggling to stay awake to finish a good book before bed time has been replaced with falling asleep with the glow of a computer screen in my face.
Pick up a book, read it, and let it light up your face in ways that a glow of a computer screen can’t.
The Web has caused the failure of a lot of things; don’t let books be the next thing on the list.
April 1, 2009
There is an almost certain chance that you have used me, I have been characterized as an “explosion in the availability of news and info sources,” I have helped the decline in the newspaper industry, and I have helped worldwide communication, who am I? The answer to the riddle is the World Wide Web.
As traditional medias are struggling to survive in this Web dominated world there are several things that the traditional media can learn from the new media, and vice versa.
Blog content is convenient, fast, and free. Stuff that everyone loves. Above all, blogging allows people to experience and think of news in a different way than traditional journalism allows. However, much of the blog content feeds off of the reporting of journalists.
A really good point was made in this article, “It seems the old media’s content is still the new media’s primary source of news for both coverage and comment.”
There is a price on newspapers for a reason. News through traditional medias is subjected to intense editing, and people are held more accountable for what they write. Accuracy is one of the most important aspects of traditional journalism.
This article highlights what traditional medias stand for.As author Hayley Peterson states, “Long live the print newspaper, I say. Long live the good fight, the one for democracy, accountability, knowledge and community.”
Accuracy, reliability. And trustworthiness are all things that traditional medias offer, and will never be outdated.
March 26, 2009
Besides being a full time college student, the current state of our economy doesn’t help my financial situation. Money is definitely tight for a lot of people and I know a lot of people who have had to sacrifice things in their life in order to make ends meet.
I know that when it comes time to eliminate something from my budget I usually take out something I don’t really need, or can be substituted with a cheaper alternative. Considering most news content is free online and newspapers cost money, more and more people are considering the cheaper alternative and neglecting to read print media.
Many newspaper companies have printed their last issue, laid off workers, and have moved more and more content to the Internet. On top of all the challenges that newspapers already face in today’s society the recession definitely does not help .
This picture shown in an article by Alan Taylor featuring scenes from the Recession very clearly illustrates the struggles newspapers are facing. This is an empty Rocky Mountain News newsroom.
The closing of the Rocky Mountain News may be a warning sign for other newspapers around the country. It was Colorado’s oldest newspaper, and closed 2 months short of its 150th anniversary. But as this article points out, the Rocky Mountain news isn’t the only newspaper with failure on the horizon, due in part to the recession.
Thanks Recession for helping the failure of yet another industry.
And to agree with this blogger, in these poor economic times most people would rather turn to free news content on the web then go down to the end of their driveway in their pajamas to pick up the paper.
March 6, 2009
As good ole’ Merriam Webster puts it, a community is, “a. a unified body of individuals, b. the people with common interests living in a particular area.” With this in mind I have been contemplating the meaning of community, and to me it seems like community has a much deeper and complex meaning.
I used to understand the meaning of community as it related to my typical small hometown. The type of hometown that you see in the movies; you know the type of hometown that has about 16,000 people, one high school, a K-Mart, and gossip runs rampant along with immense hometown spirit.
In this particular setting there was a few things people might have had in common with one another. The first and most obvious thing is the geographic location. From there people may have played on the same sports team, participated in marching band, or even worked together. People were on some level linked to one another. They offered their neighbors a helping hand when it was needed, and that’s exactly what my idea of community was limited to.
Growing up in this rural community sheltered me to many ideas. As I moved away I realized that I hung out with a lot of the people I did because that’s all that was there, they may not have been the people that I was most compatible with.
However, as I moved away from this environment I realize that a community should be a tight knit, yet welcoming place where people can be themselves. People are there and involved because they want to be, not because there is nothing better to do, or feel pressure from others.
I feel that online communities linked by a passion or interest is a good example, people are part of that community because there is a common passion that united everyone. This is the ideal community, which is very rare to come by. Negative things and sad stories have resulted from online “communities.” Negative things resulting from communities somewhat defeat the whole purpose of a community.
Community is somewhere is linked to others in some positive way, most importantly, a place where someone feels at home, accepted , and comfortable. In my opinion, and what comes to my mind when I think of community is home. A community is a place where people are united in some way, and feel a sense of belonging, and are totally at home.
jdesimoni