Kelly 5000 days

Kevin Kelly has made some very interesting points concerning the history of and the future of, the internet. He has began to call the history of the internet, the first 5000 days, and then he focuses on the next 5000 days and what will change in that time. There were amazing inventions and things that we never could have imagined with the internet, so what kind of amazing things will occur in the next 5000 days? It is an incredible mystery that is both exciting and frightening.

Web 3.0

Web 2.0 has completely changed the way the world uses the internet. It has allowed for talent to be found and for talent to be taken advantage of. The entire internet has become a user generated masterpiece, larger than anything we can imagine. The world is now beginning to turn towards the idea of a web... 3.0. Upon researching into this i believe the main idea of web 3.0 will be user generated. Everything will be created by the masses of people using the web. Also things will be going much faster. Searches will be much more complex, using long sentences instead of the idea of key words. Other than these things, the new web can go in any direction; anything is possible, which we have seen with the transition from web 1.0 to 2.0. I think it is difficult to say exactly where this new web will go because of the vastness of possibilities. It is all; however very exciting.

Proposal

1) I would like to create a visual component for my project that will summarize in a very quick period of time the main basis behind my paper. The main idea i think is that the world has become to dependent on technology, maybe even too much for its own good.

2) For this project I would like to use mainly Adobe Illustrator, and perhaps Adobe Photoshop, if I find the tools in the program would be helpful.

3) I envision my final project depicting the solar system, with the planets, and at the center of this solar system is different forms of technology, showing that maybe the world has began to revolve around technology.

Midterm Paper

Steven Arning

Technology: Too Much of a good Thing?

In today’s society communication and technology within communications has become an incredible part of everyday life. The media has a part in all of our lives, no matter how distant we try to make ourselves from it. With all the new ways of communicating electronically, society and the way it is run is changing on a global level. It appears that most new forms of communication are geared towards making communication faster and easier. You can now communicate with other people while doing almost any other activity. As I write this essay I also have the ability to communicate with others using the internet, if I choose. Communication in gaming has become an essential part of most children’s gaming experience within the past few years. Major corporations have in a way, “caught wind” of the ease of communications, and have incorporated many forms of communications into their companies. Although communications and technology within communication is a vast topic, I would like to discuss three main topics; first how the ease of communication in everyday life may have negative results on people, namely students. Second, discuss how major corporations are using already existing communications games as a form of communication within the corporations, and lastly, discuss how many companies are using games as a way to market their goods, and recruit new workers. I will use information from “Digital Nation: life on the virtual frontier” as the basis for my paper.

In today’s fast moving, electronic world, it is hard to keep up with the technology that is being introduced to the public. The technology you own today will be old tomorrow and, more importantly, the technology you understand today will be different and more confusing tomorrow. Children and young adults have the best chance of keeping up with the fast moving technology. The current generation of young people is introduced to forms of technology that were the craziest of dreams twenty years ago. Many schools have even taken the extra step of requiring the students to have his or her own laptop, and sometimes in as early as first grade! Does all this technology have a negative effect on today’s youth? As much as I would like to say it does not, I believe it does have a somewhat negative effect. With technology leaning towards everything being fast, and easy, books have taken a back seat in children’s lives. In the documentary, “Digital Nation,” a student claims he hasn’t read a book in years, the reason being that it simply takes too much time, and there are other options available on the internet that give three or four page summaries for books hundreds of pages long. We could be witnessing the death of great literature that has been read for centuries. New forms of literature are certainly not in the making either. Professors and teachers alike are saying that with all the distractions of the internet and the fact that so much of communication is designed so you can multitask, is greatly affecting the way people are writing. Students are beginning to write in paragraphs instead of full, flowing essays. In “Digital Nation,” they say that students will write a paragraph, check their email, write another paragraph, and then check their FaceBook and so on and so on. There is no flow of ideas through the papers that are being written at colleges and high schools. The overall learning capability of students has become a battle with technology. While in class, kids don’t want to be paying attention when they could be surfing the web, viewing “youtube” videos, or checking Facebook. Technology has created a constant distraction that is being marketed as a “good” distraction. The way the media presents all of these new technological advancements is that they all can be used while doing other things and that is ok. It prevents people from seeing the potential negatives of many of these products.

All these advancements in technological communication have caught the eye of many major corporations in some very different ways. There is one innovative way a corporation is using technological communication that I found very interesting. In the video “Digital Nation,” they spoke about a corporation that is using an existing video game as a means for corporate meetings. The video game Second Life is a game based on every-day life, where the player of the game creates a virtual “life” where he or she can fly and have any occupation, home, car, etc. The basis of the game is to allow users to create their dream “life,” in which they are free to do whatever they want, anything is possible. This particular corporation began using this game, Second Life, as a means to communicate on a global level. The company sets up “secure” locations for various employees to meet, and discuss matters of business. It’s a fairly simple concept, the employees get trained on how to use the game, and then are able to communicate with distant branches through the game. Representatives from the corporation said that it made the meetings more personal than a simple intercom phone conversation. What could this mean for the future concept of going to work? For years the concept of work has been a job where you leave your home, do the work required of you, and then come back home. It is healthy for a person to leave their home, and feel that he has provided for his family. It keeps a person going day after day, and this new concept of holding virtual meetings destroys the definition of going to work. Companies will slowly lose the need to have their employees in work, because all the work that needs to be done could be done at home. Why spend the money to keep a large building open and full of employees, when there is no need for them to be there? On a larger scale, down the line, public transportation would begin to suffer, as would many small businesses that depend on traveling workers. Society as a whole would begin to crumble and fall apart. Imagine a world where no one went to work; city streets at the height of rush hour, vacant except for a few tourists. Public trains that run every few hours because no one needs to take them. Parking lots upon parking lots of abandoned busses, taxis, and cars. A world where no one leaves their homes except for pleasure or for things they need. This is a potential outcome of doing business in a virtual world. Now, the way many business would like for it to go, is to have people doing business from their offices, only in an easier, less expensive way. Their employees would virtually never have to fly to another state/ country again. Even in this scenario I see negative results. I feel as if there is no connection between people when they meet in a virtual environment. The professional trust that develops between people would be completely lost in the virtual interaction. There are a series of other problems I see with this concept, for instance computer hackers and viruses. Not to mention fraud that develops in a system that is entirely online. A world with people doing everything inside is a world I, personally want no part of. While discussing people staying in their homes and not leaving, I would now like to discuss another, smaller cause of this, video gaming.

Playing video games appeals to people of all ages, from mere toddlers to adult men with families, and continues to become more appealing every day. We found out in “Digital Nation,” that some countries are now considering extensive video gaming as an addiction. Some countries have even gone as far as to create recovery centers for recovering video game addicts, where the people are removed from technology and taught about its harmful side for long periods of time. Video games provide people with the escape from everyday life that they long for so strongly. The documentary, “Digital Nation,” speaks of one corporation that has realized the benefits of the general public’s attachment to gaming. The United States Army. The Army has created a new type of store, based primarily off the concept of the Macintosh, Apple Store. The “idea” is to sell the product by allowing the potential buyer a “hands on experience.” The U.S. Army’s main product? Positions as soldiers in the army. The new Army store has rows and rows of comfortable chairs and flat screen, high definition televisions. People, mainly young adults come to the store, and play various realistic war videogames like, “Call of Duty- Modern Warfare,” and other real, first-person simulators. While playing these “games,” the players are approached by various U.S. Army representatives, who have the job of recruiting new members into the Army. Although perfectly legal, I would have to question the ethics behind this new practice. I have had the pleasure of playing the realistic war video games the Army is using in their new store, and I would be the first to say that they provide the gamer with a “rush” of sorts. They get your adrenaline pumping. While these young kids are feeling that they are invincible, and getting a false depiction of war, they have army recruiters breathing down their necks hoping that the “potential buyer” will purchase their product, a few years in the military. Video games; virtual interactions in general can be deceiving. The people in the Army store are receiving a false idea of how war actually is whether they like it or not. In the documentary, they show a study where children were exposed to virtual reality in which they swam with whales. After only a week after the experiment, a large percentage of the children actually believed that they had swam with whales in SeaWorld. Now I understand that video games are not nearly as vivid of an experience as virtually reality, but I cannot help but wonder if people are steered to like what they have done in video games because the experience was so entertaining. It is almost as if the Army has an “advantage” over the people they are trying to recruit in that they have in a way “made” them like the idea of war even before they discuss it with them.

Technology is all around us. It has taken over even the smallest parts of our everyday lives, and has now taken over communication. Many of the technological advancements that have developed with communications are for the better, but some although intended to be positive advances, have negative sides as well. I have discussed three different ways in which technological advancements in communications have downsides. First I discussed how technology in the school environment can have negative results with the students. It is feared that today’s youth is losing track of the great works of literature we have read for years. The ease of reading summaries provided by the environment is far to appealing for children to spend time reading books. At the same time students are no longer producing any great works of literature, merely because of the many technological distractions present to them every day. Next, I moved on to discuss how major corporations have begun to use advancements in technology with communications as a means to better the company. The video game, “Second Life” has been deployed in a few corporations as a means to hold professional meetings with other branches. There are many negative aspects to this concept which I have discussed. Lastly, I discussed how video games can be very addictive, and how the United States Army has begun using war video games for recruiting new members into the military. They do this through their new “Apple-inspired Army Store.” There are many different directions the world can take with all these new technological advancements in the next few years. I am both interested as well as terrified to see what the future holds.

Partner Questions- Solo, I was absent from class on this day.

1) I believe that amateur, user generated home movies will continue to get much better, in a professional way. We have all seen how technology has advanced in short periods of time, and I believe it will continue, and as it does, people's movies and videos will continue to advance to new levels as well.

2) Due to the different views people have, different articles can have very different tags. One person could tag an article using certain words, while another person will label that same article using different words. The best way to find out what the article is truly about is to quickly look over the article to get an idea of what it is actually about.

3) Transparency is an incredibly important aspect to the working world as whole. People need to know that people are true, and are telling the truth in all of their en devours. I believe transparency is more important in the aspect of online worlds and media. I believe the reasons for this is because of how easy it is to lie on the internet. As a person simply using the internet, I have no way of knowing if the information I am reading is true or if it is a lie. There are ways to tell, granted, but online information is still very different from offline info. For example, when a person watches something on television, he or she can assume that the information they are being told is true because of the selectivity of the T.V. The same does not go for the internet; I can post things on the internet if I want, which shows how anyone can put any information.

Midterm Project

For my Midterm Project I would like to create a paper on how companies are using new forms of communications, as well as entertainment communication programs to better the efficiency and work output of the company. I think it is very interesting that some companies are using already existing video games to recruit people for the company, as well as promote the company. One thing that shocked me was when in a video we watched they talked about how big companies these days are now using programs like "Second Life," and World of Warcraft, as a means to communicate with other branches and people. They even held meetings over these programs. I would like to discuss the negatives and positives that come along with the usage of such programs for important things in a company.

The Persuaders

1) Advertising today is literally inescapable. Everywhere you go, whether it is the most industrial, or the most wild place you can find, there will be forms of advertisement. In my own opinion, there is currently too much advertising. I feel like a lot of the advertising we see in out day to day lives is unnecessary, but we don't have an option but have it thrust upon us even if we try not to see any. In today's day in age, you cant open a cereal box without reading about another new product. You cant turn the radio on for more than a few seconds without hearing about something "new and different." Today, I would say that by the time an individual gets to his or her job, even if they work only five minutes away, they have seen more forms of advertising than his or her parents did in a week back twenty or thirty years ago. I believe that twenty years ago, advertising was an extra for most industries, but today, advertising is almost as important, some times even more important than the product itself.

2) The future is scary. If you take a step back and look at just how much advertising there is in the world, and how much of it is ridiculous and over the top, the future looks almost frightening. I see a future of advertising becoming a very real part of our day to day lives. There are many concepts that you read about that I believe to be very possible in our not too distant future. Some of those things consist of advertising in movies and shows themselves because of all the new devises that can skip commercials. Even your favorite shows will have advertising forms intertwined into them, so that many times you would not even realize the advertising you are being presented. Thats another thing I believe to be in our future; forms of advertising that are almost undetected, or subliminal. There will be forms of advertising that people are subjected to that they dont even realize. This would consist of advertising within books, movies, plays etc.

Digital_Nation

Digital_Nation

In today's high paced, get exactly what you want- type society, we have become incredibly dependent on electronic, digital mediums. Almost everything we do in our every day lives, depends largely on electronics. Technology has also become incredibly more available to the present generation than it was when our parents were growing up. Now, if you were to pick any three or four kids out of any ten, i would bet that all of them have at least a cell phone on them at all times. Thats only talking about phones; if you were to look for musical devices and all the possible electronics kids are walking around with today, you would be amazed.

The video, "Digital_Nation," portrays really well just how depend our nation has become on electronics and technology. So far we were able to see examples of different students and families who just simply would not be able to function without all of their electronic gadgets and gizmos. I personally see this in my everyday life as a college student. I could never explain just how many times a day I rely on technology and use forms of it for leisure activities. I also see this dependence where i work during the summer. I work as a camp counselor with little kids, and i can say with certainty that last summer out of my group of about 20 third graders, all had a cellphone... everyday.

In the second part of the video, The people discuss gaming and the internet in general as an addiction. They discuss how in many other countries, gaming addiction has been identified and is starting to be treated on a larger, more serious level. There are actually some physical problems associated with gaming, where children's eyes become damaged, and there are cases where people actually become dehydrated and even die while playing games because they are so involved in the game they forget about the physical problems and needs of their own bodies. They talked about one particular child who was diagnosed as being addicted to gaming, and was then sent to a detox type center for people addicted to the internet. They also say that the reason for many people to be addicted to gaming is because it creates a second life for them, and it's like a movie they have the ability to create. They can be whoever they want and act as they please, often in a matter different from their real life. It brings excitement to their boring lives.

In the video, they continue to speak about technology in schools today. There are schools now that are requiring students to have laptops even at very young ages. They also talk about how this can lead students to become distracted by an incredible number of different things. They also talk about how now that people are using the the internet so often it effects the style of their writing. People are no longer thinking in complete thoughts and therefore writing in paragraphs and small thoughts instead of long essay type writing.

The video focused briefly on virtual reality, and its effects on people and children. The military currently uses virtual reality as a form of therapy for returning soldiers and their fight to become used to reality of home once again. They also said that with one study they used young children and had them experience something for the first time through virtual reality. The results of the study showed that after only a week, 50% of the children truly believed that they had actually had the experiences they saw through virtual reality. They had merged together reality and virtual reality. If this study is true, it is a very frightening concept that we can actually believe we have had experiences we only had through virtual reality. What will be real and what will be fake. Nothing will be certain.

They last thing that the video talked about that really interested me, was the concept of using the internet and games for corporate meetings and affairs. I feel like this concept could lead to fraud and problems with communication. It changes the whole concept of work that was established hundreds of years ago. People go to work and do their work, and then come back home. Now people can do their work at home, and all their meetings and affairs. This brings about the possibility for an incredible amount of distractions, and could lead to companies being less productive.

Overall I think this was a very informational video that kept my attention, and introduced me to new information about technology I had never known before.

Collage

For my collage, I decided to focus on the medium, Blackberry Messenger. I wanted the collage to be fairly simple, but at the same time get my ideas across to the people viewing it. I wanted to make it look like the world, families etc, can be connected, all through Blackberry Messenger. This was my first time using Photoshop, and I look forward to using it again.

Mediums of communication

--BBM- BlackBerry Messenger. This is a fairly new concept or form of communication that works along the same lines as an instant message, or text message. It's an instant messaging application on blackberries where you can see if the message has been delivered, when it was delivered and if the person has read it.

For more information,

http://na.blackberry.com/eng/devices/features/im/blackberry_messenger.jsp
Blackberry messenger creates a new way of communicating between people from long distances, and also allows people to see their message's status, as far as if it's been sent, when it was recieved, and if its been read. It eliminates any confusion that existed with ordinary text messages prior to Blackberry Messenger.

-- Facebook Chat. Facebook chat is a new form of communication provided by Facebook.com. It works in much the same way as instant messaging, only it finds those who are online, as in on Facebook at a given time and allows you to chat with them.

For more information,

http://www.facebook.com/
Facebook chat allows people to chat with their friends over distance. More importantly, Facebook chat allows people to talk with their friends even if they don't know the friends screen name. It can be on a first name basis.

-- Chatroulette.com. This is a website that allows completly random people all around the world to communicate using their webcams on their computers. The site connects you with a complete stranger and then its action. you can see them and they can see you. The site can get a little strange however, because lets face it, there are a lot of strange people in the world.

For more info, visit the site,

http://www.chatroulette.com/

Chatroulette.com allows for people to meet and interact in a fun way with other people they otherwise would never have met. There is no private information portrayed, so your identity is kept safe for as long as you would like.