Group Presentation # 2

Um. This one was long. We had a group present on Thursday the "World Without Secrets."

The gist of the whole book seemed to be how the digital age is changing our everyday lives.

I mean the entire book covered chapter by chapter how we are being "watched" every step of the way (and if we aren't being watching doing something, don't worry--the technology to watch you is coming!). Ordering a book online? They're there! Driving your car down the street? We see you! Big Brother is watching....

lol. Ok, so I'm not so doom and gloom on the whole "Big Brother" is watching thing: to me it's progression, an advancement in technology. I for one am "for" most of those advancements. Still, they brought up a good point later in the book regarding a digital Pearl Harbor.

As with any other significant change in history, there has to be a significant threat. The bring up Pearl Harbor for a reason: our significant loss gave us the strength to change our strategies and turn the war. Not having any significant, credible cyber threat has made "significant" changes in digital security difficult (according to the author).

Hmm, I don't know. I don't think summarizing their presentation of a summary really makes sense. This book seemed to provide a broad base to everything going on, but it was hard to hold on to the information. Maybe it was because the presentation was really long or because to me the book was not something I was interested in. I hate to say that, but I doubt I would pick the book of for casual reading, whereas I felt that I could have done that on our group's presented book.

Group Presentation # 1

One of the Group's in our class presented on a book called "Steal This File Sharing Book: What They Won't Tell You About File Sharing."

Ok, I had to laugh at the title. I mean it was a user's guide on how to download music, files, movies, etc. from the Internet. What was interesting was how the people responsible for policing the Internet and this type of downloading are starting to come around. They are figuring out that "Hey we can't stop this, so how do we get around it?"

I was reading recently about how DRM encryption is starting to go away as producers of digital media are trying to figure out and implement SaaS with subscriptions ("welcome to the cloud!") rather than file by file purchases.

The funny thing is last night I saw a preview for a new movie coming out on Blu-Ray and it included a Disney movie file you could transfer to your computer, phone, media device, etc. to watch the movie. They already figured someone would rip it, so canned the cost of trying to implement DRM software and just said "Here take it, matter of fact we'll make it easier."

But the presentation was a nice flow of historical progression, from Napster to Kazaa to all the other filesharing sites, of how the online community responded/is responding to the changes in DRM and how "they" (the online community) can pass around the information. Furthermore, they presented on the wide variety of available download sites out there as well as differentiating between them (newsgroups/ftps/SuperNodes/etc).

BURN RATE by Michael Wolff

So we picked this book because it was one of our professor's FAVORITE books! (extra credit please).

After assembling our smallish group of six people, we thought, "Hey! Let's break the book down in chapters, read our assigned chapters, and do a presentation person by person, chapter by chapter!"

The logical choice right? Of course! This was just the wrong book to do that with. lol!

This recap of a man's personal trials and tribulations to raise money while his company is burning through it at an incredible rate is best read cover to cover. (so anyone else deciding to read this, do it solo).

We had to re-think our presentation to make this work, so be ready: we're breaking it down in a different way:

1. An introduction to this book. (What the heck is BURN RATE?)
2. About the author (Who he is, what he's done, who he's pissed off)
3. Information about the time frame the book takes place (What else was going on)
4. Our presentation of the book
5. And finally, our closing thoughts and opinions of BURN RATE.

Looking forward to everyone thoroughly enjoying our presentation and Professor Andrew giving us top honors! (Or at least not falling asleep)

Want to know more about our Professor? Click here!

Meet the team:
Nicole
Skye
Gabi
Tony
Brock

VIRTUAL TRIP: Destination Unknown

Sunny white-sand beaches, tropical palm trees, the smell of the ocean salt wafting towards me with the afternoon breeze, and the gentle lullaby of the waves meeting the pristine shoreline. Ahhh, a low-tech tropical vacation! What could be better?

Virtual trips? How could they compare? In today's technological standards, the reproduction of the touch and taste components of a trip could not be duplicated, in my opinion. However, the visual aspects could, as well as the audible and (maybe not the way I want it too) olfactory sensations.

But why would I want to go to, say, Hawaii on my computer? Maybe to check out the beaches, look at the hotel rooms, save the time and discomfort of flying there?

Then I expanded my list of destinations. If I were to take a high-tech, virtual trip, I personally wouldn't go anywhere I could do low-tech. It would be somewhere you couldn't go low-tech (or it would just be darn uncomfortable). That's when the list got larger: pre-historic Earth, the center of the planet, other planets, inside a volcano, the North Pole, Santa's workshop, the surface of the moon, the list goes on!

I don't think one particular destination would interest me, it would be moreso the expanse of all the imaginary and impossible destinations you could program! I mean click here click there you could jump from watching elves make toys for Christmas to the surface of the Sun.

Virtual trips would be a great way to explore the past or our imagined future. It could become the interactive storybook, the catalyst for keeping our dreams alive, that many think about. (Time for a start-up company!!)

Kevin Freitas: FEEDing Tacoma!

So Kevin Freitas came to our class and spoke all about his project FEED Tacoma as well as his personal blog space.

My thoughts? Wow! I didn't realize to the extent that people blogged online. I only recently heard about blogging over the past few years. To me it was more of a journal entry, a diary post, or rather something that was just an informal bit or piece of a news tidbit.

As I progress through this class and am educated by our instructor and his speakers, I realize it is so much more than that. Blogging is indeed a tool for the masses to come together, create a community, and speak/discuss THEIR topics.

So the Feed Tacoma site had some areas I thought were particularly "cool." The full automation of the site to aggregate news blogs was awesome. I kept thinking "Googlezon!" while Kevin was talking and smiling. Ya, so I amuse myself in interesting ways. :)

The "Shops" area was another intersting spot for discussion because it falls inline with a pet project of mine. I get excited about techonology and how much it jumps ahead every time I stop to look at it. I mean really, think back 5 years and look at where we are now (the easiest for me was always to look at the difference in video games from 5 years ago to today). What changes will happen in the ensuing 5-10 years?

And Kevin, stop the insanity! Tap into the Googlezon network and find a creative way to drop some GoogleAds in there! lol! I mean they shell out like $17 some-odd billion in ad commissions a year.

All in all, Kevin has done some great things. His Feed Tacoma site (www.feedtacoma.com) provides a hyper-local newspot for the Tacoma area. It was fun to listen to how his site and the followers of it (the "FeedTacoma Community") started the "Frost Park Chalk Off." Great stuff! Taking an online community and bringing it together in the real world to make a difference. I'm sure the more I think about it, the more I could ramble on, but I truly enjoyed the work that was done and the possibilities that exist for it. We are definitely moving to "Living and Working in a Virtual World."

With all the dangers, why buy online?

Online buying seems almost a natural extension of purchasing nowadays: get online statements, pay online, go green (no more paper bills), bank online, buy your food, get your dog a leash, etc. etc. etc.

But dangers are out there. Below is a link with an insane amount of statistics for identity theft, one of the most prevailent dangers out there:

http://www.spamlaws.com/id-theft-statistics.html

Here is an eye opener for why you don't want Spy/Ad Ware on your computer either:

http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Dangers-of-Online-Shopping---What-You-Need-to-Know-to-Safely-Make-a-Purchase-Online&id=1574406

All interesting stuff, yet people still buy online, just like people still fly in airplanes even though it could crash. Ten years ago? Not so much. The vehicle for accepting online payments and protecting your information wasn't as strong. Online security is a major business today.

I think if you take this back a decade and compare it to today, you'll see that society more readily accepts the idea of purchasing online. It was a pioneering effort back in the 90s, cutting-edge technology to click a button and have something show up at your doorstep. Now it's rather commonplace, just about everything can be purchased and delievered from the convenience of your home.

Age has a lot to do with it too. Today's children/young adults have grown up with the idea that buying online is a normal, everyday practice. Older generations remember what it was like to pay with cash and walk into a store.

And I think the idea of the "dangers" of buying online is just a transfer of the "dangers" from buying in person. Instead of "dumpster diving" for credit card receipts or identifying information on people to "steal" their identity (big problem in the 80s and 90s) or even basic forgery that's been around forever, the underworld of getting something for now has transferred to the 'Net. An evolution of criminal activity. I think it makes the news because as with everything else online, it seems to be a lot easier to come up with metrics for identity theft than before.

So, buying online happens despite potential dangers because society more readily accepts it now, there are safeguards in effect to protect people and keep the honest people honest (hey we've got a police force, but people still rob the liquor store), and, quite honestly, could you imagine a life without online shopping?

What Not To Buy Online

For me, online shopping was the perfect invention (well almost): you don't have to fight the crowds, save $85 in gas to drive to the store, no parking problems, and the product just shows up on the doorstep a day or two later. HOURS OF MY LIFE BACK IN MY CONTROL! Woohoo!

But is there "stuff" I wouldn't buy online? Why yes, there is. And the more I thought about it, the bigger the list got.

For instance, I wouldn't buy produce online. I like to cook and, well, I need to touch and feel that stuff to know it's good. I mean really, buying lettuce only to have it show up rotten on the doorstep would suck. Because that would defeat the purpose of online shopping--I'd just have to go to the store and return it only to buy another one.

Then I started to think, what else? I wouldn't buy a car online. Sure, I like the research capabilities that the Web (I mean the 'NET, lol) has for an automobile purchase, but wire funds over on something like that without checking it out? Never.

A house would fall under the same category as the cars. There's something about those two items where you just need to touch, feel, and see them that makes the purchase "work" for me.

Clothes, shoes, cologne, furniture, hmmm the list starts to get longer. So now, maybe I realize I am more hesitant to buy online than I originally thought. Halfway through this post, I'm thinking now: What WOULD I buy online?

My thoughts now are really that I would only buy a smaller group of items online than I first pictured myself doing. Items falling into groups of things such as office supplies or cell phones and those accessories. Maybe I would buy pea gravel or rocks online too (you really can't mess up that order). Oh, and pizza delivery. If they are going to mess up a delivery pizza, well it would happen whether you bought it online or on the phone. I think the fear for me of buying online is that it becomes a non-personal business where a mistake could happen, then I'd have to just do it over again in person. Time, oh that precious item we have so little of, becomes wasted.

In retrospect, heck, I'm not so much a carefree e-shopper as I would have thought. I have no hesitation about giving my information out over the 'Net as I am about making actual purchases. I must still be a little old fashioned when it comes to buying the things I want and need on a daily basis.

The New Vanity Search ... Extra Strength

Alright. Let's try this again.

So I used some of the ideas in class to "beef up" my efforts of finding more information about myself on the 'Net.

What was interesting was trying the address look up for me.

I used to have a consulting business (well, actually I still have it open) at the house, so I was able to track down old business and yellow page listings for me.

But that was it. I really didn't expect TOO much more: I don't spend time on social sites and such. My online presence is really limited to work.

Perhaps, people can comment and let me know some other ways they found stuff out about themselves! Give me some clues!

Vanity Searches: How do they know me?

Soooo, a vanity search? Me on the web?

I thought I'd give it a go and check it out. (Well that and it was a required assignment)

I checked out a few sites and search engines:

http://www.msn.com/

http://www.google.com/

http://www.yahoo.com/

http://www.intelius.com/

http://www.usa-people-search.com/

On a good note, I barely exist (but yes I am out there)! What was interesting to me was how different the search results were between MSN, Google, and Yahoo. Each found a few things on variations of my name, but only a couple of them were the same. I did find an entire branch of the family in Iowa. Either that or I live over there and didn't know it.

As for the "people search" sites, yes I was listed, but oh how the info was wrong.

Now I thought about this search and the internet. This actually relates back to my earlier blog about newspapers in an odd sort of way. The World Wide Web (man, I learned something in this class: I'm so stuck on calling it the 'Net) provides all this access to information. Mountains of it in fact. But what is real, what isn't?

Journalism in its previous form (the printed one) was respected, a position of "world news" distribution power. Sure it was biased, edited, told you what it wanted you to hear, but there was a certain amount of trust from the lay person's point of view.

As for the WWW compared to the dying form of print journalism, you have access to more viewpoints, more information, but you have to filter what you choose to believe or not. The WWW can fuel a mis-guided opinion into truth, and bring others along with you. Or it can dis-credit your truths simply by clicking on the wrong site.

I think finding yourself on the 'Net (I'm calling it that too bad) is somewhat of a novelty. You can see what is out there about you, maybe chuckle a bit at the incorrect information, and say, "Wow! Look what is out there about me!" But what if someone else is looking? If the information is grossly incorrect, or you just happen to have a name "common" enough to someone else's? Would it bother you? Could you lose a job or not get one because of what is out there? Can it affect you personally? And heck, can you change it?

That is the scary round of questions. People have lost jobs, not gotten them, or had misconceptions about who they are because of the information on the 'Net. As for changing it? There is no rebuttal process to "fix" who you are out there. If there is an error on your credit report, you can follow a process to fix that (about 70% of all information on a credit report is wrong, btw), but not so on the 'Net. If you disagree with someone in court, you can dispute information to a judge. If someone doesn't like you and writes a blog, too bad it's out there. Heck, if they know what to do on the 'Net, they can set up profiles, pictures, you name it and pose an entirely bad image of who you are with no recourse (being able to be anonymous and hiding IPs can be bothersome).

I imagine down the road someone will figure out there needs to be a way to regulate this. Problem is, how? It's too darn big. And of course, it's a free forum to voice your opinion or post it. Who wants to be told what to do and how to do it?

When it's all said and done, I would say I'm for all the information. Just take it all with a grain of salt. If you need the information for something pertinent, re-verify it before accepting it. Computers only do what we tell them, so don't let the blind lead the blind.

PS. I put a few links below for sites I checked out:

http://personalweb.about.com/od/losingyourjob/Having_Trouble_at_Work_or_Losing_Your_Job_Because_Of_Your_Web_Site.htm

http://www.independent.co.uk/student/career-planning/getting-job/be-warned--you-might-not-get-a-job-interview-if-your-web-profile-is-unappealing-933845.html

PPS. A really good link on the evolving application of using the 'Net to help you get a job using vanity searches:

http://mariosundar.wordpress.com/2008/07/08/your-virtual-resume-is-your-google-vanity-search/

The Future of Newspapers in Regards to the Web

"Get yer newspaper! Read all about it!"

So sayeth the town crier from years past.

Click. Click.

So sayeth the keyboard from today's generation.

The age of information has brought around a type of economic "creative destruction" for the print media world: as we saw with MP3's and the iPod, audio media and the medium for which they were played on has turned the corner for CDs and CD players (anyone remember when CDs were the big bright idea of the future?)

Don't get me wrong, I am all for the digital age. I'm a "click, click" kind of person. You will rarely catch me watching the news or flipping through a newspaper on a regular basis (it's mainly because one was laying around and I felt like looking at the ads for LCDs and furniture, and of course wanted some black ink transferred to my hands and clothing). Checking out MSN.com or (thanks to TINST 207 at UW Tacoma) news on Google just saves me more time to check out the news I'm interested in and move on to my day. There are only so many hours I've got to live, right?

But there is some remiss in the passing of the journalistic torch to this new publishing outlet we call the World Wide Web. Some see it as the correlation between society's increasing illiteracy (http://blog.news-record.com/staff/jrblog/2008/03/reading.shtml); others as the next great opportunity.

Being immediate, easily distributed, shareable, updateable, and something almost anyone can publish on, the Web seems a better choice. From an advertising perspective, what better way to pitch your product than to pull up a list of metrics on who is looking at your material (number of "hits", demographics on readers, targeted marketing based on metatags in the material, etc)? Much easier to grab precious advertising dollars (those elusive monies that make the print media go 'round) when you can say "3 million people from ages 18-25 visit my site per month, 300,000 of those people like dogs, and 100,000 of those dog lovers buy dog food at organic stores, and then again 25,000 of them live within 10 miles of your organic dog food store" instead of "if you take 2.2 and multiply it by my distribution amount you'll come up with an estimate of about how many people might be reading and interested in local news."

So, how will the newspaper play out in the future? Who knows. It will definitely have to evolve to stay alive (here's a creative thought on it, the "Venetian screen" http://dilbertblog.typepad.com/the_dilbert_blog/2007/10/the-future-of-n.html).

PS. The below article had some good insights into this topic. I cut out an excerpt, but you can follow the link for the entire post:

"From Print to Digital: What Changes, What’s Lost
The nature of a newspaper, both as a medium for information and as a business, changes when it loses its physical form and shifts to the Internet. It gets read in a different way, and it makes money in a different way. A print newspaper provides an array of content—local stories, national and international reports, news analyses, editorials and opinion columns, photographs, sports scores, stock tables, TV listings, cartoons, and a variety of classified and display advertising—all bundled together into a single product. People subscribe to the bundle, or buy it at a newsstand, and advertisers pay to catch readers’ eyes as they thumb through the pages. The publisher’s goal is to make the entire package as attractive as possible to a broad set of readers and advertisers. The newspaper as a whole is what matters, and as a product it’s worth more than the sum of its parts."

Complete article at http://www.britannica.com/blogs/2008/04/the-great-unbundling-newspapers-the-net/.

Email versus the Postal Service

EMAIL VERSUS THE POSTAL SYSTEM!

Almost seems like a "Fight the Power" type of heading. But no, really, it's just more of a comparative analysis I'm doing.

Email has--and only within the last decade or so--really eclipsed the postal service in day-to-day message sending. I mean really, snail mail is just useful for things like bills (the ones I can't get in email format), junk mail, and, well, postcards from people far away in hot sunny places that "Wish you were here." Ya, me too.

But, let's break down the Email / Postal Service into a quick comparison, give the Postal Service some props on what only they can do, and cover some advantages of the almighty electronic mail system.

What do they have in common?

1. Return address.

2. Recipient address.

3. Time/date stamps.

4. Carry information.

What can only the Post Office do?

1. Deliver a tangible product. (Just think: smoked salmon via email. Mmmm...tasty. lol)

Advantages to email?

1. Speed (yes, faster than a stamp).

2. Cost (less expensive, umm by far).

3. Bulk (10 million people with a click of the button).

4. No licking of the envelope (the greatest advantage of all).

My opinion of it all?

What would we do without email? It has become an integral part of the working world (the casual user tends to lean toward more instant gratification, like texting, IM'ing, social networks that pop up on your cell phone, etc.). But at one point, it was just a fad. Just like cell phones: twenty years ago, it was impractical to conduct consistent business with one. Now? Everything can be done on one; people are even foregoing home "land lines" and signing up for unlimited minutes.

Email is part of our world now, but what's the next evolution? Give it ten years, something new will come to replace it.

PS. If you want to see how it all works behind the scenes, check out this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-mail. It gives you all types of great information and research in case you're bored and need to know more!