Friday, December 17, 2010

Technology

Pros and cons of growing technology.
Our ever growing digital frontier of new technology has given a wealth of resources to share knowledge, information and express creativity. Now days with one push of a button, you can have, what seems like the world at your fingertips. The internet provides numerous benefits, but some headaches as well.
Some pros are that we are all connected. People from around the world can now communicate in a matter of seconds. The internet gives us the chance to interact both socially and professionally with one another. Another pro to the internet is convenience; years ago no one would have thought that with the press of a button we could place an entire order within seconds. There are a huge amount of things one can do through the internet, such as order take-out, book hotels and flights or even grocery shop. We can pay bills and transfer funds with a simple click of a button. The World Wide Web also provides us with an ease of communication. It provides us with PC’s, Voice over internet Proxy (VoIP), email, instant messaging, and video conferencing. The rapid retrieval of information is another thing that makes the internet so much more convenient for people everywhere. You can quickly access all the information you would need for things like; making a big purchase or which college to apply for. With many different databases that connect you with numerous employers, one can also find a job using the internet. A certain sort of empowerment comes from using the internet, it gives us the freedom to work, learn, and share.
There are a lot of pros to the fast growing internet there are also many cons. Social networking, although fun can be a playground for virtual predators. Many children are at high risk if they are not careful about being online. Along with cyber predators comes cyber bullying. Kids are causing and falling victim to online bullying. Another dangerous downfall of the internet is the erosion of privacy. Everything we do online leaves a digital footprint; there is always ways for people access information about us. How often do we make the assumption that the computer is always right? What we forget to keep in mind is that there are people behind all of the computer programs. If we forget to rely on our judgment the internet quickly develops several ways of being a con. With new programs on the internet come new categories of crimes. Copyright problems, identity theft, stalking are just a few; while traditional in nature the internet provides a “twist.” The internet for some has become somewhat of a secondary lifestyle. People are spending more time in front of a computer screen then getting out and moving around. When using the internet, one must examine their life and personal values so that they can examine the level of trade-offs each one of us is willing to make. Is privacy more valuable then convenience?

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Blogging

I think its really stupid how we arn't allowed to voice our oppinion on the internet, who the hell cares? Dont we have freedom of speech? I think that as long as no one is threatening someone else or bullying that person, that blogging or writing about your life and the people in it is only natural. People voice their opinions everyday whether its on the news or via chats on Facebook, if you feel a certain way about something you should be able to talk about it. If people dont want to hear about it, they dont have to read it, simple as that.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Pre-writing Social Media

One of the facts on this video we watched in class was 1 out of 8 marriages were people who met through an online networking system. Not even ten years ago meeting someone online was looked down upon where now its more of an everyday thing. Social media has become a way of life for our generation and remains ever growing because of the constint demand to stay "connected." The video also goes on to say that by 2010 gen Y will out number the baby boomers and 96% will be goined to some sort of social network. If facebook was a country it would be 4th largest in the world. If all of these people came together like this to try and solve world problems instead of tweeting about what they did that day, we would probably wouldnt have so many wars or debates with each other.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIFYPQjYhv8&feature=related