Download: What I learned

In the search video, I learned about a company called Excite that I had never heard of. I also learned that Stanford is the where most Web geniuses come from. I also had never heard where the name Google came from but it makes total sense. I found it amazing the amount of money strangers put into Google without any proof that there would ever be any kind of revenue.  I also found it interesting that the video also talked about the company that Google potentially ripped off for their business model. I think its really good that it brings to light what life would be like without Google. We do take it for granted and most of us use it everyday. 

I didn’t know that CD burners were explored by Corporate America and turned down. It makes me angry at them. I understand the backlash of  stealing music, and is the reason why I dont do it, but when record companies and corporate America was making no steps towards making music easier to find and accessible, Napster took the necessary steps for us to have iTunes and other MP3 buying sites and programs. 

The True Story of the Internet Response

I thought the documentary was very inspiring and thought provoking. My favorite part was when the journalist talked about the more technical aspects of sending data from computer A to computer B. I find fiber optics pretty fascinating and the video’s demonstration of how the strands of glass send light waves through the lengths of wires that extend for miles really peaked my interest and put how it all works into perspective for me. The part where they explained how they use mirrors to reflect the light back on the path through the wire as it bends was an interesting fact I didn’t know. I really liked the analogy they used when describing how information is transmitted through the wave. A scholar said that the paths of the web are a lot like traffic on a busy highway, except instead of looking for a specific destination, the traveling information continues on a path to find a server that transmits messages to an entire establishment or group of computers in a location.Part 2 explained a lot about the internet was a business model and I really enjoyed listening to some of the tech geeks ideas and what inspired them to create things like yahoo, which started out as a couple of guys that wanted to organize sporting event information in a directory.

Google Google Google!

As I watched the video I couldn’t help but remember professor Grimes’ lecture about the history of mass media and how advertising came about. It was very interesting to me how many investors didn’t think that Google can reach the potential it is at today. While I was watching the video I thought to myself “duh, Advertising would be the way to make money” so it was interesting to know that something we are used to seeing on our webpages was such a huge problem for them. But in the long run it’s great to know that we the people make up our own advertisements on our browsers.

Also it was interesting how the government wanted to take some of the data that Google had on our search habits and how Google denied them the entry to our data. Why would the government want what Google has? … that is a bit scary to think about because well, it’s the government.

As for the power we have and how the people have impacted the web instead of how the web has impacted the people, I feel, as a user, very powerful because it is our daily habits of how we use the web and what we search for that companies like Google and Yahoo! learn from. It is one of the ways that communication is changing and how it is going to continue to change.

In general it was cool to learn about the other companies that had the same idea as Google that I had never heard of. It was also great to know that all these “billionaires” were just kids in college with an idea. I think that was inspiring to me because every new change that has occurred has been because of a young mind with a great idea and people who trust in them to invest large amounts of money.

If the web and search has already changed this much from when it started, I can just imagine what else is going to come up in the future. I’m interested in seeing this change occur.

Can You Digg It! We can Digg it!!!!

I grew up without Google… I can imagine the world without it, but I would rather not!!

It seems that there are both benefits and drawl backs, to having information so easily accessible.  For one thing perhaps people/students would take more time to read for enjoyment and understanding instead of just reading to find the easy answer.  I know that I often don’t have time, so I am guilty of this.  I do love being able to get immediate information, and before we had the technology of Google in schools, writing research papers was a nightmare.  I forgot what tedious things we were taught in my ninth grade world geography class , like how to look up the population of a country. I think a two-year old that still wets themselves can answer those kinds of questions now.  Whatever happened to encyclopedias anyhow? I think that their genius revolves around how to engage people and most importantly how to separate the crap from the good stuff.  I think had the inventors of Google, and Yahoo not been turned down by investors, they might not have continued to try so hard and dream so big.  Also, the story would have just been boring.  I enjoyed learning and going behind the scenes of their success.

Can  you Digg it? 

I agree that the deepest human impulse is the need to communicate…

I’ll admit I had not even given thought to what this was until I saw People Power…for shame!!!

It sounds like the next big thing and I am really excited to getting started using it.  This was probably the most exciting part for me.

 

 

Final Project: Missionary life.

My final project will be about the life of missionaries on campus. Some questions for them would be how they decided to become a missionary, what life is like at home and the evangelization process, their difficulties and sacrifices and their ultimate rewards. I want to show a more personal side of them that people don’t usually get to see, thanks in part to the negative stereotypes about them. I want to help others realize that most of these missionaries are still in their 20’s and they left the social norm idea of “adulthood” for their religious service and beliefs. I also want to show how one doesn’t have to go Africa or Asia or a third would country to be a missionary; some of them are closer than we think but we don’t take the time to notice.

It’s always been very interesting and a bit misunderstanding for me when I think of what their lives are like so I really want to do this project  because I want to learn more about them too.

A life without Google?

What I found interesting about the videos was how would the internet be without Google. I use Google almost, if not everyday. It’s crazy to thing that there was a time where you couldn’t search for something on the web. It’s interesting to know how the search engines like Yahoo! and Google were created. Also something that interested me was how companies turned down Google and didn’t see the potential in Google. It’s interesting to know that when you search not only are you telling the Internet what you like but also telling it what you would like to buy. Also, how you could sell keywords to advertisers and how search could be like the yellow pages.

It was also interesting to know how communication is changing today and how it will continue to change. I liked how they talked about Youtube and how it made people become their own TV crew. Also with Digg, how it made a blog be on a level like the New York Times. It was interesting to see them talk about Napster as well because I remember my brother would use Napster to get music. With the Internet, people can do many different and amazing things and it will continue to evolve in the future.

The Power of Searching the Internet and People

After watching the documentaries I feel more inspired about what we as people are capable of, and what the Internet holds in store for us. There is an immense untapped power that the Internet provides, allowing unlimited communication, knowledge and imagination.

It isn’t surprising that the simplicity of Google was a blinding shock at first, followed by thorough searches and creative advertising. Since there was no business plan for Google, the future of the company was free to do as they please, and because of that it has thrived. I was surprised to learn that Excite turned down the opportunity to purchase Google, and the CEO and founder of Excite is quite humble in realizing his mistake. The humility, to me, was most surprising because we do not see that in high-tech or Internet-based industries often.

It is always a shock to me when I’m reminded of the infancy in which the Internet started, and realize that it has reached it’s adolescent years. I think this is what defines “web 2.0.” Of course communication drives us, but the companies and websites that provide us with the means of communication are just as young. I think that because the Internet is currently a “people’s Internet” we see rebellion in Napster and Facebook–this desire to do things differently and be okay with the fallout, because at least we tried.

With the resurgence of blogging and personal websites, we are defining and writing our own Internet, changing what we already know and pushing the limits of what we don’t. It is with this power of communication that I believe we are forging the way and changing what we define as a relationship, and can expand what we know as a whole.

Teacher’s Tech

For my final project I want to focus on how technology changes the acceleration of learning and the way teachers teach.

I came to this idea after reading a few new articles about Moore’s Law and how it has changed what we can do with technology. Moore’s Law simply states that as we reduce the size of microchips, technology will continue to become faster, better, and cheaper.

This reminded me of how one of my dance teacher’s three year old daughter learned how to use an iPhone. This is before iPads and before toys/applications were being adapted specifically for learning. She knew how to unlock the phone, log on to Netflix, and watch cartoons. She never had watched her mom do it before, she simply understood.

This acceleration in learning new technology is accompanied by an acceleration in reading as well. With this comes the spelling of the technology/Internet generation, and teachers are having to combat the “gr8″s and other Internet slang.

I have some friends who teach elementary school and plan on interviewing them to see their opinion on how to use technology in the classroom, how the way they teach today differs from how they were taught growing up, if the content they teach has changed, and how students respond to these changes and why the changes were made.

I hypothesize that technology has helped teachers in the development of lesson plans and in the science behind teaching, but that at the same time the exponential speed in which technology grows may hinder what is being taught to children.

I’m interested to find out.

FInal project- multitasking mommys.

 

Ask any college student about juggling work, internships, class and class work, and they’ll tell you its difficult. Most of us can’t wait to get out of college because we think it will get easier, for the majority of us, girls especially, thats not the case. After college comes a full time job, and eventually a family- that means juggling 40+ hour work weeks with raising children, cleaning house, having a husband and keeping a social life. 

 

My project is going to cover the difficulty of being a working woman, mother, student, etc. I will tell my personal story, as well as get interviews and testimonials from other overwhelmed women. My website will also include tips and tricks for these busy mothers, a blog, and a couple undetermined pages.