Blog of a “Mad, Mad” Woman

October 17, 2006

Those Who Technology Leaves Behind

Filed under: Uncategorized — by cdgentry @ 11:02 pm

Technology and new media is constantly being developed to evoke social change. Products are being invented to help people educate themselves, better manage time, and keep and share memories. However, with these new ideas and technological advances, someone pays a price. Does technology broaden the social gap between the rich and the poor.

Online education is being developed to make higher education more accessible. It is being used to replace distance learning and traditional face-to-face learning. Hiltz and Tutoff think “there are benefits to the students, the organizations, and to the society, as well as more direct cost-benefit factors” (62). If people with low incomes can’t afford the computer to access online classes or the Internet connection, how can this technology benefit society as a whole. At least, scholarships are available for people with a low income to attend traditional schools on a need basis.

Technological advances increases the economy by introducing products that people with money would buy. Instead of looking for ways to introduce their technology in help underprivileged communities Kangas and Kinnunen talk about using technology to lower cost to produce a marketable product.

In Digital Memories in an Era of Ubiquitous Computing and Abundant Storage, the writers talk about how people can capture and store their life through technology. Yes, it’s good to be able to use technology to find a hat we misplaced a week ago. But wouldn’t it be great if we could use technology to provide food to the hungry instead worrying about what picture to store on my refrigerator.

Fortunately, new technology is bringing the people who can afford it together. Unfortunately, it is dividing the haves from the have-nots. As stated on ITDG.org, “ Leave a Comment

Life Is Good, Don’t Get Me Wrong

Filed under: Uncategorized — by cdgentry @ 12:05 am

Don’t get me wrong despite how tough the last couple of weeks have been. I’m still enjoying life. I admit sometimes I would like to teleport to Miami and spend a relaxing day on the beach. But I can’t. I have to endure the what is my life, which consists of the good and the bad.

So, instead of concentrating on the bad things in this entry, I’m going to list the good things in my life.

My family is getting along.
I’ve met some great people recently.
I have overall good health.
I have a roof over my head.
The possibilty of love still exists and is possible for me.
My life may not be just beginning, but it’s not ending, either.

I could go on more, but then I would just be bragging. So, don’t get me wrong. I might question or ponder over events that temporarily occupies my life. So, don’t be alarmed.

October 10, 2006

Hey, I Got My Blog Stuck in My Mouth

Filed under: Uncategorized — by cdgentry @ 10:09 pm

Blogging is a great way to take advantage of technology by starting conversations via the web. Conversations are great. It doesn’t matter if they are conducted verbally or literally. Conversations share ideas and can spark fires. Yet no matter how great one is in verbal conversation, sooner or longer something is said that shouldn’t have been said. So, in the world of bloggers are there repercussions to typing something you shouldn’t have typed?

Everyone does it. A word is misspelled or “your” is used and it should have been “you’re.” These errors make us human. In Naked Conversations, Dave Winers says typos reveal authenticity (4). So, compared to some errors one can make on the web, typos are minuscule.

Once company employees started blogging, the least of the company’s legal team’s worries were about typos. According to Naked Conversations and the interview with Microsoft’s first blogger, Joshua Allen, “everyone was worried someone would do something stupid and the whole thing would fall down” (12). Just ask Juan Gutierrez. Apple settled with Gutierrez, in April 2001, after it was found out that he posted company secrets on the web.

Though what Guitierrez did was wrong, he didn’t post Apple’s trade secrets accidentally. The posts were intentional. So, how can one clean up their blog’s mess. First of all, errors like not citing or not linking correctly should be corrected in the original posting. However, the offense of including incorrect information in your post should not be fixed by editing the original. The most acceptable thing to do is to retract, correct, or apologize in the comments of your erroneous post or publish another post with an apology, retraction, or correction.

Now, if you notice some blogs an error on their site, make them aware of it. On the Internet, you don’t have to worry about embarrassment for verbally making someone aware of his or her faux pas. All you do is post a comment telling them of their error. Since to err is human, remember to double-check your correction before you post.

Since bloggers are just “everyday” people with thoughts and ideas, can there be repercussions to errors on their blog. Other than admitting or accepting your mistakes, I would think not. So, the good thing about typing something you shouldn’t have is you don’t have to “pull your foot out of your mouth” in front of a physical audience.

Sources:

Scoble, R. and Israel, S. Naked Conversations. Hoboken: John Wiley and Sons (2006).

C/Net News.com. August 7, 2001. Apple Settles with “Worker Bee.”

Teblog. January 11, 2006. Correcting Blog Errors.

Business Blog Consulting. March 7, 2006. Blog Posting Erorrs: Correct Them or Not?

October 8, 2006

What About Your Friends?

Filed under: Uncategorized — by cdgentry @ 9:38 pm

I’ve had the most difficult month last month and this is not including the stuff I already have to deal with on a normal basis. However, it has given me pause for thought. How do we know who are friends truly are?

What is a friend?

Everyone will probably answer differently because everyone has different expectations, wants, and needs.

On the other hand, shouldn’t a friend be there through thick and thin, good and bad times. Or is that marriage? But, wait don’t most friendships last longer than most marriages?

I know I sound very cynical, but a lot of people, who I thought would be there when I needed them most, were no where to be found. Caring is sharing. Right? I know there are moments when you give and not receive. Then there are times when you receive. But what should one do when they give and give to a full room and when they need to receive the room is suddenly empty.

The only answer I’ve been able to comfort myself with is to be my own best friend first and whomever is with you during the long crazy ride cherish their friendship. Also, be a better friend to them than they have been to you!

October 2, 2006

It’s Not A Game

Filed under: Uncategorized — by cdgentry @ 2:04 pm

Our lives are centered on games. As youngsters, we play games like hopscotch, jacks, and Candyland. As we age the games become more challenging and requires more intelligence and/or athleticism. One action of play can cause various outcomes. So, when are playing games no longer fun.

“Play is older than culture” (Huizinga, 1). Huizinga argues that play is essential to life. The only difference between our play and animal play is that we have less instinctive reasons to play whereas animals play as a way of creating new life.

There are many reasons humans play games. Crawford sees playing games as “a fundamental part of human existence” (Crawford, 1). But are we able to distinguish between what’s real and what’s not. On Second Life, one can create an aviator that resembles them, own land and build properties.

Even though one can build and own property in the virtual world, they never have the opportunity to experience real life issues in their fictional world., like poverty. In Second Life, one can change their clothes and travel almost anywhere with no money. Unlike the real world, one cannot survive without some form of aid.

Yet, these types of games known as MMOGs create cultural experiences. A large majority of adults play some type of video game. According to the Entertainment Software Association, 69% of American head of households play computer and video games (esa.com). Hinton thought, “our daily contact with simultaneously shared digital environments is only increasing and deepening with time” (Hinton). Gamers can now say “we live here” when asked about their online environment.

Not only are people living in the virtual world, they are making a living in the virtual world. They are making so much “real” money in the game that they are able to quit their jobs.

So, if people can make a living in a virtual world is it still a game to them or is it now a business.

Sources:

Hinton, A. “We Live Here: Games, Third Places, and the Information Architecture of the Future.” ASIS&T Bulletin August/September. http://www.asis.org/Bulletin/Aug-06/hinton.html

Crawford, C. “What is a Game?” The Art of Computer Game Design.

Huizinga, J. “Nature and Significance of Play as a Cultural Phenomenon” Homo Ludens: A Study of the Play Element in Culture. Boston: Beacon Press, 1950.

September 26, 2006

No Faith, No Peace

Filed under: Uncategorized — by cdgentry @ 3:22 pm

I try to make a conscious effort not to lie nor do wrong to others.  I believe in”what goes around, comes around”.  So, when a co-worker of mine hits me in my company’s parking lot.  I in good faith believe he will not screw me over.  This believe continued until my insurance adjuster told me in his statement he said I backed out of my parking spot and hit him causing him to hit another car.

I guess I have to start to have the attitude to look after myself first and foremost.

September 25, 2006

Second life, Get a life

Filed under: Uncategorized — by cdgentry @ 10:20 pm

I have been on Second Life twice since signing up for my account. It could just me, but it takes a lot of focus and energy to navigate yourself in this personal world. It is fascinating to actually not be yourself for a small amount of time during the day, but it’s exhausting. Unfortunately, you can’t just freely move around. You have to remember what command does what. I’m just happy that I figured how to get and keep my clothes on. I know it shouldn’t matter if my alter ego Jade Zhao is clothed or not, since she doesn’t really exist and her nudity is only a virtual reality.

I know this world doesn’t really exist, but I’ve met more “friends” in my last two visits than I’ve met in the “real” world in the last two months. As with any new friendship, the bond of us being clueless is what brings us together. We all share a certain amount of fraility and it’s easier to show it virtually than it is in reality. In the “real” world, I hate to show any loss of strength. However, in both “worlds” I can admit when I’m lost. It just may take me longer to admit it in “reality”.

I’m not sure if, after our class meeting on Thursday, I will keep logging onto Second Life. I don’t want to get so caught up in my virtual reality that I forget about my “real world”. Oddly enough, living Jade’s life is currently more enjoyable than my own.

September 19, 2006

Internet Utopia

Filed under: Uncategorized — by cdgentry @ 10:32 pm

With the increase in communications technology, will users forgo conventional methods of obtaining information, like newspapers, in order to support their own way of thinking? In obtaining information themselves, it allows them to create their own world where nothing goes against their own believes.

One has the right to choose what news story they want to read in the newspaper. They can even choose the news story they want to watch on television. It’s what is great about the United States of America. The system of democracy gives us the freedom of choice. It gives us the freedom of how we take in news and what news we take in.

With the help of technology, we rely less and less on the conventional methods to get the news of the day. There are many young adults who have never even held a newspaper, much less read one. A Survey conducted by the Los Angeles Time and the Bloomberg business network found that only nine percent of teens 12 to 17 read daily newspapers (pressgazette.co.uk). By reading a newspaper or watching a newscast, one doesn’t have a say in content. The stories they want to know about are included with stories they have no knowledge of or find uninteresting.

With the Internet, one can control the information taken in and create their own world geared towards their own ideas and ways of thinking. Cass Sunstein refers to this as the “Daily Me”. By creating their own blogs, they can now share their world with others. On their blogs they can post their feelings, as well as links and information that support their ideas and/or theories.

Blogs created may not necessarily have a negative effect. Good things can come out of same-interest blogs and groups on the web. However, the user may be missing out on other things in life they might find interesting. Causes or other groups could exist that they could contribute their ideas.

Even though everybody has the capability to surround themselves with things they like or make them feel good, it’s not realistic. It’s like eating dinner when you were young. You might have something you like on your plate, like pizza. Then, your mom would ruin it by adding broccoli. You might not like broccoli, but in the long run it’s good for you.

Sources:

    Boycott the Daily Me!

. 4, June 2001. The University of Chicago Law School. www.law.uchicago.edu/news/sunstein-internet.html

    US Young Continue to Shun Newspapers Online Press Gazette

. 17, August 2006. Online Press Gazette

    Internet Create Advocates Out of Everyday Computer Users

. 25, December 2005.
FoxNews.com http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,179723,00.html

Sunstein, Cass. “Demnocracy and Filtering.”

    Communications of the ACM

47.12 December 2004.

It’s been that bad

Filed under: Uncategorized — by cdgentry @ 5:16 pm

I can’t say it has been the worst week of my life, but it comes pretty close. My family member passed away, then my one gallon water pitcher mysteriously leaked in my refrigerator and all over my kitchen floor, I had a allergic reaction to a new medication, followed by a second reaction that covered the bottom half of my face in a rash.

So, yes, it’s been pretty bad! But I’m still going, despite the fact that all I want to do is stay buried underneath my covers for at least a day. I know that’s not going to happen. I have papers to write, projects to complete, and a job that needs to be done. So, maybe next year?!

September 13, 2006

Trading Spaces

Filed under: Uncategorized — by cdgentry @ 1:48 am

With the hectic schedules people have today, trying to balance work and family. The question, “How to be in two places at the same time?” always, felt like a difficult riddle. It’s impossible to be solved.

Impossible until wireless communications was introduced in the 20th century. Now one had the freedom to communicate anywhere without the hindrance of a landline. It’s technology that has grown with the help of teenagers. This embrace of mobile technology caused a shift in generational power. Anthropologist Mizuko Ito believed mobile phones “freed youth from the tyranny of the landline shared by inquisitive family members, creating a space for private communication.” (Rheingold 4).

Not only did youth help increase the popularity of the mobile phone, they, also, introduced the convenience of text messaging referred to as SMS everywhere except the US. “Texting made it possible for young people to conduct conversations that can’t be overheard” (Rheingold 4). This created a trend that allowed people to “construct a networked alternative space that is available from anywhere they are” (Rheingold 5).

This alternative space is what now allows one to be in two places at once. Rich Lang and Birgette Yttri noticed mobile users sharing the same age group “were still available to their social network even when participating in another social event” (Rheingold 6). Jenna Lo Castro wrote about text messaging in the classroom. She found texting “is the easiest way to communicate when making a call is impossible” (www.carrollnewsonline.com).

This new availability has now been adopted by an older generation. It is not only allowing those in the workforce to balance family and careers, it is also allowing people to carry on simultaneous relationships. People committing infidelities are being caught by messages on their mobile phones at a growing rate.

Fortunately, texting is not only breaking up relationships, but it is also building relationships. Unlike the freedom texting gave Tokyo youth, it is bringing American youth and their parents closer together. According to a Cinuglar survey, “…parents who text message say they communicate more frequently with their children when they are away from home and 64 percent say that texting made their kids easier to reach” (textually.org).

Just in the last two decades what started as a trend in Tokyo and Finland’s youth has traded spaces in American mainstream. So, when you are trying to have a private moment and you get a phone call or text message, you have only yourself and the youth of Tokyo and Finland to blame. The technological trend they originally embraced has sometimes inconveniently allowed us to be in two places at one time.

Citations:

Rheingold, H. Smart Mobs. New York: Perseus, 2002.

Wireless News: Text Messaging. 18, March 2002. 10Meters.com 18, March. 2002

Mobiles Betray “Cheating” Italians. 15, September 2003. BBC News 15, September 2003

Survey Indicates That Text Messaging Improves Parent-Child Communications. 29, August 2006. Textually.org 29, August 2006.

Americans Get Texting As SMS Finally Catches On. Yea!. 30, August 2006. Textually.org 30, August 2006.

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