Reading Assignment #11 Kirkpatrick's "The Facebook Effect" pgs. 107-214

Good evening dear followers. This week we were asked to read the second section of Kirkpatrick's book, "The Facebook Effect". Kirkpatrick starts this section off by speaking of the investors who were willing to invest in thefacebook.com. At this end of this chapter I found it quite interesting as to what happened to Mark Zuckerberg the day he had signed the papers with Accel as the investor. While on his way in the wee hours of the morning to visit his girlfriend who was a Berkeley student, Zuckerberg was gettting gas when a man approached him with gun in hand ready to shoot Mark. Luckily, the man was so drunk or high that Zuckerberg took a chance and was able to jump into his shiny new Infiniti "the Warthog" (p. 127) and get away. He took a calculated risk by doing this, just as he did when he created thefacebook.com.

In 2005, the company dropped The from its name after purchasing the domain name facebook.com for $200,000. On September 20, 2005 the company officially became just, Facebook. What to do next? Zuckerberg and his cohorts wanted to broaden the membership of Facebook but which demographic should they turn to next. Facebook launched a high school version in September 2005, which Zuckerberg called the next logical step. At that time, high school networks required an invitation to join. Facebook later expanded membership eligibility to employees of several companies, including Apple Inc. and Microsoft. Facebook was then opened on September 26, 2006 to everyone of ages 13 and older with a valid email address.

Even though Facebook kept growing and growing Mark never for a second thought like a CEO of a million dollar company. He didn't think if profit or advertising venues in the least. He also didn't dress like a CEO as he was still wearing his college garb of a t-shirt, shorts and of course his trademark Adidas flip-flops. As time went on Facebook started seeing problems getting the "adult" demographic to join Facebook. People lead and start a bandwagon once someone else has, so adults didn't want to join until other adults were already there (p. 173). Perhaps facebook was all about students and the adult population didn't need to concern themselves with such a website; yeah right! Many advertisers started getting onboard and used Facebook to get college and high school students interested in their products; for example Chase, Apple and P&G.

In 2006, Facebook saw that its users wanted to know what was happening with their friends, what happened last night at a party, was "so and so" still single; but the clicks were endless for users to find out this information. Facebook became the page that one can turn to find out, "How are the people doing that I care about?" (p. 181) By the end of 2006, "Facebook had 12 million active users" (p. 198). It had come so far; from a dorm room at Harvard to a billion dollar business.

Until next time my dear followers when I conclude my thoughts and insight on, "The Facebook Effect".

What Did Wikipedia Teach Me?

1. Should Wikipedia be used as a scholarly source? What are the strengths and weaknesses of this source?

Wikipedia is one of the most controversial information sources on the web today. It serves as a socially edited database source for information on virtually any topic. Wikipedia is gaining an increasingly bad reputation in schools all over the world. Teachers will argue that Wikipedia is not a reliable source with credibility to be cited in a formal essay or term paper. Teachers believe that due to the multitude of anonymous updates, there is not enough reliable information to base ideas upon. Even if Wikipedia can detect obvious errors there is no way that it can monitor every single error. Wikipedia is easy to use and therefore any normal person can make anonymous edits. Many college professors believe that Wikipedia should not be used as a scholarly source due to the fact that students have been taught extensive research skills up to that point and should use them to their advantage. Students should have the ability, by the time they reach university, to research more reliably published information and develop a coherent argument. Younger children, however, may need extra encouragement to develop their arguments; but not necessarily their researching skills. The fact that articles on Wikipedia are not written in a complicated manner certainly may encourage its use among younger children. In my opinion Wikipedia should be used as a learning tool and not a research tool.

2. What so these strengths and weaknesses tell us about the impact and potential effects of technology on American culture?

Wikipedia to me is the future that anyone can edit. It's funny how we all seem to "knock it" yet still seem to flock to the website daily.The impact of technological change on culture, learning, and morality has long been the subject of intense debate, and every technological revolution brings out a fresh crop of both pessimists and pollyannas. Embracing new technology people fear, will result in the overthrow of traditions, beliefs, values, institutions, business models, and much else they hold sacred. Our current Information Revolution has had its share of techno-pessimists and techno-optimists. Indeed, before most of us had even heard of the Internet, people were already fighting about it, or at least debating what the rise of the Information Age meant for our culture, society, and economy. The world we occupy today is a world of unprecedented media abundance and unlimited communications and connectivity opportunities. I believe that the Internet and digital technologies are reshaping our culture, economy, and society in most ways for the better, but not without some serious aversion along the way. 

3. What did you learn? What will you take away from this project?

I've enjoyed working on this project. I learned that Wikipedia is an amazing example of intelligence at work, but I also understand it is not without flaws and limitations. I believe Wikipedia is a wonderful complement, but not a complete substitute, for other media and information sources and inputs.  

Reading Assignment #10 Kirkpatrick's "The Facebook Effect" pgs. 1-106

Good evening dear followers. This week we were asked by Professor Ferguson to start reading the book titled, "The Facebook Effect" by David Kirkpatrick. Kirkpatrick begins by telling us background information on a sophomore at Harvard University named Mark Zuckerberg. Zuckerberg never thought sleep was a priority as he scribbled daily on his life-size "eight-foot-long whiteboard"; while also innocently creating an internet software which he called Course Match (p.19). Course Match which I found rather interesting was a software that allowed students to see if their friends had enrolled in classes so then also knew if they wanted to sign up for them as well. Zuckerberg had created a program that students wanted to use. Zuckerberg was full of confidence, blunt, brutally honest and often meticulous. Mark became close friends with his hall roommates Moskovitz and Hughes; they later became known as "three eggheads that loved to talk about ideas" with their extreme confidence that they would rule the world (p.22).

Zuckerberg started another project by October of his sophomore year at Harvard, known as "Facemash". This website invited users to rate another as, "hot" or "not". The photos for the Facemash website came from "facebooks" from each of the different Harvard houses. The "facebooks" were "pictures taken the day students arrived for orientation" (p.23); the facebooks were not just handed over to Zuckerberg he went and did some illicit things in order to get them. After many complains of sexism and racism Zuckerberg was accused of violating the college's code of conduct--security, copyright and privacy were all issues that Marc broke. Luckily Marc was not expelled from Harvard as he claimed Facemash was a "computer science experiment and had no idea it would spread so quickly"(p.25). Zuckerberg continued through his college years making little Web programs that attracted students to use them.

Zuckerberg ended up going online and paying $35 to register the web address, thefacebook.com, for the time frame of one year. Thefacebook.com was a blended site with ideas taken from Course Match and Facemash; as well as Friendster which was a social networking site which allowed individuals to create a profile of themselves, complete personal data such as hobbies and interests, and then allowed their profiles to be linked to those of their friends. This same time, MySpace had come onto the social networking scene but did not make such a huge impact at Harvard University. Thefacebook.com was strictly open to Harvard University students who had a harvard.edu email address; it was growing bigger and bigger everyday' so big that Zuckerberg paid a private computer server to hold the website so it had no linking to the harvard.edu network. Thefacebook.com had grown so huge that students from other universities all over the country were sending emails, texts, and calling to add their school to thefacebook.com roster.

Thefacebook.com needed investors; so Reid Hoffman the founder of LinkedIn being impressed by the site wanted to invest but not be its sole investor. Reid pulled in Peter Thiel, the co-founder of PayPal, as well to invest in thefacebook.com. Thefacebook met a need among students at Harvard and other colleges; "paper facebooks were handed out freshman year at most schools and typically showed photos of every student along with just their name and high school" (p.90); yet these had limitations. The online version allowed you to closely examine a future date, or acquaintance; while even searching your new acquaintances friends. Thefacebook.com became an obsession with the endless clicking and viewing of profiles set you into a trance. I can't wait to see how the rest of this book turns out. 

Apple computer for sale: only $160K!

An original Apple1 computer is going on auction. Estimated price? $161,600 to $242,000. An auctioneer is selling its distant ancestor and one of the world's first personal computers, the Apple1, for an estimated $161,600 to $242,400.In 1976, Apple co-founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak built the computer out of Jobs' family garage and sold it for $666.66. The Apple1 will be auctioned by Christie's in London, England, on November 23, with a simultaneous auction held online. The Apple-1 that's up for sale is believed to be one of about 200 of those computers that Jobs and Wozniak created in 1976 and 1977. It comes in an original box  with the return address pointing back to the California garage where Apple Corp. began and features the original Apple logo, which showed Isaac Newton getting hit on the head with an Apple. The Apple1 does not have a disk drive, nor a monitor or keyboard; not very impressive. Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak have stated that just 200 were made, and only about 50 are thought to survive. Labeled system number 82, this kit includes the motherboard, cassette adapter, manuals, the original shipping box in good condition, and a signed letter from Steve Jobs to the original owner! This is the forerunner of the iPod, iPad and iPhone as it worked straight out of the box.

 

What are your thoughts on this? If you could afford to, would you bid on something like this? Do you think this is just an old artifact that needs to be thrown out? 

Midterm Assignment-Group Presentation 11/10/10

Good evening dear followers. So this past Wednesday evening my group (which consisted of Janet, Kristen and myself) presented our Wikipedia article to the class. I was surprised by the lack of information found on Wikipedia on our topic of Euthanasia. I mean on one hand Wikipedia did do its job in giving a brief overview of the topic for one to have some general knowledge of the subject but that was it. I was quite surprised that no one on the Wikipedia article of Euthanasia ever mentioned any recent cases; for example the case of Terri Schiavo. The Terri Schiavo case drew such huge media attention that it is absurd they left it out of their entries. For those that don't know the Terri Schiavo case was a legal battle between the parents and husband of Terri Schiavo that lasted several years from 1998-2005. The issue at hand was whether the equipment that had been used to sustain Terri's life since 1990 should be disconnected (specifically a feeding tube), thereby allowing her to die in March of 2005.

Doing some research on our own, my group had come to find some very interesting facts about euthanasia. The term Euthanasia originated from the Greek word for "good death." It is the act or practice of ending the life of a person either by lethal injection or the suspension of medical treatment.  Because of this, many view euthanasia as simply bringing relief by alleviating pain and suffering. The word has also been applied to situations when a decision is made to refrain from exercising "heroic" measures in an end-of-life situation.


I was also surprised that Wikipedia didn't mention all the types of Euthanasia, except for PAD and Assisted Euthanasia. Ones that they missed mentioning are:Voluntary Euthanasia - When a competent person makes a voluntary and enduring request to be helped to die. Involuntary Euthanasia - To end a person's life without their knowledge or consent. Active Euthanasia - To end a person's life by use of drugs, whether by oneself or with the aid of a physician. Passive Euthanasia - To end a person life by not taking the necessary and ordinary action to maintain life. This can be done by withdrawing water, food, drugs, medical or surgical procedures.
Physician-Assisted Suicide - Suicide accomplished with the aid of a medical doctor intentionally providing a person with an overdose of prescription medication. Assisted Suicide - Suicide accomplished with the aid of another person.

Overall as a group we came to the conclusion that Wikipedia is a good source when you want a bit of information on a topic or can be used as a starting point for research, but that it is. It is not detailed enough to be used to write a high-school or college-level research paper. It seems to have missing information, sometimes dead links, and sometimes sends you on a wild goose chase in search of information. Because most anyone can edit most Wikipedia articles, mistakes can and do happen. In conclusion, more information is being shared like never before. Whether it's new technology delivered on cell phones, or Wikipedia, the promise of a whole new world of information is at our fingertips. 

Reading Assignment #9--Slade's Made To Break pgs.186-330

Good evening dear followers. So this week I finally finished reading, "Made To Break" by Giles Slade. So in the end of this book I have learned for consumers, having the latest shiny, new gadget has become a way to "either feed one's pride or reduce one's shame," creating a self consciousness about being out of fashion and a tendency to evaluate others based on their possessions that has continued to this day. The book's final chapter, "Cell Phones and E-Waste," is perhaps the most disturbing to me. "Among its revelations: By 2002, more than 130 million still-working cell phones had been "retired" in the U.S." (p.263) "Today, about 250,000 tons of discarded but still usable cell phones sit in stockpiles in America, awaiting disposal" (p.264). Cell phones, Slade suggests, "have become the avant-garde of a fast-growing trend toward throwaway electronic products." And their lifespan is still declining. In Japan, where cell phone penetration is especially high, cell phones are discarded within a year in favor of newer models.

The increasingly short lifespan of digital devices; from computers to televisions and cell phones, is creating an avalanche of electronic consumer waste that threatens to overwhelm the world's landfills with a toxic soup of permanent biological toxins such as arsenic, lead, nickel and zinc. "When e-waste is burned anywhere in the world, dioxins, furans and other pollutants are released into the air, with potentially disastrous health consequences around the globe. When e-waste is buried in landfills, PBTs eventually seep into the groundwater, poisoning it," Slade writes.  

Slade also examines the ways consumers use consumer electronics to shape their identities. For adolescents, cell phones are a way young people create communities outside of their family, Slade writes, citing research by sociologist Rich Ling. Ling's eye-opening study of adolescents describes in vivid detail teens' comparisons of cell phones to clothing; that certain brands of cell phones imply "coolness" while others are considered dated and conformist.

But it is cell phones' small size that makes them a toxic hazard to be reckoned with, Slade continues in Made to Break's brief ending about what can be done to resolve the problem of discarded consumer electronics. Taking apart tiny components to recover their parts isn't worth the effort, and so most cell phones are simply thrown away, ultimately finding their way into incinerators and landfills. Slade says in one interview about Made to Break, "A lot of really sophisticated people devoted a lot of time and thought to developing this system" of constant consumption. "We need to look at the problem creatively and rethink it. Our whole economy is based on buying, trashing and buying again. We need to rethink industrial design."

Made to Break, though a very interesting read, seems to end suddenly with no solutions proposed for everyday Americans to deal with a huge problem that has taken a century to create and that shows no signs of abating. But Slade also strikes a note of optimism. Soon enough, he says, the sheer volume of waste of all kinds will compel a change. "This is the industrial challenge of the new century. We must welcome it." (p.281)

College Football Player Suspended For Tweeting.....

Good evening dear followers. While doing some research for a paper I have to write on football safety for my Occupational Health & Safety class I came across an interesting topic that I wanted your thoughts on. Last week Andre Kates, a junior at The University Of Indiana, who up until recently played for the football team has been suspended from it indefinitely. Kates questioned publicly on Twitter as to "why he wasn't playing more". In his first tweet on October 27th, he wrote that IU's coaches were "playing with my [expletive] career" and vowed to bust his [expletive] on special teams.

The next day, Kates tweeted: "People Say Dre You Actin Like OchoCinco I Say No Bro Im Getting My Point Across That My Coach Don't Want Me 2 Play!Then on Friday night, October 29th, hours before Indiana's home game with Northwestern, Kates tweeted: "I'm Suspended For The Game 2morrow For My Tweets, and Facebook Being Media Attention, and Also A Distraction Toward Him!"Kates didn't specify who "Him" is, although it's believed to be Hoosiers head coach Bill Lynch. At first he was suspended just for the one game, yet that did not stop Kates from continuing to rant and rave in his tweets.

Surprisingly so, on Sunday, October 31st, The University of Indiana, ended up suspending Kates indefinitely. A lot of coaches have cracked down on players use of social media lately and they are not taking criticism like Bill Lynch. What are your thoughts on this? Does what one tweet about constitute a suspension or dismissal from a collegiate sport?

Reading Assignment #8--Slade's Made To Break pgs. 83-185

Good afternoon dear followers. This week we were asked to read pages 83-185 in Slade's book entitled, "Made To Break". Chapter 4, "Radio, Radio", is a dramatic retelling of the struggle between two influential men in the broadcasting industry. Advances in broadcast technology and the invention of miniaturization result in the first disposable pocket radios. Slade notes that at this point in history, “product life spans were no longer left to chance but were created by plan” (113). The invention of nylon, electronic calculators, the atomic bomb, and the resulting public backlash dominate chapters 5, "The War And Postwar Progress" and 6, "The Fifties And Sixties". To illustrate the sense of how public intellectuals were raising awareness of these issues, Slade draws upon the seminal works of Norman Cousins, Vance Packard, and Marshall McLuhan to provide additional context to the increasingly widespread cultural understanding of advertising and media use in planned obsolescence.

In my opinion Slade uses this book to deliver some jarring environmental statistics, which have the desired effect on the reader. What are we going to do with the ever increasing products of consumer technology waste? How did we get ourselves into this mess in the first place? Why is it that the typical individual is unaware of this looming global catastrophe? What is the corporate, consumer, and government responsibility in all of this? Slade does not provide concrete answers for all of the questions he raises, but he does provide an effective historical summary of planned obsolescence and relates it to a series of suggestions and inevitabilities that he sees technological consumer culture affecting. Slade seems to recognize that blame and finger pointing will be ineffectual in galvanizing people into action. He asserts that only through equal awareness and action from consumers, corporations, and the government will we be able to address this issue effectively. We shall see how the conclusion of Slade's book pans out.