"Inside the Mind of Google"

I was surprised at how low key the actual Google headquarters is. It's very laid back and open-minded, and I think that's one of the things that has made it so successful. It seems more like a vacation resort than an actually company. The lay out is simple. The creativity though is outrageous, and I think that as long as those aspects of the company are kept that Google will continue to be successful.

I also had no idea how much more there was to Google than just the search engine I see on my homepage. This video really opened up my mind to how big of a company Google is and how rapidly it is growing. Of course there are things like the privacy issue that can scare the average user, but I'm not sure if I really want one company controlling all of my internet usage.

Google is expanding by competing not just against one company like Yahoo! but by taking on multiple companies that provide a variety of services. This video made me question if Google is soon going to be too big for its own good. I don't deny that I enjoy using it, but what's the future for this company? How is the future of Google going to affect me?

I bought a pet iguana...

"Where good ideas come from"

This video made me think about what I've been doing with all these connections that the internet has provided for me. We've developed a world of always being distracted and always multi-tasking, but that doesn't mean that we're multi-tasking in a healthy way. When I multi-task, that means I'll be on Facebook, typing out a tweet, and watching TV all at the same time. This isn't really the way I want to be spending my time though. It's just what I've become accustomed to.

I have found that in the past year I have become so used to tweeting random thoughts, that my regular thoughts are now disorganized. It's true that the internet allows me to share my thoughts with others and start a discussion about something. That seems to be one of the good uses I have discovered from the internet. However, these ideas and discussions quickly fade out because of how easy it is to get distracted when one is online. 

Overall, I think that the internet can be used as a good thing. It allows me to share my thoughts and strike up new ideas with others. However, the way I'm currently using it doesn't allow me to fully take advantage of all the benefits that come with the connections it provides.

The Virtual Revolution: "The cost of free information"

When people hear the word "free," they don't often stop and consider the cost. If something is free, there's no cost attached, right? Wrong. Someone, somewhere, has to pay for whatever it is that is "free" and costless to you. That's especially true in the world of the web.

How does Google and Facebook make all their money? People say that these are huge, profitable companies, but since us, the consumers, aren't paying for the services then we don't really concern ourselves with how the companies are getting the money. The way they get their profits is by selling our information. Not our personal information usually like SSN, address, name, etc, but our likes and dislikes. They sell ads that are specific to the things that we search for or "like." 

Do you ever wonder why when you search for something on Google, an ad comes up that is advertising something related to the search topic? Well that's how Google is getting its money. That is our "price" for these "free" services. Is that something that we as consumers are okay with? Are we willing for these sites to track our interests just so we don't have to pay money for the service? How free are these free services?

Music Licensing

Music licensing and fees are all around us whether we realize it or not. Every time a song is played, fees are being paid just so you can hear that song. It seems ridiculous, but that's how these artists make their money. Even though I personally do not have to pay fees to listen to the radio, the radio station itself needs to. If I want to use music at a party, I have to pay fees. It's kind of ridiculous to have all these fees just to listen to music, but there are different companies that are out there to help simplify the process for you.

If these fees weren't paid for these licensed songs, I would be majorly affected in that I couldn't listen to any of my favorite songs. Although not everyone agrees about how much money these artists really should get when a song is paid, we can agree that they deserve recognition for the song. This recognition, though, is given in the form of licensing fees.

http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/music-licensing.htm

Citation Builders

Between Son of Citation, EasyBib, and CiteFast citation builders, Son of Citation was the easiest website to navigate and use. EasyBib was also fairly easy to use and had the most accurate citation according to Purdue Owl. Son of Citation only left off the medium in its citation, while Cite Fast had additional information such as edition and publishing state. I have used both Son of Citation and EasyBib in the past and will continue to use them both, but I will have to pay closer attention to their citation formats.

"The Virtual Revolution: The Great Leveling"

This video did not really identify anything I had not already realized about the Internet and the web. However, it did get me thinking about how all of this did not evolve overnight. The Internet was not just there as soon as the first computer was built. Just like anything else, it took steps for us to get where we are today.

We're not done evolving web, either; new websites are being put up everyday. So just like it took us to time to get here, it's going to take us a lot of time to continue to advance what we're already doing. Eventually, we may "burn out" on the web and get tired of it. On the other hand, maybe we'll never get tired of it. That's not something that is in the foreseeable future, though. We'll just have to let the Internet advance and let new things be invented as we continue exploring this phenomena.

Facebook Privacy

It seems like every time Facebook updates the "face" of your profile, homepage, etc. your privacy settings change too. For me, this means going back through and trying to make everything private again even though I've done it a hundred times before. You have to go through menu after menu and individually customize settings, and it's a pain. I think this is part of the reason why people don't even bother to care about their online privacy anymore. It's such a hassle to update, and it doesn't seem worth it, yet this is something that we've put upon ourselves. We might complain about privacy settings, yet we just go with the flow and let Facebook update for us even if we don't want to. I think because of these online issues that even in the "real world" privacy isn't private. People are used to being able to see everything about a person online that they forget you can't do that in person. This privacy issue just isn't about Facebook; it's starting to affect our real lives too.

Privacy Policy Comparison

I ranked Microsoft Skydrive, Dropbox, iCloud, SugarSync, Google Drive, and Box in order from most safe to least safe when it comes to your personal information.

Microsoft Skydrive (Source: http://privacy.microsoft.com/en-us/fullnotice.mspx)

• Uses cookies
• Collects your information from third parties
• Will not share your information outside of “Microsoft and its controlled subsidiaries and affiliates” without your permission and allows you to choose what information is shared
• May disclose your information in legal matters

Dropbox (Source: https://www.dropbox.com/terms)

• Permission to pass on your files to third parties
• Permission to use your feedback you provide to them

iCloud (Source: http://www.apple.com/privacy/)

• May share your information with its affiliates
• May ask for your SSN in certain circumstances
• Uses your information when you enter promotions, contests, and sweepstakes
• Uses cookies
• Collects and stores your specific computer information; may use to market and advertise
• May make personal information available to certain strategic partners
• May share information with companies that provide services, such as credit processing
• May disclose your information in legal matters
• May use and share your location information
• Your information "may be transferred or accessed by entities around the world"

SugarSync (Source: http://www.sugarsync.com/privacy.html) 

• Stores your files on servers and files are kept 90 days after you delete them
• "no access to your Facebook or Twitter account nor do we store your login information."
• Uses cookies
• Does not share your information with third parties without your consent
• May provide personal information to affiliates
• " May use third parties to perform services related to our operations such as a payment processors" which then have access to your personal information and are required to follow the SugarSync privacy policy

Google Drive (Source: https://www.google.com/intl/en/policies/privacy/)

• Associates your phone number and other device properties with your Google account
• May collect and process your location information
• May collect and store your personal information onto your device
• Uses cookies
• May show others your Google Profile if they know your email address
• May process your personal information on a server outside of your home country
• May share your personal information with other companies, when you grant permission to do so
• Your information is available to your domain provider
• May provide your personal information to affiliates
• May share non-personal information publicly and to partners
• Restricts access to personal information to Google employees

  Box (Source: https://www.box.com/signup/g)

• May receive your information from other companies
• May request information during surveys, contests, and sweepstakes
• Collects device information 
• Uses cookies
• May store information on systems in the US and around the world
• May share non-personal (aggregate) data with partners and advertisers
• Past information about your account may be available to your email domain administrator
• May disclose your information in legal matters
• Gives you opportunities to connect with third parties, your permission required
• May share personal information during a merge or acquisition 

 

Dance Haiku

Photos taken from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/gerardagudo/6865488603/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/medaugh/14491339/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rdenubila/4758088139/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/clearlyambiguous/165316414/

WolframAlpha, Qwiki, Sporcle

Evernote

Evernote.com

Evernote is basically an online notepad that you can take with you on your phone, computer, and online account. You can organize your notes into different "notebooks," so they're easier to find when you are looking for something in particular. I plan to use this in the future because not only does it store my notes online for me, but I can also download the app on my phone so my note are there as well. Evernote will be a great replacement for my sticky notes and written-on napkins I currently use to write down my to-do lists on. This application is a great way to store and organize your notes, and I think it will become a  great resource for me.

"Technology helps boost fitness, sexual health"

Technology and fitness is the topic that that my google alerts website led me to. Click here for the website!
If you have ever seen the movie Wall-E, you may be familiar with this picture:

This is what people think about when they hear the words "fitness" and "technology" in the same sentence. Although it's true that "couch potatoes" are becoming a trend, technology can actually help people trying to get into shape. There a lot of devices that can help you keep track of steps walked, calories burned, calorie intake, etc. I know that in the past members of my family have used such technology, and it can help you as you work out, especially if you are embarrassed or tired of having to write down your progress where it could easily get lost.
Another thing that technology is helping with is in the teen world. Nowadays if a teen girl or guy has a question about sex, they might just go online instead of asking a parent or friend. Even though the internet has a lot of false information, not all websites are lies. Girls can also keep track of things like their menstrual cycle on a smart phone, and it can help you keep that part of your life more private.

Glog: This is me.

Tagxedo: Twitter Words

Bre.ad

Privacy v. Technology

http://patriotpost.us/opinion/arnold-ahlert/2012/03/10/privacy-v-technology/

It has recently been ruled Constitutional to have a police officer search the cell phone of an individual without first obtaining a warrant. This privacy when it comes to technology situation seems to be becoming an issue more and more as people begin to question what information is already public and what can be considered private. In one of the interviews discussed in this post, it compared a cell phone's phone book to a personal phone book and a cell phone's messages to private letters. If officers are required to obtain a warrant to search these non-technological items, then why are they allowed to search the same items without a warrant just because it is considered to be technology?

I personally believe that anything based in technology can be equally compared to an item that is not considered to be technology. Therefore, this ruling would be unconstitutional, violating Fourth Amendment rights. However, it's not in my hands to decide, and I think that those in control will have to take their time to further discuss and decide on this issue. I don't think that we have seen the end of this debate, and I think that there will be more court cases and rulings before the courts, police force, and public are able to come to an agreement.

Class Presentations Reflection

I really enjoyed all of the presentations that were given today, but the one that stuck out to me was Google's new privacy policy. I'll admit I didn't take the time to read the new policy when it first came out, even though Google suggested that I should. I've noticed, though, how my Google searches and YouTube searches are combined now, and it kind of freaks me out. I don't like one company being able to combine all that information about me. Something I really want to know is where is it being stored. Is there some public profile of mine that I don't know about that shows all the things I've been doing on my Google account? How can I control this? Is there any way to not have everything be so public and combined?

Digital Ethics

Digital Ethics on Prezi

Digital Footprint

The videos we watched talked a lot about how once you put something on your computer or the internet, it's there forever. Since I grew up in a family of computer nerds, this wasn't new knowledge to me. However, it is something that always seems to make me think twice when I go online. Something that is really concerning to me is the new Facebook timeline. Will colleges and employers be able to go back to pictures I have from say Jr High? Will they see pictures of my friends and I sticking out our tongues or drawing fake tattoos on ourselves? Although people say that your history may come back to haunt you, I think they often forget that they were once young as well. The generation that raised my generation did not have the access that I do to document their every adventure and have it become public to the world. So I suppose the question is how detailed are people going to be when they search for information on a potential employee? How will they interpret things that were posted three years ago? I think that this kind of research on people is more harmful than helpful. To me it says that people have no trust, and they no longer have a reason to even lie and say they do.

"The History of Ballet" Prezi

The History of Ballet on Prezi

Technology Trends for 2012

http://blog.lunarpages.com/2012/01/31/10-technology-trends-for-2012/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=10-technology-trends-for-2012

Something that I found interesting when scrolling through my Google alerts today. I found it interesting because a lot of these trends started in 2011, maybe even earlier. I'm not sure if the trends will last through the end of the year though.

"Evolution of Dance" Video

3D Printers

Today, I checked my Google alerts for technology, and I found a site that was talking about a couple of guys making profit off of things they have printed from a 3D printer. It surprised me that the cost of the printer itself is less than $2000 yet it can make things like belt buckles and iPhone cases and who knows what else. I think the reason these new printers aren't as popular as when a new iPhone or Wii comes out is because people are amazed by them. I don't get how they "print" something that is 3-dimensional. I'm curious about what type of materials or "ink" they have in them and what they are truly capable of. It makes me wonder what kind of advances can be made, such as in the medical field. I hope that it in years to come it will become a tool to help the world, not a weapon to destroy it. 

http://www.treehugger.com/gadgets/pocket-factory-going-across-country-proving-making-business-3d-printing-possible.html

Class Reflection

So far in this class, I have not learned a lot that I didn't already know. I already was familiar with email, chat, and joining social networks. Something new to me, though, is blogs. I've never been one to read blogs or have one of my own. I'm not sure if this will be useful to me in the future, but for now it's what makes or breaks my grade.

Another new thing to me is working on a project with someone via web. I am used to the weekend night study groups for a project, but I have never had to do something like this with no personal interaction other than a chat box. As technology progresses and this sort of collaboration become more common, I feel that this is something I will have to learn how to do whether I like it or not.

"Technology Generation"

I've probably heard it my entire life. I am a member of the "technology generation." It never has really occurred to me until this last year that my own mother did not have the same web access I have. She didn't have her own computer growing up. I imagine her family did not even have a computer.

Watching "Digital Nation" really got me thinking about how I feel as we advance even further into technology-driven worlds. By living in a small town, I don't really feel as advanced as some of the people in the video. At the same time I think of how there are those in foreign countries that don't have internet access or electronics at all.

It seems every day there is a new gadget out, and there will be someone you know who wants it. They don't want it for its uses even; they just want it to have it. I think that is our real problem, especially here in America.

We want that new iPad, we want to have internet access everywhere we go. Even if we don't plan to do anything more than to just play a game or check Facebook. It's like we're more obsessive about the type of technology we have, rather than what it really represents.

Most of the time, we're not even aware of the things our phone can do. We don't realize that even by having access to a computer with internet we're capable to develop a program, create a new video game. Even if we do know that we can do it, we're not necessarily interested in it.

Experts say we're moving towards, or are even in, a generation where it's all about information gain. In my eyes though, I think it's more of an obsession. A teacher in this video said that the internet is comparable to oxygen, and we would never dream of taking it away from our kids. But it's not oxygen. It's not essential to our lives.