Unlearn

Epilogue: What have you had to “unlearn” (i.e. that only phones are for having conversations) in the past 10 years due to technological change?

I guess the thing I had to unlearn is that social media websites such as Twitter can actually be a good way to brand yourself in a job market. I was so against the idea of Twitter because if an employer Googled you, every "tweet" you ever made would be public knowledge. However, now that social media networks have become such a huge part of society today, I realized that you can start using these websites to your advantage. Call me old fashioned, but in the job market today there are so many things you may need to do in order to be prepared for a job interview. For example, be up to date with important bloggers such as Seth Godin in the Marketing industry because he has a lot of influence over others. Another thing I had to unlearn is the fact that cell phones are not ONLY for conversations anymore. The development of smartphones has allowed even the basic cell phone to become a camera or an instant messaging tool.

Many online merchants today, such as eBay and Amazon, use rating systems empowered by its customers. Is this adequate for determining which products to buy, or which users to trust? Cite examples from these two merchants that support your opinion (whether it is good enough, or inadequate).

I think that the rating system on both eBay and Amazon are adequate for determining which products to purchase online is trustworthy because the consumer has the opportunity to read through past customer comments. While this places a significant amount of trust on past performance, it is known that that past behaviors are a a good indication of future behaviors. For example, someone left this as a customer review of eBay, "I have been an eBay Member for several years and have always told others of their responsiveness and the ease of getting a hold of customer service. I even sold my car on EBay!" On the other hand, there are always going to be those sellers and buyers on eBay that are below average and upset the normal flow of the website.

Researching Information on Social Networks

James Surowiecki’s book mentioned in this chapter outlines four elements to create a so-called “wise crowd,” one that can make decisions better than experts. These include “diversity of opinion” and “independence.” Since social groups online seem to form crowds of many like-minded people, what caution would you give someone using information they find from a socialized website or resource?

I would caution someone using information they find from a socialized website because the information will most likely be biased in one way or another. When a group of like-minded people come together over the World Wide Web there may also be a lack of credibility considering it is just a group of regular people instead of a group of experts who have actually done research. I would advise a person using social media, such as blogs, to put in the extra effort and research the opposing side of the argument. This way the information you read will have illustrated both side of the issue.

FOAF -style Network

What professional benefits do you see by investing time into a FOAF-style network?

Friend of a Friend style networks have become increasingly popular throughout the years. There are social media networks such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and MySpace that all use this FOAF style network. For example, when you sign on Facebook in the upper left hand corner they suggest friends for you that your friends are friends with. This could be professionally beneficial on sites such as LinkedIn because you can upload your resume and professionally network that way instead of attending a conference. An example of how this may be professionally beneficial comes first hand from one of my marketing professors. She decided to follow a woman at the local newspaper on Twitter, when my professor had to go out of town she asked the woman from the newspaper to come in and talk to our class about press releases and additional PR. If it weren't for Twitter these people would have never professionally met.

Opportunity to Fail

Think back to your experiences in middle and high school. How many opportunities were you given to experiment and “fail” in solving a problem? How could a school work today where students were regularly offered such opportunities?

Our whole lives we are given the opportunity to experiment with the idea of failure and success. On the very windy road to to success we all trip over the bumps in the road and fail. In middle school and high school we learn to communicate socially with others but we are also given the opportunity to find out who we are. Throughout the academic process we are given challenges and we are encouraged to do our best even if we do fail, but this is what makes learning so special. If we did not fail, we would not be as motivated to succeed. If a school or university were to work in this kind of manner I would abolish the grade system. As a students we are so afraid to fail because our grade and our future depends on it, however, I feel that if we did not feel so afraid of getting an F we would be able to think more outside of the box and take more risks with our education.

eBay and Prisoner's Dilemma

Considering the Prisoner’s Dilemma in this chapter, provide your own insight on how sites such as eBay “work” for most participants of this popular online auction site. Do they really work? Or is there too much risk?

Despite eBay's similarity to the Prisoner's Dilemma Shirky described in the book, I think that eBay works. The system works because unlike the Prisoner's Dilemma you have the option to play it safe by placing a maximum price you are willing to pay for an item. In addition, the seller benefits from selling items on eBay, especially when bidding wars occur. The seller could end up selling the item for more than they bought it for. Unfortunately, there is always the down side to placing items on eBay, some people will place low bids and the seller might end up selling an item for less than they bought it for. Personally, I've never had a problem with items I've purchased on eBay. This may also be due to the fact that eBay has put in place a rating system which makes the company more credible and more dependable.

Online vs. Print Media

While younger people today may not make distinctions between online and real-world friends according to Shirky, do you make distinctions between online vs. print media? Why or why not? Is there an advantage to one or the other?

After some consideration I realized that I do not make a distinction between online and print media when it comes to credible news sources. The internet gives online news sources an advantage because it is readily available at the click of a button where as print media takes longer to publish. There is also the cost difference between online and print media. Reading the news online is free, where as print media usually comes with some form of cost because you have to purchase it. When it comes to social media i tend to make a distinction between online and print media because anybody can blog about whatever they want to but it does not necessarily mean it is the truth. This does not mean I believe everything gossip magazines say anyway but I tend to think they are more credible than online sources.

The Value of a Bit

What’s the value of a bit? It seems that going after folks who have traded songs or movies online is a huge expenditure of effort and money. Is DRM-protected content the way to go? If you don’t agree, propose another method for the distribution of digital multimedia so that content creators can still be compensated.

A bit, or "binary digit" is a basic unit of information storage and communication. It is the maximum amount of information that can be stored by a device. The binary digit is interpreted as 0 and 1. More importantly, bits can be applied in a variety of different forms. The practice of trading music and movies illegally has become such a huge dilemma for the music and film industries. However, it is a very large task to try and take down because who is at fault? Everyone who has ever downloaded a song or a person who downloads thousands of songs illegally? Who gets to decide what is the right punishment. I think that the DRM-protected content is really the only way to go when distributing digital multimedia. DRM technologies attempt to control use of digital media by preventing access, copying or converting to other formats by end users. As of now, I think it is the only way artists and actors can protect themselves from losing sales by consumers illegally copying and distributing their art. If you lifted the DRM from these type of media, there would be a free for all and chaos, so i believe the DRM technologies does what it can to protect artist until something else comes along.

WEP vs. WAP

If your mother uses wifi at home to send you e-mail, and your home network is not protected by WEP or WPA, what reasons would you suggest to her for enabling one of these two protocols at home if the liability of reading those e-mails still exists once her message leaves your home, on it’s way to school?

If my mom were to send me an e-mail I would suggest for her to enable WEP in our home because WAP is most commonly used to access the mobile web from a mobile phone. WAP, Wireless Application Protocol, is a browser that provides the basic services of a computer-based web browser but is simplified to operate within the limits of a mobile phone. The WEP, Wired Equivalent Privacy, on the other hand, is a wireless network that broadcasts messages using radio and are therefore more susceptible to eavesdropping than wired networks. The WEP was intended to provide confidentiality comparable to that of a traditional wired network. While the WEP is the smarter choice, the network still has its weaknesses. It is possible to hack into the system with readily available software within minutes. However, considering the e-mail is from my mother and most likely doesn't contain any top secret information I don't think anyone would be interested in hacking into her e-mail account.

Freeze Mob

What would you write to get people to do this? Where would you put it? How would you distribute the message? How would you get buy-in for partcipation?

I was amazed my the amount of people who participated in this freeze mob event and how real it looked. At moments I thought that some of the people looked like wax figures because they were holding their pose so well. If I were to put this kind of event on I would send out an invite on Facebook including the time, place, location, and some sort of incentive or description of the bigger picture of what we were trying to accomplish. By sending out an invitation on Facebook, I am able to send it to everyone in my network plus all the people I am friends with. When those people accept to come to the event they can send the invitation to others in their network which will inevitably reach a massive audience. I would also go to cool urban hot spots and post advertisements that would appeal to those type of trendsetters who want to make a difference. With the opportunity of the video being posted on youtube, it could cause a world wide phenomenon that might appeal to the urban trendsetter.

Google Text-Based Ads

Question: In general, do you pay attention to Google’s text-based ads? If you do follow them, tell us why. If you don’t, tell us why. Should Google keep these “sponsored ads”? Tell us why or why not.

I do not follow Google's text-based ads because when I am using Google as a search engine I don't get distracted by the ads on the side of the page. I am usually focused on what I am researching and that is it. Although I may not use these sponsored ads, I think that Google should keep them because it is one more way to get a brand or a message in front of the consumer. I may not click on the text-based ads but I know they are there. Isn't that the point of advertising? Making your brand seen to the largest audience possible.

Side Effects of Drugs

Question: The official website for the drug Olanzapine probably didn’t mention the fact it might cause diabetic symptoms in patients. Another website obviously did. Commercials on TV now are required to mention possible side effects. Should drug companies be required to come clean about situations like the one with Eli Lilly’s Olanzapine in their commercial websites? Why or why not?

I think that all drug companies should be required to come clean about the side effects of their particular drug because in the end it is the decision of the consumer to purchase the drug or not. A consumer should have all facts whether positive or negative in front of them in order to form an appropriate decision. Eli Lilly knew that their drug, Olanzapine, could cause uncontrollable weight gain which could ultimately lead to obesity and diabetes. While the company was aware of this fact, they were afraid that it would hurt their bottom line so they decided to keep it from the public and downplay the side effects to doctors. As a patient with schizophrenia, I would want to know all side effects of a drug before taking it so that I would be prepared for the risks. Eli Lilly should have been upfront about the possible side effects of diabetes because a patient could know that it is a possible side effect and take the drug anyways because in their mind diabetes is whole lot better than schizophrenia. Unlike, schizophrenia, there are ways to control diabetes and be able to live life day to day.

The Miller Test

If you were developing an Internet policy for your company or organization, how would you define content inappropriate in the workplace in email or bulletin boards different than the Miller test?

The Miller Test is the standard used today by the Supreme Court in ruling known as Miller v. California. The Supreme Court uses the Miller Test in order to determine whether speech or expression can be labeled obscene, in which case it is not protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and can be prohibited. If I were developing an Internet policy for my company I would define inappropriate content as content that you do in your free time such as going on facebook, looking at gossip sights, and talking on your cell phone about what happened last night. All of these actions are considered an expression of speech but they are inappropriate in the workplace. The workplace is meant for work, not socializing. Yes, we all like to work in a warm environment so we make friends with co-workers but at the end of the day you are being paid for the work you have done, not socializing. I would make a list of what is acceptable in the workplace and send it out in a weekly reminder to all employees along with having a copy in the staff room or some other socializing spot as a friendly reminder.

Ken Zeran

What might you have done differently if you were in the position of artist Ken Zeran, mentioned in this chapter?

Abelson tells a story about Ken Zeran, a character who has had his identity stolen, or in better terms, he has been a victim of defamation. If I were in his position there isn't much you could really do because as an artist, you ARE your name. Your work is a representation of you so you could continue creating art under a different name but the whole point is to be recognized for your work so if someone has stolen your name than its like starting at square one. It is hard enough to be recognized just once, but Ken would have to do it all over again. If I were him, I would definitely alert the authorities and the media. I say alert the media because if enough people are passionate about the issue the problem could gain a lot more momentum than by just alerting the authorities. It kind of reminds me of the cell phone story. The cell phone going missing isn't a huge issue in the first place but because so many people were behind the cause something was done about it. Ken is in a hard position, but with the media behind him the issue has a chance of becoming known.

MP3 vs. AAC

Research the differences between the MP3 and AAC audio formats, then explain why you think Apple chose the AAC format for music in their iTunes store.


After researching the differences between the MP3 and the AAC audio formats, it became evidents that the reason Apple has chosen the AAC format was due to its improvement in sound quality. While the MP3 is a much more widely recognizable format because it was the first format to be introduced to the market, the AC is gaining popularity. The reason for its popularity is due to the fact that Apple has chosen this format for their iPods and for iTunes. Two products that have become almost essentials in every day music life. Some arguements include that the AAC format has higher-qaulty results while maintaining a much smaller file size and has a much higher resolution of audio.



Improved compression provides higher-quality results with smaller file sizes
Support for multichannel audio, providing up to 48 full frequency channels
Higher resolution audio, yielding sampling rates up to 96 kHz
Improved decoding efficiency, requiring less processing power for decode
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Collective Causes

What kinds of collective causes have you become a part of? Did the cause have a website? How did you learn about the cause? How did you participate? What kind(s) of technology were used to communicate re: the group forming or group action?

I have become a part of a collective cause known as Leslie George Memorial Fund. This is my sorority's philanthropy that we host every year to raise awarenss of eating disorders during the month of Feburary. There is no website, but there is a facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=61851486054&ref=ts. I learned about the cause by being an active member in my sosority. We mainly communicate through e-mail and facebook because those are the two sources that we most frequently check.

Collective Causes

Question: What kinds of collective causes have you become a part of? Did the cause have a website? How did you learn about the cause? How did you participate? What kind(s) of technology were used to communicate re: the group forming or group action?

Shirky discusses how the group Voice of the Faithful was formed and how it has grown to an astronomical size. This was accomplished because "the old limits of sharing information" (Shirky, 148) no longer prohibit the size of the audience. The days of cutting an article out of the paper and sending it through snail mail no longer exist. The intnert has provided the ease in which "a story to a group is as easy as forwarding it to an individual, and any of the recipeints could forward it to others as easily as the orginial sender had done. Now the relationship for a particular story can be larger than the paper's general audiece" (Shirky, 149). Just like the VOF has formed arround a collective cause I have also become part of a social change group called Awearness. AWEARNESS is a not-for-profit entity that supports, empowers and encourages acts of service, volunteerism and social change through merchandise, events and providing a platform for the inspirational acts of Change Agents – people who see a problem and try to become the solution by striving to make a difference. I have always known about the program, but it wasn't until I interned at Kenneth Cole this summer did I become involved. The cause has a website along with a book. I participated by helping in the design of new merchandise. The forms of technology used to communicate to take group action was primarily inner-office e-mails and external e-mails that the company would send out.

The "Power Law Distribution" or "Long Tail" Phenomenon

Question: The “power law distribution” or “long tail” phenomenon, as seen in behavior online on the Wikipedia, suggests that the concept of an average user of wikipedia is meaningless. Support your answer: how do you think a local, “JMU only” version of the Wikipedia would compare to the worldwide version? Would it be very similar? Higher quality? Less quality? Why?

The "power law distribution" suggests that "the gap between the first and second position is larger than the gap between second and third, and so on" (Shirky, 125). This means that in the terms of Wikipedia, the most active writer is generally much more active than the person second most active writer, and FAR more active than the average. In other words, "large social systems cannot be understood as a simple aggregation of the behavior of some nonexistent 'average' user" (Shirky, 125). This means that as a system gets larger, the imbalance between few and many gets larger, not smaller. If JMU has a version of Wikipedia I believe that the meaningless average user would react in the same way. The effects of the power law distribution are more clearly seen in the Wikipedia example because of the sheer number of people that participate globally. Because there are more users globally than just within the JMU community, the gap between the few and the many is much more evident, therefore, creating a lesser quality distribution. However, the "Long Tail" phenomenon shows the relationship between audience size and conversational pattern according to the power law distribution. (The chart can be seen on page 129.) In the aspect of tight knit conversation groups, the JMU only community would be able to function on a much deeper level than Wikipedia because as the audience grows larger, "the tight pattern of 'everyone connected to everyone' becomes impossible to support - conversation is still possible, but it is in a community that is much more loosely woven" (Shirky, 128).

Google's StreetView Project

Question: In a well-publicized news story, a man was caught “on camera” exiting a "gentleman's club" when Google photographed him for their StreetView project. He later sued Google because the revelation was unhappy news to his wife. Do you think Google is in the clear when they photograph the view from streets in your neighborhood?

Chapter two tells the story of privacy, how we have made it easy and convenient for us to lose our privacy through technology - some of them familiar technologies, and some a bit more mysterious - but all of it is exposed in the big question: What does privacy mean in the digitally exploded world? There are the obvious tracking technologies such as GPS (Global Positioning Systems) which help us all when we are lost in the boonies. RFID tags (Radio Frequency Identification Tags) that can be read from a distance of a few feet and is usally placed on products for tracking and inventory purposes. Another technology that has helped save lives and trace where people have been are black boxes found in airplanes. While these are only a few technologies that can track people, places, and objects at any point in time it is a reminder that there are many other ways that are less obvious that can track a person's history. In the situation stated above concerning a man caught on camera leaving a gentleman's club when Google photographed him for their StreetView Project, I belive that Google is in the clear. Like, Abelson said, "we give up data about ourselves because we don't have the time, patience, or single-mindedness about privacy that would be required to live our daily lives in another way." Although, it is unfortunate that this man was caught in a moment he is not proud of, he should not have been attending the gentleman's club in the first place if he had a wife. Technology and the internet has been a blessing and curse, it has created so many opportunities to communicate with people of like interests but it has also allowed anyone and everyone the ability to track you. It's a scary place.

Community of Practice

Question: Consider the concept of a “community of practice.” How can such a community offer opportunities for learning?

The concept of "community of practice" can offer opportunities for learning through chat rooms and the ability to leave comments on others pictures, blogs, MySpaces. Shirky uses the example of Flickr as a way to illustrate this concept. He states that each webpage is a community and each page has the opportunity to collect attention from people interested in its contents, and then those people might be interested in conversing with others. For example, the comments section on Flickr allow these people who want to activate the community can by asking a basic question such as "How did you do that?" This may seem like a simple request, but when this takes place out in the public web, it also forms a community of communication. In addition, this offers an opportunity for learning because a member of the community can respond and walk the person through in a step by step tutrial. Other examples may include youtube and facebook. You can search "how to..." whatever in youtube and someone out in cyber space has created a video tutorial on how to do that particular task.

"Invisible"

If Shirky is right, and we’re headed to a period where social media tools like YouTube, Flickr, and social networks like Facebook become “invisible,” what’s the impact on things you spend money on as consumers? Books? Movies? Music?

When Shirky refers to social media networks becoming "invisible" he is refering that to the day that these will become standards in the way in which we communicate just like the telephone and the fax have become invisible. In the book, Skirky, asks which came first, the fax or the web? Someone who is 35years and older would not have a problem answering this question, but someone from my generation has had both technologies since we were born. This is what makes a technology invisible. As to what the impact is on things we spend money on as consumers such as books, movies, and music I'm not really sure. Everything has become more and more available at the click of a button on the internet. You can watch movies on hulu.com, read books, and listen to music at pandora.com. Does this mean we will stop interacting face-to-face in the future because everything that is of interest will be avilable on the web? I hope not, but like Shirky said, "we have lost the clean distinctions between communications media and broadcast media. As social media like MySpace now scale efforlessly between a community of a few and an audience of a few million, the old habit of treating communications tools like the phone differently from broadvast tools like television no longer make sense."

Group Member

Question: Describe a group you are a member of (online community, church, job, etc.) and how it is organized. Is there management? How is information distributed within the group?

I am a member of a soroity at James Madison University that consists of approximately 130 sisters. There is a executive board that is made up of 13 positions that include, but are not limited to: President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, Recruitment/Assistant recruitment chair, risk manager, and rital chair. These members are in charge of making every major decision for the chapter. They meet every sunday before our general body chapter meeting to discuss upcoming events such as our philanthropies, social events, and national issues. Once that issue has been brought up to the chapter, we all vote on it. This is a great way to communicate with everyone. Besides from our weekly meetings, we also communicate throughout the week by e-mails sent by our president. If anyone in the chapter has something to say or wants to raise awareness to an issue, she will send an e-mail to our presidnt who will then compile all similar e-mails into one and send it out to the chapter.

Hierarchical Organization Charts

Question: This chapter talks about the challenges that face an organization that grows too large, requiring a lot of staff devoted to management. What are some of the potential pitfalls in an organization that’s large and organized by a hierarchical organization chart?

Every organization needs to have some sort of hierarchial organization chart in order to keep everyone on point and to prevent a free-for all of information. I liked how the book used the analogy of the western rail road to demonstrate how management needs to grow faster than the size of the organization. This is a very true statement. If the organization continues to grow, while management remains the same it may cause miscommunication between departments and throughout the organization as a whole. Within a large organization there is always going to be someone looking to climb the ladder to success, the organizational chart helps instil power and structure within the organization so others don't cut corners. Lastly, a pitfall of a business being organized by a hierarchical organization chart is the loss of flexibility.

Trant Article

Question: Many organizations waste time and money researching answers to questions already answered or creating content that may already have been done by others within the organization. What shortfalls of social tagging does Trant identify that might prohibit a searchable tagging system to be a successful aid within an organization such as a business or school?

Trant points out the many shortfalls of social tagging that might prohibit a searchable tagginging system to be a successful aid within an oragnaization. The first shortfall Trant points out is the relativistic nature of social tagging-systems. Meaning that the information is most often accepted, but more by chance than with purpose. Another shortfall is polysemy, which refers that a word may have more than one meaning. For example the verb "to get" can mean "take" (I'll get the drinks), "become" (she got scared), "have" (I've got three dollars), "understand" (I get it) etc. Although this is just a basic example, as you can see, polsemy could create problem with inconsistency.

Abelson Chapter 1:

Q: With so many cell phones on the market today able to take photos (and video), do you ever worry about being “captured” in a not-so-flattering moment? How would you deal with a friend who decided to share such a picture or video with others?

The simple answer is: Yes! After reading chapter one, it scares me to think how a person can gain access and follow you through bits without ever having to physically follow you. There are so many celebrities who try to live a private life but there is always someone who is more money hungry than the next that will exploit them in any way possible. In addition to that, there are also many social celebrity blogging websites such as Perezhilton, that post unflattering pictures, especially if Perez is not a huge fan of that celebrity. If i were captured in a not so flattering moment and it was posted on facebook for example, I don't know if there is anything you can legally do because once a picture/video is posted on facebook it doesn't matter if you delete it. Facebook now legally owns it and can do what they wish. This phenomenon might make it extremely hard for many people, especially politicians to get jobs in the future.

Abelson Chapter 1:

Q: Both Google and Yahoo have been criticized for censoring their search results in China. What are your feelings about this? Why should Google, or why should Google not, produce different search results for different countries?

In the book it states, "With hundreds of TV and radio stations and millions of web sites, Americans love the variety of news sources, but are still adjusting uncomfortably to the displacement of more authoritative sources. In China, the situation is reversed: The technology creates greater government control of the information its citizens receive, and better tools for monitoring their behavior." I don't think that any government or search engine for that matter should censor information to the public. Can you imagine if all the news in your country was biased and only had one opinion?

Shirky Chapter 1

Q: If managers aren’t important anymore towards the formation or control of groups using online tools, what do you consider the main role websites such as Meetup.com, Facebook, or MySpace have provided newly emerging groups?

The story of the lost cell phone proves that social networking sites have become an easy way of reaching out to million of people from your living room to gain support over an issue. Even though a lost cell phone is not normally a huge deal to the NYPD, the amount of people involved in the cause due to Evan's blog created a lot of buzz and pt the NYPD under the spotlight to do something about it. As seen in the story, social networking sites allow individuals to gain followers and momentum because the web creates a way for people to come together over a single cause that they might feel passionately about. In other words, I think the main role websites such as Meetup.com, Facebook, or MySpace have provided to emerging groups is just a common place for everyone to talk about whatever is on their mind.. because chances are there are a lot more people out there that feel the same way you feel about an issue.

Folksonomy

After reading the articles supplied to further understand folksonomy, I consider the new method of catergorizing everything and anything on the world wide web to be somewhat clever. Let's be honest does anyone know what any of the numbers mean in the Dewy Decimal System? I surely do not, but everyone understands that a picture of a cat tagged "Sparky" is most likely the name of the cat. By using words instead of numbers, I feel like it makes it easier for people to search for what they're looking for. For example, when you use a search engine no one actually uses the SIC codes because before you can even figure out what the SIC code is you have to use keywords to find out what code is appropriate for your topic. In other words, I look at folksonomy as a form of searching for things on the internet using keywords.