Theme 5 Cartoon

So this cartoon may be a play on words, but it gets the message of Theme 5 across pretty clearly. In today's society, we do have it much easier than the previous generations. Technology does the thinking for us! We no longer need to look words up in a dictionary because spell check does that for us! And who needs to know how to read a map? Almost every car on the road has a GPS that verbally tells the driver when and where to turn. I have even seen some that show where the best places to eat in the area are. No longer do you need to research a place to eat after shopping in a different area becasue the GPS finds it for you! All that is required is your taste. If you are in the mood for Chinese, simply click the Chinese and the GPS directs you to the nearest Chinese eatery. It is that easy! No memorizing of street names required!

Technology is Slowly Decreasing Our Brain Cells!

Theme 5.The ideas that we begin to take on the qualities of the " intellectual technologies" we use,i.e. media shape out thought processes, and that we are increasingly off-loading our memory and other functions to various devices.

Technology makes things easier for us. Escalators carry people to the second floor of a mall, without any effort. However, by doing so, the escalator takes the exercise out of climbing a staircase to the second floor. It’s a trivial thing, but yet there are individuals who recognize the exercise factor of shopping in a mall. In fact, there are groups of people who journey to a mall before it opens, just for the workout opportunity. Walking from store to store all day is a great form of exercise! And taking away those few stairs is deprivation of a better workout. So if individuals can recognize the fact that some assistive technologies are simply making us lazier, not improving lives, why is it that intellectual technologies get away with a similar act?
Intellectual technologies are slowly decreasing the amount of brain cells that individuals have. They phase out the human thought process by providing quick solutions. As wonderful as a quick solution is in a moment of frustration, the easy answer does not assist anyone in the long run. Because the individual did not arrive at the answer himself/herself, there is a little chance that he/she will retain the information instantly provided. For example, when typing any document in Microsoft Word, the extremely helpful spell check is always at hand. Its obnoxious, red, underline zigzag screams at an individual to correct the misspelled word. It then gives a list of suggested replacements and after choosing the desired word, POOF!!! The word is properly spelled. No use of a dictionary is required! But without the process of looking up a word, how does anyone remember that Microsoft Word corrected one’s mistake? Chances are, on a written essay, an individual will spell the word wrong again because he/she doesn’t have spell check at hand. Thus, the culprit of society’s overall terrible spelling capabilities is revealed!
Nicholas Carr discusses a similar idea in his article, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” He talks about how the Internet provides him with instant answers; “The Web has been a godsend to me as a writer. Research that once required days in the stacks or periodical rooms of libraries can now be done in minutes. A few Google searches, some quick clicks on hyperlinks, and I’ve got the telltale fact or pithy quote I was after.” I wonder if writers who endured “days in the stacks” would consider Internet researching cheating? Nicholas Carr does not spend half as much time researching as the pre-Internet writers, so how can he truly be an expert on the information he is writing about? I am sure that individuals whom immersed themselves in texts for days were better capable of recalling information concerning his/her article months after writing it. These individuals did the hours of work themselves and had gratifying writings to show for it. And they accomplished this all without the ability to simply look up an interview from ten years ago or retrieve an important quote.

Them 7 Cartoon

Theme 7 focuses on the idea of privacy in a digital world. It is a concept that simply does not exist anymore. To demonstrate this, I found a cartoon focusing on Facebook Stalking. No longer can someone tell a friend that they are "busy" when his/her Facebook claims otherwise. You really have to think before posting something on Facebook. Facebook may have tons of security settings, but it can't stop friends from seeing postings on your page. Every time you post something, you must stop and think, will this offend anyone? Could any of my friends read this and interprete it differently? What if so and so reads this? It is no longer a simple posting of, "What's on Your Mind?"

Is Anything Really Private Anymore?

Theme 7. Privacy in the age of Google.

Privacy in the age of Google…Is that even possible? Simply Googling a person’s name can bring up tons of personal information. And that’s information from Facebook alone! This is due to the fact that many Facebook users put his/her entire life story on the opening page of Facebook. Just a quick glance at someone’s Facebook and many of times, one knows a person’s exact location at the moment, the High School he/she attended and the individual’s birthday. Of course, if that isn’t enough, if an individual really wanted to, he/she could discover more information simply by reading through the “wall post” messages of the individual. Everyone can see these posts, so why not take a look? That’s where Facebook stalking comes into play.

How does one know they are being Facebook stalked? When a conversation on Facebook suddenly becomes the knowledge of another party, a Facebook stalker has emerged. A couple of weeks ago, this personally occurred to me. I was talking to an old friend, over Facebook “wall posts,” about my adventure riding her horse. While riding my friend’s horse, the horse spooked because he was afraid of squeaky wheel from a wheelbarrow. I had ridden my friend’s horse before and the horse had never spooked before. My friend explained that her horse spooks easily when the weather is changing. This conversation sounds trivial enough, but a day after this conversation, a mutual friend of ours was aware of the entire conversation. She claimed that she heard that the horse spooked while I was riding him. But why would this come up in a conversation between the two individuals, when one of them does not ride? And the possibility that the two could have met and discussed the event in the one-day span is highly unlikely. It is more likely that our mutual friend was bored at her mundane job and read the conversation on Facebook.

So how can anyone keep anything completely private, in a world that converses the business of others constantly? Well keeping one’s extensive plans a secret, to even the closest people in his/her life, might be a good start. This is what writer Evan Ratliff endured for his editor. The “Wired” magazine set up a contest to see if anyone could truly “disappear in the digital age”. Anyone of the magazine’s readers, who could locate Evan Ratliff, would receive a $5,000 bounty. Because Evan attempted to vanish completely from society, it required his extended period, of one month’s time, intense planning. This included purchasing pre-paid cell phones for his girlfriend and parents (for emergencies only), buying gift cards to stores he couldn’t live without and getting a $60 oil change in his car (who would think someone who is going to vanish and sell his car would do such a thing). Throughout his disappearing act, Evan took on challenges of his new identity. Simply by stating that he had lost his id, many people would let him pass. This idea is fascinating. It gives the impression that an id really isn’t needed. Eventually though, Evan was discovered in New Orleans. A place devastated by hurricane Katrina, but the digital age still shone through. Two men, Leach and Fillinger, found Evan near a little bookstore, attempting to complete another one of his book reading challenges.

Theme 4 Cartoon

This cartoon shows the typical scene... An older geneartion reminising of the good days..right next to the new generation, who never seems to care. But I wonder how many of the younger generation actually reconize the old generation character as a casette? Im sure if a child were to look at the picture, he/she could point out the iPod, but would he/she reconize that the old man figure is actually a pre-iPod way of listening to music? I bet many of the children in today's society have never even seen a casette. They grow up with the new generation of music listening, iPods, and jump at every chance to beg for the latest and greatest version. Just the other day I asked my Young Children's Cultural Art's sculpture class students what they were wishing for for the holidays. Mnay of them answered an iPod touch. These are children that are 5yrs old to 11 years old! They watch TV commercials and are brainwashed by the fact the iPod touch is such a mystical, wonderful technology! And of course, they all want one!

iPod Utopia!

Theme 4. The trend in each emerging medium from utopian ideals to the focus on monetizing.

When a new technology is introduced to the public, it is displayed in a light that makes it seem that a life without the new product is impossible. The new medium is the greatest thing in the world, so why wouldn’t you purchase it? A great example of this is the iPod. Every time a new iPod Nano is created, people rush to buy it. Even though one new feature sets it apart from the last model, the latest Nano is presented as a “must have” item. Why is this? People feel the need to update the old and outdated technologies with new and improved versions. The iPod company presents the new Nano as a simple upgrade. It is as if you are simply replacing an outdated manual can opener with a new electric one. Except, it is a much greater expense!
The public is tricked into thinking that their iPods are dated. With all the advertisements proclaiming the amazing qualities of the newly released iPod, who wouldn’t think about replacing his/her iPod? It is precisely this reasoning that assists the Mac Company in amassing their tremendous profits. If they didn’t advertise the remarkable ground breaking qualities of their latest invention, why would anyone go to the Apple Store, to pick out a new iPod, when the old one functions just fine? People would continue to use their old iPods and never purchase a new one. This definitely would not assist the Mac Company.
My iPod Nano is only about two years old, but yet is considered to be old. I personally believed this too, until I did a little research. While I was shopping online for a cord that would allow me to listen to my iPod in the car, I discovered that I needed to know my Nano’s generation. After discovering that my Nano is a third generation, I was curious what the latest version of the Nano is. The new iPod Nano is a fifth generation and the only feature that sets it apart from mine is its new capability to take homemade videos. My Nano may not be the brightly colored, skinny, fifth generation Nano, but it still plays the same music that a new Nano would. But yet, my Nano is referred to as “the old Nano.”
In the NPR on the Web pod cast, “Web Thinks,” the hosts discuss a new revelation of Internet. Currently, the web is a 2.0 or second-generation world. The pod cast discusses a new revelation of Internet. This new Internet, called Web 3.0, is highly efficient and “does our work for us.” It is a web of artificial intelligence that permits the computer to “make the judgments for you.” No longer does an individual need to hassle with hours of research to find the perfect vacation spot that meets all of his/her requirements for a hotel. The computer searches/scans the web for an ideal match! All that is required is the individual’s spoken requests for the vacation. Who in this day in age wouldn’t jump at a chance for an Internet like that? It cuts the hours of work down for you! Forget the fact that programming common sense into computers, such as the idea of gravity, is extremely difficult. The concept in itself is simply amazing! It would definitely be worth the wait to see if such an Internet was possible!

Theme 2 Cartoon Follow-Up

Just realized that the cartoon from Theme 2 is near impossible to read without zooming in. Above the cartoon it reads: Twitterhea:The unstoppable urge to tweet.

The cartoon depicts a man named John sitting on a couch with his phone. He is infected with the disease Twitterhea or Tweeting WAY TOO MUCH!!! The John character tweets the following:

About to tie my left shoe. Feeling blah. (Then he ties his shoe)
Just tied my left shoe. Still feeling blah.
Just tweeted about tying my left shoe. Didn’t help blahness.
Guess I should tie my right shoe too. What do you think?

And the bottom caption reads: Medicine has not caught up with social media.There's no pill for John's Bout of Twitterhea