Final project

Ok so, I only need to write one small blog on the process of writing my final paper. I found it fairly easy since I read the book and have a clear opinion on the subject. As I have stated in my paper, through microcoordination, education, and social/global pressure, we will be able to reduce our consumer waste in the future, and improve our system of disposal. We will also demand products that are higher quality and environmentally safe. My only consern about the paper is that it is not very long. I'm not a page counter. I write to answer a question or support my opinion. Sometimes I go over the page requirements, sometimes (like this time) I'm slightly under :) I hope that doesn't affect the professor's opinion. Merry Christmas everyone!!!!!!

New technology means new house rules.....

This is my second blog about random technology in our lives. It is about the awesome and intrusive ooVoo :)
Yes, ooVoo is very cool. I really love it. However, when I'm having a personal discussion with my husband, and I think my children are the only other people in the house, and I surprisingly find that there are other 'invisible' people listening, I don't love it so much. This repeat offense has provoked me to create a new house rule; NO OOVOOING UNLESS YOU ASK ME FIRST! Again, it's technology diminishing our privacy. I really don't mean to bash webcam technology. It brings people together all over the world. But it needs to be controlled. Kids need to learn webcam ethics. Maybe that topic should be incorported into their technology classes in elementary school. The Rutgers student who recorded his roommate's relationship with another student should have known that what he was doing was wrong...and disgraceful, and disgusting, and harmful. Technology is moving too fast for parents to rewrite and reinstitute the rules of right and wrong. I don't believe there will ever be a technology that doesn't have a 'con' to go along with its 'pro'.

Here's a new technology that bites.....

Since we are allowed to blog about a random technology, I would like to discuss the new phenomenon of computerized applications for employment and online job searching.
First, the new procedure of gathering applications only through a computer kiosk is ridiculous. And far too many companies are utilizing this method. Instead of seeing the manager in person and making some sort of personal impression, one has to anonymously click his/her application into, no doubt, an endless file of thousands of other applications. Each person is left wondering if his/her little file will ever be opened and viewed (usually not). And this can't be an easy process for the human resources department. They have to choose people to interview without even an inkling of what they're like or whether they can even speak properly. This must waste an enormous amount of time. I realize the procedure of calling an applicant without meeting them first is normal when hiring for higher level jobs where the amount of applicants would normally not be that volumous. But for service-level positions at companies like Wegmans or Target, it just seems logical to have a more personal, face to face approach.
But this technology, used in the realm of online job searching, really bites. Companies rarely use newspapers or staffing firms anymore because all they have to do is put an ad in Careerbuilder or Indeed. And what they receive in return are thousands, if not millions, of resumes from many people who are not even seriously interested in the position, from all over the world. It is like winning the lottery if one's resume is actually chosen from the mass of files. It is a system that is so flawed that it is no wonder why so many qualified people are unemployed. My husband and I call it the "Black hole". Your resume goes in and disappears forever. How is it even possible to review so many resumes? The traditional way may not have been perfect, but it was far better than this mess of a system.

How facebook effects me.....

Now that I have written three analytical posts about Facebook, I would like to tell how it has become part of my (almost) everyday life.
Like many people in my demographic, I was hesitant to have a Facebook account. And that fact that I'm an extremely private person did not make the decision easier. I reluctantly participated, at first, because of my children. Once I broke down that wall, I refused to put a profile picture up until my daughter got so sick of looking at the 'shadow man' and insisted that I change it. This was very annoying to me because I absolutely hate taking pictures of myself, but she suceeded in getting one up there. Then, she found it "weird" that I would not accept everyone who requested me. I explained that it was not my mission to be 'popular' and have hundreds of friends like she does, and that I do not want to talk to everyone from high school or random people (I still only have about 83 friends). Very quickly I realized how Facebook made keeping in touch with my friends and family so easy. And since I am also fairly anti-social, it became my main source of communication. Truthfully, all of us are too busy to see each other as much as we would like to, so Facebook, in a way, has replaced getting together in person. It sounds like a form of seclusion, but in fact, it allows us to be more 'social' than life would ever give us the time to be. It brings closer all my family and friends from around the state and country. Now we can communicated with more than just a Christmas card once a year. So yes, it has become a "utility" in my life. Just as Zuckerberg had intended. :))

Is Facebook getting too big?

Well, as we all know, Facebook has grown exponetially. Whether that's a good or bad thing depends on one's view. We all know the positive impact it has at connecting people all over the world, and how it can effect social and political issues. We know that it makes an enormous amount of information available to us through our friends and the site groups, etc. But is our privacy at risk? Zuckerberg has always been protective over the information that his users provide to Facebook. He says that "You need to be good in order to get people's trust"(329). But will Facebook get so big that he will lose control over our privacy? What if the government gets involed? What if the system is compromised? Even though the information we provide is voluntary, it is still very personal and sensitive information. No, Facebook does not send vans around taking pictures of our streets as Google does for their map software, or use "crawling" to gather information (324), because Zuckerberg believes in empowering the individual. But as we continue to provide our personal data, Facebook is growing into a "global village" (333) that is unprecidented, and this may lure the involvement of not-so-trustworthy individuals all over the world. The author states, "At the same time, Facebook's global scale, combined with the quantity of personal information its users entrust to it, suggests a movement toward a form of universal connectivity that is truly new in human society." (332) This may sound inspiring and profound, but the question remains, can Zuckerberg continue to control the privacy of our information?

More on The Facebook Effect.....

First, I have to say that I think it's funny how Mark Zuckerberg shouts out quotes from movies (97). We do the same thing in our house!
So, the whole middle part of the book is about Facebook "scaling" and how the VCs and personal investors bombard them with offers. It was especially impressive how Zuckerberg did not back out of his verbal deal with Graham (Washington Post) without speaking to him first(109). It really shows an enormous amount of integrity for a twenty-year-old. I don't think he would have even chose Accel over Graham if it wasn't for the incredible $98 million dollar post-investment, which Facebook really needed to expand.
Another fact in the book that was histerical was that Steve Chen was an early employee, and that he was told it was going to be the biggest mistake of his life if he left (129). Of course, he went on to start YouTube. We all should follow our intuition and make our own decisions like him.
And just to show how far removed Zuckerman was from 'normal society', he thought 50 Cent was his new hire (138). I'm sure 50 Cent has his own facebook page by now so Zuckerman can read all about him.
Finally, it was most impressive when he was asked "what he thought might be the best way to "monetize" or make money from Thefacebook, as an exit strategy", he anwered, "I spend my time thinking how to build this and not how to exit"..."I think what we're doing is more interesting than what anyone else is doing and that this is just a cool thing to be doing. I don't spend my time thinking about that. Sorry."(139) The most important thing to Zuckerman has always been to retain control over what he was building, something more than just wealth.

Wiki Audit Blog

Auditing the Wikipedia article Global Warming Conspiracy Theory proved to be time consuming and enlightening. To be very honest, from the beginning I never knew that Wikipedia was written by ordinary people. I rarely used the site so I never investigated the sources prior to this assignment. As I discussed in our presentation, Wikipedia can be used as a scholarly resource only on the condition that the sources are verified. The site is not completely reliable because the articles are in continuous flux. There is an unlimited ability to alter facts and insert ficticious information. This technology may produce thousands of informative and accurate articles, but it cannot be compared to the consistancy of traditional encyclopedias. In fact, the ability to edit Wikipedia lends to the ability to alter history and cultural truths. The site satifies our desire for quick information, yet it should probably be avoided for use in serious research. The one main strength Wiki has is the availablity of many different opinions on subjects which opens doors to further research. Also, I do not want to minimize the enormous success of the project itself having created a free online encyclopedia through the contributions of volunteer writers, and its ability to educate millions of people for free. Personally, I will use Wikipedia for quick reviews of subjects and current events, and still use my library for research.