Socialnomics and The Revolution of Social Media

Video Article Title: Social Media Revolution Socialnomics 2011
Posted by fastaccesswebsites- Erik Qualman
Uploaded on September 2, 2010
URL:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzZyUaQvpdc&feature=related

Summary: I couldn’t pass up this video and not blog about it. “Is this the biggest shift since the Industrial Revolution?” The video is about how much the social media has progressed in the last year. It has several facts about various types of social networking and the amount of people utilizing it. Here are some of the facts. Social media has taken over porn as the number one activity on the web. Youtube is the second largest search engine. 80% of companies recruit people on social media. Wikipedia has over 15 million articles. Kindles outsold paper books on Christmas. This video is so astonishing; it really helps people realize how much we really rely on technology. The social media revolution is taking place right now, and the numbers from this video have more than likely increased by a vast amount already. This video truly shows how much people utilize internet and computers on a daily basis.

Response: It really amazes me how much social media has inclined just in the past year. Somehow this all happened unexpectedly, am I not right? The numbers have jumped up so high, so fast! Social media can definitely be a huge help to many aspects of our lives. It informs us about what is going on in the government, around the world, with our family and friends afar or even close to home. Being able to access information on several search engines is one of the most time conserving parts of technology today. People all around the world are basically taking various things and making them virtual; things such as books, newspapers, homework, magazines, letters, and any other form of information. Many people don’t realize how big of a role that social media plays and the outrageous amount that it is used day to day. Social media has grown so rapidly and is continuing to grow. 

The Effect of Technology on Modern Lifestyle

Article Title: The Effect of Technology on Modern Lifestyle
Author: Will D.
Published on http://www.ehow.com/list_5816078_effect-technology-advances-modern-lifestyle.html

Summary: The article is identifying all the aspects of modern life that technology has rapidly changed. It talks about how computers have helped so a many different industries because of the advances. Computers make storing photos, songs, and movies easier, makes doing taxes and keeping records easier and more organized. A computer with internet is a whole different story because with internet we are able to perform more daily tasks quicker than usual. The internet is used for several reasons; purchasing goods and services, instant messaging, video chats with family and friends, almost anything can be done by simply connecting to the internet. Technology has made traveling a lot easier and faster. Forms of transportation such as certain kinds of planes, trucks, and cars have been much more advanced and simplified so traveling from one place to another can be done faster.  The article then talks about how cellphones have connected people more than ever before. Cellphones make meetings with co-workers, friends and family a lot easier to be done. With internet connection on a cellphone people can access information they need way faster than find a computer to access the web.

Response: I believe that technology has played a major role in the way we live today. All of the above uses of technology make life today a whole lot easier than back in my parent’s time. I think that technology ultimately saves a lot of time because of how much more advanced it has become. Without technology many businesses and industries would not be able to perform as effectively as they do. This makes me realize that no matter how much a person would like to stay away from technology and all of the advances, they are affected by it one way or another. Whether a person uses computers or the internet, has a cell phone or even drives a car or rides in a plane, they are taking advantage of technology. The modern life today wouldn’t be the same without any of these advances, I think that it would be a lot harder and complicated. 

Is Google Making Us Stupid?

Article Title: “Is Google Making Us Stupid”
Author: Nicholas Carr
Published in The Atlantic Monthly, July/August Vol. 302 Issue 1, p56-63

Summary: This article is bringing out the reality that internet search, media and cellphones creating a change in our way of reading, interpreting and easily understanding information. Our brains are becoming more “immune” to rapidly receiving and interpreting information which causes us to lose interest in reading more lengthy articles. Many people are losing the ability to read in depth writing due to the substantial amount of technology that we use every day. Google is adding on another “technology” that is affecting our reading skills. It is taking our skill level of reading that we once had and turning them it skimming skills. Fast internet searches may be less time consuming but they also can cause a downward fall in ability to stay focused on longer and more challenging readings.

Response: It is the first time that I have heard of a search engine making society stupid; very interesting article. I believe that Google search engine is a helpful resource if people utilize it properly. For a person to get an answer to their question they need to review the results that are found thoroughly. It really is all your own judgment whether or not you think the information is reliable and correct. Most people that do find disproportionate information or pictures usually are not the ones who were specific about what they typed in the search bar. I do know that Google has multiple uses, many of which can make critics believe that it can be making humans stupid and “helpless”. During my everyday life I use Google for things such as, hours of operations of stores, phone directory, questions I may have and most importantly, I use Google Maps when I’m unsure how to get from point “a” to point “b”. By using Google as a resource, it can improve the brain and memory. I say this because; you can look up directions or store hours and know them for next time, rather than going through the whole process of research again. Google saves time, but can also waste it! 

Non- Print- Blocking Out Politics

CSL New Technology Cartoons
New Technology Cartoon 2- search ID efin652
By Ed Fischer

This cartoon I chose is representing the overwhelming amount of political campaigning in any type of media and/or technology. No matter where we look we see some form of political campaigning. This comic is recognizing the reality of the opinion that a lot of people tend to have after seeing so much campaigning. A huge amount of people get so sick of seeing it all, and they just want to block it all out. Once people start actually reading through campaigns they form more of an opinion about the candidate. Numerous candidates will make up plans to present themselves in a false manner to get the amount of votes they need. Once so many of the candidates present themselves in this way, countless people change their views on the person. Political campaigning can become much disarrayed and cause unwanted conflict. Several candidates and even politicians begin to slander one another and do not consider the consequences. Once a candidate spreads a lie about another it falls back into their field. I say this because in any real life situation, if one person talks bad about another you lose respect for that person; in this case they will lose citizen’s votes. Overall, these are the primary reasons that citizens do not want to continue seeing anything relating to political campaigns.  The more we use technology the more we encounter politics.

Technology, good or bad?

Personal Response

Technology does play a huge role in my life. It has evolved immensely since I was younger. My mom still can barely use her cell phone. My dad is slowly catching on with computers. I haven’t had a lot of technology devices as I was growing up. Now I have a laptop and an iPhone 4s. Both are essentials because I use them a lot for academic and personal uses. Without either of them I wouldn’t be able to survive college not communicating with my family and friends. It does amaze me how much not only technology has evolved but more so social networking sites. I remember being so cool back in the day because I had MSN messenger and e-mail. Then it went from Bebo, to Myspace and now Facebook. I think that social networking can be a positive and negative add to our generation. It can get out of hand when people become too virtual and less and less real; all the backstabbing and trash talk. Yet social networking can keep your friends and family informed about what’s going on in your life. Sometimes it’s like being with the people because you can talk to them and see a bunch of pictures and even videos with just a click of your mouse. I love my phone and especially Facebook and Skype because I can talk with my friends that are in Afghanistan, really means a lot to me. All the nonsense that social networking can cause, can also be avoided. The amount of time spent on technology devices can be controlled and limited, depending on your personal time management skills. 

Liking Is for Cowards. Go For What Hurts.

Article Title: “Liking Is for Cowards. Go for What Hurts”

Author: Jonathan Franzen

Published in The New York Times, May 28^th, 2011

Summary: The author of “Liking Is for Cowards. Go for What Hurts”, starts out his article by being overly obsessive about his BlackBerry Bold cell phone. I would say that he was being sarcastic. Franzen talks about how humans use technology to replace the “bad things” in life with technology. So many people do use technology as a replacement and they just don’t realize it until it’s all they have left to hold on to. Technology has evolved so much! Our devices will do what we want when we want them to. They never will talk back or say mean things to you. Franzen implies that liking something on Facebook is so much easier to do than to truly “like” something. He talks about how people like a lot of things and take away the meaning or purpose of loving something.  Franzen also states that when people try to be so likable they show the lack of love they have for themselves. People make a virtual image of themselves on social networking sites and it’s always the “better image” of them. “We like the mirror and the mirror likes us.” I believe this quote is the key point in the article because everyone wants to be liked by all but then they realize the reality of the situation; it’s just not possible. The world of liking is a lie. Which leads to the ending; Franzen talks about how it’s very impossible to like every person you ever encounter. There is such a thing as loving a person, and loving everything about them. This then defines how love exposes the lie. The biggest problem people have is rejection. Franzen encourages people to stop being two faced, the “likable person” and the “whole person”.

Response: I loved this article, and I was pleased to teach it to the class. I have a Facebook and an iPhone, it is easy to show the likable side of myself through technology, but I try to be as real as I can. I agree there are several people who replace all the emptiness and rejection in their life with technology. Once they put in the replacement, everything is “all better”. People who go overboard through technology to the point where they cannot back themselves up in person, is when this all becomes a problem. Fake, and two faced people, are the easiest to define. Technology and Facebook have made it easier for more people to become two faced. Yes, technology sure is a lot “cooler” and more evolved than back in the day, but it also has put society on a downward slope. More people can pretend to be someone they are not. More people can talk more trash about each other, rather than being faced to face; which is a lot harder to handle. People may not like rejection but it’s the reality of life, take it or leave it. Every person will NOT like you, so step back and let people discover your good qualities on their own, and they will respect you more.