J Couden's COM300 Blog

Final Blog Post

2006-03-08T10:42:00.000-08:00

I learned so much in this class! Com 300 has introduced me into the real world of life and college. I came from a community college that was easier than high school, so I did not know what to expect when I came here. This class has showed me that people really do learn while they are in college. So the fact that I can learn rather than just get straight 4.0's without any work really suprises me and excites me.
I think that (which I stated above) and website/online development is the most important thing I have learned. I think that growing up and learning in the year 2006 is difficult and technology based, but web skills are the most important. I will use these blogging and website skills probably for the rest of my life. I do however, would have liked to study it more. I would have liked to leave this class comfortable and confident in web development. It may have been different if Kathy were there the days we did it, or if we just spent one more day with it we could all be more confident. It is such a necessity for the lives we are living.
I can't really think of anything that I would have liked less time spent. The only thing I didn't get too interested in was the GNU Manifesto stuff. It just didn't spark my interest I guess.
Overall, it was a great welcoming class for me at the UW.

Discussion Questions

2006-02-26T21:39:00.000-08:00

1. Would you replace your phone with VoIP? Or do you think it is too risky at this early state?
2. As we went from analog to digital, will VoIP completely take over as digital did?
3. Will VoIP take over the cellphone business, or will cellphones incorporate VoIP capabilities?

VoIP February 26th

2006-02-26T21:25:00.000-08:00

VoIP sounds like an amazing new tool. Once people catch on to this, it is going to hit bigtime. I think phone and cable companies are doomed, judging by the characteristics of voip. It can do everything and more, and saves so much money. That is what America seems to be all about- money money money! So something like voip is great for this kind of group. It will make it so much easier to call and talk to people in far away places. I have family in Guam, Japan, Hawaii, New York, Conneticut, Maryland, and Arizona. I feel like I barely know them anymore because I rarel see them or talk to them. Obviously with cell phones these days, it is easier to call within the US, but out of the states costs an arm and a leg! Also, my mother travels a lot, currently exploring India (I hope) but I have not been able to talk to her because it is so dang expensive, so I don't even know how she is doing. If we were savvy with computers and voip, we could be talking and she could be telling me all about her trip.
When this gets out into the open and people realize how easy and inexpensive it is, there will be no more landlines at houses, and probably no more cell phones. This is going to kill some companies who are not getting thier feet wet with voip. As they said in the article, voip can easily replace all cable and telephones with ease, and people will love it. It is a great idea, and I am anxious to see how and when this really comes about. After reading the article, I really want to investigate this more and see what it's all about. The article was very technical information, but I would like to see what the companies have to say. See? This is already giving my phone company a challenge, because I want to replace it with voip.
Overall, voip sounds amazing and I believe that in a short time, phone companies will be done for.

Discussion Questions

2006-02-22T08:55:00.000-08:00

Why do I always forget to post these with my original post?

1. I can think of many places a person could go do schoolwork, etc. using the internet. How many can you think of?
2. Can you think of a way to still keep the providers paid, but not charge so much for thier service?
3. Do these "rural communities" even want these services? Are they accepting to this technology?

February 22nd Post

2006-02-22T08:43:00.000-08:00

Wow, I may get myself into trouble here but I seem to have a very different view of things. I look at the internet and cyberspace as a luxury. It's like having a CD player and radio in your car, a DVD player and a TV in your home. Yes, it is a public space and public information, but so its radio and television. Anyone can listen to it or watch it, if they have the right tools.
Don't get me wrong, I think internet is way too expensive and it hurts my pocket as well as others. I just don't think it is something that should be free. You don't see people out on the streets giving away free television sets so people can watch the news at home. It's not like the internet is not accessible to all either. All libraries that I know of have tons of computers with internet access, as well as wireless connections. A library card costs nothing, so using the internet costs nothing except your gas money or bus fare on your way there.
I feel like I am being so rude and maybe not considerate to others, but I feel that luxuries such as the internet should be costly enough for the provider to make a profit. I suppose I am slightly biased... my boyfriend has an awesome job as a sales manager and representative for a local internet company. He works his little butt off to pay the bills and live a good life. I think people in the internet industry work extremely hard, and without charging for their services, how will they live their lives? It reminds me of the open software reading we did. Everyone who works hard for something should receive their rewards.

Extra Credit 2-13-06

2006-02-13T10:15:00.000-08:00

Wow! I am so impressed and surprised at this article. First of all, I think it is awesome that Kathy took the stances she did. For me, it would be incredibly difficult to take a neutral stance in such a controversial subject. I have a hard time letting go of my biased opinion, especially when it comes to George Bush.
I found it interesting that the John Kerry website was more easily navigated than George Bush's site, it seems like they would have worked a little harder or thought more about the target audience. The election was so critical and close to a tie, that one would think they would both be doing everything they could to take voters on their side.
Comparing two things can very difficult, because you have to take all perspectives and information to make it credible. I think Kathy did a great job comparing the two with similarities as well as differences. It's nice to see a neutral, credible site once in a while. That doesn't come across very often.

Discussion Questions

2006-02-13T10:11:00.000-08:00

1. Would politics be different if the United States was not so technology savvy?
2. Does news on the internet (blogs, news sites, etc.) change peoples' minds about their stance on a political issue? Or does it just give them more information about the topic?
3. In one of the readings they did their studies on Undergraduates. I would like to know who out of our class of undergrads gets their political knowledge from the internet.

Internet and Politics

2006-02-13T10:07:00.000-08:00

The internet has come so far, it’s no longer just for email and research. Now there is news 24/7, and it’s so dependable. Imagine what we would do without the internet in times that we need news? With a newspaper, one would have to wait until tomorrow to find out what happened today. If you want to know about the elections or something going on right now, it’s so much easier. Just go onto Google News or CNN and you can know what happened four minutes ago. I think it is great and it helps people get into the current standings of the country, and the world as well.
In the second article, they say, "based on a study of undergraduates, found that Internet news sources supplement print media and they appear to substitute for television entertainment." This so great because the internet is pulling people from the TV. I am pretty anti-TV because I think it is so wasteful and a poor source of entertainment. It takes no thought or knowledge to watch TV, you just sit and listen and wait to hear what you want to hear or wait to see the show you want. Humans are so smart and creative, I’d think they would realize what a waste of mind space and time it is. I love the fact that the internet and politics are taking over peoples’ TV watching time because there is real, important information right there. You find what you want and actively read about it, then you can be done.
The internet has a huge impact on politics because everything going on is updated so frequently. We can know anything and everything in minutes, which is especially important for campaigns. (Hey, we knew our fellow Vice President Dick Cheney shot his friend while hunting about 8 minutes after it happened! Wow, that was fun to read about.)
We are in the year 2006, where everything has to be smaller, better, and faster. The internet allows us to accomplish these things very easily, and become more knowledgeable at the same time.

Discussion Questions

2006-02-06T10:07:00.000-08:00

1. Do you think blogs are more or less credible than the media?
2. Where do you see blogging going in the future? Will it disipate or turn into something huge?
3. Because one blogs publicly, does that make them a journalist? What defines a journalist?

Blog-a-licious: Week 6

2006-02-06T10:05:00.000-08:00

It is so hard to watch the news, read the newspaper, or believe headlines anywhere. The "news" is so biased by journalists, editors, and government that it is just something that you have to think might not be true. Nothing is real news anymore, and I think that includes blogs. Obviously they are not very credible and they may be false or exaggerated. But they are real people who in most cases are not being paid for making their story interesting. I look at blogs as another source for information. First there were newspapers that circled the US, then TV news, then internet news, and now there are blogs. They are no more or less credible then other news sources, we are all just people telling what happened through our own eyes, and obviously ways will change as the world goes on.

Extra Credit: Social Software

2006-01-30T10:45:00.000-08:00

I am so not tech-savvy, and never have been. I was one of those play outside and ride bikes kids. My family got a computer pretty early, around 1988 or so. I was never too into it because I didn’t understand it and I didn’t play video games, unlike my brother. (Or maybe that was why I never got into it, my brother never got off the computer...) I never knew what "social software" was until I did the reading. Now, I understand what it is and what took me away from the real world for a year or two. When I was in sixth grade, my best friend came across this program online called "SPLIT." It was a bunch of people between ten and twenty years old, who just chatted online. It was the first time I ever used "LOL" or "BRB" because I had never heard of those things before. I had never really been online for leisure. Back then it was really like cyberspace because it was space-it was a computer connected to a telephone line where you could send words out to another telephone line.
There were no logos or images on SPLIT, it was just a black screen with green writing and people had usernames. We would talk all day, and I remember being so excited to get home from school so I could go talk to my friends. I "fell in love" for the first time talking to a guy named GAMER, haha. We would all get to know eachother and sometimes meet up in groups so we could put a face to a username. This is the first social software I ever used, as far as I’m concerned. I think it is a really neat tool and it has taken us far since the 1980's. I didn’t really have that many friends because I was so shy, so where else could I have met 50 people and been able to be myself? Where else can you socialize for hours with people your age when you don’t have a car, too young to ride the bus, it’s rainy outside, or the people live far away? Nowhere and that is why this social software has become a hit.

Open Source Movement

2006-01-30T10:21:00.000-08:00

As Communication students and scholars, we have important duties in our line of work. One of our duties is to keep up to date with new and up coming technology. It depends on what field of com you may be going into, but each one should know about open source software.
This is such a huge, controversial topic because these people could be undermining the billionaires of the world. People are saying there will be no support for these free programs, but I say who cares? I have never needed support to run my computers, my dad has 40 employees each with a computer and they don’t need "support." Like Stallman said, there are people out there who just need their hand held because it’s the easy way out. I have a solution for these people with GNU. Because they are giving this away for free and will give no support, why not just give a great instruction manual and go around on a couple tours giving extensive knowledge to tech guys. Now, those tech guys know a lot about the program and they can either run a business of their own, or get hired as the "tech guy" for any business. In the long run, people and businesses will save money by doing this.
As communication scholars, sometimes it is our job to come up with answers, advertisements, and public relation kinds of things. That is why we should be reading into these things right now and learning about this movement. Someday soon it will be us backing up these guys who are trying to get a free product out there in the open. It could be our volunteer time doing this stuff for them or it could be paid, who knows. We also need to know about current technology because our jobs will rely heavily on knowledge and capability.
Just to touch on the subject of these programmers not getting paid- I didn’t hear of anyone shoving knives in these guys’ faces forcing them to become programmers for GNU. They are doing this because they truly believe in it and want to help and give their input. I think it is so ridiculous that outsiders are trying to speak for these programmers. Obviously they wouldn’t be doing it if they really didn’t want to be.

Discussion Questions:
1. Why are these outsiders trying to speak for the programmers about the lack of money?
2. Do you think this kind of thing will really get out there? It is so controversial and the competitors are billionaires who could beat them out of anything...
3. As Communication students, what do you think about the technology that is out there now and the upcoming?

Three discussion questions?

2006-01-23T10:06:00.000-08:00

1. Do you think humans would survive without machines? Would we go extinct because we are so used to having them and don’t know how to live without them?
2. Do you think most human work will someday be replaced by computers and machines?
3. What classifies something as a "machine?"

Analog...

2006-01-23T10:00:00.000-08:00

Monday January 23, 2006
Humans and machines are definitely a match made in Heaven, until you look at the differences and troubles they bring to each other. These days it seems like one can’t work without the other, and that will become a problem. Really, look at the charts in the first reading. Who wouldn’t want a computer or machine to help them out? Machines and humans compliment eachother to make one, whole, superhuman like figure. Seriously if you think about the qualities of man and combine that with the qualities of a machine it’s amazing. A machine is orderly, precise, and logical while a human is emotional, creative, and compliant. Neither have the exact same capabilities but they compliment eachother well. Isn’t there a saying that two minds are better than one? I completely agree with that, but one mind and a machine is the best anyone is going to get.
Until I read these articles I didn’t realize how important machines are. I hate to admit it like this, because I honestly cannot stand technology. But think of how far we have come since machines and technology have been around. We eat better, we are more healthy, we have warm clothes, we live two to three times longer, and we are safe from our surroundings. Machines have brought humans to where we are today, and I don’t think anybody can take that away.
On the flip side, I do see humans longing for nature and simplicity in some cases. That is why people go on vacation, or go hiking on the weekend. I think it is different here in Seattle because many people here are very earth conscious and outdoorsy. For a native Seattlite, I bet it would be easier to live without technology than it would be for a New Yorker or L.A. Some people don’t even think there is a green world out there, they live in the city and work with machines all day. I would guess that if people really knew what was out there besides work and machines and technology, they would appreciate life more.
OK, random thoughts I know my computer battery is dead!

Information Overload

2006-01-17T15:52:00.000-08:00

Information Overload
1-17-05

Use this week's readings to reflect on how your life is affected by information (too much? too little? just enough?) . Develop three discussion questions for class.

I really enjoy the technology that we have easy access to like phones, televisions, and computers. On the other hand, I have very mixed feelings about the internet and the “Deep Web.” Just the other day I was trying to find a quick definition of Marxism for one of my seminar classes, and do you know what I found? Everything except a quick and readable definition that made sense. I got Wickipedia and crazy readings on the subject that nobody I know would even understand. What happened to the good old days?

Do you remember in elementary school when you had to do a one page book report? The whole class would go to the library and do “research” on their topic. We would look through encyclopedias, reference books, browse the shelves for something that had your topic in the title. Then, if we didn’t finish our report we had to go home and our parents would take us to the library. There was so much less expected of us, because there was not that much available information. Now the 3^rd graders are doing research projects on the internet and they don’t even have to leave their home to get 50 times as much information as they need or want.

Information overload not only affects adults, but children as well. There are no standards for putting information on the internet, so you never really know for sure how credible something is. With all of these people producing websites and dumping their thoughts into their computers, it makes it hard to find anything at all. There are only so many quotations, ands, ors, and parenthesis one can squeeze into one search box. Even with all of those useful tools one can come across nine or ten thousand results.

That is such a difficult question to force myself to answer… I guess I do believe there is way too much stuff out there for people to read, but actual information I’m not sure. If there was an easy, readable, understandable explanation for everything I don’t think we would be overloaded, but there’s not. So yes, I think my life is affected by information overload way more than I wish. It was much more simple back in the day when we used real, tangible resources that were credible and trustworthy.

Three Questions:

Being brought up in the beginnings of this technological revolution, do you think we are actually dependant on information overload?
How do you know for sure if a source is credible?
Would you rather have the information overload that is present now, or a lack of information that is easier to manage and retrieve?

2006-01-16T13:19:00.000-08:00

Testing again, this stuff makes no sense to me...

2006-01-04T12:45:00.000-08:00

J Couden is here, hopefully for the rest of the class!