While I was reading “A New Perspective on Business: Welcome to the attention economy,” I realized my attention span is very short. I read the first several paragraphs. Then I was logging on my email account. I went back to reading, and I was googling and etc. I’m sure my language barrier takes a part in it, but it was shocking to realize my short attention span.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/1834682.stm
This is a news article that tells our short attention span on web browsing is 9 seconds, the same as goldfish.
As the author says, there are too many information in the online world. I really agree with this. When I used to commute to my school by subway, which usually took about 40 minutes, I used to read a book. I I could concentrated on my reading, but now I go to school with my laptop, and I listen music, check emails, reading articles, browsing the web, and etc. Whenever I turned on my laptop, there are so many things to do.
Is there any way that I can have longer attention span? How do you manage with this phenomenon?
Sometimes I get tired of checking emails and web browsing. So during the weekends, I do not log on the Internet intentionally and have some fresh air and try to read hard-copy of book.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Welcome to the Attention Economy!
It's very interesting to see how the author of "Welcome to the Attention Economy" applies economic definitions to both information and attention. "Today, attention is the real currency of businesses and individuals," he says.
We've been discussing in class about the development of technology and how it has affected our lives, but I don't think anybody has mentioned (enough) how hard it is for us (human beings) to cope with what the advancements in technology have brought us. One thing it has certainly brought us is an exhaustive amount of information.
"Previous generations of citizens didn't have an attention problem, at least not compared to ours. They didn't have the Internet with its ever-increasing number of Web sites. At most, they had a few channels of broadcast television, a local newspaper, and a few magazines. ... The Sunday New York Times contains more factual information in one edition than in all the written material available to a reader in the fifteenth century. "
So it's like a cycle. The more technology we have, the more information (or access to it) we have. The more information we have, the bigger the demand for people's attention to receive and communicate that information becomes. "The technologies were used to communicate more information to more people, who then went on to create even more knowledge, which then had to be communicated to other people within the organization, thus creating the need for more bandwidth, and so on, and so on. This simultaneously virtuous and vicious cycle got us where we are today," the author says.
A couple of years ago I started complaining to my mom about my lack of memory. I wouldn't remember things I had recently done. I would watch a movie I had already seen and not remember the story nor the ending. I would read a book and, a few months later, not remember what had happened to the main character.
I went to our family doctor, who said I needed to pay more attention to things. But I wasn't happy with that "diagnostic." Some time later I decided to go to a neurologist (yeah, not remembering things really bothered me), who, after talking to me for some time, told me that we have a selective memory and there's only this much information it can absorb. "Can you imagine if we absorbed all the information we are exposed to everyday?" he asked. So I now assume there's nothing wrong with me, my memory, or my brain. I just select the kind of information I'll pay attention to. And after that conversation I had with the neurologist, I've been trying to pay more attention to what's really important to me, and not so much to the rest. It's a hard task, though, and I can't always accomplish it.
This is basically what the "Welcome to the Attention Economy" is about. "But remember that if attention goes one place, then it can't go another," the author warns. "As a consumer of information, I have to be very careful about my attention allocation," he adds.
It is really incredible how businesses can easily fail if its managers don't allocate their attention effectively in, say, communicating with employees and making the right decisions.
Now the main question is... will this ever get better? According to the author, no, it won't. "As the amount of information increases, the demand for attention increases."
What we have to do, he says, is "more focus on, and more rapid processing of, informational messages," like e-mail messages. Who hasn't ever deleted an important e-mail because of lack of attention? We have to be able to manage our attention and where it goes. But... how do we do that? Unfortunately, I was kind of disappointed that the author doesn't provide us with many answers regarding what people can do in order to become "diligent managers of attention." But at least now I can be even more aware than I was before reading this chapter. Perhaps I should read the whole book. : )
We've been discussing in class about the development of technology and how it has affected our lives, but I don't think anybody has mentioned (enough) how hard it is for us (human beings) to cope with what the advancements in technology have brought us. One thing it has certainly brought us is an exhaustive amount of information.
"Previous generations of citizens didn't have an attention problem, at least not compared to ours. They didn't have the Internet with its ever-increasing number of Web sites. At most, they had a few channels of broadcast television, a local newspaper, and a few magazines. ... The Sunday New York Times contains more factual information in one edition than in all the written material available to a reader in the fifteenth century. "
So it's like a cycle. The more technology we have, the more information (or access to it) we have. The more information we have, the bigger the demand for people's attention to receive and communicate that information becomes. "The technologies were used to communicate more information to more people, who then went on to create even more knowledge, which then had to be communicated to other people within the organization, thus creating the need for more bandwidth, and so on, and so on. This simultaneously virtuous and vicious cycle got us where we are today," the author says.
A couple of years ago I started complaining to my mom about my lack of memory. I wouldn't remember things I had recently done. I would watch a movie I had already seen and not remember the story nor the ending. I would read a book and, a few months later, not remember what had happened to the main character.
I went to our family doctor, who said I needed to pay more attention to things. But I wasn't happy with that "diagnostic." Some time later I decided to go to a neurologist (yeah, not remembering things really bothered me), who, after talking to me for some time, told me that we have a selective memory and there's only this much information it can absorb. "Can you imagine if we absorbed all the information we are exposed to everyday?" he asked. So I now assume there's nothing wrong with me, my memory, or my brain. I just select the kind of information I'll pay attention to. And after that conversation I had with the neurologist, I've been trying to pay more attention to what's really important to me, and not so much to the rest. It's a hard task, though, and I can't always accomplish it.
This is basically what the "Welcome to the Attention Economy" is about. "But remember that if attention goes one place, then it can't go another," the author warns. "As a consumer of information, I have to be very careful about my attention allocation," he adds.
It is really incredible how businesses can easily fail if its managers don't allocate their attention effectively in, say, communicating with employees and making the right decisions.
Now the main question is... will this ever get better? According to the author, no, it won't. "As the amount of information increases, the demand for attention increases."
What we have to do, he says, is "more focus on, and more rapid processing of, informational messages," like e-mail messages. Who hasn't ever deleted an important e-mail because of lack of attention? We have to be able to manage our attention and where it goes. But... how do we do that? Unfortunately, I was kind of disappointed that the author doesn't provide us with many answers regarding what people can do in order to become "diligent managers of attention." But at least now I can be even more aware than I was before reading this chapter. Perhaps I should read the whole book. : )
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Exhausted by Technology
This weekend I went to the movies with a group of girlfriends to see the newly released film, He's Just Not That Into You. I am sure you are wondering what in the world this has to do with our class readings for this week, but I promise it has a connection.
In Bree Nordenson's "Overload!" she writes about how we have news and information coming at us through all different directions and modes of technology. It becomes quite difficult to differentiate between signals and interpret what is important and what is not.
This reminded me of a scene in the movie when Drew Barrymore's character is in the store and recollects her recent date with a man and communicating with him. "...just to be rejected by seven different technologies. It's exhausting," she said.
I thought this was such a great line, because it is so true on so many levels. It's like we try and make communication easier for us every day by releasing new technologies, but in the end it sometimes makes things more confusing, complicated, and tiring. Don't get me wrong, I love technology and the conveniences that it brings, but it does have its cons just like everything else.
I agree that the many technologies that feed us news on a daily basis ultimately strain our attention spans, because we are often left with skimming just to take the important information in quickly enough to move onto the next task at hand. It's hard enough already to just make it through one news source at a time without having to stop and switch over to another medium!
In Bree Nordenson's "Overload!" she writes about how we have news and information coming at us through all different directions and modes of technology. It becomes quite difficult to differentiate between signals and interpret what is important and what is not.
This reminded me of a scene in the movie when Drew Barrymore's character is in the store and recollects her recent date with a man and communicating with him. "...just to be rejected by seven different technologies. It's exhausting," she said.
I thought this was such a great line, because it is so true on so many levels. It's like we try and make communication easier for us every day by releasing new technologies, but in the end it sometimes makes things more confusing, complicated, and tiring. Don't get me wrong, I love technology and the conveniences that it brings, but it does have its cons just like everything else.
I agree that the many technologies that feed us news on a daily basis ultimately strain our attention spans, because we are often left with skimming just to take the important information in quickly enough to move onto the next task at hand. It's hard enough already to just make it through one news source at a time without having to stop and switch over to another medium!
Information Overdose
I agree with Bree Nordenson in Overload! But here’s the catch. Or at least what I think it is. News organizations are not just fighting the good fight against the Internet and trying to make money. They are also fighting the shrinking attention spans of news consumers. I know I have cringed at every reading on the New York Times simply because I know I have to read four pages of intensive coverage. As a person who only ‘consumes’ news online, I want to read the bare minimum and ‘see’ the other content in audio/video/slideshow/podcast format. I used the words ‘consume’ and ‘see’ because I no longer just read news online as is limited by traditional newspapers. I also no longer have to listen to the radio or watch the news on television. But this too does not explain why I think news organizations, as a system, have failed me. Could it be because I want as much news crammed into as short a presentation? Or is it because I want updated news, and not have to read the whole story from the beginning? I’ll never know.
Convergence and web 2.0 tools have ensured that I can effectively consume news from the realm of infinite possibilities. And part of those infinite possibilities is the ability to multitask. Like I said in a previous blog post, I *heart* technology. This is because it allows me to walk, chew gum, look left and right before I cross the road and talk to my friend walking beside me. This, while she decides where we’re going for dinner (she’s a vegetarian) and finding it on MapQuest. I also have multiple tabs open and switch between them because I can’t seem to get myself to read a whole NYT story at one shot.
But it’s also this multitasking that has gotten me into a lot of habits that I seem to be unable to get out of. I compulsively check emails, listen to imeem and read the news while I’m on the bus. This, fully knowing that I have just done all this at home – before I got on the bus. This multitasking ability that makes sure I get a lot done and in time, is also debilitating me. I can’t remember anything without Google Calendar and I can’t seem to run without my mp3 player (yes, I don’t own an iPod!). I also seem to have lost the ability to talk to random people on the bus. In India, that was all I did – and I have made some very good friends out of those bus rides. Here, with everyone doing something or the other – reading a book (grad students, here is your cue to nod in approval) or just listening to your iPod – it seems very hard to communicate! That said, I also have to admit that checking email or reading headlines on my phone while I ride the bus to school might be more productive than staring out the window, looking at advertisements or businesses along the route trying to attract me as a consumer.
And with the exponential penetration of technology, this is what the world will look like in 10 years:
Convergence and web 2.0 tools have ensured that I can effectively consume news from the realm of infinite possibilities. And part of those infinite possibilities is the ability to multitask. Like I said in a previous blog post, I *heart* technology. This is because it allows me to walk, chew gum, look left and right before I cross the road and talk to my friend walking beside me. This, while she decides where we’re going for dinner (she’s a vegetarian) and finding it on MapQuest. I also have multiple tabs open and switch between them because I can’t seem to get myself to read a whole NYT story at one shot.
But it’s also this multitasking that has gotten me into a lot of habits that I seem to be unable to get out of. I compulsively check emails, listen to imeem and read the news while I’m on the bus. This, fully knowing that I have just done all this at home – before I got on the bus. This multitasking ability that makes sure I get a lot done and in time, is also debilitating me. I can’t remember anything without Google Calendar and I can’t seem to run without my mp3 player (yes, I don’t own an iPod!). I also seem to have lost the ability to talk to random people on the bus. In India, that was all I did – and I have made some very good friends out of those bus rides. Here, with everyone doing something or the other – reading a book (grad students, here is your cue to nod in approval) or just listening to your iPod – it seems very hard to communicate! That said, I also have to admit that checking email or reading headlines on my phone while I ride the bus to school might be more productive than staring out the window, looking at advertisements or businesses along the route trying to attract me as a consumer.
And with the exponential penetration of technology, this is what the world will look like in 10 years:
How simple it is for predators...
I saw this story yesterday on Good Morning America. A young girl ran away with a man she met while playing XBOX 360 Live. Around the 2:36 mark, they begin to discuss how technologies like gaming systems are just as easily used by predators as computers are. New controls and precautions are being added and invented to keep this from happening.
Also, thought it was interesting to see that MySpace has helped identify so many sexual predators.
Also, thought it was interesting to see that MySpace has helped identify so many sexual predators.
Overloaded indeed
I just have to say that I almost 100 percent agree with the "Overloaded" article from the CJR. In my very first journalism class at UT, we talked a lot about the 24/7 newscycle; how it is nearly impossible to avoid getting some sort of news thrown at you if you are online or have the television on.
I think, like most of the topics we have discussed so far, this endless barrage of information is like a double-edged sword. I am thankful that at almost any given time I can find out the most important information regarding the happenings of the world. I personally rely a lot on my homepage, which happens to be My Yahoo! The firs thing I see is the top four news stories at that time. But I obviously am relying on Yahoo to decide for me which ones are the most important. If I wanted to "go deeper" as the article suggests we young people often don't do, I easily could go to CNN, MSNBC, or the AP to see if they are covering the same stories, or if there are other more important stories I need to see.
However, sometimes I do think there is too much coming at me at once. The ticker, for one, really gets me. Every morning I watch the first hour of Good Morning America before I leave for class. At 7 o' clock, the first thing they do is tell us of the biggest news story of the morning. The two lead anchors then toss it to another anchor for "the morning's other news stories." While all of this is going on, there is also a ticker crawling along the bottom of the screen spelling out for me exactly what the anchors are telling me/have told me/are about to tell me. And in that sense, it's too much at once and I could do without it.
Rarely ever do I think to myself, "Man, there is too much information coming at me." I think our generation has become so used to it that I hardly ever notice it. But, because of this 24/7/365 exposure to news coming from all directions, I do think, "Where is there to go from here?"
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
How, and where, to hyperlink
The Online Journalism Review has a post about hyperlinking. Some of you may find it interesting, and it may also contribute to our blogging, so here it is.
Look whos watching too!
Okay, I am now officially paranoid and want to go off the radar. Literally. And you thought the Patriot Act was a travesty of privacy? Think again!
Google Latitude lets you track friends, employees.
Google Latitude lets you track friends, employees.
The day I was born
I read through every wiki “May 1984 India” entry, looked up pretty much every online resource pertaining to technology in the same time and even went to the PCL to flip a few pages. But I didn’t get much information on the day I was born. And I thought it was just me who was boring! Apparently not. Nothing groundbreaking happened on Wednesday, May 23 1984. For people in America, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom was released and elsewhere, in India, my mother went into labor.
I’ve been told that my mother went through hell and back when she delivered me after 40 hours of labor. So I picked up my touch screen PDA and decided to call her on her personal cell phone to ask her more about it. Apparently, there were only two telephones on the street we lived on. And thankfully, one of them was in my house.
But I digress.
Once my mother went into labor, she quickly called for an ambulance and went straight to the hospital. After she checked in, one of the staff nurses announced for my father to come to the maternity wing as his wife was in labor! You see, pagers were still not common in India – even among doctors! So while my mother labored on for another 30-odd hours, let me tell you more about India’s nascent technology days.
There wasn’t much technology in India back in 1984. Maintaining a telephone was expensive, so not every household had one. So it was not uncommon for my mother to take messages and let others in the locality to use it. The same year, the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT), a government owned organization was established that was dedicated to technology development. Its motive was to help spread the wonders of the telephone to the common man and design and develop digital exchanges for the government. Three years later, India joined the digital domain with its first Internet connection. But it would be at least 10 more years before dial-up Internet was brought to households.
Earlier, people relied on snail mails, phone calls and telegraph for communication between each other and theater, radio and television for entertainment. In the mid-80s, there was a rapid increase in the number of TV transmitters, and a corresponding commercialization of Indian television. It was not only used for government propaganda, but also socially relevant plays and soap operas. There were several channels for every language; with advertisements bringing in the revenue. Cable television came to India only in the mid 90s, so apart from the state-sponsored, free cable, film was the universal poison. This increased the sale of VCRs, as people taped movies shown on the national network. To control them, the government introduced measures to curb the use of VCRs.
By 1986, India had begun to realize the importance of computers. The National Council of Education Research and Training made computers a vital part of school curricula, giving rise to India’s substantial contribution towards software development, that was heightened during the dotcom boom. This speaks volumes about the country’s political and social policies, in its dedication to modern technology.
Today, C-DOT works on next generation technology, developing several intelligent software applications and some people like my parents, have five telephones between the two of them. VCRs, like the telegraph no longer exist and the Internet is now more than just technology – it is a way of life.
I’ve been told that my mother went through hell and back when she delivered me after 40 hours of labor. So I picked up my touch screen PDA and decided to call her on her personal cell phone to ask her more about it. Apparently, there were only two telephones on the street we lived on. And thankfully, one of them was in my house.
But I digress.
Once my mother went into labor, she quickly called for an ambulance and went straight to the hospital. After she checked in, one of the staff nurses announced for my father to come to the maternity wing as his wife was in labor! You see, pagers were still not common in India – even among doctors! So while my mother labored on for another 30-odd hours, let me tell you more about India’s nascent technology days.
There wasn’t much technology in India back in 1984. Maintaining a telephone was expensive, so not every household had one. So it was not uncommon for my mother to take messages and let others in the locality to use it. The same year, the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT), a government owned organization was established that was dedicated to technology development. Its motive was to help spread the wonders of the telephone to the common man and design and develop digital exchanges for the government. Three years later, India joined the digital domain with its first Internet connection. But it would be at least 10 more years before dial-up Internet was brought to households.
Earlier, people relied on snail mails, phone calls and telegraph for communication between each other and theater, radio and television for entertainment. In the mid-80s, there was a rapid increase in the number of TV transmitters, and a corresponding commercialization of Indian television. It was not only used for government propaganda, but also socially relevant plays and soap operas. There were several channels for every language; with advertisements bringing in the revenue. Cable television came to India only in the mid 90s, so apart from the state-sponsored, free cable, film was the universal poison. This increased the sale of VCRs, as people taped movies shown on the national network. To control them, the government introduced measures to curb the use of VCRs.
By 1986, India had begun to realize the importance of computers. The National Council of Education Research and Training made computers a vital part of school curricula, giving rise to India’s substantial contribution towards software development, that was heightened during the dotcom boom. This speaks volumes about the country’s political and social policies, in its dedication to modern technology.
Today, C-DOT works on next generation technology, developing several intelligent software applications and some people like my parents, have five telephones between the two of them. VCRs, like the telegraph no longer exist and the Internet is now more than just technology – it is a way of life.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Back In the Day
I think I may be one of the most outdated folks around. Sometimes my boyfriend makes fun of me because I'm one of the few people in the universe who still enjoys VHS tapes. That's right, the thick huge VHS tapes. In fact recently I bought a few used ones from the Movie Trading Company in Dallas. They are extremely inexpensive and even a little comforting. For example, when I pop in an old classic Disney film, or my VHS copy of my favorite 1950's film Carmen Jones, I feel complete.
Many of the films in my collection I've had for many years, since I was pretty young. I thought briefly about moving into the 21st century when it comes to some of my favorite films but I just can't seem to do it. One of the reasons, beyond comfort, has to do with my memories growing up a kid, watching some of the same movies I own now with my aunt. In the early 90's she bought into the whole movie thing where they would send VHS tapes to your house. You could order a lot of movies for only a few pennies a month. Her film collection ranged from Major Payne, to Leap of Faith, the Bodygaurd, and Carmen Jones. She owned so many titles, and every day that I went over there I watched something new, and learned something new.
Around 1996 she passed away. I was only 9, and devastated, she was like a second mother. After her death daughter gave me many of the VHS tapes that she had owned in her collection. One of the tapes included Carmen Jones. This one film, this one VHS tape started a craze for not only Dorothy Dandridge, but learning more about classic black films, and the industry, it also pushed me into my passion of writing.
Today I still watch the same copy of this classic film. I know all the songs, and the back story behind the making and the actors. When I watch that tape I become part of memory and entranced in more than the film. Sure VHS is not the clearest thing around, but for me memories of watching that same movie with my aunt are much more valuable than owning a clearer copy on blue ray or DVD, just for a different picture. Those new technologies can never give me that same feeling, or be as special as those same memories.
I hate new technology! No, wait... I LOVE IT!
I *heart* technology. Really. It’s amazing how man has come from making fire to Google. But sometimes, this dynamic technology just drives me up the wall – especially when I have paid for an older model just six months ago or have learnt the older version of the software. It makes me livid, I tell you.
But as usual, I digress. As some of us type our way into a digital future, others are still wary of sinister electronic gadgets taking over our lives. I confess that I am one of them. I’m paranoid because I’m slowly going online. It’s like the Matrix. And eventually, there will be no spoon! I’m scared that I’ll meet friends for a drink in Second Life or start conducting interviews on Skype or Facebook!
But then again, there are those who use those very electronic gadgets to sort their lives out and enhance the way they spend their time. Malcolm Brynin and Robert Kraut, in their paper, Social Studies of Domestic Information and Communication Technologies, wrote about “the effect of these new technologies, as they enter our homes and our daily lives, to change the activities we pursue, the way we perform old activities, our relationships with other people and our personal and economic welfare.” Eventually, someone figured out that computers also had a place in our homes. Soon, the computer became another household appliance like a toaster or iron box. And after the household appliance stage, came the concept of digital divides. And then came issues including privacy and censorship.
It’s frightening to look at how much we have achieved as a species. From fire, we went to the Industrial Revolution. Then came computers and the joke that it could possibly be in every household. It looked like science fiction then, but look where we are now.
It’s no longer about who has access to the Internet and who has access to a computer. If you don’t have either, you are road kill on the information highway.
PS: Now you know why I call myself LadyParadox - I possess the amazing ability to contradict myself.
But as usual, I digress. As some of us type our way into a digital future, others are still wary of sinister electronic gadgets taking over our lives. I confess that I am one of them. I’m paranoid because I’m slowly going online. It’s like the Matrix. And eventually, there will be no spoon! I’m scared that I’ll meet friends for a drink in Second Life or start conducting interviews on Skype or Facebook!
But then again, there are those who use those very electronic gadgets to sort their lives out and enhance the way they spend their time. Malcolm Brynin and Robert Kraut, in their paper, Social Studies of Domestic Information and Communication Technologies, wrote about “the effect of these new technologies, as they enter our homes and our daily lives, to change the activities we pursue, the way we perform old activities, our relationships with other people and our personal and economic welfare.” Eventually, someone figured out that computers also had a place in our homes. Soon, the computer became another household appliance like a toaster or iron box. And after the household appliance stage, came the concept of digital divides. And then came issues including privacy and censorship.
It’s frightening to look at how much we have achieved as a species. From fire, we went to the Industrial Revolution. Then came computers and the joke that it could possibly be in every household. It looked like science fiction then, but look where we are now.
It’s no longer about who has access to the Internet and who has access to a computer. If you don’t have either, you are road kill on the information highway.
PS: Now you know why I call myself LadyParadox - I possess the amazing ability to contradict myself.
Roots of Revolution
I faced a huge tragedy the other night. I was sitting in my living room watching a youtube video for a Spanish assignment and the unthinkable thing happened; I lost Internet. It was tragic. For a mere three minutes I felt I was lost and unconnected not only from a video I was watching for an assignment, but from every question out there. Luckily all I had to do was reset the router, but the feeling was alien and quite surprising. Life without the Internet is hard because I felt aloof from technology or from communication.
Now to the reading....
It is amazing how much technology has come since the invention of the telephone. Now, we can make calls without thinking, connect to the Internet and access our email on our cell phones all while listening to the built-in mp3 player. Technology is amazing. One interesting effect it has is the de-personalization in the workforce and the shrinking effect it has on the number of people that have to present at one time. Now you can have conference calls with people halfway around the world and can work from your home due to technology.
I think the future of the cell phone is quite interesting for journalists due to the shrinking size of the newspaper industry and readership. I think journalism will soon go to cell phone distribution for the tech-savy and not tech-savy.
Wired From Ear to Ear
As a kid born in the late 1980s, the constant bombardment of new technology is nothing new. Every Christmas and birthday, there is some new gadget to buy - or a gadget that is the same but smaller, better and faster than the one you already have. When I was little, my family had one small, black and white Mac desktop computer, a record player and a television. Now, I alone have a desktop, laptop, iPod, iPhone, digital camera and television. I'm wired from ear to ear.
The implications these new technologies have on communication is both frightening and exciting. I am a huge fan of the idea that the world is made a smaller, more accessible place by our inventions; that we can know what's happening on the other side of the world in a matter of seconds or minutes because of our technical prowess. Of course, there are also negative implications. With increased access, comes increased privacy and civil rights violations. I can only hope that ethics and democratic values will not be forgotten. I by no means support the domestic spying and wiretapping that occurred under the Bush II administration, but generally feel that new technologies will better the world and help us increase our efficiency and productivity.
The future technological predictions in "The Roots of Revolution" and "Trendspotter's Guide" seem plausible. We seem well on the way to using cell phones exclusively and to be able to make calls to a telephone on the other side of the world with little cost. The world will only become smaller in our collective reality. Distance will disappear, information will travel faster than ever, and we will be more connected than ever. It will be interesting to see how things change in the next 30 years, because the past 30 have been a whirlwind...
"...increase understanding, foster tolerance, and ultimately promote worldwide peace."
When reading the Roots of Revolution, I came across many statements that I found intriguing.
"people will communicate more freely and learn more about the ideas and aspirations of human beings in other parts of the globe."
I especially connect with this statement in light of the recent historic election. With the increased connectivity, capacity, and achievement the Internet has to offer us these days, it is especially easy for people in the United States to see how people all over the other parts of the world are responding to our amazing display of brotherhood and understanding. Websites like YouTube and the 24-hour news cycles of CNN, MSNBC, ABC make it more convenient than ever for everyone across the globe to speak out or speak to each other and come together through technology and unite for a remarkable cause. I think "world peace" is a little strong, but I do think that as the Internet's capacity to bring people together continues to increase everyday, we can come a little closer to the understanding we all deserve.
"For conversations, people will come to use mobile telephones almost exclusively."
I just wanted to agree with this statement 100%. As a semi-permanent resident of Austin, I use my cellphone as my main means of communication with people back home and people here. I don't own a land line. And I don't know anyone of my friends that goes to UT that does. Even a married couple that I know, both of whom have lived in Austin for quite a while, doesn't own a land line, and they are living here permanently in a house, living out there adult lives. I know even back when we were kids, the idea of using mobile phones only never seemed like a possibility to our parents. My parents still think it's weird that I can function without a land line. To them, an earlier generation, it is ingrained in them that that's just the norm. But to us, the norm is to have a cellphone and that's it. And the occasional instant message on the computer of course.
And referring back to the reading last week about our inability to focus because of all the distractions online, I guess we should thank Marc Andreessen who developed the ability for us to navigate from page to page....leading us into an infinite abyss of information....
"people will communicate more freely and learn more about the ideas and aspirations of human beings in other parts of the globe."
I especially connect with this statement in light of the recent historic election. With the increased connectivity, capacity, and achievement the Internet has to offer us these days, it is especially easy for people in the United States to see how people all over the other parts of the world are responding to our amazing display of brotherhood and understanding. Websites like YouTube and the 24-hour news cycles of CNN, MSNBC, ABC make it more convenient than ever for everyone across the globe to speak out or speak to each other and come together through technology and unite for a remarkable cause. I think "world peace" is a little strong, but I do think that as the Internet's capacity to bring people together continues to increase everyday, we can come a little closer to the understanding we all deserve.
"For conversations, people will come to use mobile telephones almost exclusively."
I just wanted to agree with this statement 100%. As a semi-permanent resident of Austin, I use my cellphone as my main means of communication with people back home and people here. I don't own a land line. And I don't know anyone of my friends that goes to UT that does. Even a married couple that I know, both of whom have lived in Austin for quite a while, doesn't own a land line, and they are living here permanently in a house, living out there adult lives. I know even back when we were kids, the idea of using mobile phones only never seemed like a possibility to our parents. My parents still think it's weird that I can function without a land line. To them, an earlier generation, it is ingrained in them that that's just the norm. But to us, the norm is to have a cellphone and that's it. And the occasional instant message on the computer of course.
And referring back to the reading last week about our inability to focus because of all the distractions online, I guess we should thank Marc Andreessen who developed the ability for us to navigate from page to page....leading us into an infinite abyss of information....
Technology in bridge infrastructure
So I found this interesting story about detecting problems with road and bridge infrastructure, by a sensore and GPS system in cars.
“This sensing technology will create a way to detect problems, both on the surface and subsurface, so that problems can be fixed more efficiently.”
Basically computers in the cars with the sensor and GPS system will pinpoint the collected data to a location. The data will be processed, reported, and analyzed to that repairs can be made where they are needed
"Computers installed in the vehicles will control the sensors and a GPS system will pinpoint the collected data to very precise locations. Constant streams of data will be processed and reported back to base stations using a cellular phone system, which will then be analyzed so that timely repairs can be made in vulnerable areas"
“This sensing technology will create a way to detect problems, both on the surface and subsurface, so that problems can be fixed more efficiently.”
Basically computers in the cars with the sensor and GPS system will pinpoint the collected data to a location. The data will be processed, reported, and analyzed to that repairs can be made where they are needed
"Computers installed in the vehicles will control the sensors and a GPS system will pinpoint the collected data to very precise locations. Constant streams of data will be processed and reported back to base stations using a cellular phone system, which will then be analyzed so that timely repairs can be made in vulnerable areas"
I think it is very important to note the positive side technology is playing on our society. I think many people can get so caught up in how lazy and unsocial we’re becoming that they fail to realize the great strides we’ve made.
We no longer have to wait for an open line to make a phone call, for instance, with the utilization of fiber-optic cables. Sure we can have longer social chats because of this, but also we can rest in the fact we know we can reach someone in a time of emergency.
As we all know, as technology has advanced, certain demands for being familiar with technology have also come into place, such as in jobs. Long-distance phone calls are going to need to be made when working for companies, and the fact that strides have been taken to let the prices fall for such calls is great! When working in a media or public relations position, having a cell phone is a must. Contacting people and getting things done while in the car, rather than wasting that time, enables more productivity and efficient use of time.
Regarding the Internet, the book says one consequence is it “has given birth to a vigorous new industry dedicated to developing ways to use it and services to sell across it.” I think something some people may have overlooked is that vast amount of jobs the Internet has provided. From designing to technical help, many people’s jobs are based around the Internet and making it more user friendly for everyone else. With the ability to link out from pages, the Internet has the ability to improve or help people with all kinds of jobs.
We no longer have to wait for an open line to make a phone call, for instance, with the utilization of fiber-optic cables. Sure we can have longer social chats because of this, but also we can rest in the fact we know we can reach someone in a time of emergency.
As we all know, as technology has advanced, certain demands for being familiar with technology have also come into place, such as in jobs. Long-distance phone calls are going to need to be made when working for companies, and the fact that strides have been taken to let the prices fall for such calls is great! When working in a media or public relations position, having a cell phone is a must. Contacting people and getting things done while in the car, rather than wasting that time, enables more productivity and efficient use of time.
Regarding the Internet, the book says one consequence is it “has given birth to a vigorous new industry dedicated to developing ways to use it and services to sell across it.” I think something some people may have overlooked is that vast amount of jobs the Internet has provided. From designing to technical help, many people’s jobs are based around the Internet and making it more user friendly for everyone else. With the ability to link out from pages, the Internet has the ability to improve or help people with all kinds of jobs.
reading week 3
I don’t know much about how telephone, television and computer developed. I’m just using them as if I used to have them even before my birth.
Yes, I think it is true people tend to forget what the technologies were like 5 years ago and 10 years ago. When the author Frances Cairncross (right?) was mentioned the days of “the use of glass fibers” or “development of fiber-optic cables,” I have no idea what they are. But I thought it does not matter because I can use them. Should I understand the development of those three technologies? I think it's not necessary.
I want to answer the question 2 from the “Consider” in the first page of the chapter 1. It was asking whether those technologies deserve to be called “revolutionary.” My answer is yes. It is evolution but at the same time it is revolution especially the Internet. Because of the Internet, what we are using now are possible.
I remember when I was a little girl. I was curious about phone on a shelf taller than me. I jumped to touch it, but I failed. When I could touch it, my mother put it a little higher so that I couldn’t reach it. It was just a forbidden object.
In my senior year of high school when I proclaimed to live alone close to my high school, my sister bought me a cell phone so that she can reach me any time. Since then I always had cell phone, and if I don’t have it in my hand, I could not focus on my study.
Now, in Korea, almost everybody has a cell phone, and even kindergarten kids have it. Guess what? What it’s like now? As I said, almost everybody has cell phone. What about the telephone? At many of their house, there is no telephone anymore.
And I could notice the changes on telephone. This is not the first year studying in the States. I was in Kansas in 2004- 2006. While I was there, I had to buy international phone card to talk my mom and dad.
Now? I call them with my internet phone. It is like a telephone. It has a receiver. What is different is that there should be an internet connection. If there is no internet connection, it is useless.
One of the best features is that it does not charge a lot. When I’m only charged with the Korean domestic rate (it means it’s the same thing that I’m calling my mom and dad in Korea) and it’s cheaper to call them. I only pay approximately 7 cents for 3 minutes. What a change! When I learned about this, it was amazing. I don’t know exactly how it works, but it’s really great change. It’s a revolution!
I don’t know what it will be like in 3 years and 5 years, but I’ll be looking forward the days of another change.
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