Posted by jamiekim in Society, Technology.
Tags: elitist, Innovation adoption curve, laggards
A few months ago, my boyfriend referred to a URL as an e-mail address. And he wasn’t joking.
There he was, paper and pen in hand, asking me to write down the “e-mail address” of the Web site for him.
And there I was, biting my tongue while seriously questioning the future of our relationship.
Though I understand that there are different levels of innovation adoption, how can someone not know the difference between an e-mail address and a Web address? Come on. It’s 2008.
But the incident got me thinking. Am I a latent techno-elitist? Do I assume everyone is well-versed with online technology by now and look down on technological laggards?
Absolutely not. I’ve just been programmed from an earlier age how to maneuver on the computer. Therefore, when I began using the Internet at age 12, I was more interested in finding out what the Web had to offer.
In fact, looking back at my elementary years, my school had a hi-tech computer lab where everyone mastered touch-typing skills and basic computer skills. By the 4th grade, most of my peers and I were typing on blank keyboards because we had met all of our accuracy and WPM goals.
It just goes to show that technology adoption may be easier for people who are exposed to the medium at an earlier age. Many people don’t embrace technology and are unwilling to learn new skills because of their fear of the unknown.
It could be as simple as building computer labs at elementary schools to let students become familiarized with the computer and Web from an earlier age.
But of course that’s easier said than done considering the current economy.. And that’s a whole other can of worms to be discussed.
Posted by jamiekim in Society, Technology.
Tags: Analysis, Brevity, Concise, Instant Access, Instant Communication, Reading
Once I was a scuba diver in the sea of words. Now I zip along the surface like a [woman] on a Jet Ski.
The Web has changed the way I want to process information. It’s not that I’m incapable of analysis, comprehension or contemplation. I’ve just acclimated to the easy search button and condensed bullets of information.
And what do you expect? Here we live in a period where tweets, e-mails and instant messages are common forms of communication. As a result, I’ve been used to getting what I want (information), when I want it (instant access).
Researching for endless hours in the library? Reading through piles and piles of essays and analysis to write a research paper? Using print sources?!
Not so much.
The Web has made it so easy for instant access to information. People don’t need to (or want to) read longer writing pieces on the Web to get the information that they’re seeking. And unfortunately, this translates into the offline world of reading for many people. Like Nicholas Carr writes, our minds now expect us to digest information the way the Internet and Web distributes it: “in a swiftly moving stream of particles.”
The key word is brevity.
I don’t have the time or patience to sit through step-by-step analysis and theories. I have 15 million (yes, 15 million) things to do during an average day. Please give me what I need and I’ll move along.
Just get to the point.
Posted by jamiekim in Journalism, Social Media.
Tags: blog, blogging is dead, Journalism, new media, newspapers, Social Media, traditional media, Web 2.0
Journalists have already learned the most important thing from bloggers: news can be a conversation, not just a lecture. And recent research is showing that journalists are extensively using social media, which allows feedback, comments, multimedia and more. There is an opportunity for a dialogue—an interaction—rather than a one-sided monologue, and journalists know and utilize these aspects of social media.
However, with more than 100 million blogs floating around in the blogosphere, it’s difficult for many journalists—and bloggers for that matter—to catch the interest of readers and engage them in conversations. Some people are going as far as saying that blogging is dead.
So what does this mean for traditional media? If bloggers die, do journalists live?
Well, bloggers aren’t dead, and neither are journalists. In fact, the only thing that seems to be dying is the average reader’s attention span. Technology has shoved well-crafted inverted pyramids into shorter blog posts and now it’s reducing information into 140 words or less via Twitter. At this rate, we might as well be communicating in acronyms.
The Web is constantly changing and facilitating rapid technological and social change. And this is exactly the lesson to be learned. New social media tools will pop-up and there will always be new ways to communicate information and news. Traditional media should monitor and implement these useful social media tools to retain existing audiences and invite new ones, but they don’t need to go overboard.
The single most important thing that traditional media should do is to keep doing what they do best. It’s as simple as that. They’re masters of their crafts and have been doing it for so long; traditional media obviously provides its audiences with something that new media cannot, otherwise there would be no traditional media still existing today.
Posted by jamiekim in Society, Technology.
Tags: Internet, internet of things, IP addresses, IPv6, smart home
Forget Smart House or remote-controlled kitchens. Think bigger, better and—quite frankly—scarier.
Let us begin marinating in the idea of every physical “thing” being connected to the Internet.
Ovens telling fire alarms that it’s overheating. Showers telling toilets not to flush. Microchips embedded under the skins of cows electronically notifying farmers where the cows are grazing.
No, I didn’t just make that up. There’s actually a name for this future forecast. Experts are calling it the Internet of Things.
Although the idea of having a smart ___what have you___ is appealing, I can’t imagine what the drawbacks to this technological advancement will be. Businesses, educational systems, hospitals—every industry may operate more efficiently. But certainly we will face the issue of dependency.
Cell phones, computers, the Web, iPods and other gadgets are already playing big roles in my daily life. Throwing physical “things” operating on their own unique IP addresses into the mix spells out nothing but dependency and convienence.
Still, who knows how far into the future experts will connect “things” to the Internet. Experts say sometime between now and 2010, but things could go wrong. It may come decades from now when my interest in technology goes on a gradual decline and I’m Googling to keep my ageing brain youthful.
Regardless, I just hope they send me a memo so I can mentally prepare myself for it. I mean, what happens when the “Internet of things” experiences a technical difficulty?
The world just might end then.
Posted by jamiekim in Society.
Tags: efficiency, multitasking
While simultaneously brushing my teeth and shampooing my hair this morning, I attempted to reach for my body wash and loofa when I realized: a) I didn’t have enough hands and b) I couldn’t even see anything because the face mask I had put on a few minutes prior was stinging my eyes and was ready to be washed off.
At this moment, I have two (different) Web browsers active with six tabs opened in one window and four tabs opened in the other window. iTunes, Google Chat and Microsoft Word are all being used; the television is turned on with the morning news; and it’s almost time to greet my coffee maker. Oh, and I’m having a conversation via text messages with a friend in Los Angeles.
What is wrong with me?
I can’t seem to do just one thing at a time. Multitasking has become such a way of everyday life. There’s too much to do so I do a little bit of everything at once. And even when there’s not much to do, I still multitask because it’s really difficult not to.
The biggest problem is that I’ve been programmed to believe that multitasking equates efficiency, that everything I’m doing simultaneously is done with my 100 percent attention.
But according to researchers, I’m wrong. Human beings don’t really multitask. We just switch our attention from one thing to another at a lightning fast speed. Ironically, multitasking can actually slow us down because we constantly have to remind ourselves, “OK. What am I doing right now?”
I personally ask myself that question at least five times a day. With the increased use and advancement of technology these days, I can’t imagine that number going down for me anytime in the near future.
Posted by jamiekim in Social Media.
Tags: Facebook, geeks, MySpace, ning, online communities, social networks, virtual reality
In high school, I always looked down on people who referred to MySpace in conversations. For me, the social network site was something separate from my real life. I was connected yet disconnected, and in a way, even though my MySpace page centered around me, my online persona was still slightly fictionalized.
My name, picture and profile were out for the world to see (pre-privacy settings, of course) yet I separated my virtual identity from my “true” identity.
Interestingly enough, I wasn’t the only one who felt this way. At that time, most of my peers believed in the social taboo, too—not because they didn’t have their own online profiles but because being a member of an online community was still something new for my generation.
I admit that many of us still carried the notion that online communities were for geeks and lowlifes who couldn’t establish real-life relationships.
But the funny thing is, we’re all geeks now.
MySpace and Facebook have long turned into everyday words and I’ve realized that hearing people mention these social network sites in real-life conversations no longer bother me. Why? Because everyone belongs to—or has the option to create—an online community nowadays.
Well, mostly everyone. There are still a select few (two? three?) people who haven’t conformed to the digital norm.
But that’s fine with me, just as long as I’m in the majority.
iSurvived
September 26, 2008
Posted by jamiekim in Social Media, Stories.
Tags: Discomgoogolation, Disconnected, No Internet, Technology
I was on my way toward addiction at age 12.
I didn’t even use that much in the beginning, though. Those were definitely slower times; I would maybe use for an hour straight at most.
My life was pretty much—if not completely—dependent on it. I used it everday—at home, school and work. It didn’t matter where I was because it was so readily available. Using was as easy as the click of a button.
But it’s a much more different world nowadays.
Hi. My name is Jamie, and I’m an Internet addict.
I’ve had to make a lot of changes in my daily life ever since the collapse of the Internet. But besides the extreme cases of discomgoogolation, life without the Internet is manageable.
What worries me most is not my own withdrawals but those of this entire nation. Everyone is forced into the same exhile. We’re all taking the same e-vacation and we don’t know what to do with ourselves. Nearly every industry has been impacted, and it’s hard to imagine that we once lived without it. I mean, is there anything we can do after our lives have been so digitally involved?
You’d be surprised.
This is a time to get back in touch with reality and face to face communication. Let’s go back to physical newspapers, address books, paper bank statements, library cards and compact discs.
Sure, these things seem dated because of the technology that we’ve had to replace them with.
But guess what? Life goes on.
Once upon a time, there was no World Wide Web, no Internet or social media.
It’s that time again.
And the best part is, we’re already survivors.
Posted by jamiekim in Social Media.
Tags: Andrew Keen, Citizen Journalism, Credibility, David Weinberg, Mom, Professional, Web 2.0
When I feel sick, the person who I contact first is not a nurse, doctor or pharmacist.
It is my mother.
And I call her because she is an expert when it comes to who I am. In my eyes, she is a professional and I value her opinion greatly.
In fact, if my mom had a blog and claimed herself as an expert in raising children, I would include the blog in my RSS feed and consider her a good source for parenting know-how’s. Never mind the fact that she doesn’t hold a degree in anything child-related. She has over 20 years of experience. She is qualified enough for me.
But I understand that most people wouldn’t subscribe to her every word of citizen journalism; they don’t share the long established relationship that I have with her.
To others, she may be just another blogger, another person claiming to be an expert with no professional degree to justify her statements.
And their point is valid.
Heck, even I would never trust her with a serious health concern (i.e. surgery). That is when a doctor—a licensed professional—should be visited.
If we knew when it was appropriate to seek information from life experts and licensed experts, the war between bloggers versus journalists—Weinberger versus Keen—would end.
There is no threat in educating ourselves with information found in blogs and other open-sourced Internet sites. We just need to keep in mind that there are more unbiased and credible sources out there, whether these are on or offline.
Posted by jamiekim in Social Media.
Tags: College, Facebook, Google, Job hunting, MySpace, Party, Twitter, Web 2.0
I’m a paranoid individual.
And I have Web 2.0 to thank for it.
Social media has turned everything into an open party. Posting pictures on MySpace; sending bumper stickers on Facebook; constantly updating your status on Twitter—it’s all really fun. Not to mention really addicting.
After all, what’s not fun about being the host of your own party and inviting all of your friends and family to celebrate?
Well. When nobody wants to leave. Or better yet, when you suddenly see a few co-workers walk-in through the back door.
Who invited them? Technically, you did.
Friends and family aren’t the only people with an Internet access.
Every social media user needs to take extra precautions, especially the members of Generation Y searching for jobs out in the “real world.” Not only can Web 2.0 make it so you don’t get a job you’re interviewing for, but it can get you fired from whatever job you already have.
Sitting behind a computer screen is no longer considered a hiding place. Your identity won’t stay anonymous for very long, especially when an employer is running a Google search of your name.
We all need to protect out privacy and calculate whether our current (online) actions can possibly equate to future consequences. You can never be too careful these days.
Sure, social media sites can be fun and friendly. But things can start getting ugly, very quickly.
All Teched Out 