Smart Home Gadgets

Karey Benitez Villegas

Professor Cohen

Communication in Society

May 19, 2019

Smart Home Gadgets

Smart Home Gadgets changed the world in various ways ever since the 1900s. Besides that, now in the 20th century it has a greater impact since technology is more advanced, we have more gadgets doing things we did not know that can be done with technology. In this era things like a Google home or an Alexa perform tasks with just by saying “Hey Google” or “Alex I need …”. Smart Home gadgets changed the world by helping more the disabled or the elderly people. The way these gadgets benefit them is by doing tasks they cannot perform like watering the lawn or setting up reminders for them to take their medicine. Another way smart home gadgets have changed the world is by now one can turn off the lights straight from their smartphone. For example in this article “Smart Homes Will change Our Way of Life” by Medium, they mention that lights are properly the most obvious example since plenty of people tend to forget to turn off the lights, now technology will help us break deal with bad habits bye either turning off lights remotely or having them set up automatic with sensors and by with that saving energy, reducing our electricity bill and helping us save our environment. Besides lights, smart home gadgets such as security systems, play a huge game changer in changing the world. The typical security system is just cameras that are recording and later seeing the footage at home. Now with having technology very advanced one can control their safety with their phones that can be either having sensors when someone is near the front door at night or watching live footage of your home straight from your phone when being at work or on vacation.

The early 1900s was the start of what we can say “having smart home gadgets” that is beginning with vacuums although they were not considered to be smart, they were successful and the start of toasters, irons, washing machine and a clothes dryer. Although in that time of the 1900s it did not seem so advanced, but it embarked on the start of inspiring people to develop the simple things into more thoroughly and how to change the simple product to becoming a smart product. 1900s was the way to start innovation improving things through the years. Things such as the thermostat invented many years ago now can be purchased with new features having it digital, touched screen, and having an eco-friendly feature or your typical vacuum can now be purchased as a robotic vacuum that vacuums the home by itself, by 2014 10 million Rombas were sold around the world according to “10 Amazing Facts About History of the Smart House” by Build Your Smart Home. Tech companies such as Sony, Samsung, and LG play a factor when it comes to the history of smart home gadgets. These companies are the ones to make smart alarm clocks to smart televisions and enhance daily home items into modern technology. Smart home gadgets have been developing through the years that it was inspiration for a Disney Channel movie called “Smart House”, in the movie a family moves into a house filled with technology hence the name “smart house” the house has a computer system named Pat. Pat starts off by doing the basic getting coffee ready, waking up the kids, making food and little things around the house such as cleaning. As time goes by Pat starts to change since she believes she is now the mom of the house at the end she decides to lock the family in until they tell her she will never be human or a mom, so she deactivates herself.

Smart home gadgets have become the new way of living in this century. The saying “you are a click away from change” has a great connection towards smart home gadgets since it is literally true, with just from our smartphones we are able to operate household chores away from home. Today’s technology advancement has brought many benefits to smart home gadgets. According to “What Are the Benefits of Home Automation?” by SafeWise Team they mention 6 reasons why they are beneficial those being savings, safety, convenience, control, comfort, and peace of mind. The thing with savings is that helps one save money on their electricity bill and saving the environment like for example smart thermostats save energy the same way with smart lightbulbs. When talking about safety they mention that majority of smart home gadgets fall under the category of home security with the help of automated lights to spot burglars and security cameras being able to monitor package deliveries or live footage of their own home. In the article “What Are the Benefits of Home Automation?”  for convenience they said “because home automation technology performs rote tasks automatically, end users experience great convenience. Lots of smart gadgets are compatible with one another, and you can set different triggers between devices to automate regular home processes” this can be having your lights turned on when you unlock the front door. Control is the owner having the power to function things at home within their device like their smartphone and knowing what is going on at your home at all times which is the same thing with the article’s reason of peace of mind. In peace in mind is having the security that one is safe with the help of technology. For their reason for comfort they mention that smart home devices are at our service to please us as playing music, controlling the room temperature, light making our living better with the help of the devices.

Although the article “What Are the Benefits of Home Automation?” mentions the majority of the best reasons for why smart home gadgets are beneficial in this new article they mention 3 new reasons. In “The Advantages of a Smart House” written by SFGATE Home Guides they mention accessibility, efficiency and resale as great new reasons why smart home gadgets are great. For accessibility it would be for the elderly and the disable people since they can use voice command systems to do things for them such as locking doors, controlling light, or helping them use a computer, this will be removing them the stress of having the need to perform hard tasks. “The Advantages of a Smart House” they said their reason for efficiency is that “Smart homes offer enhanced energy-efficiency. Lights can shut off automatically when no one is in a room, and the thermostat can be set to let the indoor temperature drop during the day before returning it to a more comfortable level just before residents arrive in the evening. All of these automated tasks, along with modern, energy-efficient appliances, combine to save on electricity, water and natural gas, thereby reducing the strain on natural resources.” Lastly for resale they talk about how a house with smart home gadgets will be able to sell much faster than your typical home since it is more modernized, and the seller can explain to them house the house gadgets can be beneficial to the daily routines by making their life easier.

Having smart gadgets sounds fun and beneficial but sometimes all good things have a downside to them. In the article of “Disadvantages of a Smart Home” by Paul Lin, he talks about reasons for not to rely on smart home gadgets. The first thing is the cost of intelligence, for having the latest tech means higher and expensive maintenance. Those wireless cameras, light sensors, touchscreens and automated systems are not going to be fixed by geek squad, one will need to get professionals who have a specialty in those fields. Another thing for why smart home gadgets would not be beneficial would be for the fact of the technology learning curve. The term “technology learning curve” means that unlike a typical home one who is not modernized with technology will have a difficult time in knowing how to control their smart home gadgets, they will be having to read manuals and learn. Last disadvantage would be the video surveillance. The video surveillance uses wireless technology to connect to servers making surveillance be transferred wirelessly and that can fall into the wrong hands as in getting hacks so one has to make their things are properly protected.

Overall smart home gadgets are been making a change in the word by benefiting us in ways we never imagined they would. For the meantime as technology, education, and medicine advance there will be new smart home gadgets helping us on our daily routines.  Things like kitchenware are being enhanced for instance the LG refrigerator that includes a touch screen that has the ability for one to watch tv, news, weather, and even look up recipes. As Dean Kamen says “every once in a while, a new technology, an old problem, and a big idea turn into an innovation” what that it means a small simple product can may one day turn into the next big thing those example being the vacuum a simple product in the 1900s now in the 20th century a self-robot vacuum is now invented.

Work Cited:

“10 Amazing Facts About the History of the Smart Home.” Buildyoursmarthome.co, 26 Nov. 2018, buildyoursmarthome.co/inspiration/10-amazing-facts-history-smart-home/.

Hartman, Dennis. “The Advantages of a Smart House.” Home Guides | SF Gate, 7 Oct. 2016, homeguides.sfgate.com/advantages-smart-house-8670.html.

Hendricks, Drew. “The History of Smart Homes.” IoT Evolution World, 22 Apr. 2014, www.iotevolutionworld.com/m2m/articles/376816-history-smart-homes.htm.

Lin, Paul. “Disadvantages of a Smart Home.” HUNKER, Leaf Group LTD, www.hunker.com/12435186/disadvantages-of-a-smart-home.

“What Are the Benefits of Home Automation?” SafeWise, 9 May 2019, www.safewise.com/faq/home-automation/home-automation-benefits/.

Emojis

Paola Saint Hilaire

Professor Brucker Cohen

MCS 244

20 May, 2019

 

The History of Emojis

 

Have you ever heard the saying, “an emoji is worth a thousand words”, no? Well you should start getting used to it because that is becoming a reality in this generation with the boom of emojis that are popping up on almost all of our devices in this day in age. While we do use emojis in any conversation or status we post anywhere on our cellphones, tablets, and now computers we never learned where emojis really came from. Emojis were created by japanese designer Shigetaka Kurita in 1998 as a way to help others communicate better. According to rd.com “Shigetaka Kurita, an engineer at the Japanese phone company, NTT Docomo. He was working on a way for customers to communicate through icons. The result was a set of 176 icons he called emoji. The name combines two Japanese words: “e” (picture) and “moji” (character).” little did anyone know how popular emojis were going to become and how accurate his expected way of use was going to be today. Emojis have taken over and created a drastic change on how we communicate to others. This creation has opened doors on many different social platforms as a way to converse with others without having to use words or to add on to whatever we may say.

When created the emoji, Shigetaka Kurita had a difficult time drawing out his ideas on limited resources. Mentioned in the CNN.com article, “When Shigetaka Kurita created the first emoji in 1998, he had to work within a grid measuring 12 by 12 pixels.That’s a total of 144 dots, or 18 bytes of data, meaning that the Japanese designer’s complete set of 176 pictograms took up just over 3 kilobytes” because of this, Kurita’s early emojis were very blocky and pixelated. It wasn’t until 2010 when google petitioned to get emojis recognized by Unicode, the standard that governs the software coding of text that big changes were made not only to Kurita’s life but ours as well as it was the start of emojis on apple and android devices. As mentioned in wired.com, “Unicode accepted that proposal in 2010, in a move that would soon make emoji accessible everywhere. Unicode ultimately decided to index emoji “because of their use as characters for text-messaging in a number of Japanese manufacturers’ corporate standards.” In other words: Emoji had become too popular to ignore. Unicode’s blessing wasn’t just a way to maintain standards for the evolving lexicon of emoji—it was the beginning of legitimizing emoji as a form of communication. Now emoji were officially on their way to becoming a language.” this shows how we are making a change in the way we communicate with each other. It gives its users a wider range of communicating with others in a variety of different ways.

Today, emojis are used as a form of communication in our daily lives. According to, an article on wired.com “Emoji quickly became popular in Japan, as rival mobile companies copied DOCOMO’s idea. And as mobile computing continued to explode throughout the mid-2000s, companies outside Japan, like Apple, saw an opportunity to incorporate emoji on other platforms.” with this we have seen how other companies such as Apple have taken the idea of emojis which was introduced to their products in 2012 during their IOS 6 release and have introduced their own form of emoji called the animoji and memoji released on IOS 12. Apple has taken the emoji idea to a whole new level. Today, if you own a IPhone X you can create your own avatar or use a small range of emojis that tracks your facial movements. With this you’ll be able to send photos and video to others using your own choice of animoji  or memoji. We see how emojis has changed the common form of communication. With them we are able to add more into our messages and have a new way to make our conversations more fun. According to wired.com, “As emoji became more popular, they also became more plentiful. The Unicode Consortium added new emoji to its approved list each year, gathered from users around the world: the first emoji bride, dozens of plants and animals, types of food, and depictions of all kinds of activities. Unicode requires a lengthy submission and approval process for every new batch hoping for christening, and it can take up to two years for an emoji to travel from first draft to your phone.” this shows that the creation of new emojis will not stop, it has already made its place into our daily use of things that can’t go unused throughout the day. The constant add-ons makes sure that emojis will be available and used for a long time coming.

Although we do see the ways in which emojis have changed our lives for the better, there are some issues that may become present. According to psychologistworld.com “Conversing online or through text messages has led to the loss of important elements in human communication. A face-to-face conversation involves verbal communication, whose meaning can be affected by a person’s tone of voice. Intonation, volume and the stress placed on particular words can change the recipient’s interpretation of a statement completely. Even non-verbal signals, known as body language, can alter or reinforce a person’s message.” creations like these can cause many of us to disconnect more from the real world. We’re already losing real life connections due to our cell phones, now imagine the damage that is being caused due to emojis which is resulting in us using it as another form of instant communication. Today, you can easily reply to ones message simply by sending them an emoji, I know im ones of those people. I’ve asked and told my parents for things just by simply sending them an emoji. It has gotten to the point where we’re all just becoming lazier than ever. Similar to the Disney film Wall-e we can see how technology has created a drastic change in society. All citizens became obese and were so depended on their technological devices. When things like these are created, we tend to become more connected and involved to our phones, it takes time to out our devices down and actually speak to others and do things for ourselves because technology has been making things easier for us all in every way possible.

The ways in which emojis have changed the world is by giving technology users all around the world a chance  to connect without the use of words. It has started a new wave of simple communication. According to Bustle.com “With the skyrocketing popularity, it wasn’t long before emoji made their way to Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and more.” with this we see how emojis have been incorporated into our daily lives. It has become a part of our use of not only technology but social media. Emojis have become so popular in our culture that its popularity has resulted in films such as The Emoji Movie and items such as emoji pillows, pijamas, and more. It tends to cater more to the younger generation because they grew up having emojis on items such as their tablets and cellphones.  In the future I believe emojis will still be popular and will continue to grow. I Expect the amount of emojis to triple if not more and become a bigger empire than it already is, it will continue to be used by millions all around the world.

With the power of emojis, I expect that in the future emojis will become a new language to us. As mentions in This.com “According to Dr Brown, emoji is just one aspect of visual communication that will become increasingly sophisticated. ‘We’re moving towards use of audio visual, GIFs, stickers and emojis in our device-based conversations,’ he says. He believes this is driven by social media personas and the need to have a voice or presence that stands out, so it’s certainly likely that we’ll see many more emojis in time. As the library of symbols grows, so does our ability to say more complex things. ‘The more media tools we’re presented with, the more personalised they get,’ Dr Brown says, and concludes, ‘So we might end up with personalised emojis, perhaps even with our own faces on them.’ in the upcoming generations, people will grow knowing a new language produced of the work of technology. The emoji language helps us generate a sensory experience. It helps us get around tone so that certain emojis can have the power to give clear intentions so that the person on the other end can have  a better connection and understanding as to what is being said and how its being said. Overall, emojis had the power to make a change in the way we communicate. It has resulted into a new world that gives us the chance to become more creative in the way we interact via our devices. As the years go by, I believe we will have more inventions that’ll become more useful than emoji but as we see today, emojis have planted a seed that will some grow into major ideas in the next upcoming years.

 

Sources

Grant, Megan. “A Brief History Of Emoji.” Bustle, Bustle, 31 Jan. 2019, www.bustle.com/articles/152580-where-did-emoji-come-from-heres-a-brief-history-of-everyones-favorite-pictograms-video.

 

Nowak, Claire. “Why Do We Use Emojis Anyway? A Fascinating History of Emoticons.” Reader’s Digest, Reader’s Digest, 7 Dec. 2016, www.rd.com/culture/history-of-emoji/.

 

Pardes, Arielle. “The Complete History of Emoji.” Wired, Conde Nast, 7 Feb. 2019, www.wired.com/story/guide-emoji/.

 

Crispo, Jacopo. “Shigetaka Kurita: The Man Who Invented Emoji.” CNN, Cable News Network, 23 May 2018, www.cnn.com/style/article/emoji-shigetaka-kurita-standards-manual/index.html.

 

Waude, Adam. “Emoting With Emoticons: How Emoticons Influence Emotional Communication.” Psychologist World, 29 Apr. 2016, www.psychologistworld.com/emotion/emoticons-emojis-emotion-psychology.

“The Enduring Charm of Bowie.” This., 10 Apr. 2018, this.deakin.edu.au/society/the-enduring-charm-of-bowie.

The Importance and Future of Cryptocurrency

Brittany Aufiero
May 17th, 2019
MCS 244
Prof. Brucker-Cohen
The Importance and Future of Digital Currency

Around the world, cryptocurrency is used as a government-untraceable method of electronic money transfer. Digital currency has transformed commerce and the way people exchange money for goods and services. While impossible to know just how many people use this technology as a whole, it is estimated that approximately 16 million Americans have invested in bitcoin (the leading cryptocurrency globally), and that there are 25 million users relying on bitcoin internationally as well (Lielacher). Since bitcoin is just one of many forms of digital currency available to the public, the total amount of cryptocurrency users everywhere likely exceeds this estimate by quite a lot. From financial institutions and business moguls to black market criminals, people of all walks of life have found cryptocurrency to be a worthwhile investment. As an international currency, it has changed the world by contributing to the globalization of technology, and has provided internet users with a common mode of monetary exchange that does not rely upon any one government’s financial institution, due to its un-centralized nature.

Bitcoin was created in 2009, but it wasn’t until 2017 that the digital money exchange service took off as a means of making purchases or a profit. In its early days, it was intended to provide those who do computational work with a way of receiving appropriate compensation. Since then, it has become a mass currency used by individuals all over the world in order to conduct business transactions having nothing to do with computation. Every day, more businesses and services make the choice to begin accepting bitcoin as a form of payment. Bitcoin can be used to pay for flights and hotels through websites like Expedia, and even for space travel, if one has accumulated enough coin. Microsoft, too, accepts bitcoin through its app store, where one can buy movies, video games, music, and mobile apps (Acheson). In addition to its growing viability on the market, bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies appeal to investors because of its secure encrypted transactions through the utilization of blockchain. Blockchain anonymously records transactions in blocks of data that cannot be changed retroactively through chain-script coding. In his article “Blockchain Will Disrupt Every Industry”, Vala Afshar acknowledges how such encryption has built trust between cryptocurrencies and consumers. He writes, “Trust is foundational to all businesses, and Blockchain enables entities to seamlessly establish trust and transparency at scale.” Blockchain is reliable and applicable to other forms of business as well, thus making it a valuable tool for many different platforms and services.

Though digital currency provides a convenience and safety that appeals to many, it is important to note that its anonymous and unregulated nature has attracted a criminal element. Many governments around the world discourage its use, even going so far as to make it illegal. Such is the case in Bolivia, where the central bank has banned the use of currency or tokens that have not been issued by the government. In Bangladesh, the use of cryptocurrencies is a “punishable offence” (“Is Bitcoin Legal?”). Huobi Company, the third largest crypto exchange by trade volume world wide, was forced to move from its home turf in Beijing, China to Singapore, due to pressure from regulators in China who have taken a hard stance against digital currency (Aki). More progressively, Canada has created “bitcoin legislation” that designates cryptocurrencies to be considered “money service businesses”, but which also forces them to comply with anti-money laundering and know-your-client requirements. In the United States, the question of how to handle cryptocurrency is a point of much contention. On the one hand, the U.S. has a single, centralized currency which can be used nationwide, in any of the fifty states However, individual states have taken different action to impose come regulation and restriction on cryptocurrency. In New York, for example, BitLicense was unveiled in 2015, giving bitcoin businesses approval to operate, but with expensive requirements. As a result, many startups migrated to states where they could function without having to adhere to these policies. In 2017, Japan was the first country to declare bitcoin to be “legal tender”, thus recognizing it as a pre-paid form of payment (“Is Bitcoin Legal?”).

While bitcoin is considered the first digital currency to come on the market, early theoretical proposals and prototypes for similar tools, such as B-Money and Bit Gold, served as the basis for bitcoin’s later model. B-Money was first proposed in 1998 by Wei Dai, a computer engineer who outlined how online work could be documented by anonymous, encrypted ledgers, and how that work would be rewarded through a distribution of funds. The projects were never fully developed, and it wouldn’t be until an unidentified person using the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto posted a paper called “Bitcoin – A Peer to Peer Electronic Cash System” to a mailing list discussion of cryptography in 2008 that the project gained enough traction that bitcoin emerged (Marr). To this day, Nakamoto’s true identity remains unknown, though some have speculated that it may be Dai himself, who is a notoriously private individual and may have felt it necessary to remain anonymous for fear of legal repercussions. Bitcoin was only the first of many forms of digital currency to rise in popularity in the twenty-first century; others, such as Bitcoin Cash, Dash, LiteCoin, and Ethereum exist today as alternatives to the forerunner of the age of cryptocurrency (“What is Ethereum?”).

Originally, cryptocurrency sought to work outside of the banking system to evade the roadblocks government regulations and oversight can pose, but many argue that digital exchange companies have lost sight of this original goal. In his article “How Bitcoin Ends”, Douglas Rushkoff voices concerns that the technology is not living up to its purpose. He writes, “Bitcoin will simply reinforce the very banking system it was invented to disrupt…It was intended to break the monopoly of the banking system over central currency and credit.” In adhering to the same laws of finance that led to wealth disparities based on central currency (such as USD, or Euros), bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are only extrapolating the same kinds of capitalist techniques to maintain the wealth status quo. Early investors – namely, “nerds”, according to Rushkoff – have grown significantly wealthy as a result of their quick foresight in recognizing the potential for the technology. By the time bitcoin and the others had gained greater public awareness, a single unit was so expensive that the average-income person could not afford it. As a result, bitcoin has become a digital mirror of the same wealth disparities that exist in central currency throughout society. Earlier this year, in an attempt to stay relevant in a changing financial landscape, JP Morgan announced that it would soon be creating its own cryptocurrency exchange service, “JPM Coin”, therefore becoming the first major U.S. bank to do such a thing (Ungarino). With other banking institutions sure to follow suit, Rushkoff’s prediction for the possible future of digital currency may not be so far-fetched.

Though digital currency has experienced a rise in popularity following the attention bitcoin received in 2017, it is still less commonly used than other forms of payment. Payment systems such as PayPal and credit cards still reign as the leading methods of non-cash money exchange, with PayPal serving over 235 million active users and companies like Mastercard and Visa boasting over 1 billion active users internationally (Lielacher). Despite this, in 2017 the price of bitcoin shot up to over $10K per unit (Marr), exceeding all previous records and proving that there is a definite enthusiasm for the technology as a way of circumventing regulations and staying anonymous in one’s transactions. As businesses continue to be disrupted by the emergence of cryptocurrency, it will become more widely accepted as a payment method. It offers an alternative to cash or plastic that would render these eco-unfriendly methods obsolete, and bring society into a future where all money is digital. Looking forward, we can expect to see a massive shift towards cryptocurrency due to its tremendous importance as a communication technology.

Works Cited:

Acheson, Noelle. “What Can You Buy With Bitcoin?” CoinDesk, 20 Jan. 2018. https://www.coindesk.com/information/what-can-you-buy-with-bitcoins.

Afshar, Vala. “Blockchain Will Disrupt Every Industry.” Huffington Post, 10 July 2017. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/blockchain-will-disrupt-every-industry.

Aki, Jimmy. “Huobi Group Sets Up Communist Party Committee In Beijing.” Bitcoin Magazine, 19 Nov 2018. https://bitcoinmagazine.com/articles/huobi-group-sets-communist-party-committee-beijing/.

“Is Bitcoin Legal?” CoinDesk, 5 Jul. 2018. https://www.coindesk.com/information/is-bitcoin-legal.

Lielacher, Alex. “How Many People Use Bitcoin in 2019?” Bitcoing Market Journal, 11 Feb. 2019. https://www.bitcoinmarketjournal.com/how-many-people-use-bitcoin/.

Marr, Bernard. “A Short History of Bitcoin and Crypto Currency Everyone Should Read.” Forbes, 6 Dec. 2017. https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2017/12/06/a-short-history-of-bitcoin-and-crypto-currency-everyone-should-read/#950d5be3f279.

Rushkoff, Douglas. “How Bitcoin Ends.” Fast Company, 1 Mar. 2018. https://www.fastcompany.com/40537404/how-bitcoin-ends.

Ungarino, Rebecca. “Introducing ‘JPM Coin’: JPMorgan will be the first major US bank to launch its own cryptocurrency.” Business Insider, 14 Feb. 2019. https://markets.businessinsider.com/currencies/news/jpmorgan-cryptocurrency-launch-jpm-coin-a-first-for-a-major-us-bank-2019-2-1027953761

“What is Ethereum?” BlockGeeks, May 2019. https://blockgeeks.com/guides/ethereum/.

Final Paper: Virtual Reality’s Assist in Social Networking

Networking is the best social skill we should acquire starting at a young age. Social media takes away from the social experience. As technology gets integrated with work and school, networking in real life becomes in some ways easier as well as difficult. People are less willing to interact in person, letting good networking opportunities pass right by them. While most do not think twice about direct messaging someone in a related field, they feel safe behind a computer screen. Although, it can open up doors for them. A face to face personal interaction is more likely to work than a message which puts you in a pool of similar people.

The new generation is starting to lack communication skills by using social media at such young ages. Generally, they are being introduced to the internet overall since younger. There are videos, apps, and different “kid-friendly” sections, but yet, they are still exposed to so much. Staring at a screen from a young age ruins the ability of one being able to properly express their feelings and socialize. The internet became most popular in the mid-2000s. So most of us in our 20’s and older were not exposed to the internet as early as the kids now. Everything we are used to is changing as we know it.

Imagine a device that could entertain the new generations while also allowing them to train themselves. Freshen up their skills on how to speak professionally, how to present in front of large crowds, and how to present themselves during interviews. Virtual reality goggles can do just that. We have created a new technology that brings us into the application. Using it for business and education can create a new level of basic skills. Lack of social skills will not help them succeed in a world where social networking is more important than a degree itself. Sometimes knowing the right people is more important than having prerequisites such as education. Being that virtual reality is still so expensive, some colleges have it available for different purposes. For example, Lehman has a mock interview app set up on virtual reality, which could benefit many people who get anxious during interviews. The only disadvantages we really have are that the avatars responses will most obviously not be the same as an actual interviewer. It will be basic responses fitting the question. Also, being that this is new technology, prepare for many technical difficulties every now and then. Until it has been perfected, it would be a trial run as most things usually are.

Being connected to the internet and social media also is affecting our youth’s mental health. Trying to connect with someone who is not social and also is intimidated by others will not work. “What’s more, many teens spend so much time online checking statuses and likes that they forget to interact with the people right in front of them. For this reason, friendships and dating relationships can suffer when social media takes center stage in a person’s life.” (Gordan). Kids are growing up comparing themselves to someone they have never met but keep up with on Instagram. They feel the need to copy and do everything like others. Due to personal reasons, money, or whatever the case may be, sometimes the same things seen online are not accessible leading to sadness or multiple insecurities. Mental health is very important and the psychological issues that come from social media do not result in good communication skills in the future. Although one might feel more comfortable behind a computer screen and reach out to people they would be intimidated by in real life. As well as people we might never meet in our local areas such as celebrities or well-known people in one’s field of choice. One does not lose anything by reaching out to their favorite celebrities and role models. If they are to answer, you never know what the outcome is.

Generally, social media as a whole is not beneficial for our health most of the time. We look at it as entertainment and a great communication device. But, it depends on how each person uses it. Social media could lead to cyberbullying and as I stated before, it can lead to psychological issues. Of course, it does have its benefits such as bringing people together. Also, it has made owning private businesses easier. Social media allows one to spread resumes, market, and communicate with anyone in any part of the world at a faster pace than before. Social media also connects different people with similar goals and beliefs.

It seems as if the younger generation has a harder time separating real life from social media. It is because of this issue that they lack social skills and find it hard to network with their own classmates, coworkers, and friends. On a business aspect, the younger generation will do great because online marketing and sales do not require much communication in real life. Although, it is pretty useful when you want to reach out to your fanbase, customers, etc. “It is very important to understand that social media and social networking are not one and the same but that they are both of critical importance to your business and you should take full advantage of both for the greater success of your business.” (Cohn). Becoming too dependent on these applications will backfire on us eventually. It can lead to bad lifestyle habits such as going to sleep late or not at all, sitting down too long, or even looking at bright screens all day.

Therefore, since social media has been around for over forty years, everything just gets better. As a new concept, virtual reality can become an essential tool for us. We would create an app that connects people in real time like facetime but it would show another person as if they were standing right in front of you. With these new applications, anyone can get the training they need. Whether it is lacking social skills, shyness, anxiety, or any mixed feelings about interviews, public speaking, or something in that field, the virtual reality will put you to the test. The application is meant to be used to advance personal skills. Speaking tests that will grade your presentation, mock interviews with real answers, the real-time meetings, whoever is online will be able to communicate with each other as if they were in the same room. For college students, it could be connected to LinkedIn to meet hiring managers in realtime and get a chance to speak to them before meeting them in real life.

“Virtual reality places the user physically in the shoes of their avatar, allowing for never before seen immersion. What’s more, socializing with someone in VR is going to fundamentally change what it means to interact with someone online.” (Garcia). Many people have seen the innovative future of virtual reality. Educational settings can definitely use this to make up classes when a student is sick or cannot attend. Leading professors and students towards gaining confidence that students will be able to rewatch lectures and have more access to resources for their future.

Virtual reality can also be used for those who are not fortunate enough to be able to afford or have the ability to travel. The travel aspect will allow those using virtual reality to see famous landmarks and destinations through virtual reality and feel like they are actually there. As well as educate our future surgeons by allowing them a virtual surgical application. Making sure they absorb what they learn in class and are allowed to virtually practice surgeries, network, create study groups and more before they actually get a job.

Overall, I think this would be a great extension to what we already have for virtual reality. We need to expand our horizons and help our younger generations before they completely forget how to socialize and meet other people. We cannot let social media and the internet brainwash them. It would be beneficial to schools, career centers, and students of all ages. Interestingly enough, virtual reality has been out for about two years already. People are not picking up too fast on it due to the high prices and lack of applications and software available. Due to these issues, they are not as popular. As for video games, virtual reality has created a new world for gamers where they can meet people online and feel like they are actually in the game!

Works Cited

Cohn, Michael. “Social Media vs Social Networking.” CompuKol Communications, 24 Mar. 2016, www.compukol.com/social-media-vs-social-networking/.

 

Garcia, Albizu. “Is Virtual Reality the Future of Social Networking?” The Sociable, 28 Mar. 2019, sociable.co/social-media/is-virtual-reality-future-social-networking/.

 

Gordon, Sherri. “How Social Media Negatively Affects the Teen Brain.” Verywell Family, Verywellfamily, 6 Apr. 2019, www.verywellfamily.com/ways-social-media-affects-teen-mental-health-4144769.

 

Final Paper : Computers

Jaritza Flores

MCS 244

Jonah Bruckner-Cohen

5/14/19

Computers are devices that help us, humans, to get connected with the web in our society today. According to GeeksforGeeks.com’s article entitled, “Generation of Computers”, Anusha Sharma explained that “A computer is an electronic device that manipulates information or data. It has the ability to store, retrieve, and process data. Nowadays, a computer can be used to type documents, send an email, play games, and browse the Web. It can also be used to edit or create spreadsheets, presentations, and even videos.” This quote is a fact that computers also help us learn to use them properly so they won’t get damaged or frozen but it is also a good idea to use them for different purposes such as school, work, and other projects so that way we could get our work done on time.

Computers are all kinds including PCs and laptop so we could understand how they work these days but there is a history to go back in time where technology was first introduced to the world and each of them belonged to the five generations of computers. For example, as stated in Mindy DeMars’ article, “A Computer History: First Generation (1930-1958)”, “Far from today’s computer technology, the first electric computers were very different. First generation computers could take up the space of an entire room, were expensive to run, and generated much heat, often the cause of their own malfunctions. The first computers only carried out mathematical equations. Only one calculation was solved at a time, using punch card and paper tape as input and printouts as output.” The first computers used vacuum tubes to speed up the process so they could run very smoothly but in the Live Science article, “History of Computers: A Brief Timeline”, Kim Zimmerman mentioned that “1882: English mathematician Charles Babbage conceives of a steam-driven calculating machine that would be able to compute tables of numbers. The project, funded by the English government, is a failure. More than a century later, however, the world’s first computer was actually built”. These first computers could start a revolution or in this case, an evolution in technology that would change the lives of humans and the whole world itself.

But not only Charles Babbage but other inventors who also got involved with the computing evolution such as German inventor Konrad Zuse who invented the Zuse Z1 computer back in 1936, John Atanasoff who created the first electrical computer known as the Atanasoff-Berry, Howard Aiken who was the founder of IBM and the maker of the Harvard Mark I, and Alan Turing, the English mathematician who was inventor of the Turing Machine that uses symbols to make artificial intelligence. In fact, the first electronic computer in computing history was the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer or ENIAC which was invented by John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert from the Moore School of the University of Pennslyvania in 1946 to help solve problems in numbers through reprogramming.

Personal computers were first introduced to the digital world that according to Low-End Mac’s article, “Personal Computer History: 1975-1984”, Daniel Knight explained that “The first personal computers, introduced in 1975, came as kits: The MITS Altair 8800, followed by the IMSAI 8080, an Altair clone. (Yes, cloning has been around that long!) Both used the Intel 8080CPU. That was also the year Zilog created the Z-80 processor and MOS Technology produced the 6502. Bill Gates and Paul Allen wrote a BASIC compiler for the Altair and formed Microsoft”. He also explained that In 1976, Apple’s two Steves (Jobs and Wozniak) designed the Apple I, Apple’s only “kit” computer (you had to add a keyboard, power supply, and enclosure to the assembled motherboard), around the 6502 processor. That was also the year that Electric Pencil, the first-word processing program, and Adventure, the first text adventure for microcomputers, were released. Shugart introduced the 5.25″ floppy drive; it would become a key component in the personal computing revolution. The young industry exploded in 1977 as Apple introduced the Apple II, a color computer with expansion slots and floppy drive support; Radio Shack rolled out the TRS-80 to its stores across the nation; Commodore tapped into the pet rock craze with its PET; Digital Research released CP/M, the 8-bit operating system that provided the template for MS-DOS; and the first ComputerLand franchise store (then Computer Shack) opened.”

Laptop computers were made to help bring a whole new generation of computers to the tech world that as mentioned in ThoughtCo.com’s article, “The History of Laptop Computers”, Mary Bellis said that “The Grid Compass was designed in 1979 by a Briton named William Moggridge for Grid Systems Corporation. It was one-fifth the weight of any model equivalent in performance and was used by NASA as part of the space shuttle program in the early 1980s. As far as technical specs, it featured a 340K byte bubble memory laptop computer system with a die-cast magnesium case and folding electroluminescent graphics display screen.” She also mentioned that “The computer considered by most historians to be the first truly portable computer was the Osborne 1. Adam Osborne, an ex-book publisher was the founder of Osborne Computer Corp, which produced the Osborne 1 in 1981. It was a portable computer that weighed 24 pounds and cost $1795. For that, users got a five-inch screen, modem port, two 5 1/4 floppy drives, a large collection of bundled software programs and a battery pack. Unfortunately, the short-lived computer company was never successful.”

Computers also have games that users could play in them, as a matter of fact, the first computer was called Spacewar, created by Stephen Russell of MIT in 1962 but in 1982, the Commodore 64 computer was invented for users to play classic computer games to their enjoyment but its popularity has ended in 1994. Today, people still play computers games from Steam which is an online gaming service that has millions of games for gamers to play through purchasing and downloading them. Computers also have the World Wide Web which was invented in 1989 by Tim-Berners Lee of England and the Internet which was created in the early 1960s to help users connect with each other through websites of all kinds including gaming, shopping, music, and of course, social media sites that help us interact with others through communication such as messaging and email.

Computers are the future of technology because of the methods they have done for us to make connectivity more efficient and our communication more precise. Not only do computers made us more connected but they made us more safe and secure through software that protects them from viruses, crashes, and other computer issues so we could use them more accurately but we have to use them carefully otherwise without computers, the digital world will never be the same in the future.

 

Works Cited

Sharma, Anusha. “Generations of Computers”. Geeks for Geeks https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/generations-of-computer/

DeMars, Mindy. “A Computer History: First Generation (1930-1958)”.  DeMars’ Computer History. https://demarscomputerhistory.weebly.com/1st-generation.html

Zimmerman, Kim. “History of Computers: A Brief Timeline”. LiveScience. 2017. https://www.livescience.com/20718-computer-history.html

Knight, Daniel. “Personal Computer History: 1975-1984”. 2014. http://lowendmac.com/2014/personal-computer-history-the-first-25-years/

Bellis, Mary. “The History of Laptop Computers”. 2019. ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-laptop-computers-4066247

Final Paper : How Texting affects communication

Briana J Lugo

MCS 244

Professor Jonah Brucker Cohen

12 May 2019

Final Paper: How is Texting Affecting Communication between People and Important Relationship

The first form of texting would be considered emails where people use to send messages back and fourth through an email server. In the late 1990’s Nokia released the first flip phone with a full keyboard, the release of this phone was the start of texting which began in the year 2000. Throughout the years texting has become increasingly popular from younger generations to older generations. Texting was mostly done by teenagers and the younger generations but now it seems that almost everyone is using texting to communicate. In the article “How texting Changes Communication” Zawn Villines States “Texting has, in many ways, made communication easier by helping people avoid long, unpleasant phone conversations and making a quick “Hello” much easier. According to the Pew Research Center, 72% of teenagers text regularly, and one in three sends more than 100 texts per day. Clearly, texting is the preferred method of communication among young people, and that trend is moving upward toward adults, who are also texting much more frequently”. Adults have began using texting more regularly as a form of communication, it seems like people have been making less phone calls as the years go on. Research states that only 35% of Americans texted in 2006 and in 2015 100% of people between 18-29 years old texted also 92% of people over 50 also texted. As the years go by more and more people are starting to use texting as a main form of communication which is causing a big impact in communication between people.

In the Forbes article “ Why Millennials Are texting More and Talking Less” by Neil Howe discusses the impact that texting has had on major companies and individuals. Major companies like JPMorgan Chase, Coca-Cola and Bank of America have given their employees the option to eliminate receiving calls or voicemails. More than half of the companies employees accepted the offer to eliminate voicemails as they rely heavily on communicating through email, text message, or through social media. Many employees feel that “calling someone without e-mailing first can make it seem as though you’re prioritizing your needs over theirs.” which is why they preferred to eliminate voicemail and strictly rely on emails and text messages for communication throughout work. Although strictly relying on email and text is preferred by most employees it can also be risky in some cases because “messages are so condensed that they often fail to convey the sender’s intended meaning and tone, causing misunderstandings” (Howe). A study at Bently University showed that 51% of professional workers between the age of 18-34 still prefer to communicate with colleagues in person exceeding the 19% of people who prefer to communicate through emails and the 14% of people who prefer to communicate through text. It is always best to communicate in person when it comes to serious matters especially in the work place there is only so much work that can get done through text. It is important to meet in person and schedule in person business meetings so that everyone is on the same page and that there is no miscommunication or misunderstandings about what work needs to get done.

Addressing serious issues or arguing through text message can lead to difficulties in relationships and possibly lead to miscommunication. In the Video “ How Texting Can Ruin Relationships” researches state we have “the tendency to put our own emotional state into things that we are reading if we feel anxious or angry and we receive a text or an email we tend to use that mail to confirm our feelings it’s part of our brains limbic response, that fight or flight system if our brains are looking for a fight then everything looks like a fight” Peoples emotions can lead them into misinterpreting or misunderstanding a text message which can lead to even bigger problems in relationships. This is why it is best to always communicate serious issues in person because if you are feeling angry then any message you receive is going to come off as angry which might not be the case for the person that sent the message. Letting your emotions get the best of you through text can cause major arguments in relationships, research shows that women can come off as passive aggressive when dealing with certain issues or augments through text. We can only pick up ones emotion when communicating face to face it is extremely hard to determine ones emotions through text unless they flat out tell you how they are feeling. Studies showed that individuals in relationship who did less texting were happier overall. This is because they spent more time communicating and interacting in person.

People prefer texting because it provides a faster form of communication allowing people to send messages whenever they want. In the article “The Trouble with Texting: A few reasons why texting is no substitute for face-to-face communication” by Kim Schneiderman discusses how texting can affect important relationships. Schneiderman states “texting has become a habitual form of communications. And we all know that some habits are hard to break”. It seems that people are relying on communicating through texting to resolve certain problems, especially people in relationships who are choosing to argue through text and avoid face-to-face communication. In the article Schneiderman discusses possible ideas as to why people might prefer to address an argument or difficult conversation through text. One reason might be to “protect oneself from having to hear another person’s distress, whether it be crying, anger, or strain in their voice”. People might prefer to argue over text because they might not want to hear the other persons reactions such as yelling or crying . Texting also allows people to hide their emotions behind a screen and have control over the conversation. Texting can be good for people who don’t like to get cut off during arguments they can just continuously send messages to get their point across. Texting also prevents people from getting hung up on when arguing through a phone call.

In certain cases texting can be beneficial for communication between people. In Zawn Villines article “ How Texting Changes Communication” she discusses the benefits that come from texting. She goes in depth about how people who are anti-social or shy can gain many communication skills from texting.People who often text are usually uncomfortable with communicating in person. Zawn states “texting increases the frequency of small talk and can be a great asset to people beginning to form a friendship”. Texting allows people to build up the confidence to have actual face to face conversations and begin new relationships. Texting can allow people to avoid long periods of awkward silence on the phone or even in person, with texting people are always able to keep the conversation going. People are able to send and reply to text messages when they please there is no obligation to reply to message right away. For instance if someone is on a phone call they might feel pressure to answer the question or reply instantly but texting gives people the option to think of a response and reply when they are ready. With that being said texting can also lead to instant communication where in some cases people communicate faster through text. Abbreviations and emojis can lead to ”a shortcut” that allows people to “relay a message quickly and effectively”(Villines). Texting allows a great communication alternative for individuals who are in places or situations where they can not talk on the phone, they may not be available to talk on the phone but they can text you need be.

All in all, texting has become a major form of communication. People prefer to text for any little thing it is becoming harder for people to pick up the phone and call someone. Yes texting allows people to reach each other in a faster manor but it does have it’s downfalls as it affects physical communication between individuals. Texting can lead to unnecessary arguments due to misunderstanding and miscommunication, sometimes texting is not the best way to communicate. Texting can be seen as a type of impersonal form of communication because texting lacks feeling and emotions. It is impossible to know ones emotions through text unless they physically text out how they are feeling whether its happy or sad. Texting someone Happy Birthday may not be the same as calling someone and wishing them a Happy Birthday, it is much more personal to receive a phone call instead of text. Texting lacks feeling and physical emotions which is why it is important for us not to solely rely on texting as main form of communication because this can hinder many of our personal relationships.

      Works Cited

Villines, Zawn. “How Texting Changes Communication.” Good Therapy , 26 July 2012, www.goodtherapy.org/blog/texting-teens-adults-communication-0726126.

Schneiderman, Kim. “The Trouble with Texting.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 21 Jan. 2013, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-novel-perspective/201301/the-trouble-texting.

Seeker, “ How Texting Affects Your Brain”. Youtube, 2 September 2016. https://youtu.be/K5UzBOiuqec

Seeker, “How Texting Can Ruin Relationships”. Youtube, 6 November 2013. https://youtu.be/DzaU-TinoZQ

Howe, Neil. “Why Millennials Are Texting More And Talking Less.” Forbes, 15 July 2015, 11:00 am, www.forbes.com/sites/neilhowe/2015/07/15/why-millennials-are-texting-more-and-talking-less/#16e9efa35975.

Final Paper: LinkedIn

John Hecht

 

5/7/2019

 

Final Project: LinkedIn

 

Professor Jonah Brucker Cohen    

Over the course of time we as job seekers have relied on personal connections and local job postings in order to help us find employment. This made it hard for many people to expand their horizons and find jobs that are not so close to home. Luckily on May 5th, 2003 the way we found careers and employment opportunities changed for the better with the creation of a social media platform known as  “Linkedin” . LinkedIn is an easily accessed business and employment-oriented service that is operated through websites and mobile apps. This social network improves the way people advertise and look for employment, it allows job seekers to inform future employers on the skills they have in order to work for their company, along with helping people to promote their work ethic and abilities across the globe. This gives job seekers many future job opportunities.  

Linkedin was founded on December 28, 2002, and was launched on May 5, 2003 and is mainly used for professional networking. Professional networking includes employers posting job openings and allows job seekers to electronically apply for those jobs and upload their resumes. One of the reasons why linkedin was created was because there has been a major increase in the use of social media and the internet.

Smart businesses, like LinkedIn, adapt to social media and use it to promote their company on all social networks such as twitter, instagram and even college campuses and websites.Many colleges now make it part of their curriculum to create a linkedin profiles in order to upload their resumes for future jobs once they are finished with college.Social media also serves as a strong marketing tool for businesses and politicians. It allows people to connect with employers and companies in order to achieve the goal of finding a job.  LinkedIn continues to expand opportunities for businesses to connect with employees, for employees to connect with employers, for both businesses and employees to market their strengths, and for both to create, store, and access statistics related to use, promotion, and success of their LinkedIn profiles.

The issue with the newer generation of children ( generations Y and Z) is that they do not have the motivation to apply the hard work into finding a job, which is looking through websites and newspapers and going from job to job asking if there is an opening. These generations are so used to navigating the internet and using social media that Linkedin is very adaptable for them. Linkedin makes finding jobs simple, there is one location where jobs are advertised and if a person is interested in the job and thinks they have the qualifications then they can submit their resume with one click of a button.  Much of our current generation is just now slowly stepping foot into the professional world and we have all became very comfortable with using social media and the internet. We are not used to hard copied resumes but we are used to the layout of a social media platform and that may be a way some feel less stressed when searching for a job due to the familiarity with the platform. One of the reasons why linkedin has became a popular application to use is because many have said the the website has created a stress free environment when creating a personal profile due to the fact that it gives you freedom and time to search for what you what while also having the relaxing feel of a social media platform to make it seem more normal to an everyday internet user today. It is stated in the article “20 Reasons Why LinkedIn Will Be the #1 Recruiting Portal of the Future” “Because of its professional focus and its many uses outside of recruiting, it has become a standard practice for most professionals to have a profile on LinkedIn” (Sullivan, 2012).

Even though the use of internet has decreased the amount of work people have to put into finding a job, it also is widespread where one can apply for a job in California without even stepping foot there whereas the older generations would only know there is a job opening by calling and sending in a resume through the mail where that could take  weeks on end with the possibility of the job getting filled by a local job seeker in that area.  Linkedin gives you a different form of the old fashioned resume, it creates a personal aspect to it while also giving you a form of communication to explain if needed. Standard resumes can be very redundant and may not offer insight into the person’s life. Dr. Pamela Rutledge believes LinkedIn participation represents a shift in how people approach their professional lives. She says, “Social media has changed the way people think about accessing information. People have moved from hunting for “jobs” to connecting with people” (Rutledge, 2009).

Despite LinkedIn experiencing great amounts of success they do also have some weaknesses that I have came across. One of the weaknesses and concerns to some potential users would be the issue of privacy. When creating a linkedin profile the website requires users to provide their email address as a form of contact information, and also in order to verify the account being created is not a “fake” account. Some other optional information that can be provided includes educational background, a summary of one’s self, along with past and current employment. By including all of this information some users have unfortunately became victims of online stalking by other users, previous bosses and even random people visiting the website. Anna Rihtar, a twenty four year old woman experienced this first hand when her boss sexually assaulted her in the workplace. After quitting her job she began receiving threatening and harassing emails and messages on LinkedIn from her former boss. At the time LinkedIn did not have the option to block individual users, this caused her to create an online petition pleading for it to be offered. Luckily for Anna and many others, LinkedIn has added a block member option in privacy settings. Speaking on the feature Anna said, “We have come a long way to get here and we should be proud of our accomplishment” (Warzel, 2014). People can now feel much safer when using LinkedIn that they will not fall victim to online stalking or other potentially dangerous situations.

Another important issue with linkedin was the cost of service fee that is offered on the application/website. Many of the social media platforms  we use today are completely free of charge whereas Linkedin has a multi-level membership service. “A basic membership allows members to run limited types of searches on other users, as well as maintain a profile and directly contact members within the user’s network. To gain access to the more advanced features, such as reference searches, directly contacting any LinkedIn member via email and the LinkedIn instant messaging system, the user must pay a monthly fee.” (Techwalla, 2016) This give the users that pay a monthly fee an additional advantage than those who do not. Most employers look for an aggressive job seeker who knows their personal qualifications and can advertise them well. So if a person with great communication skills and is overly qualified for the position, but doesnt pay the monthly fee it could take a longer time for the employer to notice that person. This can also be looked at as a positive because only people who are serious about finding a job and using the website will pay the monthly fee, so it can help employers fish out the serious job hunters from the mediocre ones.

The big question that many wonder is where will LinkedIn be in the future?  An obstacle the creators of linkedin have faced is that they are struggling to make their mobile website as successful as applications such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.Yes some advertisements featuring Linkedin have been posted on those social media accounts and it grabs the attention of some users, but not many. Linkedin is a platform that many know of but are not eager to sign up for even with its employment benefits. This is a problem because, “91 percent of adults keep their smartphones within arm’s reach” (Conner, 2013). They need to do a better job reaching that large demographic if they want to see future success. This raises an issue for linkedin because there are competing websites that are used for job searches that  can potentially make linkedin something of the past. As of right now however their basic model has made them a striving company. Although, a newer website named “Branch Out “ could pose serious threats to LinkedIn. BranchOut was a Facebook application designed for finding jobs, networking professionally, and recruiting employees. It was founded by Rick Marini in July 2010, and was, as of March 2012, the largest professional networking service on Facebook. Since many use facebook in their daily lives, “BranchOut” is something facebook with regularly advertise since it is created by their company so facebook users will be more persuades to used BranchOut rather than Linkedin because all of their personal information is associated with facebook so they do not have to create something separate. BranchOut is planning to work with Facebook and create a more professional atmosphere, something that could be trouble for the future of LinkedIn.

As one can see linkedin has expanded the reach of jobs one can apply to, made it quicker and easier to find job listings, allows employers to list job openings that they have and can find the dedicated future employees that are working hard to get their names out in the business world. But with the positives of having a website where one can search for future jobs in a stress free environment, there are also some negatives that come with the usage that is driving potential users away, allowing them to find other job seeking websites that could be the cause of Linkedin’s downfall. So where will linkedin go from here? Looks like we will just have to wait and see what the future holds for us future job seekers.  

 

  Work Cited

 

Sullivan, J. (2012, July 2). ERE.net. EREnet RSS. Retrieved , fromhttp://www.ere.net/2012/07/02/20-reasons-why-linkedin-will-be-the-1-recruiting-portal-of-the-future/

 

Warzel, C. (2014, February 21). LinkedIn Finally Tries To Fix Its Stalker Problem. BuzzFeed. Retrieved , from http://www.buzzfeed.com/charliewarzel/linkedin-tries-to-fix-its-stalker-problem

 

Conner, C. (2013, November 12). Fifty Essential Mobile Marketing Facts. Forbes. Retrieved , from http://www.forbes.com/sites/cherylsnappconner/2013/11/12/fifty-essential-mobile-marketing-facts/

 

Rutledge, P. (2009, January 1). Why LinkedIn Works. Psychology Today: Health, Help, Happiness + Find a Therapist. Retrieved , from http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/positively-media/200903/why-linkedin-works

Dontigney, Eric. “Disadvantages of Linkedin.” Techwalla, 2016, www.techwalla.com/articles/disadvantages-of-linkedin.

Final Paper: Social Media

The rise of social media has proven to have changed the ways of communication within society. There have been many technologies that have led up to the creation of online communication, one of those being the first communication device; the telegraph. In 1972, the invention of this device allowed for faster methods of communication throughout the world (McFadden, 2018). Decades later, communication devices improved from the creation of the telephone and radio in the 1800s. Without the creation of these devices, social media today would not be possible.

In the 1960s the rise of Compuserve, the first major online service provider, paved the way for online communication (McFadden, 2018). Primitive emails also appeared in 1966, followed by the advent of UserNet in 1979 (McFadden, 2018). UserNet allowed people to communicate through a virtual newsletter, articles or posts to newsgroups (McFadden, 2018). Soon after in 1985, The Well and GENie were created. General Electric Network for Information Exchange was an online service created for GE (McFadden, 2018). A year later in 1986, came the creation of Listserv, a mailing list which allowed users to contact multiple individuals in one email (McFadden, 2018). Chat Sites soon came after mailing list communication, as The Palace was created in 1994. The Palace allowed users to interact with each other on a graphical chat room server, each user even had their own graphical avatar overlaid on a graphical backdrop (McFadden, 2018). In 1997, the very first recognizable social media site, SixDegrees.com, was born (McFadden, 2018). Six degrees allowed its users to upload profile pictures, post on bulletin boards, and connect with different social groups and friends (McFadden, 2018). In 1998, one of the first activist social media sites was created; Moveon.org (McFadden). This site was originally created as an email group passing around petitions to oppose the impeachment of then-President, Bill Clinton (McFadden, 2018). Just before 2000, the first blogging site formed, LiveJournal, which allowed individuals to express opinions and thoughts to blog posts. LunarStorm, one of the first commercially advertised and financed social networking sites, was created in 2000 (McFadden, 2018). The site was initially created for teens, and in 2007 had grown to acquire 1.2 million members, 70% of which were between the ages of 12 and 17 (McFadden, 2018). In 2002, one of the pioneers of social media sites today was created; Friendster. The social media network was used for not only connectivity with friends but also as a dating, gaming and event site, as well as a hobby discovery service (McFadden, 2018). In 2003, sites including Myspace; Linkedin; WordPress; and Flickr all launched (McFadden, 2018). These all became a critical part of individuals daily lives, as they provided a new way of simple communication across borders.

While all these forms of social media have had their glory days, this begs the question as to why so many of them failed. A prime example includes the networking site Friendster. Friendster paved the way for social media and became one of the first sites to allow for communication between friends, through the use of gaming, posts, photos, etc. However, the site could simply not compete with Facebook’s success. Peter Pascal attributed the fall of Friendster to its lack of a news feed (Pachal, 2011). Pascal explains “On Friendster, you could browse your friends (of course), send them messages, or even join groups, but the focus was definitely the profile, specifically, filling in your personal history, adding photos, and gathering as many testimonials you could” (Paschal, 2011). Friendster was much more media based, rather than socially based like Facebook. This is exactly the reason why Facebook was so successful because it focused more on status updates rather than customizing the layout of your profile. What makes Facebook and its successors so popular includes its easy to use features and addictivity. Riley Panko, author of “What Makes Social Media Apps Successful”, explains “Social media apps dominate app usage by offering a comprehensive source of online content and harnessing our desire for social validation” (Panko, 2018). Not only do these apps allow for simplistic communication, but they also give users an endless supply of information at the touch of a button. In fact, almost 72% of social media users read or watch news stories through these apps (Panko, 2018). What makes social media so successful, is also the swiftness and instantaneous gratification of them. Studies have shown that if a webpage takes longer than 3 seconds to load, 40% of users will abandon it (Panko, 2018). It has become an integral part of our digital culture to post on these social media sites, allowing individuals from all parts of the world to connect and stay in touch with one another. The engaging features social media has to offer is exactly why these apps are here to stay. Users thrive off of commenting, liking, sharing, and messaging off of each other’s posts. Individuals no longer have to rely on watching the news on television; struggling to keep in touch with long-distance friends or even finding out where their friends are located. Thanks to social media, we can easily talk face to face with friends and family from all around the world, see exactly what they’re doing, and keep up with trending news topics. Additionally, for many, social media allows for the promotion of themselves and their business. Companies and organizations can promote themselves at little to no cost on social media, and gain exposure worldwide. Now it is easier than ever to become a social media influencer, and even start earning an income from posts on Instagram, Facebook, and even Youtube.

While there are numerous reasons as to why social media has been such a success in today’s society, there are also a few ramifications that come along with the ease of the apps. A prime example includes the addictiveness that these social media apps have on its users. Social media aims to keep its users plugged into their networks for as long as possible, therefore creating push notifications to remind users to constantly check their sites. Julian Morgans, author of “The Secret Ways Social Media Is Built for Addiction”, compares push notifications to a “hit” (Panko, 2018). Morgans states “The vast majority of push notifications are just distractions that pull us out of the moment. They get us hooked on pulling our phones out and getting lost in a quick hit of information that could wait for later or doesn’t matter at all” (Panko, 2018). Not only do individuals become addicted to checking their social media, but they also form unhealthy habits of comparison, which for some users, can lead to depression and anxiety. Spending too much time on social media comparing oneself to other influencers and celebrities can often lead others to develop a negative body image and self-esteem issues. This is more common in the younger generations using these platforms to follow successful celebrities, rather than focusing on improving themselves. Similarly, social media has become a gateway for cyberbullying amongst the children and teens. While social media made making friends easier, it also made it easier for predators to find victims. The anonymity that social networks provide can be used by the perpetrators to gain people’s trust and then terrorize them in front of their peers. It is now easier than ever for individuals to become victims of cyberbullying, as predators can now create fake accounts, leave negative comments and even stalk others. However, while these ramifications seem extremely negative, with increased caution, security, and self-improvement habits, they can easily be resolved. To combat addiction and negative body image, individuals need to implement restrictions on themselves and how often they stay plugged into social networking sites. Parents and families also need to monitor their children’s social media accounts to ensure safety and reduce the likelihood of cyberbullying. Additionally, it is crucial for social media sites to increase their security to reduce the likelihood of hackers gaining access to accounts and personal information.

Furthermore, the future of social media remains uncertain, but it can be stated that it isn’t going anywhere, anytime soon. With the increased popularity of apps such as Snapchat and Instagram, users will soon be able to pay for premium versions of apps, removing unnecessary advertisements, and allowing for a more personalized interface. Similarly, live video and streaming will be emphasized throughout all social media apps, as there has been an increasing demand for not only streaming services but videos in general. Rather than being able to post tweets and status updates on Twitter and Facebook, users will soon be able to share live video feeds, something we are starting to see now. There might even be options which allow for friends and family to be placed in live locations with friends, through holograms, or even virtual reality sets. Additionally, there will be a larger emphasis on privacy, as hackers and stolen data information has increased throughout the years. Similar to that of Apple’s facial recognition, social media apps will soon be able to only be accessed if it detects the users face, rather than remembering complicated passwords.

Works Cited

McFadden, Christopher. “A Chronological History of Social Media.” Interesting Engineering, 4 Dec. 2018, interestingengineering.com/a-chronological-history-of-social-media.

Paschal, Peter. “Why Friendster Died: Social Media Isn’t a Game.” PCMag UK, 28 Apr. 2011, uk.pcmag.com/web-sites/9128/why-friendster-died-social-media-isnt-a-game.

Panko, Riley. “What Makes Social Media Apps Successful.” The Manifest – Small Business News, Data, and How-To Guides, 27 Feb. 2018, themanifest.com/app-development/what-makes-social-media-apps-successful.

Mash-Up

Copyrights are the reasoning why people can create content they desire and not have to worry about having what they create being stolen. There are people who generally want to take others hard work and claim it as their own but then there are those who want to pay homage to the originator. They feel inspired to be a creator of something that may bring them inspiration and want to do something that inspires them from another project that was created. The issue for some creators is that people are “seemingly” taking something they’ve created and combined it with someone else’s body of work to create a new idea of how their creations can sound together. So, are mashups the new threat to artists around the world? Are artists going to lose money on what they’ve created? Will there be a new stance on mash-ups? We will take a look and see what it is.

A mash-up is where two or more elements of pre-existing music, usually from different genres are combined to create an entirely new song. So, a mash-up would be someone combining The Beatles and Jay-Z to create a new sound combining an old rock band and a newer genre of music from a hip-hop artist resulting in something different. Actually, that’s exactly what a DJ by the name of “Danger Mouse” did. In the article “GREY ALBUM PRODUCER DANGER MOUSE EXPLAINS HOW HE DID IT”, it states: “Burton, a laid-back fanatic of both the Beatles and Jay-Z, never imagined he would be opening his bedroom door to a reporter. A certain level of ambiguity has always surrounded his music, and he was especially keen about keeping the details behind The Grey Album a mystery. As the album has become a cultural landmark, though, Burton has felt a need to explain the process behind it. A cease-and-desist letter he can handle, but hordes of rookie remixers thinking it takes a couple of days to make a similar album is burning Burton. “A lot of people just assumed I took some Beatles and, you know, threw some Jay-Z on top of it or mixed it up or looped it around, but it’s really a deconstruction,” he explained. “It’s not an easy thing to do”, and that shows he just wanted to combine two things that essentially inspired him and work well together. What’s funny about this is the “Grey Album” came out in February in 2004 and then nine months later Jay-Z and Linkin Park collaborated to create the “Collision Course” album which was a massive success. Although people are against it, there are some things people can learn in this incident when they aren’t being too defensive about their art. These are moments where we can combine powers to make something better.

Class Activity

Hello guy’s I am presenting today in class. Here are some of the activities that we will be going through…

 

Activity Part One :

-We will get into two groups

-Group 1 will be for the Pros of mashups and group two will be for the Cons of mashups.  

-Each group is to create an argument as to why or why not mashups are beneficial and provide and example for what they believe to be a positive mashup and a negative mashup for us to view or listen to as a class 

 

Activity Part Two:

-Will be an interactive form of Kahoot.

 

-It will involve the use of images and it a pretty laid back version of the game we have all become so familiar with.

 

– They are images of mashups of peoples faces and you have to guess the combination of the two! Good Luck Guessing!

 

See you all later!