Sunday, May 3, 2009

We need this in Nashville! Help support.

Hey guys,

I realize that not many will read this since class is over, but I caught up with a friend of mine from high school last night on facebook. He is a web designer and has created a site called Everyblock.

Everyblock put simply is a news feed for your block or neighborhood. Here is where we come in. They are not currently in Nashville, but if enough people submit they will build a Nashville site. Check it out at http://www.everyblock.com/.

Sarah

Friday, May 1, 2009

Grab a webcam and give lifecasting a try

Posted by: Isabelle

By Chris Pirillo

(CNN) -- When I first heard of Justin.tv, I was insanely jealous. The idea was so brain-dead simple that a lot of people -- including me -- wondered how we hadn't come up with it first.


A self-admitted tech geek, Chris Pirillo is president of Lockergnome.com, a blogging network.

Nowadays, Justin.tv is a bustling hub of streaming video channels broadcast and viewed by dozens of thousands. But at its humble beginning only a few short years ago, it was really just one guy (Justin Kan) walking around San Francisco with a webcam strapped to his head.

It ran for 24 hours, seven days a week (barring technical difficulties), whether he was being interviewed by NPR or chowing down on a salad. It was like the "show about nothing" concept pitched by George Costanza and Jerry Seinfeld and made real -- and it took off instantly.

I guess it's like television or the rest of the Web: If someone is interested enough to do it, someone else will be interested enough to view it.

One might wonder about the sort of people so easily drawn into following such an experiment, but there were tons of us. Yes, I say "us" because I have to count myself among its first flock of fans. An unedited, human-eyed peek into the life of another person? Color me fascinated!

It reminds me of how we'd sit glued to MTV in the '80s because, even if we weren't interested in what was on at that very moment, we were constantly in suspense of what might come next. Even if you weren't all that interested in going round n' round with Ratt, you might hang out for a while to watch Thomas Dolby get blinded with science. Anything could happen.

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But suspense is only part of the equation when trying to make sense of the phenomenon that is reality entertainment. I think part of the appeal is that it inspires us with the feeling that we, too, can create and participate. It's an unscripted exercise ripe with the potential for adventure.

You don't have to be an award-winning playwright for a crack at having your voice heard by a sizeable audience. A tiny green fellow I once knew would be proud that it's become more popular to "do" than to "not do" or -- worse -- "try." Ah, Kermit. I wonder what he's up to these days?

Thus inspired, like many of you out there, I'm one of those people who took the initiative and decided to give this "lifecasting" thing a go. Much of my day is spent in front of a Web cam, interacting with my viewers in an IRC chat room.

We throw ideas around (usually tech-related, but conversation can meander off into matters of pet care and the intricacies of quantum knitting. You just never know) and I try to help people solve the computer problems that make them go "hmmm."

Over the years, I've found that troubleshooting is something I'm good at doing. Being available on the Web for hours every day lets me help more people than I would have been able to even just a few short years ago. Best of all? I like to do it! In another age, I could have been a black-lunged coal miner or a scurvy-withered prison ship navigator.

Yeah, I think I'll count my 21st-century blessings.

My joy at having found a calling in the modern world must carry across to computer monitors around the globe, because I'm constantly being asked by my viewers how they, too, can get their foot in the lifecasting door. The will's way's been paved; technology has adapted along with lifecasting's popularity and it's actually easier than ever to get started.

All you need is a webcam, a microphone, and an Internet connection. Many live streaming services are free for personal use, though don't rule out pre-recording videos when you're starting out to get the hang of things before making the plunge into 100% live lifecasting. I'm not trying to discourage anyone from jumping right in with both feet, but some people find comfort in cultivating their front-of-the-camera craft before going public, and that's fine.

Build your self-confidence and mind your mannerisms, but always expect the unexpected. You will get caught off guard now and again, regardless of how much preparation you think you've done -- and that's fine, too. It'll thicken your skin.

Interact with your viewers. This will thicken your skin even more, but you might be surprised at how supportive people can be if they like what you're doing.

Think about broadcasting social events, but always get permission. Don't shove a camera in someone's face if they're not expecting it.

If you're not intimidated by any of this, then go ahead and give lifecasting a try. Have a reason to do it, even if it's personal. Don't be afraid to be yourself. Most important: Have fun, and don't take yourself too seriously.

Keeping the joystick dream alive

Posted by: Isabelle

Graphics are good, but I still love the Atari. The joystick was a litle difficult if you didn't know how to move it just right!

Please follow the link below:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8024182.stm

YouTube helps man deliver baby

from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8028625.stm
posted by: Isabelle

An engineer in Cornwall delivered his baby son after watching a instructional video on YouTube.

Marc Stephens watched the videos as a precaution when his wife Jo started to feel some discomfort.

Four hours later, his wife went into labour and started giving birth before an ambulance could arrive at their home in Redruth.

"I Googled how to deliver a baby, watched a few videos and basically swotted up," Mr Stephens told the BBC.

Jo Stephens said they had planned a home birth, but not quite in this manner.

"I woke up and realised I was having contractions every five minutes," Mrs Stephens said.

"I woke Marc up and we phoned the midwife, but they were all so busy they couldn't come round to our house and told us to call an ambulance. But before it arrived, it all started."

Preparation

A few hours earlier, Mr Stephens has been reading up on home births and how to cope with anything unexpected.

"The videos gave me peace of mind. I think I would have coped, but watching videos made things much easier."



One of the videos was called 'How to deliver a baby in a car'
Mr Stephens said his wife was on all fours when he saw the head starting to come out.

"This is our fourth child now and while for our first I spent most of the time at my wife's head, now I'm not afraid to go down to the business end.

"I was still on the phone to the midwife and told her that 'this is it'," he said.

Mr Stephens said he felt no panic, putting his ability to stay calm down to his Royal Navy training.

After delivering the 5lbs 5oz boy, Gabriel, the Stephens went to the Royal Cornwall Hospital at Treliske, where both mother and baby got a clean bill of health.

Movie Piracy Follow-Up




Happy Friday everyone! Here is an article that follows up what Lori posted earlier about the piracy of X-Men Wolverine. This problem may get worse before it gets better!

Can Movie Piracy be Stopped?

Ginger

Concerns over rapid growth of the WEB

This is a pretty interesting article about the consequences of the rapid growth of web users.

Ted


http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article6169488.ece?print=yes&randnum=1241117547057

Thursday, April 30, 2009

Brain Orchestra's World Premiere

Musicians use their brain waves to play computer-generated notes while led by an 'emotional conductor' in Prague.




Lori

ABC to Add Its Shows To Videos On Hulu


Three of the four big broadcast networks now own stakes in Hulu, the popular video Web site.


LINK


Lori

Blogging Can Help Any Business

http://businessonmain.msn.com/knowledgeexchange/articles/expert.aspx?cp-documentid=19238028&source=msneditorial>1=25049

Lisa Wagner-Rappe

I Quit, Twitter!

So maybe everyone doesn't share my enthusiasm for twitter :(



http://tech.yahoo.com/news/ap/20090430/ap_on_hi_te/us_tec_techbit_twitter_quitters


Angela Branch

Go almost 1500 miles on one tank of gas!





Man Hybrids Are Getting Exclusive!

http://www.wired.com/autopia/2009/04/ford-hybrid-goes-1445-miles-on-one-tank/


Angela Branch

Somewhere between an iPhone and a MacBook....

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/ptech/04/29/cnet.apple.mobile.computer/index.html

Check out this article...Rex Hammock predicted this months ago on his blog....... http://www.rexblog.com/2009/04/28/19386

Lisa Wagner-Rappe

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

General Mills Connects with Social Media Moms

article from Mashable......it is refreshing to see companies open to connecting with their customers.

I'm about to go on a tangent: I recently had to change jobs and currently work for Countrywide (actually, the merger with Bank of America became official on April 27th). It amazes me how unprepared the company was to handle the "refinance boom". 60 - 80 days to close a loan. Information sent to customers via email is very limited. Systems are archaic. The hierarchy is "old school".... there was a reason why I wanted to leave the corporate environment in my early 20s.... 12 years later, it's still the same BS!

http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=94994638713&h=GcCWH&u=idZWf&ref=nf

Sadiqua

Critical Alert: The Swine Flu Pandemic – Fact or Fiction?

An article by Dr. Mercola, it references the use of "Google Maps Swine Flu Tracker"


http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/04/29/Swine-Flu.aspx

Sadiqua

Google Public Data

I don't know about any of you, but whenever I try to find information on a government website, city or state, it takes a miracle for me to find what I am looking for. I always wonder if they trying to make it hard or they just don't have the right web programmers setting up the websites. Maybe Google Public Data will help shorten the never ending searches. I will certainly be giving it a try next time.

Ginger

Google Unveils New Tool

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Wake up, social media users, we're crushing our creation


Just look at the numbers: YouTube is the third most visited website in the world, according to web monitor Alexa. Twitter, according to Nielsen Online, has grown 2,565 per cent in the past year alone, while Facebook announced it has surpassed 200 million users.

LINK


Lori

Apple -- 1 billion downloads in 9 months!

Apple.com home page shows that there have been 1 billion application downloads in the past 9 months. How impressive is that?

My boss and his wife (formerly with Countrywide, now Bank of America) had an application called "iSneeze" approved by Apple. It makes me think of the opportunities we have available to us -- how much easier it is to "make it happen!"

Sadiqua

BW, NYT confirm Apple-Verizon talks; "media pad" in the works

Another device in the works.... I'm excited about this one because I'm locked in with Verizon until Feb next year and haven't found a phone really worth upgrading to w/them.

http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/patterson/48295

Sadiqua

Does Twitter Create Fear?



Although Twitter is great for communicating information quickly, on the flip side it can also communicate misinformation quickly. In these situations it is probably better to listen to the experts and not all the tweets flying around about the swine flu (or any other national situation). It seems to me this would only create more panic about it. As the article talks about, the bad news is always going to spread faster than the good news.

Ginger

Swine Flu creates controversy on Twitter

Cybersquatting: The Dark Side Of Social Networking

Social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook have often struggled to validate the identities of those who sign up for their services. "Cybersquatters" are using such sites sometimes to make a profit, and sometimes with malicious intentions.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103509111

Jasmine

"Why you have to engage in social media, even if you don't want to"

Of course after reading that Twitter et al is for the birds, I read this article...this social media stuff can be so confusing.

mariko

LINK TO FULL ARTICLE

'This Twitter thing is annoying as hell'

Since I'm still figuring out Twitter ans Facebook, there is a part of me that feels much like this guy!

mariko

LINK TO FULL ARTICLE

Monday, April 27, 2009

Mint.com

Mint.com has a great blog. Check out this link for some practical ways for us "new Tweeters" to use twitter to help with our personal finances.

http://www.mint.com/blog/finance-core/6-ways-to-use-twitter-for-personal-finance/

Sarah

Need help with your personal finances?

Hey guys,

I first heard about this from a friend on twitter. And then heard it again being covered on NPT. My husband and I are budget junkies...so if you are check it out. www.mint.com

It's a great way to help with your finances!

Sarah

Facebook and get fired!

How many of us have called in sick and used the internet to pass the time, well if your caught on facebok you could get fired! I mean you couldnt possibly see or read because your sick, how deceiving of you!

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10228434-93.html?part=rss


Angela Branch

Bootleg phones, Geesh!

Cant afford the I-phone, just head to China for the HI-phone, lol!

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/28/technology/28cell.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss


Angela Branch

Channeling TV shows to the Web


Cable operators and media companies are cautiously dabbling in on-demand online video, but this is one case where caution could be as dangerous as recklessness.

Recently, the nation's two largest cable operators have been talking about offering their cable lineup to subscribers online so they can view their favorite shows on their computers. And now, YouTube, the site Viacom sued for more than a $1 billion in 2007 and threatened to have shut down, is signing deals with big studios like Sony Pictures and Lionsgate, as well as TV network CBS.


LINK


Lori

The latest from Facebook: 'Open Stream API'


A post on the Facebook developer blog announces the big application program interface (API) update from the social network that was first reported on Sunday night, which it's calling the Open Stream API.


LINK


Lori

Even Big Corporations need to Be Careful with Social Media

From the Wall Street Journal:

Corporate Blogs and 'Tweets' Must Keep SEC in Mind

mariko

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Thursday, April 23, 2009

HOW TO: Build Your Personal Brand on Facebook

"With over 200 million active users, Facebook has become a personal, product and corporate branding hub. Every brand that exists on Facebook() has the same core features and benefits, such as the ability to create a page, share resources, add multimedia and much more. You have a unique opportunity to leverage this platform for career success or as a playground for you and your closest friends".

http://mashable.com/2009/04/02/facebook-personal-brand


Cassandra Holdsclaw

Social media puts you in charge of the (r)evolution

This article is long, but very interesting. It addresses the questions within social media; Who decides what news we read? And who decides the content? What about standards for bloggers? Does social media challenge our thinking or make us more open to misinformation? The more and more I read about the new face of social media, the more I am convinced it is a double-edged sword!

Ginger

Social media puts you in charge of the (r)evolution

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Information on Dave Ramsey's Town Hall for Hope

Dave Ramsey's Town Hall for Hope
Sponsored by Equipping Center

Join Dave Ramsey for a live, via video stream, nationwide town hall meeting and discover what’s happening with the economy, how we got here, and where we’re going. Plus, Dave will answer your questions live throughout the event! Join us for this free event as we stand together to reignite the fire of hope!

It’s time to connect with families across the nation for a truly radical message—hope.

Dave Ramsey’s Town Hall for Hope
Topic: The Economy, Your Money, Real Answers
When: Thursday, April 23rd
Time: 7:00-8:30pm
Where: The Student Center
NO cost – Free Event

www.townhallforhope.com

Hope you all can attend!

Sarah

Getting Rid of annoying babies!

Apple just pulled an application called, "Baby Shaker". A baby appears on the screen of your phone and you are supposed to shake it until you see an x in both eyes and then the baby is quiet. It was supposed to serve as some type of stress relief for when you are in public and someones child is crying or interrupting your flow. Obviously this didnt go over too well with the public because it was removed after only being up since Monday.

http://www.networkworld.com/news/2009/042209-apple-baby-shaker.html?hpg1=bn

Angela Branch

IPhones still raking in big profits!

Looks like the creation of all those new applications to the iphone is really peaking interest.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/23/technology/companies/23apple.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss

Article from The New York Times
Angela Branch

State of Play

hey!

Has anyone seen the movie titled "State of Play"? It hit home on a lot of the information we have been talking about in class. One of my favorites parts was when the young, cute blogger girl let the old time reporter (Russell Crow) put the news first hand in print instead of using it in her blog. It was like she was being respectful of him (still in newspaper print) versus her up-to-date blog. The movie shows the ins and outs of reporting and journalism (hollywood style of course) and how they get the information to the public.

It was a great movie- you should go and see it if you have a chance!

Nanci

Craigslist CEO Feels 'terribly' about Craigslist Killer






Lori

Are universities moving towards irrelevancy?

Check out this article.

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/print/705298649/Universities-will-be-irrelevant-by-2020-Y-professor-says.html

The Social-Networking Site Likely Doesn't Cause Poor Grades

Link to article


mariko

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Ad Dollars Shift From Wants to Needs

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30330935

We've talked some in class about the recession and if it might be a long term adjustment or just a hiccup for us--at least for the younger generations. Interesting article about how advertising dollars are being shifted at least in the meantime.

Lisa Wagner-Rappe

BBC Launches Virtual College of Journalism

Darren Waters 5 Mar 09, 13:55 GMT

The BBC is to open up its 'Virtual' College of Journalism to the public.

Thousands of pages of skills advice, video and guides to almost every aspect of journalism - from interview techniques to in-the-field reporting and even sports commentary - will be made available.

"One of the most important things that we need to think about and do is teach journalism to the next generation and to the new leaders within journalism," said the BBC's Kevin Marsh, at the DNA 2009 conference in Brussels.

Every aspect of online training that is currently available to 7,500 BBC journalists will be open to the public.

The Virtual College - a network of microsites that talk to each other - will go live to the public in a number of weeks. It already has a presence on Facebook, Twitter and Ning.

Journalism learning is also available across BBC language sites.
"I'm quietly proud of this stuff," said Mr Marsh.


--Sadiqua

What's Happening Now - Part 3

Here is Part 3 of the Sprint commercials, "What's Happening Now." I think these are great and a very smart marketing campaign. I like the part about how many people hit "reply all". Who hasn't done that by mistake!

Ginger

Facebook Etiquette

http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1892800,00.html?CNN=YES

Funny stuff! But true!

Lisa Wagner-Rappe

Ipods for the troops

And this from Newsweek. The Army has started issuing ipods to the troops for various purposes.

Ted

http://www.newsweek.com/id/194623/output/print

From Reuters: Gamers show signs of addiction

As if this is news to anyone who has struggled to get to the next level of a game. This article from reuters discusses the rise in gambling symtoms in gamers.

Ted

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE53J4IH20090420

More Seniors using the internet

Check out this article about the rise of 70+ year olds and their internet usage.

Ted

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jRVwrCg3jdOcXYTsmuYz47BJpDVg

Ethnic Outlets Survive In Sinking Media Market : NPR

Surprisingly, all of the media outlets aren't struggling. The link below from NPR discusses how some of the Ethnic media markets are thriving in the new information age despite the economy......
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=102802880&sc=emaf

Jasmine

Monday, April 20, 2009

More Charity on Twitter!






I just wanted to share a picture of sneakers being donated to charity by hip hop producer Swizz Beatz. these are from his personal closet!

Angela Branch

KDDI au to Release Solar Powered Cell Phone in June


The phone can be charged to 80% capacity using solar power



LINK


Lori

New iPhone Ad Targets Small Business


One of Apple’s new iPhone ads targets small businesses by showing them how they can use iPhone apps to process credit card transactions, print shipping labels and check on the delivery of an order.



LINK


Lori

Thumbs To The News: Public Turns To Twitter

"Twitter is increasingly being used by companies as a marketing tool, and for many, it's become a source for news. According to this article more people are turning to Twitter for breaking news because breaking stories sometimes appear on Wikipedia and Twitter before they are reported by mainstream news organizations."

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=103221268
Jasmine

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Another use for Facebook

And here is a clip about how the police are starting to use facebook to solve crimes. Just thought I would give two sides of the story.
http://www.abcnews.go.com/print?id=7328777

Facebook usage linked to bad grades

Check out this article and the link between dropping grades and facebook usage. I catch my students on Facebook all the time.

http://www.wcax.com/Global/story.asp?s=10178190&clienttype=printable

Microblogging is huge, but should anyone care?

This is easier to read if you click on the link.... but here is the story in its entirety. Sadiqua

www.newsweek.com/id/145216

Newsweek, July 9, 2008

The first thing Amanda Mooney, 22, does when she wakes up in the morning is fire up her laptop. She opens "a crazy amount of tabs" and checks in on her Facebook, MySpace, Flickr and YouTube friends. A self-described "digital native" who graduated from Emerson College in Boston this summer, Mooney contributes her thoughts to her new employer's blog at Edelmandigital.com, as well as at Americanshelflife.com. She chats on AIM, publicly bookmarks favorite posts on Digg and Del.icio.us. And, of course, she twitters. And twitters and twitters.

On Twitter, the service that lets you keep the world abreast of your doings in 140 characters or less, "you post a thought and you never know who is going to jump in and join that conversation with you," says Mooney. "You sort of forget that it's a really, really public form of [instant messaging]." She's reviewed the new movie "Wanted," shared a dream about standing in line to buy the new iPhone and sent out links to new sites she has found interesting.

For Mooney and the million-odd microbloggers out there, no thought, however trivial, goes undigitized. First there was Facebook—where members are able to share instant thoughts or whereabouts with their social network by writing a pithy "status update" (Example: Brian is writing a story about microblogging). Now there is a rash of new self-publishing tools that seem to launch on a weekly basis. In the last few months alone, services like identi.ca, Pownce, and Plurk have popped up. Arguably the hippest is Tumblr. Launched last year, it allows people to subscribe to—or follow—each other's "tumblelogs" and netted a bit of microfame for the odd vapid oversharer and facilitated the expression of at least one Garfield fan's flash of inspired genius.

The new kid on the block is Posterous, which made its debut last week and is already making Tumblr seem archaic by bypassing the need to go to a Web site to write a post—or even embed a video. On Posterous, users start an account and publish new posts entirely via e-mail. All you need to do to launch a new blog—and update it—is send an e-mail to post@posterous.com. In its first week 6,000 bloggers registered with Posterous, according to cofounder Sachin Agarwal.

Posterous's initial popularity may be good for the company's investors, but how many blogging services does the world need anyway? "The problem is that people are launching a whole new service based on one feature," says Sean Bonner, who co-publishes Metroblogging, a large network of local blogs. "The reason Twitter is useful is because all your friends are there. If it was just you, it would be as useful as a piece of paper you write notes to yourself on."

Indeed, for now, Twitter appears to be winning the microblogging arms race. The service boasted an estimated 1.2 million unique visitors in May alone, and may be valued in the eye-popping neighborhood of $100 million. This all suggests that an instant 140-character "tweet" meets some communications needs better than a fleshed out blog post. (In April an American journalism student was arrested in Egypt for photographing a demonstration, his tweets alerted friends to what had happened—and ultimately got him sprung.)

Perhaps given the success of Twitter, it's no surprise that there is a new wave of clones: venture capitalists smell money in the water. "If you look at any technology trend of this sort that is developed by technologists, put forward through startups and funded by venture capitalists, you're going to have a shakeout and you're going to have winners," says John Palfrey, coauthor of the forthcoming book "Born Digital." "I'm not surprised at all to see a series of copycat services emerge and get funded."

Still, even Twitter can be just more digital noise. Who has the time to check in on even one single BFF's doings at Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and even Netflix in any given afternoon? And, really, who cares what you just had for lunch? "It's allowing for more conversation, social, business or otherwise," says Chris Brogan, a social-media consultant. "But I'm suddenly tending to a lot of stores." Enter the aggregators: one-stop Web sites that let you see what your friends are up to in their various Web travels. "As people are rapidly moving toward [services like] Twitter and Tumblr, it will force us to a mode where the consumption tools need to be on a separate platform," says David Karp, the wunderkid founder of Tumblr, which has 315,000 registered users. "What we're doing now is agreeing to use one tool that allows us to be in the same place."

For example, FriendFeed, Swurl and Spokeo are slightly creepy new tools that allow users to see a wide swath of their friends' online activity in one place. Users allow these sites to pull their most recent activity from an array of Web services, and then invite friends to monitor and comment on each update (a new photo at Flickr here, a new blog post there), all on a single page. But read those last two sentences—we just mentioned not one, but three aggregators. How long before some enterprising developer builds an aggregator that aggregates the aggregators? No one ever said sharing was easy.

Social Media in Plain English

This is a short youtube video that illustrates social media...in plain english

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpIOClX1jPE

Sadiqua

Google used as a weapon against terrorists

"The British Government may be deploying a new weapon against terrorists: Google."

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,515017,00.html



Cassandra Holdsclaw

Google used as a weapon against terrorists

"The British government may be deploying a new weapon against terrorists:Google."




Cassandra Holdsclaw

Saturday, April 18, 2009

More Social Media Reporting

There seems to be an increase in social media reporting these days. I don't know if they really are reporting more or just that I'm paying more attention because of this class. Probably a combination of both. Last night there was yet another report about "Cyber Stars" on NBC nightly news. It stemmed from the woman on Britain's Got Talent that has become a You Tube sensation (and also those lovely employees, or now ex-employees at Dominos). Every day I either see a news story or a commercial about social media. It is definately how the world operates now and there is no getting around it. Oh and congrats to Ashton Kutcher for getting 1 million followers on Twitter! Here is the video from Friday night's news:

Ginger

94 Percent of CNN’s Audience Doesn’t Use Twitter

Well I feel a little better knowing this...from mashable.com

mariko


April 17th, 2009 | by Adam Ostrow21 Comments

While today might be a huge day in Twitter (Twitter reviews) world with CEO Evan Williams set to appear on Oprah alongside Twitter’s first million follower man, Ashton Kutcher, CNN’s audience apparently still largely has no idea what the service is all about.

Today’s poll on the main page of CNN.com asks “Do you use Twitter?” With better than 80,000 votes cast, only 6 percent of users say “Yes,” while 64 percent say “No,” and 30 percent say “What’s Twitter?” At first glance, these numbers are surprisingly low given the air time the network has devoted to the service, especially in recent days with the Ashton vs CNN battle to reach one million followers.

Of course, for an organization on the mainstream scale of CNN, 6 percent actually translates into a fairly significant number of people – with over 30 million visitors to its site in March according to Compete, 6 percent is around 1.8 million people.

How will the Oprah moment change these numbers? It would be interesting if CNN asks the same question next week.

Friday, April 17, 2009

Good vs Effective Leader (Know Which Hill You're Willing to Die On)

Have you guys read Chapter 7 of “The Contrarian's Guide to Leadership” yet? The first few pages got me really thinking about what I would do if put in the following situation(s):

You’re a solider driving a bus down a narrow mountain road, with a wall of granite on one side and a two-hundred-foot drop-off on the other. As you round a corner, a five-year old girl suddenly dashes out into the middle of the road to retrieve her ball. There’s time to do only one of three things: stay on course and kill the girl; or intentionally swerve and kill yourself by falling over the drop-off; or hit the brakes, skid, and swerve, thereby killing both yourself and the girl. {or}...consider the same scenario, but with nineteen other soliders on the bus…{or} you are alone in the bus but you’re carrying information which is crucial to your battalion’s success in a battle soon to be waged. Or you are alone in the bus and the girl is “merely” a child of the enemy…. (Sample, S. 2002)

What would you do in these situations?

mariko

Google`s Schmidt Talks Twitter, Microblogging Prospects in 2009

Their trying to figure out how Twitter can make money off it's website:

Link to article

mariko

Is Youtube in Trouble?

http://www.slate.com/id/2216162/?GT1=38001

Lisa Wagner-Rappe

Im twittered!

Ok so no linked story today I wanted to tell you all about my twitter obsession! There is so much excitement going on and if you havent joined you should. I know everyone isnt a rag mag junkie or live vicariously through clebrities lives as I do but besides the high I get from that on twitter there are some cool things going on. It was really fun to be able to follow the competition between Ashton Kutcher and CNN to see who could get a million followers first. With CNN about 20,000 followers ahead of Ashton at the beginning of this week he finished up on yesterday I believe it was with 200 more than CNN and got to a million first! All sorts of celebrities pitched in on his campaign, not just on Twitter but even news and entertainment shows such as E News. I mean he really campaigned, as I was driving home from work today I noticed on this huge electronic ad board the words, Follow Ashton Kutcher on Twitter, how cool was that! Other celebs are doing cool things like Hugh Jackman. He is having his followers to tweet him about their favorite charities and why they are the best and the one he chooses he will personnally donate 10,000 dollars to that charity! Diddy has started the PTwitty nation and PTwitty TV where he puts up live videos of himself and other celebrities at events and will be on Larry King tonight to talk about his tweeting. Its so much I could go on for days but thats just a small amount for now. I hope I've tweeted your curiosity! Have a great day!

Angela Branch

Four Found Guilty in Landmark Pirate Bay Case


STOCKHOLM, Sweden (CNN) -- Four men behind a Swedish file-sharing Web site used by millions to exchange movies and music have been found guilty of collaborating to violate copyright law in a landmark court verdict in Stockholm.


LINK


Lori

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Gadget Graveyard: 10 Technologies About to Go

"Looking back at the 20th century it's clear that even the biggest and baddest gadget sensations will one day fall victim to technological evolution."



Cassandra Holdsclaw

Do We Really Need To Go Digital?





Lori

Domino's YouTube Pranksters Arrested


Social Media is a wonderful thing, just don't forget it can be used against you! Luckily for us these dumb criminals video taped their crime.

LINK


Lori

Twitter users up 131% in March



LINK


Lori

Where is Journalism going?

http://mindymcadams.com/tojou/2008/the-survival-of-journalism/

This article is on the survival of Journalism and where will it be in 10 years? Take a look!

Nanci

A Different View on Newspapers

http://www.niemanlab.org/2009/04/print-is-still-king-only-3-percent-of-newspaper-reading-actually-happens-online/

This guy thinks that "print is still king"! Check out his research and tell me what you think!

Nanci

ps- how do I post a live link in this blog? I know it would be better!

Obama Builds Tech Bridge to Cuba

Obama Builds Tech Bridge to Cuba

by Chloe Albanesius

What better way to ease relations with Cuba than iPhones, Twitter, and satellite TV?

President Obama on Monday unveiled a plan that will allow U.S. residents to send cell phones, computers, satellite receivers, and more to friends and family in Cuba, and also allow U.S. telecom companies to do business in the country.

Obama has "directed that steps be taken to enable the freer flow of information among the Cuban people and between those in Cuba and the rest of the world, as well as to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian items directly to the Cuban people," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Monday.

U.S. citizens will be able to send or receive "donated personal communications devices" like cell phones, computers, software, and satellite receivers. The move expands on an announcement made by former President George Bush in May 2008 that allowed U.S. citizens to send cell phones only.

In addition, U.S. telecom companies will be able to enter into agreements to provide fiber-optic cable or satellite links between the U.S. and Cuba. Wireless providers will also be allowed to set up roaming service agreements with Cuban service providers, while U.S. satellite radio and TV providers would also be allowed to offer their services.

Meanwhile, Cubans would be able to obtain licenses – subject to U.S. jurisdiction – to activate and pay for telecom, satellite radio and TV services provided by U.S. carriers. Senior Communist Party and Cuban government officials would not be allowed to participate.

article posted by Jasmine

The Future of Online Ads is Unavoidable

An additional posting from Mashable.com about online ads:

Link to Article


mariko

HOW TO: Use Social Media to Champion International Causes

From Mashable.com an excellent use for Twitter, Facebook, etc.:

Link to article

mariko

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

The All New Verizon HUB!

I was telling the class about the new home phone called the HUB that is alot like the cell phone and I was explaining the commercial and no one had really seen it so here is the youtube link for the commercial!






http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1z1nsuQi40w


Angela Branch

Is Social the Future of Online Ads?

From Mashable.com:

Link to article


mariko

Evil Twitter



This is an interesting and thought provoking concept....is Twitter Evil? It definately allows us to disconnect from human interaction and connect faster (along with other social networking options), but at what cost? See article link:

Is Twitter Evil?

Ginger

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

YouTube orchestra preps for Carnegie debut


NEW YORK -- An international orchestra of some 90 musicians who auditioned on the YouTube video-sharing Web site will perform at New York's Carnegie Hall on Wednesday after rehearsing together for three days.



LINK


Lori

'Lost' finds online audience


ABC's island drama accounted for 35.8 million video streams of full-length episodes, clips and other shortform content viewed by 1.4 million unique viewers during the month of March, according to Nielsen VideoCensus stats.


LINK

Lori

N.Y. Times Co. Threatens To Close 'Boston Globe'

This article has an interesting spin..... the New York Times Co. gave an ultimatum that Globe workers call draconian: Give up $20 million in pay and benefits by the end of the month or else see the paper shut down....

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=102884836

Jasmine

Twitter all clear after worm wave

from: bbc.co.uk

Twitter was hit by a worm over the weekend
Twitter has been given the all clear after a worm infected "tens of thousands of users". But experts say the attack could have been much worse.

Over the weekend, a self-replicating computer program, or worm, began to infect profiles on the social network.

The worm was set up to promote a Twitter rival site, showing unwanted messages on infected user accounts.

Michael Mooney, a 17-year-old US student, told the Associated Press he created the worm to promote his site.

Mooney, who lives in Brooklyn, New York, said he wanted to expose vulnerabilities in Twitter. He told AP: "I really didn't think it was going to get that much attention, but then I started to see all these stories about it and thought, 'Oh, my God'."

The worm worked by encouraging users to click on a link to the rival Twitter site, called StalkDaily.com.

Once the link was clicked, infected users themselves automatically began to send out messages to friends, promoting the site.

No personal or sensitive information, such as passwords, was compromised in the attacks, according to Twitter, which has more than seven million users.

Mikko H Hypponen, chief research officer at security specialists F-Secure, told BBC News the attack could have been much worse.

"All the problems stayed on Twitter. Even if you were infected, nothing happened to your computer.

"It would have been simple to integrate a web browser exploit into this so that you could have done anything you wanted to the infected computer, including recording all keyboard strokes and capturing credit card details."

Mr Hypponen said he was surprised that the vulnerability had been present in Twitter.

"It was a very basic vulnerability. Similar holes were found in other web social services, such as MySpace and Facebook, quite a while ago.

"I guess Twitter has learned its lesson."

'On alert'

In a blog posting on Monday, Twitter co-founder Biz Stone said: "We are still reviewing all the details, cleaning up, and we remain on alert."

In all, there were four waves of attacks on Twitter.

The website said it had deleted almost 10,000 tweets, or messages, that could have continued to spread the worm.

Mr Hypponen said F-Secure had monitored at least one variant of the worm attack, using a link in a message that pledged to clear up the problem. It had been clicked on at least 18,000 times.

"We would estimate that tens of thousands of users were infected."

He added: "The root cause for these problems is that social networks are interactions with other people and we inherently trust the messages from people we know in real life or virtually.

"So when you get a message from someone on Twitter you trust it because in real life fake messages like this rarely happen."

Twitter has promised to conduct a "full review of the weekend activities".

from: isablle

Google stops YouTube uploads and comments

from: Geek.com

Google stops YouTube uploads and comments in South Korea

by Matthew Humphries posted on April 14, 2009 9:31 am


You may have heard about the new Cyber Defamation Law that came into being across South Korea at the start of April. The law was rushed out after the suicide of the well-known 39-year-old South Korean actress Choi Jin-sil who had been subjected to malicious online rumors. The solution in the eyes of the South Korean government was to force everyone to use their real names on the Internet when posting content or commenting.


The law ultimately forces Google to go through the process of re-registering all users in South Korea. So instead, they have decided to take a different approach and turn off the ability to upload new videos or comment on existing ones if you are registered as living in that area of the world.

This may seem extreme, but Google has pointed to a workaround for users. All they have to do is change their YouTube preferences to state they do not live in South Korea and video uploading and commenting can resume. Google stays within the law as technically South Koreans can’t use the service, but still allows the video site to function for all.

Read more at PC Advisor

Matthew’s Opinion
You have to wonder how long such a wrokaround is going to remain unnoticed by the South Korean government. Google is a high-profile company wherever you are in the world so it won’t take long for this news to get around. The other side effect it may have is other websites using the same tactic allowing users to register as living elsewhere.

I think the law itself is going a bit too far and having to identify yourself everywhere you visit online is not only undesirable for users, but could end up being more dangerous. Having to show your true identity isn’t going to stop all cyber bullying or rumors spreading, and if individuals can stillremain anonymous on some sites like YouTube then it will continue as normal.

from: isabelle

Bluetooth 3.0 will bring Bluetooth over Wi-Fi

Post from: dailytech.com


Bluetooth has become one of the most used wireless connectivity specifications used in all sorts of devices wireless printing and streaming music from MP3 players to headphones. Like most things in the technology world, researchers are always working hard to improve the specification.

Dvice reports that Bluetooth 3.0 specifications are due to be released from the Bluetooth Special Interest Group on April 21. The specification promises to deliver more speed than Bluetooth 2.0/2.1 is capable of today along with other feature aimed at making Bluetooth more usable and reliable.

The Bluetooth SIG says, "Transferring an entire music library, a complete DVD, a vacation's worth of photos, all within seconds at the touch of a button and wirelessly will now be possible."

One new feature of Bluetooth 3.0 will be called Enhanced Power Control (EPC) designed to reduce the incidence of disconnects caused by things like placing a phone in your pocket. The specification will also allow Generic Alternate MAC/PHY (AMP) enabling Bluetooth profiles to take advantage of 802.11 speeds and will allow the Generic AMP to be used with an 802.11 radio.

In other words, this is the specification for allowing Bluetooth over Wi-Fi, which is where the massive speed increases will come from.

from: isabelle

What's Happening Now - Take 2

Here is the latest installment of the Sprint 4G commercials. This one is more social oriented as a follow up to the first commercial they put out. Once again, just showing how fast information is moving and specifically in this commercial the different ways the information moves around.

Ginger

Monday, April 13, 2009

Ad Spending


I got this today. Very interesting.



Lori

Books Promoted with technology!

http://papercuts.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/13/boom-goes-the-novel/?hp

I found this to be an interesting thought- books (that are mostly printed) are shared and promoted with the latest technology. We talked about how people are going the route of reading newspapers, etc. online for free but books/novels in paper form are still preferred. I don't see people who love to read books stop buying them. To some, a book is a treasure. I love the way the latest technology is being used to have discussions (blogs) about books- and other technology being used as well.

How will technology ever replace a good book that you can take to the beach to read?

(I'm sure there will be something!!)

Nanci

Twitter Uses

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/14/technology/internet/14twitter.html?_r=1&hp

New York Times has this article about twitter and ways it is being used from solving problems to monitoring a brain surgery. It truly is a way to communicate, network and do business. One couple expecting a baby creativly set up a device that monitored everytime the baby kicked, it would twitter!

Facebook popular with 55 and older females

In class, we were talking about how social networking spans across generations because it is an economical and quick way of communicating, i.e, grandparents interacting with their grandchildren in other parts of the country. This article from CNN sums it up......

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/04/13/social.network.older/index.html?iref=t2test_techmon

Jasmine

The end of the games console?

Just when I thought the "Wii" gaming console was the greatest gaming system ever....

The end of the games console?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7969044.stm

Jasmine

'60 Minutes' video: The Pentagon's bionic arm

When Americans are wounded in Afghanistan or Iraq, no expense is spared to save their lives. But once they're home, if they have suffered an amputation of their arm, they usually end up wearing an artificial limb that hasn't changed much since World War II.

In all the wonders of modern medicine, building a robotic arm with a fully functioning hand has not been remotely possible.

But as 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley reports, that is starting to change. One remarkable leap in technology is called the DEKA arm and it's just one of the breakthroughs in a $100 million Pentagon program called "Revolutionizing Prosthetics."






LINK


Lori

paidContent.org - Google Decides Not To Cave To South Korean Government


Google has decided against bending to a South Korean law that could require it to hand over to the government the identity of people who upload videos to YouTube Korea. To get around the regulation, the company will no longer let South Koreans post videos or comments on the site, according to a report in the Korean paper Hankyore.

LINK

Lori

What's Happening Now

Good Monday Morning! I hope you all had a great Easter weekend. This is a commercial for Sprint that I keep seeing on TV. It has been out for about a week and is a great example of the speed of information we have been talking about in class. It is all connected faster than we can probably imagine. Who knows if the data is completely accurate, but I still find it interesting. I have been looking for it to be able to post and finally found it this morning. Has anyone sent an email recently with the words "miracle banana diet?"

Ginger

Yet another one to learn???

This article off TechCrunch.com:

You Will Be Using FriendFeed In The Future — But It May Be Called Facebook


mariko

Friday, April 10, 2009

Dictionary.com

iPhone/iPod touch only: The Dictionary.com iPhone app does just what you might expect it to, but also offers spoken word pronunciations, words of the day, and similarly-spelled options when you're connected to the net.

http://lifehacker.com/5206654/dictionarycom-defines-and-pronounces-words-from-your-iphone


Cassandra Holdsclaw

Report: Founders Want To Buy Skype Back From EBay

Did anyone know eBay owned Skype??? From TechCrunch:


http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/04/10/report-founders-want-to-buy-skype-from-ebay/

mariko

Uproar over 'news story' ad on front page of LA Times

WASHINGTON (AFP) — An advertisement dressed up as a news story on the front page of the Los Angeles Times has reporters at the newspaper fuming and the publisher defending the move.
The advertisement, for the NBC television series "Southland," appeared on page one of the Times on Thursday. Although it was labelled "advertisement," the ad resembled a news story complete with a bold-type headline.
According to the blog MediaMemo, more than 100 staffers at the newspaper signed a petition protesting the appearance of the fake news story ad on the front page.
"We the journalists of the newsroom strenuously object to the decision to sell an ad, in the form of a phony news story, on the front page of the Los Angeles Times," mediamemo.allthingsd.com quoted the petition as saying.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jOxYd0jhEGPdrAlP6kx7CGgF6pdA

--Sadiqua

Virgin fires new $50 calling plan shot in price war with Sprint's Boost


NEW YORK (Reuters) - Virgin Mobile USA has taken inspiration from car makers with a promise to waive three months of cellphone fees for customers who lose their jobs, a move it hopes will attract new business.


LINK


Lori

Santa Cruz County in a black hole amid phone, Internet outage


SANTA CRUZ -- Santa Cruz County woke up to a rude reminder Thursday of just how reliant society has become on the Internet, cell phones and even less modern technology, like hard phone lines


LINK


Lori

Renting a BlackBerry for the Road

Have we gone too far?


http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123862437430180065.html

mariko

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Your views will be viewed!

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10216382-2.html?tag=newsEditorsPicksArea.0


Angela Branch

Yelp makes it easy for businesses to read and comment on the views posted about them

Vevo!

Universal music group and Youtube join forces!

Angela Branch




http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10216172-93.html?tag=newsLeadStoriesArea.1

Check out this news tool....

http://www.nowpublic.com/

Sarah

The Newspaper Is Dying--The Colbert Show

A second night in a row in which The Colbert Report addresses the death of TV/newspapers....the segment starts at about 13:45 within the video.

http://www.hulu.com/watch/67095/the-colbert-report-wed-apr-8-2009


They make a quick point--most of the online news sources get their news from newspaper writers. Will the loss of some newspapers--reduce/change the content/news that we have access to? Who will replace the work that they do?


Lisa Wagner-Rappe

WSMV news anchor Dan Miller passes

For those that follow local news media, Dan Miller was one of my favs to follow and watch growing up. May he rest in peace.

By: Ken Whitehouse, ken.whitehouse@nashvillepost.com

Posted: Thursday, April 9, 2009 8:48 am
Email Print



Longtime WSMV-TV anchor and media icon Dan Miller died Wednesday night of a heart attack at the age of 67 in his hometown of Augusta, Ga.

Miller was in Augusta for the Masters Golf Tournament and was accompanied on the trip by longtime colleagues and friends Rudy Kalis and Terry Bulger. He was apparently walking through his old neighborhood with Kalis when he became short of breath.

Joining WSM-TV in 1969, Miller became one of the giants of Nashville's television personalities and part of the fabric of the city. He left the city, and the station, from 1986 until 1994, first becoming news anchor of KCBS in Los Angeles and then as the announcer and sidekick for Pat Sajak's short-lived late-night national CBS talk show. Sajak, who is host of the popular game show Wheel of Fortune, was a weatherman and radio announcer at WSM in the 1970s.

In addition to his work as anchor, Miller also hosted a Sunday night talk show on WSMV during the '70s and '80s called Miller & Company. The show, which was eventually picked up by the national cable channel TNN, featured Miller at his best, sitting in a restaurant booth casually speaking to guests in his friendly but engaging style.

Perhaps the best remembered episode of that show was one Miller was barely on. It was during the Christmas holiday season in the early '80s and Miller said on air that many families in Nashville didn't have the opportunity to gather around a yule log and talk to each other. Maybe they lived in apartment buildings or homes without a fireplace, he said, so his gift that year to the city was a broadcast of logs burning in a fireplace for the entirety of the show.

NashvillePost.com, The City Paper and the entire SouthComm family of publications extends its deepest sympathies to Miller's family, colleagues and friends at WSMV-News Channel 4, and all those who knew him well.

Shetika

The bionic body 2.0


LONDON, England (CNN) -- If Rob Spence achieves his goal, technology will change his view of the world -- literally. Spence, who lost an eye in a childhood accident, is in the process of installing a tiny camera into his prosthetic eye. He announced his plan last year, and now he's a step closer to fulfilling his aim.



LINK


Lori

Inventor turns cardboard boxes into eco-friendly oven




(CNN) -- When Jon Bohmer sat down with his two little girls for a simple project they could work on together, he didn't realize they'd hit upon a solution to one of the world's biggest problems for just $5: A solar-powered oven.



LINK


Lori

Buy Music Unfettered by Digital Rights Management


Although restrictions are easing, DRM can still be problematic for digital music lovers. Here’s advice on where and how to buy unrestricted tunes for all of your music-toting devices.


LINK


Lori

True/Slant Tests Another Model Of Web Journalism

From the wall Street Journal:


http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123922742849502695.html?mod=djemptech

mariko

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Television Is On Life Support

http://www.hulu.com/watch/66835/the-colbert-report-tue-apr-7-2009

Television Is On Life Support--as shared by Stephen Colbert



I watch The Daily Show and The Colbert Report on www.hulu.com because I only have basic cable.

In the first couple minutes of last night's The Colbert Report, Stephen looks at how 2009 will bring a 20-30% reduction in advertising revenue. Stephen gives suggestions on how TV can recoup some of that revenue by adding pro-social messages in TV shows.

Of course, Stephen puts his "own" twist on everything....so enjoy.

Lisa Wagner-Rappe

News Article: Fox To Make Reality TV Show Out of Company Layoffs

OK.I can confess. I do watch some of the reality shows from time to time. Some are good and are tear jerkers (Extreme Makeover airs on ABC)and some I questioned "why was this reality show made?" (Paris Hilton BFF (MTV), Keeping up with the Kardashains'. When I saw this news article in todays Tennessean, I ask has reality t.v. gone to far?

NEW YORK — The Fox network is making a reality show out of the troubled economy.



An upcoming series titled, ‘‘Someone’s Gotta Go,’’ lets employees of a small business decide which one of their colleagues will be laid off.

Fox says it has no air date yet for the series, which is being developed by the company behind ‘‘Big Brother’’ and ‘‘Deal or No Deal.’’ Each week, a different company lays off an employee.


Fox also wouldn’t reveal the show’s host, which it says is a business consultant who will offer advice to participating companies.

Shetika

Apperance over Content

Since the exit of former view host Rosie O' Donnell, the view's current ratings have sky rocketed with the current addition of Whoppi Goldberg. However, Ms. Goldberg has now obtain criticism becuase of her apperance. The abc overheads has receied phone calls and emails from viewers cause of the way she dresses and her overall apperance in general. She addresses these issues during her hot topics sessions with her cohorts. Her response to the criticism: "Don't judge me on my apperance but listen to my content." My opinion is this, Whoppi has been who she is and what she is for years. In her stand up comedy routines, she makes no qualms about it. I think women in the public eye and media receives more ridicule and backlash based on apperance then men. Donald Trump has been wearing that same tired toupee for years. You don't see network executives at NBC trying to push him off the air :-)

Shetika Watkins

Taiwan's Elan sues Apple over touchscreen patents

From Isabelle

TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan chip designer Elan Microelectronics is suing Apple in the United States for what is says is infringement of two of its touchscreen technology patents by the MacBook, iPhone and iPod Touch.

Elan said in a statement released on Wednesday that it owned the rights to technology that allowed Apple's products to detect the position of the finger on a touchscreen or touchpad.

It said it previously won a similar lawsuit against Synaptics Inc, and would be seeking an injunction to stop the sales of any Apple products that had infringed on its patents.

The company did not say how much in compensation they were seeking.

Apple officials were not immediately available for comment.

At 9:37 p.m. EDT, Elan shares were up 0.9 percent, outperforming the benchmark TAIEX share index's 0.2 percent advance.

Touchscreens have moved into the mainstream of mobile phone technology since they were first popularized by Apple's iPhone, and many other smartphone makers such as Research in Motion have also pushed out their own lines since then.

(Reporting by Roger Tung and Kelvin Soh; Editing by Nick Macfie)

New Phones for 2009

From Isabelle

Go to Boston.com or try the following link:

http://www.boston.com/business/technology/gallery/ctiacellphones/

Tech jobs getting zapped

Posted by: Isabelle Langham

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The tech industry, once one of the hottest sectors for job seekers, is falling victim to dried up spending as the recession takes its toll.

After three years of at least 2.5% employment growth in the United States, tech jobs are forecast to decline by 1.2% this year, according to Forrester Research. They have already fallen by nearly 1% since their November peak, according to the Labor Department. Year to date, 8,000 tech jobs have been slashed, including 4,100 just last month.

"As the economic situation gets worse, more and more companies are getting into trouble, and they're forced to cut [tech] spending," said Arpitha Bykere, jobs analyst for RGE Monitor. "We'd expect to see a growing number of layoffs due to slowing sales at [tech] firms."

Technology spending this year is expected to fall 3.8% worldwide and 1.6% in the United States, according to technology research firm Gartner. That's down significantly from 2008, which saw a 6.1% rise worldwide, and is nearly double the decline that occurred when the tech bubble burst in 2001.

One of the reasons tech spending held up pretty well in 2008 was because of strong demand for just day-to-day needs, said Forrester Research analyst Andrew Bartels. At the same time, job growth was relatively modest, leaving little "fat" to trim as the recession started taking a toll.

As businesses reluctantly began to slash their technology budgets this year, many technology firms and those companies that employ their own tech staff have had no choice but to cut tech-related jobs. That's especially true for hard-hit industries like services and finance, which combine to employ 50% of the nation's technology professionals, according to Forrester.

"Certainly, reduced spending will have an effect on [tech] jobs everywhere," said Ken McGee, a tech analyst for Gartner. "We've already begun to see it with many users and vendors."

Some tech jobs still 'safe'
Not all tech jobs are cut from the same cloth -- they encompass everything from systems managers to computer programmers to "help desk" support staff.

For the most part, those whose work is essential to the daily operations of a business, like systems experts for networks and communication, are expected to have more job security than others, according to Forrester. Very strong demand for communication, e-mail and video conferencing have put experts in those fields in high demand.

0:00 /2:24Cheap gadgets for businesses
"Jobs for systems analysts and network analysts will buck the downward trend and continue to grow in 2009," said Bartels. "The recession will cause a slowdown in job growth, but no downturn."

But those who work in fields that aren't as crucial to the day-to-day business, like research and development or software engineering, are expected to face steeper cuts. Help desk professionals are also expected to be among the first to get handed pink slips, as companies with large-scale layoffs need fewer tech support staff members.

"These roles are a bit of a luxury that both [technology] vendors and [technology] departments can afford in good times, but not so much in bad times," Bartels said.

2010 recovery?
There is a debate among experts about how quickly the sector will recover. Some experts believe the recovery will be slow, as businesses exercise hiring caution even as economic conditions improve.

"The jobs recovery will be very sluggish and prolonged, because companies will continue with their cost-cutting strategy until they are convinced that consumer demand is back to stay," said Bykere

But others say the trend will quickly and rapidly reverse in 2010. They argue that pent-up demand for technology projects will force companies to bring back spending to pre-2009 levels once the recession has ended, because businesses realize how integral technological innovation is to growth.

Furthermore, a recent Obama administration report forecasted the creation of 50,000 new tech jobs by the end of 2010, thanks in large part to economic stimulus package incentives to digitize health records.

Accordingly, Gartner estimates that tech spending will snap back 3.4% in the United States in 2010 and continue to rise through 2013.

"There will be so much pent-up demand in [technology], that the ramp up factor will occur just as fast as the demise," McGee said. "Companies will quickly turn to green-light funding for [technology] during the recovery."

First Published: April 8, 2009: 5:03 AM ET

NImoy screens new Star Trek movie for fans in Austin

Follow this link to a video of Leonard Nimoy addressing a group of fans in Austin TX.. The fans were gathered to watch "The Wrath of Khan" when the film "broke down". Nimoy stepped to the stage, vamped for a bit, and then anounced that he thought it was unfair that Australia should be the place where the new "trek" movie premiered. With that, he produced a copy of the new film.

It's not quite what we were discussing on Saturday about making copies of new movies available before hand, but it is a step towards it.

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/07/geeks-gone-wild-spocks-surprise-appearance-at-star-trek-screening/?em

Ted

'National Post' First North American Paper to Adopt 2D Barcoding

CHICAGO Toronto-headquartered National Post Tuesday said it has become the first North American newspaper to adopt a 2D barcode system that allows readers to scan the printed paper with a mobile device to get updated digital content.


LINK


Here is a video about how 2D barcoding works now



Lori

Google CEO Meets Publishers--and Says 'Entertain Me'



SAN DIEGO Google CEO Eric Schmidt on Tuesday talked up a concept he called "Entertain Me," whereby mobile phones will deliver news and historical information based on precise geographical location, such as which building a user happens to be entering.



LINK

Lori

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Check out this Article!

Check this out and let me know what you think...China's on the move!




http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123914805204099085.html


Cassandra Holdsclaw

Sam Davidson--Social Media and Arts Organizations

Last Friday, I met a guy named Sam Davidson. He ran a booth at the Green Business and Living Summit Expo. I just checked out his blog, and I found a bunch of interesting content about social media.

One of them was the following:

Yesterday, I performed on the stage of the Belcourt Theatre. This Nashville landmark has hosted the top musical acts, screened award-winning films and also served as a home for silent films and the Grand Ole Opry.

So, I have no idea why they let me come talk about social media on that same stage. But they did. And I did.

Here's a video from my talk. I flew through the whys of social media, particularly as it relates to nonprofit arts organizations. In these 15 minutes (that's all I had, so I speak very fast in this video), you'll hear:

A little more about me
About how I cheated on my art appreciation final in college (1:45)
Who Generation Y is (3:15)
How Gen Y acts (5:00)
What the old consumer model is (7:00)
What the new consumer model is (8:30)
How arts organizations can have a new conversation (11:15)
Some reminders before embarking on a social media campaign (12:45)

The video linked to the above is the 2nd blog from the top of the page.... to see it, please click on
http://samdavidson.blogspot.com/

--Sadiqua

Mark Cuban Fined for Twitter Comments


Be careful what you write, remember big brother is always watching!

I guess if you’re as rich as Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, $25,000 really isn’t that much money to lose. If you’re like me or the rest of America it is, and it begins to make me wonder just how responsible we’re all going to be for the comments we make on Twitter, in our status updates on Facebook, or any of the other micro-blogging services out there.



LINK



Lori

Social Journalism: Past, Present, and Future

An excerpt from the above article posted on mashable.com stating the same thing Dr Syb keeps saying about the elimination of the middle man:

"The future of social journalism will be driven by disintermediation, the replacement or removal of middlemen in the supply chain. This has already happened on the revenue side, with Craigslist (Craigslist reviews) and other online resources taking classified ads from newspapers. As the newspaper industry consolidates, and social media matures, journalists will increasingly work as independents, forming transient relationships with multiple publishers. A handful of national brands will survive, and hundreds, perhaps thousands of new microbrands will flourish. The public good will be preserved, and society will be more transparent."


Full article at: http://mashable.com/2009/04/07/social-journalism/

mariko

Google CEO Calls for New Web Journalism

From the Wall Street Journal:


http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123913451096098061.html#mod=testMod

mariko

Last Minute News! ITunes has 3 prices!

I think I read about how this was in the works. I wonder if this will help or hinder sales of digital downloads? Will people wait until new release songs drop to .99 or will they pay the full $1.29? It will be interesting to see if .30 makes a difference.

ITunes goes to 3-tier pricing

Ginger

Confirmed: Fox fires Roger Friedman


This is very interesting in regards to watching bootleg movies.


The weekend-long guessing game over the fate of entertainment blogger Roger Friedman is over: Friedman has parted company with Fox News after a controversial post in which he reviewed a leaked, incomplete version of 20th Century Fox's "X-Men Origins: Wolverine."

LINK


Lori

E-book Idea Was Lit A Long Time Ago




Discovery Communications chairman and founder John Hendricks waited 17 years for the moment when Amazon and Sony would battle for dominance in the world of portable electronic book readers. That's how long ago Hendricks filed for a patent on what he called the Everybook, which now appears to be quite similar to the Amazon Kindle and the Sony Reader. Now Discovery has sued Amazon, alleging patent infringement.



LINK



Lori

Authors Pictures needed to sell books

I don't know if this link will work, but I am hoping that you will be able to follow it and listen to this story. NPR did a story about the need for authors pictures to present the author of a book in an attractive light in order to sell more books. So much for content.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=102821440

Segway and GM develop two-wheeled city vehicle



Is this the answer to their prayers??


New York (NY) – Segway and General Motors (GM) describe it as Project PUMA, but there is really other way to describe this device as a Segway scooter with two seats and a roof. It is just a prototype at this time, but if this vehicle becomes a reality it may not only give GM better cards when dealing with the government and its bailout, but also make us rethink how we get around town.


LINK


Lori

The "Free"-mium Model of the Video Professor

"Long Tail rule: Understand the power of free"

If any of you have seen the commercials for the video professer, he has got the power of free almost perfected. He must be doing something right because these commercials have been on for while. This morning I saw his latest installment of free software. It is interesting that he even says in the commercial, I'm giving you this software for free because after you try it I know you will want to buy my other products. This is a great example of getting people in the door with a free product with the hope they will spend money later. A lot of the concepts we read about in all of our books could be applied to the Video Professor business model; diffusion and adoption, marketing to the long tail customers, and giving people access to free products.



Ginger

Monday, April 6, 2009

iTunes to Sell You Your Home Videos for $1.99 Each

The Onion posted this spoof story:

Cupertino, CA -- Apple Computer, producer of the successful iPod MP3 player, is now offering consumers limited rights to buy their own home movies from the media store iTunes for $1.99 each.

On a more serious note, it made me think of what we talked about in class regarding having ownership of your own things -- including DNA.  Maybe the future is paying for "online storage" ...de-cluttering our computers and being able to go to one place for all our family memories.  

http://www.theonion.com/content/news/itunes_to_sell_your_home_videos

-- Sadiqua

I Heart Zappos!

So I loved the story the guy told in Lori's post about the woman's shoe returnto Zappo's so I had to find the blog she wrote and post it!

Angela Branch

http://www.zazlamarr.com/blog/?p=240

Futuristic communication on the rise!

I wonder is are they referring to the commercial where the mom is talking to her son from the HUB!

Angela Branch


http://www.technewsworld.com/story/mobile-tech/66738.html


Higher Education Reauthorization Act

This came up in class on Saturday, about how schools are now required to take all credits from institutions regardless of accreditation. I looked more into the specifics and here is a brief summary:

"Student achievement: The act reflects the essential historic distinction and collaborative relationship between institutional standards and accreditation standards regarding student achievement. An institution sets its own specific standards and measures consistent with its mission and within the larger framework of the accreditation standards. In consultation with institutions, accreditors set common standards that are used to review all of the institutions they accredit."

Basically, as Dr. Syb pointed out, it puts the responsibility back on the school to determine the academic nature of the course and whether to give credit. The act dictates that schools are required to review all credits that a student has taken. So, before when a school would not even look at a transcript because the institution was not accredited, now it is required to accept and review all transcripts. The question becomes, does doing this lower the standards of higher ranking schools that pride themselves on academic responsibility?

Ginger

A Hospital Is Offering Digital Records


Online personal health records — controlled by patients themselves, not by hospitals, doctors, insurers or employers — have been available for years. Yet only a small percentage of Americans have digital personal health records today, analysts estimate.


NY TIMES LINK


Lori

The Decline of Newspaper Revenue and the Promise of the Human Network

From Twitter's themediaisdying:


http://www.briansolis.com/2009/04/decline-of-newspaper-revenue-and.html

mariko

How Twitter Was Born

From Twitter Tips:


http://www.140characters.com/2009/01/30/how-twitter-was-born/

mariko

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Why Zappos Pays New Employees to Quit--And You Should Too





Lori

My Summer Reading List--APPROVAL PLEASE! :)

I've been 1/2 joking with Sadiqua about a summer class called "Self-Directed Reading"--about how we would pay $2400 to Belmont to have an instructor direct us to self-direct our reading. haha, right? So, I decided to put together my OWN self-directed summer reading list and save $2400! Please approve my summer reading list, okay? :)

The following I posted to my Facebook page and then decided to share with the rest of you.....

I have so many books sitting on my shelf that still have not been read. I vow to start tackling this project starting now. I recently read 4 major books in just a few weeks (yes, a class requirement--but it felt SO GOOD).

The four books that have jump-started this endeavor:

Diffusion of Innovations by Everett M. Rogers
The Longer Long Tail by Chris Anderson
The Age of Access by Jeremy Rifkin
The Contrarian's Guide to Leadership by Steven B. Sample

This is my summer of 2009 reading list:

The World Is Flat by Thomas L. Friedman
The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
Strength To Love by Martin Luther King, Jr.
Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrehreich
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson
Banker to the Poor by Muhammad Yunus
Buddhism for Beginners by Thubten Chodron
The Power of Unreasonable People by John Elkington
Organic, Inc. by Samuel Fromartz
Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert
The Continuum Concept by Jean Liedloff

(this last one is definitely begging to be read! I subscribe to email newsletters from flowidealism.org and one email a few months ago was reflecting on a this book, The Continuum Concept, which was written in 1975! The VERY NEXT DAY I was in Goodwill (because I love to shop for books there!) and I came across it! Destiny, right? Dying to be read!

WOW. What a list! But there are still SO many more collecting dust on my bookshelf! Maybe I should start a blog to reflect on each book....? We'll see about that one!


Posted by Lisa Wagner-Rappe