Final Thoughts

This will be my last post on this Baker Blog, so I'd like to close with a few final thoughts (or "ahas") based on the last week of class and the final presentations I've enjoyed viewing from my colleagues and peers.

1. The idea of digital privacy is practically an oxymoron. To think that one might experience true privacy in a digital world is sort of like imagining a retail store in which theft cannot occur. This is simply unrealistic. Instead, we can use the available tools, such as virtual credit card numbers, secure websites, and unique password verification systems that challenge hackers and might deter them from attempting to steal our information. It will be less feasible as time progresses to prevent corporations from accessing our personal information, though.

2. There is such a thing as being "too connected." People need to get outside periodically! Turn off the devices! Kids need to be kids, not just beings glued to screens in one form or another. Cyberbullying is a side-effect of this, so parents, be proactive. Bring back family game night (remember board games?). Eat dinner together. Toss around the football outside. Technology is awesome, but it's OK to disconnect occasionally.

3. Cloud Computing is serious stuff. The idea of cloud computing isn't exactly new; before it was reality, it was the stuff of science fiction for many years. But there's something sort of scary about my documents not residing somewhere physically... Although I use the term "physically" loosely, of course, since ones and zeros aren't really physical. What I mean is that if cloud computing becomes the rule rather than the exception, we are placing our personal data in the hands of LITERALLY everyone who has access to the web and therefore can potentially damage it. They made a movie about this called TERMINATOR. Perhaps you've seen it?

4. User-generated content is taking over the web. The internet used to be dominated by commercial content...and PORN... but that's commercial content, too, ahem... Anyway, the spectrum has been shifting toward user-generated content with websites like YouTube and Facebook popping up all over the place. With users numbering over half a BILLION, Facebook users post tons of photos and videos daily. Youtube streams hundreds of TERAbytes (not mega-, not giga-, but terabytes) of videos daily. Blogs are becoming increasingly simple to create. The trend is for anyone to have a voice and share their lives with the rest of the world online. This will likely continue.

5. This is only the beginning. We've just entered the 21st century. The potential for the digital world is only just now starting to emerge. Look to science fiction movies to get an idea of where we're heading. The movie Minority Report shows us what computing will probably look like. The "high-speed internet" of today will likely be laughable in 20 years. Clunky PCs will cease to exist. Handheld devices will be even more functional than they are today. Be prepared to adapt.

Thanks to everyone who has been reading my rants and raves each week. And special thanks to those of you who clicked on the PORN link above. Thanks for trusting me to send you somewhere entertaining rather than somewhere inappropriate. I hoped you've enjoyed my attempts to walk that fine line for the past several weeks, and I thank you for staying with me during this experiment of a blog.

Best wishes, and Happy Holidays!

Mike

YouTube Symphony Orchestra

OK, so I know many of you have already heard of this, but if you haven't, be prepared to be amazed. And yes, the video is an hour long (and that's just Act 1), but you don't have to watch the entire video to understand the incredible global connection that was made entirely via YouTube and culminated last year in Carnegie Hall. They are doing this again for 2010-2011 in Sydney, Australia at the Opera House. If you appreciate symphonic music, have a listen. You'll enjoy, I promise.

Internet TV

My sister works in the television technology sector and has told me a little bit about where things are going. This is a short video about the future, and not years from now, but just around the corner.



The future of the internet will also change how we view television. We can already record television shows and pull up movies through our gaming systems. You see advertisements for tools which allow you to utilize your television as one big computer screen. My husband can already turn our lights on and off from his computer when we are out of town on vacation. Commercials showing phones that can help you find your car and doing numerous other things that we could only hope would be possible a few years ago are being shown daily.

Who knows maybe in a few years your microwave will also be the television screen in your kitchen.

Final Aha

This has definitely been a class where I can utilize what I have learned immediately in my daily life. I have gained a better understanding of where we have come in regards to internet technology and can only imaging what the future will hold. Here is one idea.



10/GUI from C. Miller on Vimeo.

It reminds me of some of the technology one might see if they were watching CSI or NCIS. Touch screens where you use your hands and not a mouse or a keyboard. Eventually being able to talk to the computer and the computer understanding exactly what you are asking or instructing it to do.

The future is in the dreams of the next generation. Who would have thought we would have Facebook, Twitter, or any of the other numerous applications. Using a cellphone for more than just making calls.

I know one of the technologies I am enjoying the most and looking forward to where the technology might go is Skype. The ability to talk to my sister in Iraq or my brother as he makes his way to Iraq is a priceless tool. The thought that my brother can continue to communicate with his two young sons while he is serving our country is even more wonderful.

Final Aha

I am coming away from this class with a strong desire to learn more about the changing technology. Blogging, Tweeting and other social media avenues are very quickly taking over our culture. As a business owner, I think I need to make sure I stay on top of this change. I just told my husband that we need to reconsider our marketing plan for 2011. We have traditionally been on television, radio and print. This year I added a Facebook page but that is really the only "online" advertising we have done. I think I need to look more at Google and ways to advertise online. It is somewhat intimidating but also exciting.

I'm also considering starting a blog. My entire work history has been in the customer service field in retail or restaurants. I get so aggravated when I get poor customer service somewhere and it is primarily because of a lack of training. There are so many businesses that just don't place customer service as a priority. With the changing digital world, it is going to be extremely important for companies to be very good at customer service because customers have so many more options. I think an anonymous blog about this topic would be fun. Sort of like the restaurant critic that used to be in the paper. We'll see.

I also am going to stay more involved in what my kids are doing online. This class has taught me alot about online security and made me put my guard up.

National UnFriend Day Featuring Dr. Oz

I thought this was interesting. In my research for the final project I looked at a lot of studies and journal publications for the Psychology of Cyberspace and Social Networking. Several things I read talked about the "friend" issue with Facebook. One study said that people had seven friends regardless of whether they had 500 on Facebook. Yesterday I checked my Facebook page and saw this posting from one of my "friends". This is not a person I talk to on a regular basis and really don't care to be friends with her. Everything she posts is negative. She posted a negative comment about what the Governor-elect's wife was wearing on election night and yesterday she posted a negative comment about the poor service she received at a certain alteration place and named it specifically. That to me is just wrong. I realized as I read this that every time I see her postings it makes me angry. So why is she my friend on Facebook? Today I deleted her. Facebook should be a place to stay better connected with good friends that have moved away, family that doesn't live close etc. It should not be a place for negative comments about other people. I have 186 "friends" and I've decided that after this class I'm either going to "de-friend" a lot of them or get off of Facebook all together. Maybe a blog or a personal website that is secure to my family and close friends would be a better option to keep my family updated on my kids and what is going on in our lives. Food for thought.