Course Reflection

Over the course of this quarter, I feel like I really had my eyes open to a lot of things that I might not have otherwise. I like computers and the internet as much as the next guy (or maybe a little less), so I never really took the time to actually sit down and think hard about all of these new technologies – blogs, podcasts, etc. and the impact they are creating. That is what I feel is the most important thing that I learned – just how much these technologies that make up “Web 2.0″ are going to be playing a role in our future. One of the things that stands out the most to me is how big of a role blogs are going to be playing in the upcoming presidential race – candidates are realizing how important these new technologies are going to be, exactly like I did over the quarter.

One segment of the class that I found very interesting, as I alluded to in the previous paragraph, is the impact that new media technologies are having on politics. I would have really enjoyed if there was more time in the quarter given to discussion of this topic. We discussed it for a couple days and briefly talked about it on other days throughout the course, but I feel like there is really a lot of information to go over in this area, and most of it is very interesting. There are so many new technologies that are completely changing the face of politics – blogs, podcasts, sites like youtube, etc. I really wish we had more time to go in depth on these topics.

There was no topic that was notably uninteresting to me over the course of the quarter. The only thing that I can really think of that I felt we could have done without was the newspaper inventory assignment. I feel like I did not really learn a ton from it, I just got a general idea of the amount of newspapers offering blogs. That assignment is probably the only thing I would really say that was pretty uninteresting to me.

Presentation Reflection & PPT File

My powerpoint on the adoption of satellite radio can be found here.

I really feel like my presentation went well.  People seemed to be interested in learning about satellite radio and how many people are thinking about adopting it as a new form of media.  I was surprised to find out that a couple of the people who listened to my presentation did not even really know what satellite radio was, which is odd because I thought that it had become a fairly big part of mass  media, especially recently.  The discussion questions really seemed to spark some good discussion between the people who I was presenting to.  Nobody said that they were very interested in subscribing to satellite radio anytime soon.  This was not terribly surprising to me, because they favored music from ipods and things along those lines over the radio anyways.  All in all, I feel that the presentation went really well and I’m glad I was able to teach people about this new form of media.

VoIP investigation!

In this investigation of VoIP services, the first service that I looked at was Vonage.  I selected a plan that allowed me unlimited minutes every month, and only cost $24.99.  This deal also gave me one free month of service, as well as free calls to select European countries, which was not included in the other plan.  I was pleased to discover that my number was allowed to be transferred, so that I would not have to get a brand new number if I chose to go with Vonage.  The equipment that I would need would cost $49.99, but there was an instant rebate being offered so it ended up being free!  After finding all of this out, it was time to look at the service plans offered by speakeasy.

Upon looking at the availability of speakeasy’s VoIP services, I found that my address is not yet covered by their service, and hence I could not use them for VoIP services (yet).  This shows that vonage does not really have any competition yet, at least in my neck of the woods.

This exercise was pretty easy, the websites were designed well for anyone to use fairly intuitively.  However, no matter how nice these websites are, it still hasn’t persuaded me to want these services yet.  I still feel like my cell phone is more than enough for my phone needs right now.  I do not need to call to Europe or anything along those lines, so until that need arises (or the prices drop considerably) I don’ t think I’ll be looking into these services too seriously.

Reading Response 8

Before reading this article, I had heard about VoIP, but had never really had any clear idea of what it was or how it worked. Now I feel like I have a grip on what VoIP entails, how it works, as well as the implications it holds for forms of communication that are already in existence – cable, telephone networks, etc.

VoIP has some really cool things working in its favor. Perhaps the most obvious is that there are ways that you are able to make phone calls for free, provided you know how. That is easily one of the biggest upsides to VoIP. Another advantage is how it uses a lot less resources than the current system of telephone networks.

At the same time, VoIP has some major disadvantages that also need to be taken into account. First, and perhaps most obviously, you need to be around your computer/laptop to use it in that manner. Aside from just needing to be around the computer, what would happen in a power outage? No computer means no VoIP. Also, as the article mentions, just like anything running on a computer, it would be susceptible to virus and other computer-related woes.

I feel that at this point in time at least, VoIP is not really posing much of a threat to already established communications technologies like cable and telephone networks. This is because if you look at the conveniences that cellular phones and cable have provided us, the convenience that VoIP provides pales in comparison. Sure, it might be free, but you can carry a cellphone with you anywhere you go. I feel that VoIP will continue to grow and evolve as a technology, and it might possibly end up replacing landlines somewhere down the line, but as of now, I really don’t think it is much of a threat to existing technologies.

Questions:

1.) How do you feel about adopting VoIP?

2.) Will VoIP ever pose a threat to cellphones, which seem to be the dominant form of telephony now?

Reading Response 7

This article was a real eye opener for me.  Having had the internet at my fingertips for so long, you sort of get to the point where you don’t think about the fact that not everybody has internet access, let alone the high-speed access that we are used to enjoying.  This is a little odd because we tend to think of the internet as a completely public space, where anyone and everyone is able to share their views with anyone who is willing to listen.  This is why accessibility should be such a big priority.

The internet truly is one of the greatest public spaces that we have available today.  Gone are the days of public town halls and forums, where any member of a community could go to speak their mind, and the internet is really what has filled the void left by those things.  And that is precisely why accessibility standards need to be improved.  This article has shown that steps are already being taken, and have already shown some great results around the world.  I feel that this should be a big priority, especially with the presidential race just around the corner, this is the sort of issue that should be on people’s minds.

Without continuing to improve accessibilty standards, more and more people will just be left in the dust as the internet just continues to evolve and become even more of an integral part of modern life.  If these standards aren’t addressed quickly, we risk the possibility of these people perhaps being left behind for even longer, as the technologies will possibly become even more hard to adapt to for people who have no starting point.  This article has even shown how this sort of undertaking is financially and technologically feasible, so the only real question left is what are we waiting for?

Questions:

1.)Do you think that enough attention is being paid to this issue from a political standpoint? Should more politicians be addressing it?

2.) Do you feel that the longer people go without having internet the harder it will be for them to adapt to having it in the future?

Thoughts on the Newspaper

To me, the biggest point that I took away from the newspaper inventory assignment was what does and does not work in terms of website organization.  There were some sites that had me running in circles, using crummy search functions, and generally pulling out my hair trying to figure out where I could find the information I was looking for.  The problem is that these sorts of things should be easily found on the front page!  I shouldn’t have to click through 3 pages in order to find out where the forums are located.  However, from the newspapers that were arranged in a more user friendly manner, I learned a couple other things that I was not aware of beforehand.  I had no idea just how many newspapers had implemented blog features, nor of the sheer numbers of blogs that most newspapers seemed to have.  It was nice to see that newspapers are not idly sitting by while the internet takes much of their market share, they are doing everything they can to stay relevant.

Podcast Update

Things for my podcast are going great.  I have done some research, and started the outlining process to try to lay out what I will be discussing.  I have also started finding the media clips I will be using in my podcast – getting soundfiles, and uploading cds to my iTunes library so they will be ready when it comes time to start putting these things together.  The next step is going to be fleshing out the outline into a bit more of a script, so I will know exactly where I want to go with what I am saying, allowing me to start practicing.

Reading Response 6

Upon reading these articles, it was made very clear just how much of an impact internet technology has made upon politics.  The article that really made this stand out to me was written by our very own teacher – Kathy Gill.  By analyzing the accessibility and ease of use of Bush and Kerry’s website, it really made me realize just how savvy political campaigns need to be these days when it comes to the internet.   Things have really shifted, and the internet is now often viewed as the best place for finding information, and so if a campaign’s site is hard to navigate, or suffers from technical errors, many people will be deterred from further exploring the site to find the information they need.

What is so interesting about this is that internet technology has only recently, within probably the last past 10-15 years, become important for political campaigns.  Before that, people would just depend on campaign literature, voter guides, etc. to help them make their political decisions.  I agree wholeheartedly with what Kathy seemed to be getting at in this article – that it is extremely important for political campaigns to have the most user-friendly websites they can possibly design.

The other article seemed to have the same idea, although presented in a different way – it also made very clear how necessary the internet has become in political campaigns in this day and age.   This was seen just recently as many candidates who are eyeing the 2008 presidential spot released their intentions of candidacy online via videos on their websites.  I have a feeling that this sort of trend will only continue to grow, as the internet is already one of the biggest mediums for campaigning.

Questions:

1.) How else do you think that the internet might change the face of politics in the future?

2.)What new internet innovations do you think might play a big role in the upcoming presidential race that might not have been around for the last race?

Reading Response 5

These readings were really interesting because they were some of the first readings that really went all out in comparing the clash of new media and old media systems that is occurring right now.  Blogs and podcasts really do seem to be the “wave of the future” when it comes to getting news and opinions.  Just as we have seen media systems undergo many evolutions over time, leading us to where we were just 10 years ago – newspapers and radio being two of the primary sources for news information – they are undergoing yet another transformation.  While I would be hesitant to say that blogs will completely replace newspapers and the news systems we have today, I see them as continuing to act as a supplementary source to newspapers, much as they are now, but I feel that role will continue to grow bigger and bigger especially as newspapers begin to move online more and more.  Dan Gillmor seems to be taking a stance that is similar – he compares (somewhat indirectly) bloggers of today to voices like that of Thomas Paine’s (writer of the Common Sense pamphlets).  They are all people who had a strong opinion to express and chose to express it via an alternative route, outside of newspapers and major puiblications.  In much the same way that Paine influenced large numbers of people in his time, bloggers are influencing the opinions today by voicing their opinion to whoever will listen.

Questions:

1.) Do you think blogs will continue to grow in influence as more newspapers begin to move online?

2.) Do you think that podcasts will ever overtake broadcast radio in terms of popularity?

Reading Response 4

The one point that stuck with me most from these two readings is how rapidly the marketplace is changing, due in large part to the explosion of opportunities afforded us by the internet and other digital mediums. The first reading really laid out a sort of ultimatum for corporations, urging them to start focusing more on the people who will be using their goods, and stop seeing them as statistics or just consumers. It set forth 95 points for businesses to change their business models, most of which focused upon just how inhuman and mechanical the communication that corporations provide to their consumers is. This point really struck a chord with me because I can’t even count the number of times I have been frustrated by being on hold on the phone listening to some bullshit line about how much the company cares about my business. One of the 95 points that really stood out to me was “ We want you to take 50 million of us as seriously as you take one reporter from The Wall Street Journal.” To me that sums up the biggest point in this article – we are the people who are buying your products – we deserve more respect.

The second article was about how we as a culture are moving away from being focused solely on hits in terms of films, music, books etc. and how business models are changing alongside that. I found it really interesting how they analyzed businesses like iTunes and Netflix and gave statistics showing how much of their business comes from big hits, and how much comes from smaller films, songs from artist’s back catalogues, etc. I think that it is really cool how these sort of businesses are allowing people to dig past the top 40 hits and really find the good stuff. What is even cooler to me is that they have found a way to make money off of doing it.

I think that it is time that people studying communications began to take a closer look at the open-source software movement. This is because as we found in the readings people are beginning to get sick of big businesses and mainstream companies telling them what to consume, how to consume it and when it should be consumed. The open source software movement is offering an alternative to this, allowing people to more or less call their own shots, and learn how to better the system not by talking with the companies, but by talking with other open source users.

Discussion questions:

1.) Do you think that as businesses such as iTunes continue to grow, society will eventually move away from the “top 40″ culture that we have been living in for so long?

2.) With the rise of more consumer-centered business models, do you think that it will begin to force more and more business to switch to this model in order to compete?