A relatively interesting topic as it bring up drones. I like drones, I think they are cool, seeing them fly around and do their business. But now there seems to be a new use for them and it's an idea from Amazon. Right now they are promoting their service, Amazon Prime Air, which is basically a Amazon Drone that delivers your order in about 30 minutes. I think that this is a very interesting idea and can't wait for it to actually take effect.
However, there are regulations that Amazon faces such as air traffic and safety. There are laws already in place about drones and that people need licences to fly drones. Other problems that came up include robbery of either the package after delivery or the drone itself. There is also a weight restriction and Amazon estimates that the drone can deliver items under 30 pounds.
All in all I think that this is a great idea and again, can't wait for it to take effect. Having things come to you in a matter of minutes is really a great thing and actually quite convenient for people the only problems that I can really see is the drone limit, as in how many of them will be limited to be flying in the sky. Not only can it be a hazard, but it can either be A. Somewhat noisy, depending on the drone, or B. distracting for some people. I mean, who wouldn't want to see a drone flying around a city delivering packages? Right now, it could easily be all the hype, but I can see it eventually being similar to seeing a UPS truck drive by.
Tuesday, December 15, 2015
Dot.com Dot.bomb
Quite an interesting topic I would say is the Dot.com and Dot.bomb. During the early stages of the web, which is much different than the one we know today, many people began to see the many uses of the web and more importantly, how to make a profit off of it. Many companies and people began websites to aid them in their profits whether personal or for the company they worked for. This was the Dot.com stage, where many people started using the web. A lot of companies thrived during this time, and we still see many today such as E-Bay.
A lot of these websites however were of companies and such that did not even existed, but even so, they earn profit off their websites due to the traffic going into their server(s). However just as quick as the Dot.com stage came by, the Dot.bomb stage came just as quick.
In this stage, many people stopped believing in that people would not many money from e-commerce from the web and therefore, stocks crashed for many companies, even the major ones like Amazon. This caused many companies to go out of business or lose a lot of profit due to this problem.
I think it's interesting how things have turned quite quickly. From companies thriving due to the web to them starting to fail due to the stock market crashing and the questionable thought about making profit from e-commerce on the web.
A lot of these websites however were of companies and such that did not even existed, but even so, they earn profit off their websites due to the traffic going into their server(s). However just as quick as the Dot.com stage came by, the Dot.bomb stage came just as quick.
In this stage, many people stopped believing in that people would not many money from e-commerce from the web and therefore, stocks crashed for many companies, even the major ones like Amazon. This caused many companies to go out of business or lose a lot of profit due to this problem.
I think it's interesting how things have turned quite quickly. From companies thriving due to the web to them starting to fail due to the stock market crashing and the questionable thought about making profit from e-commerce on the web.
What makes a community and does technology provide?
A community can be described in many ways. But to me, a community is a group of people that come together to engage in conversation whether for a goal or just for fun. Communities can form quite abruptly whether it is a new class gathering for the first time or a group of people joining together because they share the same interests.
But does technology provide? As in, does technology allow us to create communities and maintain them as how we would without it? I believe that it does. My reasoning behind this is simple. As a community can be a group of people joining together sharing interests, a perfect example would be those who enjoy video games, or enjoy art, even reading. Social Media for example, creates communities as it can help bring people together for idle chatter or for something of great excitement or importance. Another example would be Reddit. Reddit has many people using their message boards that are all part of a Sub-Reddit. These are all communities. Like a "general" community, they all allow people to come together and engage in conversation.While the Reddit community is large, it can be broken down into smaller communities such as the Sub-Reddit's have done; allowing you to be engaged in a particular area of interest, whether it be food, music or something completely random and made up.
There are many different communities and many do exist on the web. So again, to answer the question, does technology provide for communities? Yes it surely does.
But does technology provide? As in, does technology allow us to create communities and maintain them as how we would without it? I believe that it does. My reasoning behind this is simple. As a community can be a group of people joining together sharing interests, a perfect example would be those who enjoy video games, or enjoy art, even reading. Social Media for example, creates communities as it can help bring people together for idle chatter or for something of great excitement or importance. Another example would be Reddit. Reddit has many people using their message boards that are all part of a Sub-Reddit. These are all communities. Like a "general" community, they all allow people to come together and engage in conversation.While the Reddit community is large, it can be broken down into smaller communities such as the Sub-Reddit's have done; allowing you to be engaged in a particular area of interest, whether it be food, music or something completely random and made up.
There are many different communities and many do exist on the web. So again, to answer the question, does technology provide for communities? Yes it surely does.
Convergance
During the start of the World Wide Web (WWW), many people began to see and use the web as it allowed people to do many things, however, much more limited to what we can do with the web today. As the web was growing, many people saw ways to earn more money or revenue for their companies, whether big or small, or for their own profits. This occurred around 1995, where people began to wake up to the web and really began to adopt it.
The web offered services that improved lives, and made things easier to do. For example, disintermediation plays well into effect here as it removed the "middle" man in what you were trying to accomplish. For authors, this is a good thing as through the web, Amazon erupted which eventually allowed people to self-publish their own books and doing so, removed editors and publishers from keeping their books from being published or going through numerous revisions. As a benefit, there are also it's problems such as not having an editor and publisher means that the quality of work may not be as well done. However, many self-published authors have become well known and some even surpassed the number of books sold against a famous author who went the traditional route.
During this time, a lot of companies rose from the web. As many fell, there were also many that we know today that have survived and thrived. Today, the web is a wonderful resource used by many and there is no telling what will happen to it in the near future.
The web offered services that improved lives, and made things easier to do. For example, disintermediation plays well into effect here as it removed the "middle" man in what you were trying to accomplish. For authors, this is a good thing as through the web, Amazon erupted which eventually allowed people to self-publish their own books and doing so, removed editors and publishers from keeping their books from being published or going through numerous revisions. As a benefit, there are also it's problems such as not having an editor and publisher means that the quality of work may not be as well done. However, many self-published authors have become well known and some even surpassed the number of books sold against a famous author who went the traditional route.
During this time, a lot of companies rose from the web. As many fell, there were also many that we know today that have survived and thrived. Today, the web is a wonderful resource used by many and there is no telling what will happen to it in the near future.
Thursday, November 19, 2015
Erik Hanburg - Guest Speaker
Erik Hanburg was the guest speaker in my technology class today and I will say that he is an interesting person. He talked about how technology is changing how we as people are doing thing, and it is actually for the better. What he also went on to talk about was how authors are able to write and self-publish their own books thanks to the technology or more like the internet; or more specifically due to Amazon.
He says because of Amazon, along with their release of the Kindle and their self-publishing service, he and other authors are able to have their own books put up on the Kindle and Amazon itself, in which the Kindle is still Amazon I guess, and earn profit that why. This way, they ignore the whole traditional process of getting an editor and publisher to get the book released. Amazon will also print books to those who purchase them that want a hard copy, though the service fee is increased more due to printing.
This is also known as Disintermediation, or removing the "middle man" to bring your product or in this case, book, into the market. I will say that this method is actually very interesting and can help authors who don't what to have and editor and publisher, or do the whole traditional way of publishing a book. Using this method, writers who are successful can sell and earn as much as more renowned authors, and in my opinion is pretty amazing.
He says because of Amazon, along with their release of the Kindle and their self-publishing service, he and other authors are able to have their own books put up on the Kindle and Amazon itself, in which the Kindle is still Amazon I guess, and earn profit that why. This way, they ignore the whole traditional process of getting an editor and publisher to get the book released. Amazon will also print books to those who purchase them that want a hard copy, though the service fee is increased more due to printing.
This is also known as Disintermediation, or removing the "middle man" to bring your product or in this case, book, into the market. I will say that this method is actually very interesting and can help authors who don't what to have and editor and publisher, or do the whole traditional way of publishing a book. Using this method, writers who are successful can sell and earn as much as more renowned authors, and in my opinion is pretty amazing.
Thursday, November 12, 2015
What three things would you refuse to buy online?
Today, everything can be bought online at a moments notice. If you want something, you can go on the internet and buy it. But there was a question that was brought up that quite interests me, and among others, it is very debatable. The question is, What three things would you refuse to buy online? Now this is asking just buying online, no going to view the item or thing in person. Here are my three things that I would not buy online.
The first thing I would not buy online is a house. Like, a actual house that you would live in. This is because I like to see the things that I am buying, especially something as large scale as a house. You see, I need to be able to know how big the house really is because the photos that are provided on the internet may be shot in a way that makes the house look smaller, or bigger than it actually is. Also the condition of the house and location of where it is is also important.
The second thing I would not buy is food. I mean this may very much change in the near future, but at the moment, I can't see myself ordering food online to be delivered to my doorstep. I can't really give a good reason for it, but I'll just say it's a bit strange for me and I like going to the grocery store sometimes.
The third thing I would not buy would be anything that is very fragile. I just don't like having things handed to me that is fragile. I have a small problem or breaking fragile things even from touching it wrong, like holding a glass cup the wrong way or when I'm washing them. I just like to avoid very fragile things as much as I can. Of course, this problem comes from my experiences of breaking glass cups when washing them, and dislike washing them now. However, there are a few in my household that just can't stop drinking out of glass cups, so I'm stuck with washing them from time to time. This is more of a personal issue that goes towards something that I would not like to buy online.
The first thing I would not buy online is a house. Like, a actual house that you would live in. This is because I like to see the things that I am buying, especially something as large scale as a house. You see, I need to be able to know how big the house really is because the photos that are provided on the internet may be shot in a way that makes the house look smaller, or bigger than it actually is. Also the condition of the house and location of where it is is also important.
The second thing I would not buy is food. I mean this may very much change in the near future, but at the moment, I can't see myself ordering food online to be delivered to my doorstep. I can't really give a good reason for it, but I'll just say it's a bit strange for me and I like going to the grocery store sometimes.
The third thing I would not buy would be anything that is very fragile. I just don't like having things handed to me that is fragile. I have a small problem or breaking fragile things even from touching it wrong, like holding a glass cup the wrong way or when I'm washing them. I just like to avoid very fragile things as much as I can. Of course, this problem comes from my experiences of breaking glass cups when washing them, and dislike washing them now. However, there are a few in my household that just can't stop drinking out of glass cups, so I'm stuck with washing them from time to time. This is more of a personal issue that goes towards something that I would not like to buy online.
Tuesday, November 3, 2015
Online Scavenger Hunt
So I've recently done an online scavenger hunt and I've got to say, it is very interesting. Interesting meaning how much you can find on the internet nowadays compared to how you would find things before the internet. Things can be found relatively easy using the internet, especially if you are given clues or have an idea of what to look for and where to find it.
I was given a list of things to look for on the internet and though it did take me a while, I managed to find all the items on the list. I cannot go over the contents of the list as I forgot most of the things on it, but one item included finding a tourist attraction site for the city of Tacoma, WA without it being published in Washington State itself. Now, that's quite hard to do, especially since Tacoma isn't a huge city or has attractions like Seattle does. Me and my team did manage to find a site that had what we were looking for and it was from the state of Texas.
It's pretty amazing what information you can find on the web these days, and to make things worse, what personal information you can find about yourself and others on the web. I personally think it's a little creepy, but when you are active around the area or on the web, things about you are bound to pop up.
I was given a list of things to look for on the internet and though it did take me a while, I managed to find all the items on the list. I cannot go over the contents of the list as I forgot most of the things on it, but one item included finding a tourist attraction site for the city of Tacoma, WA without it being published in Washington State itself. Now, that's quite hard to do, especially since Tacoma isn't a huge city or has attractions like Seattle does. Me and my team did manage to find a site that had what we were looking for and it was from the state of Texas.
It's pretty amazing what information you can find on the web these days, and to make things worse, what personal information you can find about yourself and others on the web. I personally think it's a little creepy, but when you are active around the area or on the web, things about you are bound to pop up.
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