the facebook effect (part 2) (p107-214)

As the book continues, the idea of being intriguing fades pretty fast for me with every page. I really don't care about Zuckerberg, but once it started talking about how he got into the start of the actual business as an entity, it got a little more readable. It was kind of interesting to read the development of a website created by a Harvard nerd and how he turned it into a bazillion (est.) dollar company. Within chapters 5-11, I felt the story  getting a little bit more intimate wit facebook users from other people's perspectives.

However, I did enjoy seeing the "now" pieces of Facebook falling in place throughout the book like in Chapter 9. Zuckerberg discusses the news feed and its impact in the 2006 chapter. "It's not a new feature, it's a major product revolution." (p. 182). Also, the fact that Zuckerberg really didn't want to sell the company unless he heard a bid for 1 billion dollars was really interesting and something to think about. He had, in his own mind, already figured this site would generate an enormous amount of attention and revenue. To pick 1 billion dollars as a starting bid for considering to sell the site was extremely smart on his part. He knew the potential this site had, and today we can see the impact it has over many of our lives.

Ben Parr, who launched "Students Against Facebook news feed" had a great quote which I would say sums up what most of Facebook users think. "We are more comfortable sharing our lives and thoughts instantly to thousands of people, close friends and strangers alike. The development of new technology and the rocking of the boat by Zuckerberg has led to this change.... News Feed truly launched a revolution that requires us to stand back to appreciate. Privacy has not disappeared, but become even easier to control - what I want to share, I can share with everyone. What I want to keep private stays in my head."(p. 214).

I went from not liking this book very much to becoming a little bit more interested in it because of the perspectives of others outside of the company. Hopefully, the last section is worthwhile.

the facebook effect (part 1)

Kirkpatrick's The Facebook Effect already sounded more promising than the rest of the readings in my opinion. I only feel that way because it's the most current topic circulating my life at least. Of course, the story of Mark Zuckerberg's vagillion dollar website begins the book. I haven't seen the movie so I can't compare the book to "The Social Network."

I never knew about Facemash (p. 23) and how this was sort of a precursor to the ever popular social media website controlling how we live our lives. "He didn't ask permission before proceeding. It's not that he sets out to break the rules; he just doesn't pay much attention to them." (p. 24). I feel that Kirkpatrick paints Zuckerberg fairly throughout the book. Zuckerberg is portrayed as a rebel of the internet, or at least Harvard.

I honestly thought the book was going to be some psychosocial analysis of how Facebook users are affected by immersing their lives from reality to a virtual world and that virtual world becomes their new reality. I would have definitely enjoyed a book like more than one about how it got started. Simply reading about the origins of Facebook can get really boring. The behind-the-scenes look at how it was created was a little interesting, but it got redundant which I felt about most of the books we read in class so far. I going to stay optimistic about the last 2 sections we have to read for The Facebook Effect.

Group Blog Entry

Based off of our assigned topic, I would say that the Wikipedia page is a viable source of information if you wanted to know about Polygamy in North America. The strengths of the source would be the actual cases of polygamy they give on the page. Also, they give a nice history of polygamy in NA from the perspective of the LDS church. The weakness I found was that the page focused a lot on just Mormon polygamy although, judging from the source, Mormon polygamy seems to be the most popular in North America. Black Muslims are briefly mentioned, with a valid source, but the info is very almost non-existent.

The strengths of the article will be able to inform readers about Mormon polygamy in America. The weakness of the article may not answer all the questions a particular person may seek which is why the article isn't that great.

I learned that there are a lot of cases of bias in the other presentations, but in ours, not so much. The only thing is that some facts and information may not be mentioned leaving people interested in the topic unfulfilled. What I'm taking away from this project is that I won't solely search wikipedia for information, but some of the information they do provide is accurate, for the most part. My overall assessment is that wikipedia should even be allowed as a source for projects just as long as the students who use it double-check and verify what they read.

Solo Presentation

It kinda sucked knowing that someone else had an almost identical article to discuss, so I talked the statistics that weren't mentioned in the other one. The discussion that followed was not very productive. Most people in attendance usually never say anything which I wouldn't consider a bad thing. It would have been more beneficial to give a presentation to a roomful of deaf children. The feedback would have been a lot more intellectual.

The statistics provided aren't life-changing. They are a reflection of how people, more specifically 20% of Midwestern teens, lead their lives. Is it a reflection of all students, probably not. The ones who get offended or comment on a question, instead of answering the original question,

The discussion that followed would've been more intellectual.  But, when only jesters and village idiots want 5 seconds of fame, their limelight starts dimmed and faded. That's what happens when people want to be stand-up comedians in the comfort of their seats all to entertain Facebook friends they won't see after they graduate.

I chose to let people speak and give them there moment with hope that the conversation would be enlightening. What I really learned from my presentation in this class is that a presentation is only productive in the right scenario. I doubt people who laugh at YouTube clips about a girl getting raped with an auto tune effect and some music would have something that intelligent to say anyway.

I conclude that my presentation wasn't great because the same topic was discussed 5 minutes before I spoke. The discussion that followed mine was equally abysmal. I love college.

Group Presentation

I rarely ever want to do work, but this group presentation as something new for me. Not the actual project itself, but the way we collaborated for the assignment. We talked about how to approach the wiki page within the given time the day we were given the topic of polygamy in North America.

Tom suggested we use Google docs, something I'm sure most of us have never done. I thought it was amazing how we could all assemble PowerPoint from different locations when we couldn't meet. That's what made the assignment a little fun.

We did all meet at Justin's apartment one night to construct the PowerPoint. This was crucial for the project. Even if we all met virtually, we definitely needed to get together in person at least once to get an understanding of how to tackle the wiki page audit. We all came with ideas at Justin's which made things go smoothly. We layed out the basics of what we were going to do.

Phil was the saving grace making the handout for the presentation. The day of the presentation came and I felt we did all real good job. I think even in a technology class I'm always still in awe when I discover something new on the net like Google docs. That was the biggest part of getting our presentation in order. And of course the other major factor was having intellectual partners that contributed a lot to the assignment. Overall, I think we deserve 5 A+'s. The End.

Who Sane?: Made to Break (186-281)

Who Sane?: Made to Break (186-281)

For some reason blogger.com is f-in up for me. I'm posting in the form of a comment. Thanks for putting up with it b/c you have no choice.

Alas, the final pages of Made to Break give us the big picture. We finally reach the end of the the long timeline narrative to get the ultimate point of Slade's book.

He mentions Moore's Law, which I think is his major point within his argument of technological obsolescence. "Although Moore's Law was intended to emphasize the increasing power and the diminishing costs of integrated circuits, it also provided an index to the steady rate of technological obsolescence created by ICs." (p196). The best part to me is the last section of this book. To me it seems Slade formats the book to increase at an exponential rate like how Moore's Law describes. I talk about Moore's Law a lot b/c I feel it's the reason for tech woes as well as pros.

I love how he talks about the rise of Microsoft and Macintosh. Slade also brings up other events within the 60s and now that also provide a backbone to his argument.

"Very soon, the sheer volume of e=waste will compel America to adopt design strategies that include not just planned obsolescence but planned disassembly and reuse as part of the product life cycle." (p. 281). He closes out very well and his final words make his point even more cohesive. I admit, I really didn't care for the old talk pre-internet, but I appreciate what he had to say in terms of disposable products before the internet dynasty.

Although we have all these products running our lives, we have to find a way to manage how often and intelligently we use them for. That's the most important message I gathered from this book. We are stuck in this fast-paced, ever-changing society controlled by intricate circuits but we have to get a better grasp of what's in store for us. I don't mean the next cool new iPod, but we have to keep our eyes on the future we our paving for ourselves. In the end, I would give this book a 4/5.