Conspiracy theories; some are stupid, but some are interesting, intellectual, and mind-provoking. Consider this…television’s popularity sky-rocketed in the 1960’s. Senator John F. Kennedy battled Vice President Richard Nixon in the first ever Presidential candidate telecast. The first live murder caught on video was that of President John Kennedy. Turns out, the JFK assassination was one of the most controversial conspiracy theories of all time. The monumental moment of the NASA astronauts landing on the moon was viewed by 94% of the U.S. television population. Note also that the 9/11 attacks were all caught on tape and still images were taken at the Pentagon and Pennsylvania case. Conspiracies started surfacing not only but a few years after the initial attack. Theorist are able to take these videos and still images and tort the meaning and truth. It allows them also to spread their case to a larger audience whether that be through print or internet by using visual mediums. The theorists behind conspiracies, such as the Kennedy Assassination and the 9/11 Attacks, are aimed at achieving popular control, manipulating public consensus and influencing public attitudes by providing alternatives to messages given by the media. The power of being connected to the internet allows these theorist to send out false messages to the largest audience known. We are all connected.
High Definition is now in space…woo! November 28, 2007
The NASA Space Station sent back the latest images retreived from their new and way awesome high-definition space camera. I’m so glad we have smart people working for NASA.
Not only are the astronauts using high definition to complete their assignments, but they are being broad casted in high definition.
At 24 or more frames per second, high definition can pull and capture some of the most detailed places on this earth and now beyond. High-definition put Antarctica into focus:
I’m sure there are surveillance cameras out there that aren’t grainy or pix-elated, but what about a high definition surveillance camera with clear images of killers, robberies or any other criminal behavior?…
Word Press November 28, 2007
I mean this is a new innovation, right? Yes it is. In 2003, this blogging site kicked off and by the end of the year, there was about 2000 blogs registered. Now there is 1.8 million blogs registered to this site. Get this: I was having a few problems with my internet connection before writing this blog so I had to refresh the main page a few times. When I first logged in, the number of new posts published today was about 7100. After refreshing a few moments after, the new post number jumped to about 7900. After noticing the huge change, I instantly refreshed again; somewhere around 8400. From the time it took me to type out the words above, the number increased over 400; 8994 new posts today.
Computer-generated Images November 27, 2007
According for Forbes, the porn industry has a revenue of over a billion dollars. A new style of porn has hit the internet. CGI Porn, or also known as “Poser Porn” and “Renderotica”, surfaced on the net just a few years ago. The animator can “create” characters or actors with any appearance; incorporating unnatural or improbable bodily proportions. The CGI figures can assume positions that would be unnatural or impossible to perform in real life. The animator has complete control over his or her figures meaning their characters cannot refuse to perform. Is this wrong? Would a sexual predator get it’s psychological “fix” from feeding it online verses real life? Will this eliminate or at least decrease child molesters world wide? How disturbing this is, it is true. I think it is still an issue of concern. It should be illegal being that the person control the figure is still perceived as a child. Blah, whatever…I think it’s gross either way.
Problems with VoIP November 27, 2007
Some of the challenges VoIP can face are available bandwidth, delay in network frequency, jitter, echo, security and even reliability. Bandwidth works like a filter or a communication channel. This communication channel can be shared therefore availability could be interrupted. The network frequency could only have a short range in your area causing a delay, or the person you are communicating with could have a problem with their network which would delay the whole conversation. Jitter is an unwanted variation of one or more signal characteristics in electronics and telecommunications, but it highly common. Jitter can be distinct and recognizable if it shows successive pulses/amplitude, frequency, or a phase of successive cycles. Echo is common with video communication on VoIP. This could be a malfunction in the microphones on either end or another network frequency shortage.
As innovation in technology expands, the people living in this world will want and need to expand their minds. Technology has a window of opportunities lying within the internet. It is the revolutionary technology of our time. Relationships can be built, maintained and benefited over and through the power of the internet. Voice-over Internet Protocol has serviced other programs like Skype and with an increase in success, there will be an increase in revenue. Families and friends will travel the world knowing they can communicate at a fair rate. Airfare will benefit from an increase in traveling. Hotels with Wi-Fi and Voice-over IP protocols will see an increase in consumers. Neighboring businesses with deals overseas with be able to close a transaction with one phone call or one video conference. The world is connected.
My Story and Voice-Over Internet Protocol November 27, 2007
Shouguang City, China rests over 8,000 miles away from our little town of Cleveland, Tennessee. In February of 2007, my best friend got engaged to a wonderful man. She was also my roommate at the time. Once she and her new fiancé announced their wedding party, one name on the groom side did not ring a bell in my mind. “Josh,” the fiancé said. “Josh?” I replied with a puzzled look. “Yes, Josh, you met him a year ago at my house when we had that Halloween party, remember?” “Oh I remember. The curly haired guy! He made me laugh.” “Well,” said the fiancé, “you should get to know him even better because you’re walking with him in the wedding.” With that information, I quickly logged onto the popular social networking site, Myspace.com. After looking him up, I sent him a quick message announcing the news of my awesome roommate’s engagement and the fact that we will be spending time together at the wedding. Upon sending the message, I noticed that the location of where he was from, (or location he was currently living in) said “Shouguang City, China.” “China?!” I thought to myself. Either he was just being silly on Myspace, or maybe he really does live in China. Browsing through his page, I wondered back to view his pictures. “He looks Caucasian,” I said to myself. I talked with my roommate the next day and came to find out that Josh was in an English teaching program in China and well I found that extremely interesting so I logged onto Myspace and found a message from him. Josh was interested in me. He asked great questions about where I was from, how I like Lee and how long I’ve known my roommate. I responded and elaborated on every question. I then asked him questions about his life in China, before China and why he chose that program. We became great pin-pals or e-pals (electronic pals) I like say.
China is an exact twelve-hour time difference from Cleveland, TN. When I woke up in the morning, I had message waiting for me from Josh that he had written before starting his day. I then would write back before I ended my day and so on and so on. We quickly found out that the “online” notice that Myspace is equipped with was blinking every time we would log on. Josh and I were online at the same time and then thought it was silly to keep sending emails and messages when we could just talk instantly. He wrote one day explaining a new innovation he had downloaded on his computer to keep in touch with friends and family members in the states.
Skype is a voice-over internet protocol system that not only allows you to instant message, but it also allows you to call cell phones, land phones and computers with the same program. That was enough convincing to me. I downloaded Skype right away. Around this same time period, my brother had emailed me from Iraq telling me of Skype as well. He told me to buy a webcam and I could talk and see him. Again, that was enough convincing for me. Josh and I used this technology to the fullest. We were able to call and use the web cam, tell jokes, talk all day, talk all night. Josh always put a set amount of money in his Skype account and would call from his computer to my cell phone for only two cents a minute. When I used my cell phone, oops, to call his room number in China, it would cost fourteen dollars just to connect the call and then a killer twenty-one cents a minute. Of course cell phone providers offer an international package but even then rates and taxes can cost quite a bit. Believe it or not, Josh and I were able to fall in love soon after his return to the United States. We were able to build and maintain an incredible relationship from the power of a message and a conversation. Dialogue with Josh today is comfortable, fluent and unproblematic since we have such a strong foundation. I am sure Josh and I would have met eventually in life, but through voice-over internet protocol and even social networking, it definitely made it uncomplicated.
Stories in history remind us that letters through mail can be lost or delivered incorrectly causing confusion, heartbreak and turmoil and sometimes leading to an eternal break-up of a relationship. Those relationships, both business and personal, can be lost and sometimes never started due to long distances.
Voice-over Internet Protocol has a lot of answers to many of these challenges. Internet itself became internationally popular in the late 1980’s and electronic mail started a new wave of sending a message. With the increase in internet speed over the years, the more instant these messages started to send. Even though Josh and I began emailing each other when we first made our initial contact, we quickly discovered that we craved more of a personal touch to our messages. Instant messaging definitely helped but voice to voice conversation and of course putting a face to it made it that much more pleasant.
Let’s talk about how cool Apple is. October 1, 2007
Right on their site, I found 2 reasons that sold me:
How much time have you spent troubleshooting your PC? Imagine a computer designed by people who hate to waste time as much as you do. Where all the hardware and software just works, and works well together. Get a Mac and get your life back.
2. You can make amazing stuff…
Every Mac comes with iLife, a suite of software that transforms your photos, music, and video into all kinds of projects. Make high-quality websites, photo books, DVDs, songs, slideshows, music CDs, calendars, cards, prints, podcasts, music videos, documentaries, and more.
Unfortunately I didn’t realize how amazing Macs were until AFTER I purchased my Dell Laptop. You can read a previous blog on that purchase.
I enjoy Windows and knowing that I can run it on a Mac…well now I just feel like a dummy for sinking so much money into this computer. That’s really what I think about Apple products in general; they are just superior. But yet, I have not bought an Apple product. Ponder this: If a non-Apple consumer loves Apple this much, then how much do the Apple innovators and supporters love Apple?
Impact of Social Media October 1, 2007
We have all heard about how stupid Miss Tenn South Carolina is. The power of social media and networking may have consumed her in this case. Everyone has said something without completely thinking it through first. There are plenty of times that I have sounded completely stupid and you can do little to nothing to redeem yourself in that situation. Miss Teen South Carolina is a college student and since the majority of college students are using some sort of social medium, I’m sure her comments on her page were pretty harsh.
Social Media at times can do more harm than most people realize. Pictures of your party night the night before can be tagged on your Facebook page with you even knowing it. Even companies and organizations can network on Facebook. News feeds display all of your activity.
Here are some damaging examples:
I had a friend that will go unnamed that felt too sick to go into work one morning. We will call him Bob the Boy. Bob the Boy failed to call his boss (we’ll call him Boss) that day to explain his situation so he decided to wait for his next work day to explain his illness. Unfortunately Boss was not satisfied with these series of events. Upon logging into Facebook, Boss noticed that Bob the Boy had logged in and did some activity on Facebook during the hour he was supposed to be at work. The news feed told Boss that Bob the Boy went out late the night before and did not get enough sleep to attend work. Bob the Boy lost his job.
In the heat of the Tara Conner/Donald Trump drama, Facebook was often one to blame. Pictures of excessive partying and late nights spread all over her social networks and eventually back to owner of the Miss USA Pageant, Donald Trump. Here is an older article from People Magazine about how Trump issued a second chance to the pageant princess. Notice at the end of the article the fact that you can network this article to Del.ic.ious, Digg and Facebook as well.
Technology Adopter September 9, 2007
How do you adapt to new technologies in our world? Do you crave the newest innovation to the point that you’re waiting three days outside of Best Buy for the newest devise? Upon receiving that brand new device, do you run home and show all of your friends/family members how awesome it is and then do you find yourself back in line at Best Buy buying the newest upgrade of the same device you just bought four months prior?
I have several friends that fit into this category to a tee. As for me, I like to declare that I buy new innovations based on practicality. I know I fall into the majority of most Americans in this case and I can prove it through the bell curve. Being that, the person that I described in the opening of this post falls in the first few percent of the graph, whereas for me, I am comfortably in the middle.
By me saying “practical”, I mean that I buy new technologies on the basis of need vs. want. Sure I would love to have the newest Nikon SLR digital camera, but based on price and my current position in life, it is not a practical device for me to own. I am not a professional fashion photographer. But, when my amazing Dell Dimension 2350 desktop took a turn for the worse, I knew it was time to invest in a new computer to finish out my college career and to help me embark on my professional career. I decided to stick with Dell, since I was already a preferred customer, and I knew I wanted a laptop due to all the traveling I would be doing the next year. The laptop has a great history beginning in the late 70’s, but it’s popularity really started to take shape in the mid 90’s. By the year 2000, the laptop market sky-rocketed. Before I had purchased my laptop, I told myself, “It’s the year 2007, and I am one of the few remaining college students with out one.” It just seemed like the right fit.
So, I’ve had this Dell Inspiron E1505 laptop computer for several months now, and I almost felt like I adopted to a new innovation quite earlier than my norm when I decided to upgrade to Windows Vista. Woo…my stats on the bell curve just went up!
Why I am blogging on WordPress September 4, 2007
So I have never been the biggest fan of blogging. In fact, I often joke on close friends that blog about their personal lives on a daily basis. I mean these people would spill out their deepest darkest secrets continuously to people that I find even more ridiculous, the readers. What do you gain from reading the personal thoughts of someone you do not know? Attention? Probably. Tell me something interesting. I don’t care about the lasagna you ate last night.
Now don’t get me wrong, I do not mind certain blogs. For example, I am a communications major at Lee University in Cleveland, TN. I love this field. My emphasis is in public relations and I am passionate about just that; relating to the public. In this particular interest, I am blogging on WordPress to create discussions about communication technology and new innovations in our world. I want to have intelligent conversations that could possibly help me understand new technologies and how they are and how they are going to influence our entire society for many years to come.
