5 Ways I Use the Internet

The internet has been a part of my life ever since I was very young. Over the years I have grown with it and learned from it. Today I use it in several different ways, from school assignments to goofing around on myspace it has become a bigger part of my life than I thought it could.

First, I use it to keep in touch with all my family and friends.
When I was younger my family and I moved around a lot and because of myspace and facebook I have been able to keep in touch with friends from 8th grade or my freshmen year of high school.
Also, my mother lives in California and we chat frequently online on facebook. We leave each other comments and message each other, and we are also able to keep track of each others "emotions" because of the status bar.
For example, I mentioned once on Facebook that "I am not having a good day". My mom saw that and contacted me to see if I was okay.
Its just a nice way to stay in constant contact even if I only see her in person 2 or 3 times a year.

Second, I use it for school. MSU and the Mass Communications department demands a lot of researching and the internet has helped me retrieve a lot of useful information for several projects and stories. From dictionaries online, to news stories, and even language translators the internet is a valuable resource I use often.

For the third I would say I use the internet for entertainment. I read some fanfictions as well as play games. When I have spare time and television just won't cut it, I turn to the computer for some amusing activities. From games with people who are connected online (such as WOW and Halo) to reading. It keeps me entertained.

I also use the internet to promote my review segment called Life After Twilight where I review the latest YA novels on the market. I also promote books and talk entertaining news. Because of Youtube, Myspace, Facebook, Twitter, and wordpress I have learned so much about broadcasting, advertising, and promotions. It is not only a fun hobby I have but a great ability I can use when I leave college and go into my career.

Finally, the internet plays a big role at my work place. We use Myspace, Wordpress, Twitter, Facebook, and email to promote our photography studio. Not just our studio, we use the internet to create advertising for different photography sessions we have and special offers we have. Due to all the social networks out there we have been able to connect with people we normally would not be able to in person. We blog everyday almost and stay in contact with regular clients. These social networks have brought uProxy-Connection: keep-alive
Cache-Control: max-age=0

down to a more personal level.

Well, those are the 5 ways I use the internet!

Fascinating right?

xoxo
-B-

Net Neutrality

Check out http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia_term/0,2542,t=Net+neutrality&i=55962,00.asp for the research I found on "Net Neutrality" for the following Blog post.


Net Neutrality is basically an idea to make the internet "fair" on all levels for different business' and organizations when it comes to the speed of each persons business.

When reading this I still didn't understand the whole idea of it.

However in the end I decided I am against it.

Business' and organizations should pay extra for the fast connections (which won't really make a difference to me) just like we, the normal people, have to pay extra for the different internet services we want.

That seems only fair.

Also, if they begin to monitor this... what will be next?

Or voices?
What we post?
What we share?

No thank you.

Stop them before they can even begin.

That's what I say.

xoxo
-B-

Value of Internet and Society

Value of Internet and Society!

I won't lie. The reason I decided to take Internet and Society was because it was on my list of classes to take and it was the most interesting.

If someone asked me what we learn in Internet and Society, it would be simple. We learn about Internet and Society.

From the beginning of "the internet" to how it affects us. Even the small details as what things mean and stand for.

It is important because everyone uses the internet. Most business' require some computer knowledge and this class will help us now and in the long run.

I think it is important to show us how to run a website and how to begin one. Such as hosts, domain names, and everything to do with websites. As well as basic HTML, CSS, etc.
That way we know the essence of a website and how it works.

Maybe even dabble in advertising and marketing.

xoxo
-B-

The Search for Web 2.0...

Why complicate things? Lets just make this easy.

In the search for "Web 2.0", I came across several long over detailed explanations as to what exactly it is. Or if it should even be defined as "it". Which it shouldn't, by the way.

Web 2.0 is a term created and used by Tim O'Reilly and Dale Dougherty that spread through-out this generation and stuck.

It clearly defines the basic Web 2.0 technology compared to the "Web 1.0" technology. Web 2.0 offers Open data through API's and web services, RSS feed (which we recently went over), Ajax (which is something I still need to learn), and Web Standards (which surprised when I actually knew what this was referring to).

Web 1.0 didn't offer or doesn't offer these technologies like Web 2.0 does.

To make things less complicated:

Web 1.0 = Sucks.
Web 2.0 = Rocks my Socks.


So to quote Andy Budd who I found a lot of this basic info from, Web 2.0 is a "Buzzword".

You can check out the site HERE.


Basically, Web 2.0 is an "upgrade" from Web 1.0.
You have more control over the data you use and where you save it or share it. You are not confined to the limitations of your application, you can reach beyond that.

That is what makes Web 2.0 so great, it allows you to stretch further than before. You can be your own boss through websites, blogs, and community sites (like Myspace, Facebook, etc.).

Positive Effects:
It opens up many more jobs and opportunities. Not only that but the sky has no limit on innovations. It pushes people to work harder to stay on top, thus helping innovation and the economy.

Negative Effects:
Maybe things are a little too accessible.
Getting into things we assume have a solution.
And creating solutions for areas that don't need solutions.


So that is MY take on the Web 2.0. Hope it was easier to understand than the pages upon pages other websites may throw at you.

xoxo
-B-

Think about how the Internet has developed from 1962 to what it is today. Do you think that the developers (e.g., Licklider, Tomlinson, or Tim Berners-Lee) knew how their work would be used/adopted by others? How different do you think today's reality is from their original vision? Are there tools being developed today that might be used in ways that are different from the developers' ideas? What are the implications of this?

The creators and developers of the Internet, I am for certain, did not think or even imagine how huge the internet has grown and what all it has been used for. From basic websites, live video streaming like BlogTV, Youtube, Myspace, and blogs are just some of the things I think they could not have comprehended or thought of back in the 60's.

I think they would be impressed by the "good" uses of the internet and (to be blunt) shocked by the less "moral" uses of the internet. The internet today is very different compared to the original because of the simplicity. The Internet "then" was a very complex system very few people new how to use. Now, because of the new developers and creators, they have simplified it to where even 4 year-olds can use it in their home.

The basic use they had wanted for the internet I believe was the "communication" aspect of it. Which has grown far beyond what I think they imagined, but in a good way. For example, Skype. It has everything from emails, chatting, phone conversations, video convos, etc. It has ALL aspects of media for communications. Found neatly on your computer using the internet :)

Like all things however, there are people who use the internet for good and evil. Because the internet is not "controlled" people have free reign over what they put out into the web world with little thought as to what will happen to them. There are not strict rules.

Thats my thoughts.

xoxo
-B-