The Class As A Whole

1.   I think that the most important thing that I learned in this class was all the computer skills that I picked up.  Before this class I never knew how to make a podcast or where to even begin and now I know how to make one and also how to do different things to it like incorporate sound and fade the sound in and out.  I also found it helpful to learn to use simple site to help create a webpage.  Both of these skills could be useful in potential jobs after college.

2.  I think I would have liked more time to look at the divide between who has computers and what not and what is being done to change that.  Maybe taking a look at the program that is looking at providing laptops for real cheap in poor countries.

3.  I don’t know if there was a least interesting thing to me because it was all helpful.

VoIP Service

Both of the the services, Vonage and Speakeasy, were available for my number.  Both services seem fairly straight forward and if I were to make more long distance calls then the service might be more enticing to me.  As it stands my long distance calls are few and far between so the advantages that both of these service provide, in terms of long distance calling, would not be beneficial to me so I do not think that I would but either service.  I do think that these providers do offer some good services that are probably very benficial to businesses and people that make a large number of long distance calling but for me they are just not the right fit.

VoIP

I think that VoIP has the potential to greatly impact cable and telephone networks.  If VoIP really can make calls easier by using more efficient transmission and cheaper by using the existing computer connections then VoIP will change phones drastically.  The fact that one could have their internet and phone provided in the same connection is an enticing situation that many people will like because it makes the whole service cheaper for them.  However, there are some changes that need to be made before VoIP actually does begin to take over.  As the article points out there are still issues associated with VoIP.  The primary issue is reliability.  If you look at regular circuit switching phones, they get their power from the phone line itself and the company, unless it is a cordless phone.  With VoIP if you lost power you would also lose your phone because there would be no power to get the computer and phone running.  If you add to the power issue the fact that services that are attached to your phone would not be compatible with VoIP then you have an even greater problem.  Until services like security systems and Tivo, which use a phone line, adapt to the new use of VoIP then people will be hesitant to use it.

 

Additionally, as long as the telephone industry is regulated there exist problems in the relationship between VoIP and traditional telephones.  Currently each state sets the rates and standards for the phone service in that state and this is not true for VoIP because internet service is not regulated.  This allows the internet and VoIP to get around long distance charges which could lead to more people using VoIP because it would be cheaper to use.  However there could be the potential for some sort of legal action on behalf of the telephone networks trying to prevent the VoIP from being used and especially for being used for long distance.

 

Questions:

1. What do you think of the whole idea of VoIP?

 

2. Do you think VoIP will take over traditional phone networks? If so, how long before it does?

 

3. What are the potential ramifications of VoIP replacing traditional phone networks?

Wireless accessibility

The relationship between cyberspace as a public space and accessibility standards is an interesting relationship.  Cyberspace is supposed to be a public space and anyone who wants to use it can.  But a problem exists because some people don’t have the means to access the internet and use “their share” of the public space.  Certain parts of the globe simply do not have the necessary means to provide access for everyone, thus denying them the ability to access the public space.  Even when some countries do obtain internet access their connection speed is significantly less than what is used by the more advanced countries, which again limits their ability to completely utilize all that cyberspace has to offer. 

Even with creating easier access to internet access for poor and rural areas I still think that there exists a problem with some local governments.  The idea of creating wireless access for the poor and rural areas is a great idea but I feel as if some governments would want complete control over the internet access which in a sense ruins the idea of what the wireless connection was supposed to be.  Allowing people from poor and rural areas to obtain wireless internet service is allowing them to take their spot in cyberspace, but if you allow a government to control the access then the internet is not really a public space for those people because they are restricted in what they can do.  Hopefully with continued technological advancements wireless internet service will be provided to people all over the world, even in the rural and poor areas, because I feel that giving them the opportunity to see what is out there can only help them to improve their lives. 

Questions:1) The idea of wireless connection for poor and rural areas is nice, but what about the need for electricity to power a desktop computer or to charge a laptop? 

2) How far do you see wireless internet spreading? (in terms of into rural areas)

Newspaper Blogs

I think the hardest thing about this assignment was the fact that some websites were difficult to navigate.  When there were blogs sometimes they were not that clearly organized which made it hard to determine whether or not something was actually a new blog or just a different post by that journalist.  Additionally there was one paper that I had where the website was a combination of two newspapers which made things a bit more difficult.  For the most part the website was organized well enough that I knew which material belonged to which paper but there were definitely times when I was confused about whether or not the information was from the paper I was researching.  I found it really interesting that ever paper I was supposed to look up the information for had blogs.  I think that just shows how the internet is impacting traditional news media.

Podcast Update

I am sticking with my original topic for my podcast.  I have all my sources and have begun working on my script for the podcast.  I have contacted the correct person in the communication department to potential borrow a microphone to record my voice.

The internet and politics

I think that internet technology has influenced politics greatly.  If you look just at the basic fact that due to the internet we as potential voters can now get more stories faster than ever before changes politics.  Now if there was some breaking news on a candidate or an issue that two candidates differed on we can find out about that with the click of a mouse rather than having to read it in a newspaper a day or more later, if ever.  Also if you look at the number of voters who vote absentee from overseas, think of the impact the internet has on them.  Before being able to access any information a voter desired about a candidate absentee voters overseas probably did not know that much about candidates because the coverage in the papers overseas was probably not too concerned with American politics.  Just looking at the widespread availability of information on the internet is enough to see that it the internet has an influence on politics.

 

If you go even further and look at the fact that candidates are now using websites to connect with voters then you can really see the influence of the internet.  Today candidates and potential candidates are using their websites and blogs to let people know that they are going to be running for President.  That is a drastic change from the news conferences and articles in papers that would have informed people in the past.  You can also look at the fact that people already in office and a federal, state and local level have websites, blogs and even newsletters that are sent out to supporters to let them know what is going on.  The internet has drastically changed politics because we as voters are now more connected to the candidates than we have ever been.

 

Questions:

1)  How do you see the internet continuing to affect politics?

2)  Do you think that the internets influence over politics will lead to a decline in traditional news media influence?

3)  What do you think of candidates using their blogs and or websites to announce that they are running for office?

Powerpoint Article

Article Citation:

Ahlers, D. (2006). News consumption and the new electronic media [Electronic version]. The Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics, 11(1), 29-52. Retrieved February 3, 2007 from Communication Abstracts.

powerpoint link:

http://students.washington.edu/wmh/com300/com300.ppt

I thought that this article was very interesting.  The author of this article looks at the impact consumption of online news will have on the consumption of traditional news media.  Ahlers makes the point that although online news consumption has increased over the years it will not spell the end of traditional news media.  Ahlers points out that a major aera where you would expect to see online news media having an affect on the tradtional news media would be in advertising, but in looking at the numbers that is not the case.  Ahlers shows that from 1998-2004 the advertising in traditional news media(papers, magazines etc.,) has risen by 15%, even during a time when the advertising market in general has experienced a decline.  The fact that advertising has increased over the years illustrates to me that despite the growth of online news media, there is always going to be a market for the traditional media and thus always an opportunity to advertize.  Ahlers believes that online news media will serve as a supplement to the traditional news media and the will work as a tandem as opposed to one eliminating the other, and I have to agree with him on that.

 REFLECTION ON PRESENTATION

The most interesting thing to me about the power point presentation was the discussion I was able to have with the groups after I was done.  In talking about the idea of new media replacing traditional media a source for news there was a general consensu that we didn’t see this happening.  We agreed that the new media would compliment the traditional media and they would work together.  We also agreed that there is always going to be people who like having the physical paper in front of them whether that is at home or while commuting on the bus or something and we see that trend continuing.  We also agreed that even though we are the computer generation, that has been raised with computers, we hate having to sit in front of a screen and read long articles so this could push people our age to shift to traditional print media once we are out of college and maybe once we have established a permanent residency where we don’t have to worry about changing addresses at the end of a school year or in a couple of years when we graduate.  It was interesting that although computers and the internet have been such a large part of our lives we still see the need for traditional news media.

Week 6 Blog

I think that the implications of blogging technology can be viewed in two ways.  First I think there could be the view that blogging technologies are beneficial to established media.  I think this can be true because many people see blogs as just an extension of sorts to the articles and stories from established media.  Blogs are a way to get other opinions on stories, often times different from what a reader would normally encounter. Most established blogs have built up a fairly respectable reputation and don’t just throw out random facts.  Established bloggers now that they can offer their opinions and give ideas but when they are going to be discussing things that are actually going on they need to have the correct information and show this by providing links or citations as too the accurate source.  When a blogger does this correctly it can benefit multiple established media by discussing an article from some media source, and providing a link to the site, and contradicting or supporting the article with examples from other media, once again with links to those sites.  By linking other media to one’s blog then a blogger is in a way advertising for those different established media.

The problem comes when a blogger just does what he or she wants.  Since pretty much anyone can set up a blog, it is very easy to create your own biased and inaccurate blog.  It is very easy for someone to write a blog and just throw in facts that he or she believes to be true and completely pass it off for true information.  If I really wanted to I could write a blog and make it seem like it was fairly accurate when in actuality it was all made up.  For the most part people are going to know that a blog is made up but there is always going to be a large number of people who either feel the same way as the blogger so they agree with what the person wrote or other people who are gullible and easily persuaded to believe it.

With both of the sides now stated I think that even though any random person can create a blog and write what they think without out evidence, a large number of bloggers have established their credibility and thus provide a service to established media by linking to them and allow more readers to see a story from the established media.

Questions 1) Do you think blogs are beneficial to established media?

2) Do you think the fact that there are so many random blogs where people talk about what they did today or whatever, that actual blogs that address real topics lose credibilty because blogs a whole have been “tarnished?”

Rosenburg talk blog

There was not much in Matt Rosenburg’s presentation that I disagreed with so I can’t comment on that too much but I can comment on what I did agree with. I agree with the fact that he felt that it was important for readers of his blog to have access to other blogs and to various newspapers. Since he feels this way Rosenburg has provided links to some major papers on throughout the country including a large number of papers on the west coast. Rosenburg also provides links to a large number of blogs for people to see. I really like how Rosenburg connects his blog to newspapers and too other blogs. By connecting to newspapers he is showing that the papers themselves are important and deserved to be read. You don’t have to read every paper but there is a link for most major papers in case you were interested. The same is true for the blogs. Providing links to other blogs, shows me that Rosenburg realizes that there are other sources out there to provide additional and even contradictory opinions to what his blog might touch on.

2 Questions—My questions come in relation to the linked blogs he has on his own blog.
1) Does he provide links to all varieties of blogs or just links for blogs that contain similar views to his?
2) How many of those blogs does he read a day?