George-o-rama

Hello, this was my final project for one of my master's classes that I just finished. I had fun making it - my first time making a video (so it's pretty basic). Hope you enjoy. -George-

Time to Blog!

BLOG #1
Finally, a topic in which I can relate to through personal experience and not just pretend I know what I'm talking about. My wife and I were just married a short time ago, so there have been some adjustments from single life to married life. We both carried cell phones, but on different carriers. Her contract was up at the end of October and I had already been month to month for several months. We wanted to get on the same plan for various reasons I'm sure you can imagine. I must admit I was the driving force behind this decision mainly because I wanted a new phone and I wanted it free. I get discounted plans and phones through work, so I'm not entirely cheap, I'm just practical. Well, at least that's what I keep telling myself.
Back to my story. I was able to persuade my wife to decide on the carrier of my choice. This carrier carried the phones I liked, and I had been with them for the previous two years without a problem. Once that was done I ran into a problem I didn't plan on confronting. I got to the point where I needed to decided on a phone, but I was so enamored with the other choices that it made my decision very difficult. I had narrowed it down to the Nokia E62 and the Sony Ericsson W810i.
The Nokia E62 is pretty much a PDA phone. It's not as fully loaded as the Blackberry or the Treo, but it had so many cool features that I liked. There were two features that I really liked about the phone. It had the ability to edit documents like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, which I thought would be nice for school and business tasks. I loved the email compatibility it would have had with my work too. The call quality was pratically flawless from the reviews it got.
The Sony Ericsson W810i is one of the Walkman phones distributed by Sony Ericsson. It has FM radio with 20 presets, MP3 music, 2.0 mega pixel camera with several editing features, nice call quality, nice design, and Bluetooth compatibility just to name some of my favorite features.
As you can probably tell I listed more features that I liked for the Sony Ericsson to foreshadow my eventual purchase of the product. It seemed to have more of the features that I could use more often than just once in while like with Nokia E62. I really like the phone. It's a lot like my other phone that I had for over 2 years, so the transition getting used to a new technology was minimal...another feature I really liked about the W810i.
I'm reminded of Rogers' theory of 5 steps to adoption: Knowledge, Persuasion, Decision, Implementation, and Confirmation. Before my purchase I did a lot of homework on the different phones that might fit my needs. Once I narrowed my search down, I went back and forth on the features I liked most about the phones I liked finally deciding on one. Implementation was instantaneous, but not yet complete. What I mean is I have accustomed myself with the phone with the features I'm already familiar with, but I'm still exploring the new features I'm not as familiar with. I'm very impressed with every new function I find on the phone.
I still feel like I'm climbing in understanding all the neat things it can do, but nevertheless, I'm still very excited about my purchase. This phone is cool!

BLOG #2
I don't know if anyone knows the impact of this storm unless you live somewhere where snowfall was more than just one 1 or 2 inches. I live in Issaquah where we has snowfall from 6 to 10 inches, which is the most heavily impacted area in the Seattle region. To make matters worse I live on a steep hill, so you can imagine my joy when class was canceled. With that said, the ubiquity of the Internet and other communication devices has really affected my behavior to almost complete reliance on it. I found out about class being canceled during the storm at my house in Issaquah. I was able to jump online to check traffic conditions to direct my wife home all while she listened to my directions on her cell phone while she drove. The next morning I was able to get directions on the Internet about bus stops and times when the bus would be coming. While I was at the bus stop I was able to call into work and let them know I was going to be late because I has just missed my bus. It's amazing how much I've relied on these technologies.
I'm not too old, but I remember being stranded at school in the cold when my mom was supposed to pick me up. I couldn't call her on my cell phone because I had none. My mom couldn't see traffic conditions on the Internet because she didn't even know what that was at the time. If I wanted to communicate I had to search for a payphone. If my mom wanted road conditions she had to surf radio stations hoping she hadn't missed that lasted update.
Warning this next comment is going to sound so utopian in context, but really I don't care. The world is flat, deal with it! Life is so much more convenient with the uses of new technologies especially in adverse weather. Mind you that if power goes out we're just going to have to find a way to survive. It's possible to do so, so all you geeks out there don't freak out too much.

We the Media

A provocative undertaking of journalism history in a short 22 page account is my reaction to Gillmor. It was a mass reality check of the evolution over time of the effects of freedom of press. It's true that we take it for granted in the United States, although, I don't think the issue as to whether or not we actually do have freedom of press is really resolved by some. I don't care to address that but suffice it to say that some believe that tasteless nonsense in the spirit of expression is irrevocably their constitutional right, which I think is more irresponsible provoking propaganda not met for the sake of continual progression.
This idea of continual progression means harmonious advancement toward utopian values. I'm an optimist and therefore I see a world that has a lot of potential. I'm OK with diversified views, as long as the ideas commit toward this idea of continual progression. I think that Gillmor has this in mind as well with regard to media and freedom of expression. Our world, with the introduction of mass technology communication such as the Internet, has given way for freedom of expression in ways that our forefathers never imagined. I like what Alvin Toffler said, “Information technology would lead -- among many other things -- to mass customization, disintermediation, and media convergence. I totally agree, but I'm not sure if this is all good; as a matter of fact, I'm a little nervous about what this will all mean. I think I'm just worried about the economy. For some reason I have this notion that the more people are online, the more people are forgetting the values and ethics that built this country the more we digress away from what it means to appreciate rigorous labor. I'm not sure if I have any basis for this, but it's more of I don't know all the facts nor am I an economy specialist. Maybe you can just take this as something to think about.