COM 546

Goals: COM585

2006-01-10T19:02:00.000-08:00

1. Project management skills - meeting deadlines (myself and getting others to), prioritize, delegating work, time management and planning.

2. Graphic design - structure vs. Aesthetics, best practices for layout

3. Information design - what kind of information to include, how to bring attention to it, language and navigation.

My blog for COM585 is: http://hpkcom585.blogspot.com/

Technology and Politics

2005-11-15T17:01:00.000-08:00

The articles The Net and the Future of Politics: The Ascendancy of the Commons and The Tragedy of the Commons are very interesting when read as a pair. One discusses the reality that many problems do not have technical solution, while the other speaks of how the Net aids Democracy. While the Net provides tools to encourage Democratic action, those tools themselves do not provide a solution to the problems faced in a Democratic society as the article suggests. Instead, it requires a fundamental extension in morality, just as the population problem does.

Hauben suggests that technical advancement such as online newsgroups and other discussion forums create meeting spaces for those who are unable to attend traditional political meetings. However, I’d be curious to see who was actually attending those meetings. Are they the same people who attend town meetings and are just finding another forum to voice their opinions or are participants in online meeting spaces really these citizens, as Hauben puts it, who are just “too busy to leave their normal jobs on a regular basis to help govern the community?” I suspect the former. I believe it would take a lot more than just providing the tools necessary to participate in Democratic activities to get people to be more involved. A change outside of technology, an overall shift in values and priorities of citizens would have to take place for and increase in political involvement to take place.

I guess the most evidence I have is from my own personal life. Over the past month, I’d seen people standing on overpasses with signs, which gave me a general idea that an election was coming up. However, I did not find motivation to seek out information either in the public forum or online. Time wasn’t even my excuse, although I certainly could have used it. I simply wasn’t interested. Basically, it took my friend sitting down with me and going over the initiatives the night before the election and driving me to the polls the next morning. It was human influence that got me involved. And that was just merely voting. Being involved in actual political discussions is out of the question for me – over dinner, online and certainly not in a community meeting.

These two articles also got me thinking about the digital divide and, in turn, the political divide. Technology provides a division between the haves and the have-nots. Generally, this is a divide between the young and the old, the rich and the poor. These divisions exist in politics too. The older generations are typically more involved in politics. If the Net is drawing citizens into political discussions that wouldn’t normally participate in offline discussions, is there also a divide between what is being discussed between the two groups? It would seem that some sort of liaison would be necessary to bring the opinions, discussions, topics of online meeting forums into the offline world to make the discussion at all effective. Perhaps, the better solution would be to tie on and offline discussions together through technology. For example, streaming town meetings over the internet and allowing citizens to participate with the live discussions through online chat sessions. That way, the divide would be somewhat closed and opinions of all involved parties would be communicated regardless of access to technology or constrained by time and location.

This solution, however, does not solve the overall problem – many people are politically inactive not because of time, location or technological constraints, but because they simply are not interested or have some other personal reason for not being involved. It has nothing to do with the forums available to participate.

One-click endings

2005-11-07T01:02:00.000-08:00

Over dim sum this afternoon, my friends and I tried once again to solve the mysteries of our current and past relationships. The consensus lately is that there is no hope - relationships are less meaningful these days. Specifically, the importance of friendship is missing and people have become incredibly self-centered. Do mother's not teach common respect and the basics of chivalry anymore? I’ll get off my soap box and talk a bit about how the lines between online and offline communication have become blurred in hopes of finding some sort of insight into the problems my friends and I have with relationships. What online communities have given us is a one-click on/off switch to relationships both on and offline. Here are a couple examples:

1. I tried MySpace once, but basically only because a friend of mine forced me to. What I found was a popularity contest much like high school was. With only 3 friends as opposed to other people who had hundreds, I felt alone and outcast. Boo hoo. It was also confusing because I didn’t want that many friends – it was way too high maintenance. So, I did what I wish I could have in high school – I clicked a button, took down my profile and ended the pain!

2. A few weeks ago, after I received an email from an ex-boyfriend - who I had broken up with two weeks earlier - asking if I had any single friends I could set him up with, I merely blocked his email address. Then, I logged onto my phone company’s website and blocked his phone number as well. With a couple quick clicks I was done with him for good.

Although one would think that the importance of an offline relationship would be greater than an online one, the habits of communication within online communities have transcended into offline, personal relationships. This may be an explanation for why so much of my time is spent over beer, coffee and dim sum trying to figure out why no one cares about friendship anymore, why there is no effort to work through problems and why people skip from one relationship to the next. One reason is because problems are easily turned off with the click of a button.

Emoticons :) :-P

2005-11-06T23:33:00.000-08:00

BTW, these drawings are from Toothpaste for Dinner

The World is Flat

2005-10-31T07:32:00.000-08:00

As someone who spent two years in customer service at Microsoft, I have been directly affected by the movement of jobs to India. While I worked there, groups disappeared little by little as jobs shifted to India. Entire floors vacated and a once bustling cafe was left virtually empty for a period. Although I have read quite a bit about outsourcing while trying to figure out for myself whether it was a good or bad thing, one thing about Friedman struck me as refreshing was that he was not looking at it from a solely negative standpoint. "Even with the outsourcing of some service jobs from the United States to India, India's growing economy is creating demand for many more American goods and services. What goes around, comes around."

This is what I have been trying to tell my friends who still work in customer service for years. Yes, customer service jobs are going to India, but what kind of opportunities will this create for American workers who have been stuck in somesort of a rut for many years?

While I was at Microsoft, opportunities for promotions were slim to none. That is the main reason I opted to take a FTE position at RealNetworks over the one I was offered at Microsoft. This summer my old group at Microsoft was laid off and everyone was in a panic. What would they do now after working in customer service for so long? However, shortly after the layoff most were placed in positions supporting outsourcers. Now, after 5 years or more of answering phones, they are traveling to the Philippines and India to train customer service reps. An exciting opportunity, I believe, that they never would have had if it weren't for outsourcing.

2005-10-28T01:46:00.000-07:00

Supplemental Reading

2005-10-26T13:53:00.000-07:00

T.J. Rodgers's response to Sister Doris Gormley

http://reason.com/9610/fe.rodgers.shtml

Abstract:

When founder and CEO of Cypress, T.J Rogers, got a rubber-stamped form letter from Sister Doris Gormley, stating that the order she represents would vote against the Cypress board--including T.J. Rodgers --because the board lacks women or minority members, he went ballistic: Cypress was, he believed, under attack from a know-nothing with a coercive political agenda. As The Wall Street Journal would later report, he was so pumped up that he recorded the first draft of his reply on his drive home, clamping his teeth down on the microcassette recorder when he had to change gears. He left teeth marks.

Sister Gormley got the letter and so did all Cypress shareholders. And the replies started pouring in, hundreds of them, almost all supportive. Then the Journal ran a page-one article on the subject, and T.J. got hundreds more letters. We reproduce here the original letter, along with an article by T.J. Rodgers on how it came to be and what happened next.

Mediamorphosis

2005-10-23T23:34:00.000-07:00

While reading this article about the acceleration of technological advancements in the last few centuries - especially over the last two decades - I thought a lot about how that acceleration may be due to the quick exchange of knowledge that is now available over the internet. At least for me, when I need inspiration, ideas, and/or quick advice, I jump on the Web. Within minutes I can usually find the information I need. No more pawing through the library or even picking up the phone - I just consult Google. If I don't know the answer to a technical problem, I consult newsgroups. If the exact answer isn't there, usually I can quickly collect clues that lead me there much faster than if I had to pick up the phone and speak with technical support or a consultant.

My point is, I think that acceleration of technology is directly correlated to the immediacy of information, ideas, advice and collaboration you can find on the internet. That is one of the greatest powers computing offers communication.

Week 2 Readings

2005-10-16T23:41:00.000-07:00

I wish I could think of a way the ridiculous amounts of car theft in this city could be considered an unintended consequence of technology. Somehow the computer must be to blame for it. Hmmmm. Maybe if TVs didn't replace teachers so long ago... Oh, wait - They didn't!

Well, you may have guessed it already, but my car got broken into early Friday morning. Although I am ridiculously careful about it, somehow I forgot to bring my bag in from the car. So, my laptop, notebook, copy of Media Technology and Society, favorite pen and, most sad of all, my tiny, dirty, embroidered purse that I got in Costa Rica last spring... GONE. Not to mention my driver-side window and a good amount of blood from my index finger.

The other thing you may have guessed is how exaggerated and cynical I thought Postman's speech was. I'll give him some credit since it was given in 1990 and he feared what he readily admitted that he had little knowledge of – computer technology – as much and as unfounded as some people feared the millennium. The most important thing he overlooks is humanity itself. I’d say the general public is not satisfied with their kids being taught by TVs or computers, most people don’t want to sit on their bums and vote, shop, socialize etc. all at "home. That is one of the main reasons so many .coms failed – people want to get out! At least, for me it is painful enough be tied to a desk all day let alone going home and being tied to one there. Also, although though I don’t know the exact figures, most people and schools just can’t afford that level of technology. Unaffordability always makes for a good excuse when you don’t actually want something too!

OK. I’ll quit whining about my car and Postman’s speech and focus on supervening necessity and unintended consequences of technologies. The problem is, we don’t really “need” anymore technology than we already have. People who decide not to use additional technologies don’t really “loose.” They carry on and communicate just fine in their circles and the outside world with the basics – phone, snail mail etc.

Actually, instead of becomming more naive, loosing sight of what is real and being overwhelmed by information, many people are becoming more intelligent and innovative. I think it is pretty exciting actually. Problems are no longer simple. The fact that we don't need anything more is leading to further creativity. These days it is more of a perceived necessity that leads to an acceptance of a new technology. For example, mobility is what is perceived as necessary right now. Computers, phones, internet connectivity, music, media etc. all must have the ability to move around. So, cell phones combined with society’s need to have all things mobile, led to smart phones that provide email, the Web, phone, music.. all on one device. Do we really need it? Not really. However, did one technology lead to innovation based societies perceived need for everything to be mobile – probably. The unintended consequences of the ever-growing possibilities of mobile technology are very apparent, however. Especially, in regions such as Seattle which are so dependent on cars as a form of transportation. Accidents caused by mobile device use are rampant. Maybe increased car theft is an unintended consequence of mobile technologies. Actually, now that I've written all this, technology is to blame for increased car theft. If devices such as laptops weren't as easy to leave in cars, maybe theives wouldn't have as much motivation to break in as often.

If I only had bought that Trunk Monkey....

Social Aspects of New Media Technologies

2005-10-10T00:42:00.000-07:00

First, I thought some of the references to time in this article were very interesting. The fax was developed in the mid 1800s?? Then, when it finally was adopted in the 80s it was thought that a fax would be as prevalent in homes as telephones were. However, it became primarily a business form of communication. Individuals are not likely to send a fax as a form personal communication these days. This is a good example of a technology that is limited by the number of users available on a given network.

I was also surprised to learn that FM radio took 30 years to be adopted even though it was superior in quality to AM. Regardless of whether a technology may be superior, another very important factor in adoption of a technology aside from availability is compatibility. Thousands of people may be available on the network, but unless you have a format that they can receive, the network is useless. Business needs uniform technology to ensure that they are able to communicate both internally and externally. That is why, even though alternatives are available at reduced costs and often higher quality, standard, wide-spread applications and technologies such as Microsoft Office are often implemented. I suspect, just as it took 30 years for FM Radio to become prevalent regardless of its superiority, technologies and software that is not yet in high use will begin to be more prevalent.

How the Internet Killed the Phone Business - The Economist

2005-10-10T00:30:00.000-07:00

With regards to my research topic, the 3G mentioning in this article sparked questions rather than insight for me. One aspect that I would like to explore is whether developing countries are skipping infrastructure development steps and heading straight to mobile technologies. If so, are there any consequences? Some questions that ran through my mind while reading this article:

What types of infrastructure have or are developing countries putting in place?
Are certain countries missing out on affordable forms of communication such as VOIP?
OR have many countries long been implementing these types of services while ours is actually slow to adapt?
What other services/technologies available?

Just some things to think about and possibly explore in my research…

What is Com 546?

2005-10-07T09:20:00.000-07:00

Evolution and Trends in Digital Media

Examines the past, present, and future of digital communication from diverse disciplinary and theoretical perspectives.

HPK's research topic as it stands today

2005-10-07T09:18:00.000-07:00

Question: What is the socioeconomic impact of mobile technologies on developing or third world nations?

Exploring one or all of the following:
· Comparative impact on stages of national economy (ie economic growth as measured by GDP, trade balance (exports vs imports))
· Impact on daily lifestyle (ie purchase power (relative consumer price index))
· Available employment (impact on local industries)