LinkedIn Description and What's Cool

LinkedIn on Prezi

                LinkedIn is a social networking site that is aimed specifically for professional networking use. Sign-up is free for anybody and a profile is automatically given which displays personal information, education history, employment history, and other personal details that users choose to disclose. Users can add “connections” which will enable them to communicate directly with them and view their public profile. There are groups that users can join to have discussions and share interests. A job search feature is available to look for employment opportunities. LinkedIn also provides news mostly related to marketing, real estate, or technological industries as well as from specific companies. Companies can also have profiles which display information as well as have the option to post blogs, start discussions, or simply be “followed”.

What’s Cool?

                LinkedIn is a great resource for a wide range of people and their needs. This includes professionals and top managers in corporations, employees, clients, students, alumni, and even just friends. It is a way to expand your network in more than an informal social setting but professionally to foster relationships that can help your career. Users can get advice, recommendations, job offers, as well as initiate business deals, partnerships, and advertize. There is an unlimited amount of opportunities that are derived from your connections.

                LinkedIn’s job search feature is a useful tool for people to seek out employment opportunities and apply online without having to fill out any physical paperwork. Users upload their resume onto their profile making them public and therefore accessible by employers and recruiters. Users can choose to receive email notifications and alerts for new job openings or matches with your profile. In addition to resumes, users can receive recommendations from others which further strengthen their professional image and reputation.

                The internet is becoming a major means of communication and social networking has and still is rapidly becoming a large reason for this. With a site like LinkedIn, many tasks can be done online, remotely, without having to physically travel and submit documents. Simple stated, distance is no longer as large of a factor in keeping connected with others. As Turkle says in Alone Together, “The global reach of connectivity can make the most isolated outpost into a center of learning and economic activity.” (Turkle, 152) With just a few clicks, we can meet new people, form new connections, and maintain them with relative easy. LinkedIn provides this connectivity that “offers new possibilities for experimenting with identity…relatively consequence free.” (Turkle, 152) The worst thing that could happen is being rejected for a job position.  

Video

As stated in the video, Skype offers many benefits. It offers a safe feeling that comes with online experieces, as described by Turkle (page 249). She describes how online experiences can offer a personal interaction with the safety of distance. Skype offers an even more personal experience by face to face interaction.

Skype can also be said to be a step in the future. Rosen states that messengers like Skype are most used by what he dubs the "iGeneration", a generation he claims can use the site at the age of five. This brings up with question of who a five-year-old skypes. With the modern community becoming less local and more global, it is important to have a means off communication, especially a free one. With Skype offering a free, more personalized interaction, it is easy to see how it has become not only popular but a big step into the future.

Twitter

INTRODUCTION (Jared):

            Twitter is a community of microbloggers. It is a social networking site centered around something known as a tweet. A tweet is a post that must contain less than 140 characters, and can include links to pictures, videos, or other websites. A tweet usually is a statement of what you are doing, or can be a thought, idea, concept, picture, video, news, or topics of interest. Another important part of Twitter is the concept of trending topics. Trending topics are key phrases or words that can be searched and monitored by the Twitter community, and these usually are seen with the pound sign or hash in front of the words with no spaces in between them. Also, using Twitter, you can follow someone, but they do not have to follow you back, which is different from many social networking sites. This allows for the extensive following of celebrities, without celebrities having to follow all of their fans back. You can also private message people who you follow, tag people in your posts, and retweet posts (posting someone else's tweet for all of your followers to see). Twitter is one of the most visited websites in the world, and is a very successful social networking site.

POSITIVES (Tyler):

            Twitter is a level playing field; anyone can communicate with anyone.  For instance, I could follow a sports star and he or she could follow me.  This opens up the flow of ideas, allowing people to obtain many different angles and opinions in order to create a complete idea.  As a result, we are more connected to the world and people around us.

            Due to this expanded channel of communication, we need a valve to limit what we are exposed to, and Twitter provides this control.  Its character limit constrains the size of each message, while each user has the ability to “follow” or “block” other users to define the number of messages that one sees.  Unlike other social media websites, Twitter does not obligate a user to follow another user if a connection is established by the latter.

            Ultimately, I view Twitter as a flat plane in which communication occurs.  We are all easily connected in this plane, with no user having an advantage over another.  In Proust and the Squid, Maryanne Wolf states:

We are only at the beginning of analyzing the cognitive implications of using, for instance, the browser “back” button, URL syntax, … and “pedagogical tags” for enhancing comprehension and memory.  These tools have extremely promising implications for the intellectual development of the users, particularly users with discrete areas of weakness…. (Wolf 220)

For those individuals who have social impurities and struggle with communication, Twitter offers an encouraging medium in which they can connect with others.  These individuals are brought into the plane that is Twitter, while the mental implications of Twitter improve and raise the community as a whole.  As a society with increased mental and social skills, we will create stronger, deeper connections with one another.

NEGATIVES (Josh):

            In Alone Together, Turkle writes, “on social networking sites such as Facebook, we think we will be presenting ourselves, but our profile ends up as somebody else – often the fantasy of who we want to be.  Distinctions blur” (153).  This implies that the use of social networking sites, like Twitter, can make the presentation of ourselves more difficult and confusing.  People present themselves in every form of communication, but I think that Turkle is implying here that social networks can make the process of the exploration of identity even more confusing.

            She goes on to write, “Virtual places offer connection with uncertain claims to commitment.  We don’t count on cyberfriends to come by if we are ill, to celebrate our children’s successes, or help us mourn the death of our parents.  People know this, and yet the emotional charge on cyberspace is high” (153).  This applies specifically to Twitter, because of the way that any Twitter user can follow any other Twitter user without being followed in return. Twitter truly offers connection without commitment, and this may lead to confusing attitudes towards connection, commitment, and community in general.

            Finally, Turkle discusses the compulsion that people develop to constantly use the Internet.  She describes a woman in her seventies who has meditated on a biblical reading every morning for years.  Recently, however, this woman has found it difficult to resist the urge to check her e-mail before her spiritual practices.  In fact, her compulsion has become so strong that her resistance to checking her e-mail has become part of her spiritual devotion. While this example deals with e-mail, similar compulsions certainly exist in Twitter users.  It is likely that regular Twitter users will grow strong desires to always stay updated, and will develop a habit of checking their accounts often.  This could be harmful because of the information that is supplied by Twitter, which is more often than not trivial.  Basically, a Twitter account can grow to be a waste of time.

YouTube

Above is the video that Mitchell and I showed in class. It doesn't really cover any of the down-sides of YouTube, however. The cons that we discussed in class were that it promotes bullying through the mob mentality (see Rebecca Black), and also that it creates and outsider vs insider community when not everyone has access to the same videos.

I would add that the clip that got the biggest laugh in class was the bicyclist who ran head-first into a traffic sign. I find the social implications of this type of humor disturbing. It says something about humanity's violent nature and lack of empathy that people getting injured is such a commonly popular form of comedy. This isn't new to YouTube, it's been around since the Tree Stooges and before, but I don't think it's good for us as a community.

 P.S. Yesterday was the seventh anniversary of YouTube's first video. Happy Birthday YouTube!

Baby Einstein: Con

In 1999, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) discouraged TV viewing for children under the age of two due to the increase of studies showing the negative affects of television on infants. In 2011, the American Academy of Pediatrics published another statement addressing this same issue. The AAP concluded that video programs for infants are not educational, and that young children learn best from and need interaction with humans, not television screens (HealthyChildren.org). The AAP published this again to re-affirm its stance on television viewing for children under 2, and to urge parents to be vigilant at making sure their infant received as little media input as possible.

 In 2006, The Journal of Pediatrics published an article showing the harmful effects of videos and other media. They surveyed around 1000 children from two to twenty-four months old, and found that the children who watched TV or baby DVDs had a significant decrease in grammar and vocabulary knowledge than the children who had not watched TV or baby DVDs (Zimmerman, Frederick). They could not conclude how the DVDs were contributing to a harmful effect on the infants, but they just presented and discussed the correlation.

 Maryanne Wolf discusses this issue in Proust and the Squid: 

In a broad study of early development of literacy skills, the educator Catherine Snow of Harvard and her colleagues found that in addition to literacy materials, one of the major contributors to later reading was simply the amount of time for “talk around dinner.” The importance of simply being talked to, read to, and listened to is what much of early language development is about, but the reality in many families … means that too little time will be given to even these three basic elements before a child reaches the age of five. (Wolf 103-104)

Wolf states that it is extremely important to have human-to-human interactions with children for early language development. 

There is significant research showing that educational media targeted for children under the age of two is not educational and can actually be harmful for children in this age bracket. Baby Einstein does not only create DVDs for children, but they are the largest DVD manufacturer for children under the age of two. More parents need to be educated on the dangers of Baby Einstein, so that harmful effects on infants will be minimized. 

Baby Einstein: Pro

Baby Einstein is a multiple award winning company which makes many products to help infants create connections and learn words and meaning from a very young age. They make extremely stimulating products like textured books, colorful play sets, and art kits. A parent reading one of their books, or any book at all, to their child (regardless of age), is integral to learning. “The association between hearing written language and feeling loved provides the best foundation for this long process [of learning to read]”, so a parent using a product such as this can set the child up for long-term educational success.

The most prolific product from the Baby Einstein line is no doubt their video line. While expensive, many of these stepping-stone videos are available on YouTube. These movies allow parents to scaffold with their children, helping them understand higher levels of language by using what they already understand (such as images and sounds) to grow on (Collins & Halverson, 19). Parents taking such a primary role in their children’s education is integral to their success, as “…responsibility for education is shifting away from the state and back to the parents (for younger children)… this movement reflects the emphasis on customizing education to the particular learners’ needs, interests, and abilities” (Collins & Halverson, 95).  In addition, according to Collins and Halverson, children who are homeschooled perform better than normally schooled children in standardized tests and are more involved in their own learning.

While these videos are not a replacement for a more traditional educational experience or one on one parenting time, they can be used as an extremely useful supplementary tool.

World of Warcraft

World of Warcraft is a controversial, online, fantasy role-playing game. It is a completely immersive experience; requiring players to create fully realized characters with relationships, jobs, and skills. Thousands of academic studies have been conducted, investigating whether MMORPG’s such as this are hurting or helping the overall lives of their players. While there are negative side effects of this game, as there are with any new technology, it is in general a beneficial tool for developing social and practical skills.

First, players must learn the rules of the game, how to control the characters and their environment, how to earn goods in a capitalistic society, and work with other players to achieve common goals. All levels are able to beaten, and this pre-established sense of fairness is largely why players "stick with the difficult challenge and use the feedback of the game to get better" (Danforth, 2011). An internal and external rewards system is highly beneficial to gamification of learning – players can gain important spatial awareness, reasoning, and collaborative skills.

Similarly, playing is “a highly collaborative endeavor, a social life unto itself; you routinely check e-mail, talk to, and message the people you game with” (Turkle). Players who are socially disinclined, such as introverts or more extreme cases such as people with a schizophrenia or autism diagnosis, can learn people skills and create connections that could not necessarily in real life.

Finally, more women play WoW than any other similar game. This is partially due to a female player having the ability to create a character of any race, gender, or social class. WoW is an environment where the playing field has been leveled, and anyone with access to a computer and a monthly subscription fee can succeed to the same level as any other player (Eklund, 2011).

Although there are many great things about WoW, there are also some serious drawbacks. Firstly, this game causes addictions. Being nicknamed as the “crack cocaine of the gaming world,” World of Warcraft players spend endless hours playing and often lose site of reality. In fact, a fifteen-year-old boy was hospitalized after collapsing from playing the game for 24 hours. His addiction to the game kept him from eating or using the restroom, causing his seizure (Sparks). This addiction could be driven by the fact that the player can do certain things in the game that are not options in real life. Fighting, traveling, and immersing into the character’s special roles are some examples. Secondly, this game feeds in to addictions in real life such as gambling, drinking and inappropriate or risky behavior (Ebscohost). Secondly, this game allows for cyber bullying to take place. Because this game is very complex, amateur players are usually messed with by more advanced players. Even though the bullying does not occur face-to-face, the wounds are still just as deep behind a computer. Third and most importantly, this game promotes hiding behind a computer or technology to communicate as opposed to communicating with those in your surroundings. In Alone Together, Sherry Turkle writes heavily about second-life and MMORPG games and the role they play on society. She writes, “With sociable robots we are along but receive the signals that tell us we are together. Networked, we are together, but so lessened are our expectations of each other that we feel utterly alone. And there is the risk that we come to see each other as objects to be accessed—and only for the parts we find useful, comforting, or amusing (Turkle, 154). Although players interact with others through World of Warcraft, they are missing the physical interactions. Facial expressions, tone of voice, and physical embraces are all lost. I believe that this interaction over the computer is better than none at all, however, the addictive nature of this game draws players to prefer this interaction over physical. Playing this game instead of being with people in person is the same analogy as text messaging instead of face-to-face communication, in my opinion. There is a time and place for World of Warcraft when played in moderation for recreational purposes. Humans worldwide have hobbies and vices that are not the most communicative, like watching movies. However, the addictions are not nearly as prevalent. Just like a text message, this game is better than no interaction at all, but so many important communicative qualities are lost.

Danforth, L. (2011). Why Game Learning Works. Library Journal, 136(7), 67.

Eklund, L. (2011). Doing gender in cyberspace: The performance of gender by female World of Warcraft players.Convergence: The Journal Of Research Into New Media Technologies, 17(3), 323-342. doi:10.1177/1354856511406472

Sparks, Ian. "World Of Warcraft 'more addictive than crack cocaine' as teenager suffers convulsions after 24-hour-long game." Mail Online 27 Feb 2009, n. pag. Web. 18 Apr. 2012. .

SmartBoard: Not Cool

When the SmartBoard is not malfunctioning, being used by someone who is trained and knowledgeable of its programming, and is an affordable option, it is a great tool to implement interactive technology into a classroom setting. However, a lot of times these setbacks render the SmartBoard more of a hassle than a help. As my classmates saw during our presentation, the SmartBoard can be very glitchy at times and even someone as familiar as I am with this technology couldn't get it to work for a majority of our presentation. In order for a teacher to become acclimated with this technology, it would either take a great deal of their personal time to self teach or the school would have to pay for instructional seminars for the teachers, which can be expensive. The price a school would have to pay to train its teachers would only be added to the actual expense of purchasing enough SmartBoards for each classroom in their school. And considering SmartBoards range from $2000-5000 depending on size and model, a school with a measly 20 classrooms would be looking at a minimum $40,000 purchase and $100,000 for larger or newer models.

Lumus PD-18-2 - Cons

Lumus PD-18-2 on Prezi

The Lumus PD-18-2 is a cutting edge innovation in the realm of electronic displays. Along with its new technology and uses, new potential threats and dangers also arise. The Lumus is a pair of glasses that displays images and information on the lens itself which is in your direct field of vision. You would have to take them off entirely in order to completely clear your path of vision. Considering that the Lumus was initially created to assist drivers with a GPS system, it would be very dangerous to be using a pair of glasses that is constantly displaying moving images and flashing colors at you as you drive. A normal GPS contains sufficient dangers by itself which is located on the side of your field of vision and only makes up a small part of your entire vision. These glasses would take up your entire field of vision making it difficult to concentrate on anything beyond them, let alone the road. In addition to the Lumus being a distraction simply by its method of use, it would also be a distraction as users would have to focus on both the road ahead and the information being transmitted onto the lens. In terms of driving safety, this is very dangerous as a lack of concentration for a split second can be disastrous and is not helped by the fact that the lens is close to the eye, forcing the eye to refocus every time it looks at the road and lens, and vice versa due to a different in focal length.

The Lumus’ physical composition can also be a hindrance as it is relatively heavy due to the technology integrated. This may cause discomfort for users and may be impractical for long periods of usage such as out-of-town drives. The design of the Lumus also eliminates users’ peripheral vision, an aspect that is essential to drivers. This poses a huge danger as users’ ability to see and make judgments is significantly affected. Another limitation due to its composition is the fact that only one person can wear it at a time, which means only one person can use and see the display at a time. This difference between a regular GPS or display screen deprives users the ability to share information. For example, often drivers receive instructions from the passenger beside them who are looking at the GPS rather than the driver themselves. This way, it is safer as drivers can pay full attention to the road ahead rather than needing to multitask by attending the GPS simultaneously. With the Lumus, the driver has no choice but to look at the GPS as he is the only one who can see it.

A negative implication of this technology is overdependence on technology as a whole as relying on it heavily rather than using it as a tool. Technology follows us wherever we go and we start to lose other abilities such as reading and interpreting maps. Skills are being lost or simply never attained due to technology and in effect may make people lazier. The more we rely on technology, the harder it will be to survive without it if a situation or crisis occurs where there is no access to the technology. Another result of overdependence on technology is the reduced interaction with other people. In Alone Together, Turkle discusses this troubling concept as she points out that it is becoming a reality that we live with the continuous presence of screens. With socializing diminishing, we will start to lose current and past connections and relationships that are established, as well as potential future bonds that are less likely to be formed.

Groupon- Not Cool for Merchants

Groupon is a social way to share coupons online. They negotiate deals with businesses and offer them to their subscribers with the promises that new, previously unreached customers will enjoy their experience and become regulars. One of the main problems is that the company is that they have no way to make sure their promises are held up and that they do not care what happens to the merchants after the daily deal is over. Some of the latest research by ForeSee shows that most of their income comes from a small number of people. This means that a few number of people will use Groupons very often, but they don't normally go back when they have to pay full price. These people are very frugal and are not likely to become regular customers. Also, people that would normally purchase items at full price from a merchant will go in with a Groupon which greatly reduces the merchant's overall revenue. This directly goes against the idea that it helps merchants and supports the local economy.
The social media aspect of Groupon puts unneeded pressure on consumers to purchase deals. Facebook and Twitter "friends" may pressure their followers to purchase unneeded Groupons and ultimately cause their followers to lose money if they never redeem their Groupon. Also, if news feeds are clogged up with advertisements and pleas to friends to purchase the Groupons they have invested money into, it could cause frustration. Sometimes "news feeds" can be so jammed with certain things, it is hard to actually use them for the purpose of seeing different status updates and tweets from more than just their avid Groupon-user friend.
Groupon is also a prefect example of hegemony. The  majority of the people using Groupon are more inclined to purchase those that have more purchases than others. A certain group of people that are regular Groupon users can use their purchasing power to lead others to believe that what they are buying is the right thing to buy. Groupon has a quota that makes sure a certain number of people buy each deal before the deal activates which contributes to the power of a small group of people to convince others that the deal they want is the interest that everyone should share, even if that interest is not actually shared. This can lead to a false sense of shared interests. (Storey, 79-80)
Overall, Groupon has many positive aspects that tend to outweigh the negative aspects for consumers. However, merchants tend to suffer and often regret their use of Groupon. For additional reading on the negative aspects of Groupon for merchants, please visit the reference links shown below.

Reference links:
What Daily Deal Companies Should Do to Help Merchants
10 Reasons Why Groupon is Terrible for Merchants
Groupon's Whale Problem

Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-WfiOGSAno

Fourth Set - Communities and Connection

This is a list of the last set of presentations:

Wikipedia (Louis, Andrew, Danica)
Twitter (Jared, Joshua, Tyler)
World of Warcraft (Claire, Jennifer)
Augmented COmmunication (Dieu, Anna)
Linked in (Minhtrang, Wen)
YouTube (Mitchell, Amanda)
Facebook (Jocelyn, Elaina)
Groupon (Steven, Kristina)
Skype (James)

Third Set

This a list of the third set of presentations (Education and Learning)

Rosetta Stone (Louis, Andrew)
Baby Einstein (Jared, Jennifer)
Smartboard (Claire, Elaina)
ExmoBaby (Dieu, Anna)
Lumus (Minhtrang, Wen)
Adobe Connect (Joshua, Jocelyn Steven)
Gameification (James, Kristina)
Edmoto (Danica, Tyler)
Cellphones (Mitchell, Amanda)

Sherry Turkle featured on SourceFed!

Exmobaby

Please see our presentations on Exmobaby in the following videos:

The Pros:




The Cons: