How Social Networking Keeps us Connected

May 22, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Communication has evolved so much within the last twenty years. We have come a long way from writing letters to communicate with people far away. The telephone made it a lot easier to keep in contact with friends and loved one. Now with the advent of computer technology we are able to communicate with others on the other side of the world at the drop of a hat.

As computers and the internet have evolved, so has the way and frequency with which we communicate. Social networking sites are playing a big role in how we communicate with each other over the internet. Websites such as Facebook and Twitter are making it so easy for people to stay connected via private messages, wall posts and status updates.

Using Facebook is easy. All you do is sign yourself up and you are given a page which you can start personalizing. The first thing that most people do is search for people they know who may also be on Facebook. Once you have found one person and sent them a friend request, and depending on that persons privacy settings, finding other people you may know is as easy as looking at his or her friends list. Before you know it you will be finding people who you have not seen in years and reconnecting with many old friends.

Social networking sites have helped many people connect and reunite. There have even been many stories of people finding long lost family members through Facebook. What started as a simple way for a bunch of Harvard students to stay connected has now kept the world connected.

 

 

Filed Under: Communications, Internet, Technology Tagged With: , ,

The Ways SmartPhones Have Changed the Broadcast Media World

March 20, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The Ways SmartPhones Have Changed the Broadcast Media World

Smart phones and the Internet have really changed how people receive their news. People are turning more and more to their smart phones and the Internet service that it provides as a way to get news because it allows them to get their news instantly and not have to wait until they get home to see the daily news. Here’s a look at some examples of how smart phones and the Internet have changed the way people receive their news.

Text Messages. People are able to receive their news via text message. These can be small blurbs that allow the person who receives a text message to get a small glimpse into what new story has recently been updated. People like to receive the text message view that allows them to get instant alerts on the latest news and information.

Apps. With the invention of the iPhone the same there’s an app for everything has really come true. People are able to download an app that allows them to get instant alerts from their favorite news and TV outlets. Apps are almost the same as text messages but instead show up on the screen and can give people more information than 140 characters.

RSS Feeds. RSS Feeds are a great way for people who have smart phones to receive the latest information on websites that are updated regularly. People can subscribe to these feeds and receive an instant alert when their website updates. This allows them to get the latest news and information the minute it happens.

Filed Under: Communications, General, Technology Tagged With: , ,

Where is Communication Headed?

January 20, 2011 By Leave a Comment

If we stop to take a look at ourselves, and then compare where we are and how we live our daily lives in comparison to someone of the same age and demographic of the last decade, what kinds of changes would we see? Odds are, there would be a great deal of changes to take note of. These changes are going to be particularly evident among the types of technology being implemented by each party. As of the past three decades, technology has been increasing at a seemingly exponential rate. Recently, if you were to purchase a computer and use it for a year, odds are there would be a new model on the market exhibiting attributes that vastly blow away your “outdated” model. This concept applies to everything, especially communication.

Just ten years ago, it was uncommon for children under the age of twelve to wield a cell phone. Most children were unaware or simply did not care about the newest model cell phone or portable device; however, by today’s standards, kids as young as six are walking around with a cell phone. In conjunction with that, it seems as if nobody can walk from one place to another without plugging their ears with ear-buds connected to an iPod or MP3 player. This is by no means a bad thing, it is just an obvious sign that times are changing.

The way we communicate as a society has taken a drastic turn from what it used to be. Instead of simply calling people on the phone or sending a certified letter through “snail mail”, we are now veteran texters and internet surfers that utilize programs that allow us to see the people we are talking to face to face, regardless of their location throughout the world. It is exciting to imagine the types of advances that will be made in the coming decade, perhaps there will be devices that allow us to communicate telepathically.

Filed Under: Communications, Technology Tagged With: ,

A Look at Modern Society

January 18, 2011 By Leave a Comment

It is truly amazing how much society changes over the course of such a small time frame in human existence. Comparing common life 100 years ago to the lives lived by people today is like comparing night and day. Items that were not offensive back then are extremely offensive by today’s standards, women and people of specific ethnic backgrounds had very few rights in comparison to native white males, and the way in which we live our daily lives in general have been transformed drastically. Additionally, our overwhelming dependence on technology is one of the largest changes by far; as well as the fact that a much larger denomination of the populace lived on a ranch or farm and grew their own food in the earlier 20th century compared to the minute percentage of population today live on a farm and feed the remaining population.

As mentioned, one of the biggest changes that has taken place is the dominance of technology in our modernized society. Even backtracking ten years, it was uncommon for a child in elementary and even Jr. high school to own a cell phone; now more kids than not own a cell phone that they use on a regular basis. In conjunction with cell phone ownership, the amount of time spent watching television and surfing the internet takes up a large portion of free-time in comparison to the time being active and doing other activities in years past. This is one large issue that has vastly contributed to the obesity epidemic in modern American society.

In all, our society is extremely innovative and technologically based. By no means have we degraded in terms of how we have evolved as a whole when compared to 100 years ago. However, we are much more dependent on amenities such as technology and prepared food that is contributing to an overall unhealthy lifestyle and habitual actions that are then passed on to future generations.

Filed Under: Technology Tagged With: ,

The Grassroots of the Convenience of Communication

December 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Many people these days take for granted that they can contact any person they want at any time that they want. You can call someone on their cell phone, send them an email, message them on a social network web site or even video conference with them. Being able to immediately interact with another person anywhere in the world is a staple of the technology era that we live in. Obviously this hasn’t always been the case.

There once was a day where people would write letters to each other and have to wait days or weeks to receive them. People used to have only a few channels on television for their news and entertainment and they were amazed by the footage they saw. Even before then, the radio was the main source for information around the world. These forms of communication only describe what has happened in our most recent history.

Hundreds of years ago, a person’s options were even more limited. People could send messages via telegraph and some entire towns did not even have one. You would have to send your message this way and someone would have to take the message to its destination, which could be miles away. Not a very efficient way to communicate, but it was the origins of many of the types of communication that you use in your everyday lives.

Learning the history of how we communicate will give you are greater appreciation for all the conveniences that you have in your life. Our recent ancestors were pioneers and every year we enhance what they started. We have come a long way in a short period of time and there is no ceiling for how high tech we can go. So next time you send an instant message, email or text, remember that it took a lot of innovation and work to get to where we are today.

Filed Under: Communications, Technology Tagged With: , ,

Television is Quickly Becoming a Living Thing

December 11, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Television has been an ever present resource for news, entertainment and information for almost a century now and it is advancing in leaps and bounds each year. You can find a television in just about every home and most people use them every single day. You can even go in stores, bars and restaurants and find televisions used for sports, advertising and news. It’s amazing to think that your grandparents probably only saw a few televisions during their entire childhood.

It is almost impossible to imagine a life without television. People have taken for granted that they will always be there. When people are bored, often times they turn to television because of the many options that it offers. There are hundreds of channels available where you can watch movies, sitcoms, game shows, sports and concerts. Services like on demand give people the opportunity to watch basically anything they want, whenever they want. Now, that is convenience.

Another aspect of television that makes it so attraction to the masses is the high picture quality. With the introduction of high definition, the television market took off. You can watch broadcasts in crystal clear quality, sometimes making it look almost too real. Movies and TV shows are brought to life with vibrant colors and smooth movements, keeping viewers glued to their sets for hours on end. Recently, 3D televisions have come out and further raised the bar for a quality television watching experience.

Television has taken the world by storm, giving people a real life experience right from their own homes. Looking back on television from only a short time ago, anyone can see that they have advanced in giant steps each year. Picture quality and sheer volume of programs to watch have been a key factor is the success of television. Can you imagine what kind of world we would live in without the invention and evolution of television?

Filed Under: Communications, History, Technology Tagged With: , , ,

Interactive Museums are the New Cool

December 7, 2010 By Leave a Comment

When you ask most people what a museum is, they will probably give you a blank stare, shrug, and mutter something about museums being a place where you walk around and look at stuff. Or paintings. Or something like that.

Unfortunately, much of the public views museums as stuffy, boring and even old fashioned; a place where you must be good and never touch. Fortunately, this prevailing point of view couldn’t be farther from the truth, at least in today’s modern way of educating in arts and sciences.

Museums are fast becoming the cool place to be, especially for today’s youth.
In these days of video games, theme parks and reality shows, museums are looking at, and implementing, creative and inventive ways to attract the public, especially the young, to all that modern day museums now host. Interactive programs can range from a one-day movie making marathon to video games that take you across the depth and breadth of science.

Because people are willing and wanting to become a more active participant in history, art, and technology, the vast interactive programs that are being held throughout museums, world-wide, are attracting a whole new kind of museum-goer. Museums are becoming expert at educating while holding completely engaging interactive programs.

A huge plus in engaging in these kinds of learning activities is that fees for public museums are nominal, and most are actually free.  In a world that is in a questionable financial state, a nominal fee for a day of wonderful, entertaining, and educational activities has a definite advantage over an expensive amusement park.

So whether you are going to a zoo (which is a favorite type of “museum”) activity, or learning science and technology at a museum of science, or creating your own art at a beautiful museum for the arts, learning and arts has just become a whole lot more interesting.

Filed Under: Technology

Music Legends are Memorialized at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum

December 7, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Historical maker near the Rock and Roll Hall o...
Image via Wikipedia

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum landed in Cleveland for a reason. Cleveland, known locally as a dying (or rusting) steel town for decades, does have some life left in the city and has had it for some time. That life revolves around a huge music scene. Numerous venues attract crowds every day of the week, from Peabody’s to the Phantasy Niteclub. Stars such as Elvis and Marilyn Monroe would be proud to know that people travel far and wide to visit their likenesses in a museum built in a city with a music foundation as vibrant as that which Cleveland offers.

Bordering Lake Erie’s southern shore, the Rock Museum draws a steady stream of visitors to the city. People from all around the country want to see this bastion of homage to artists of all stripes, just as those dedicated Elvis fans desire to visit Graceland. As one wanders the hallways and rooms of the museum, they can absorb the looks that were created by artists, for artists, in the displayed clothing styles and hairstyles of entire generations of musicians. Depending on your level of love for music, a visit to the museum can make your year, or at least your day!

Free music ringtones can make your day, by personalizing your phone just as stars of the past personalized their own gear. Jimi Hendrix famously ‘personalized’ his guitar by setting it on fire. Jim Morrison adorned his microphone stand with an assortment of oddball objects, as does the more current musician, Rob Zombie. Most rock stars have personalized their look by adding a lot of leather as well. While the leather look is still cool in certain circles, it isn’t so hot among the younger vegan crowd — which might partly explain the popularity of being able to choose exactly what one’s phone sounds like. It’s the ultimate personal expression.

Filed Under: Entertainment, Internet, Technology Tagged With: , , ,

Cell Phones are the new Method of Choice for Dialing up Information

December 3, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Cell phones have changed the way that people communicate all around the world. People are more accessible now than ever and information is just a few taps of a screen away. Companies are also using cell phones to reach out to consumers via text messaging and advertising in phone apps and games. The world is shrinking and more information than a person could ever want to know is right at their fingertips, literally.

Owning a cell phone is more commonplace now than it has ever been. People used to get their news from radio, television and talking to a friend, but cell phones are quickly becoming the convenient method of choice, since you can access the internet at speeds comparable to many personal computers. Also, print newspapers are falling to the wayside and news via the internet is taking over. Again, your cell phone is right there for all your information needs.

Having the ability to access so much information right from your pocket is quickly becoming the norm. Just a decade or two ago, no one would believe what possibilities a simple phone could unlock. Some people, even today, feel overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of what is available to them. Having a cell phone has turned into much more than just having the ability to call someone in case of an emergency. Getting your daily news, looking up a random fact or asking a friend who is 1,000 miles away which movie is better are all very easy to do.

Communication is always in a state of change, but the cell phone is rapidly becoming a tool that no person should be without. Surprisingly, they are still very affordable as well. Children growing up these days will have opportunities open to them that their parents never had and they will have the ability to gain knowledge that was not possible just a few short years ago.

Filed Under: Communications, Technology Tagged With: , ,
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