Weekly Blog 10: Should civilians have so much access to War’s Front Lines?

The U.S. sends our young men and women off to war, currently to fight in Afghanistan and Iraq. To do tours in various countries including Vietnam or Japan where my cousin is now. Regardless of what we think of war, I believe it is our right to know what happens on the front lines. It is important to know what our soldiers are feeling, what they are put through and if their feelings about the service has changed in anyway, do they still believe in the war they are there for?

My cousin who is currently doing a tour in Japan and I have not spoken in years, I am closer to his older sister. To get updates on how he is doing I have to call her or check his facebook page just to know how he is doing. This past week I asked her, “How does your brother feel about being in the military?” she told me that once upon a time he was all for it believed in the cause, believed in the mission but now he is not so sure. These are feelings that many soldiers have once they enlist and actually have to do a tour or the first time they take a life. It is easy for us who are at home to feel like it is their (or our rather) right to serve regardless of what we actually know about the war and why we are there. In the 60s and 70s when footage of the Vietnam War was released to civilians back home and the body count continued to rise, it was obvious to the American people that we needed to pull out and “bring our boys home.” If it wasn’t for the footage would the anger and animosity towards the war is different. I believe yes. When your country calls…we as patriots believe in answering the call but what about if we don’t agree with the reasoning for the war we have a right to know and see what we agree to send our men and women off to do.

Some believe that if there is too much negativity about war many young men and women will seize to exist all together. That is far from true, though I am not quoting any statistics on this I can say that after 9/11 happened there was no man women or 18 year old young person that was not willing and ready to go to war, they knew what the fight was about. It is our right to hear and see what we allow our men and women to sign up for.

Response Blog 3: Creative Suite CS5: Product Improvement or more Money to Spend?

So if some of you don’t already know, Adobe released a new version of the Creative Suite software CS5 just a few days ago on April 12^th. This comes less than two years after their release of CS4 (and less than 6 months after I purchased the thing).  To my knowledge a lot of people who I spoke to were still using CS3 and thinking of upgrading in a few months but obviously now they are light years behind the upgraded software that is Adobe.

To be honest since I am a newbie to all things creative suites, minus of course Photoshop and Dreamweaver, I am still getting use to my fairly new product and now they release the newest and of course promoted to be the “even better” CS5. From the perspective of the developers of the software I completely understand the logic behind updating the program at this early date. Mobile technology and its usage in our quickly changing information driven world, has pushed the envelope for creators and users of the software who depend on Adobe to assist them with being on the cutting edge of development and keeping them equipped to adapt with the changing landscape.

So what does Adobe’s CS5 actually do? Well for Photoshop, brush and paint mixing capabilities were added, which now gives the movement of a real paintbrush. In Dreamweaver so far I really can’t say if there is anything significantly different. I am basing my information on what Adobe TV preview. Honestly I think it is just the mobile capabilities that really hold this new one together so I would say if you have CS4 do not feel compelled to run out an upgrade I get the feeling CS6 will offer us something a lot better and at that point I would have had my adobe for two maybe three years.

Response Blog 2: New Tiger Woods Nike Commercial – Marketing Genius or Cryptic Ploy?

The new Nike commercial featuring Tiger Woods has been a hot topic all week-long with many discussions taking place around the water cooler or in my case at work in the workroom and in my marketing class. I have taken the stance that this commercial is a great example of strategic crisis communications in action to rebuild his image. A man who was once seen as squeaky clean family man and role model fell from grace when it was revealed that he engaged in multiple affairs with various women  (thought I would recap just in case you have been living under a rock and don’t know or pretending that you don’t care and don’t have a personal opinion about it).  Many people including a few of his sponsors, dropped Tiger from his endorsement deals and public marketed image.

This commercial follows his public apology to his wife, family, fans and sponsors. The apology received such lukewarm impact on how people see him now and honestly aren’t sitting around with feelings of personal betrayal, the general feeling is  “oh well he is still the best golf player in the game,” but for all of those that feel for poor Elin Woods (Tiger’s wife) this commercial might be his ticket back to “redemption.”

The commercial works. No matter how you analyze it or scrutinize his decease father’s lecture from the past, the commercial uses the voice of the one man Tiger admired most – his father. I felt it showed that Nike supports Tiger as family supports their loved one despite their questionable behavior and poor choices. A coworker of mine believed it was solely because Tiger is Nike’s entire golf industry and they would loose big by dropping him. I think it really depends on the way you view it. Yes Tiger is golf and really the number one player golf fans care to watch and yes, Tiger makes Nike a lot of money, however I still believe you can say everyone loves a comeback story and the Nike ad is the perfect redemption video. Do you agree?

Weekly Blog 9: Lebanon: ArabNet discussed the future of Arabic Web in English

Last month the tech conference Arabnet 2010 was held in Beirut. It is the first international conference for the Arab web industry with leaders from across the MENA, Europe and Silicon Valley. It was said to be a successful conference yet for an Arab conference why was everything conducted in English? Why will the Arabic web adopt English as its official website language? This had many people buzzing with frustration.

If the plan is to support technological innovation in the Arab world then it makes sense to conduct production and promotion in Arabic. Writing it in English puts a sort of pressure on the people in this region forcing them to feel as though they must learn the English language in order to have a presence in the Internet arena. The Internet and web development was invented by America and now reaches across the world but in order to have authentic thought and creation it would be best to have it done in the native tongue or this region. One blogger said, “For starters, the conference talked about the gap between East and West and that its aim to achieve a step towards closing that gap. Of course, I don’t know how we can close the gap while the conference’s organizers, who happen to be the elite of Arab creative minds, don’t believe in their mother tongue.”

I do agree with there being business languages and in Internet technology world that language is English. Learning English can help advance knowledge and business possibilities, but for citizen use it makes sense to have the conference in the language that the people speak and can understand.

Weekly Blog 8: Wikipedia Accuracy – Do I still feel the same way?

After last Wednesday’s class on the topic of Wikipedia, I feel I wrote my blog entry based solely on my opinion and my limited knowledge on how Wikipedia actually operates. Since digging deeper into the layers of the tool, I am happy to know that there are actual rules to having a wiki page.  First you have to be credible in order to have an actual wiki page, there is an actual community of passionate involved (almost committee) people that has to approve the legitimacy of your claim in order for you to create a page. This modern dictionary is not a place for opinions or personal thought you must be able to back up your claim and provide proof of your claims.

This may surprise some about Wikipedia but it is even a great source for breaking news. The community of citizen journalist (if you want to call them that), add up to the minute information on current events going on around our country and in the world, by utilizing as many sources as possible, Wikipedia provides information from every avenue covering a breaking story or deeper information on historical events.

Do I think that the encyclopedia is still more accurate than Wikipedia? I don’t. I think Wikipedia, because of its real-time updates, surpasses the encyclopedia in efficiency and accuracy. The support and backing of the majority of fact checkers (citizen journalists) provides the accuracy that we are all so desperately hoping we can get from Wikipedia.

So middle school students do not fret (if you fretted at all), you can continue to use the wiki as your go to source for research and information because we can be sure that the information you are reading has been debated and scrutinized before it make its way to the official page that you are reading.

Weekly Blog 7: Wikipedia Accuracy

Since Wikipedia sprang up on the Internet it has become our go to source for information, definition and meaning. We rely on it as a source page and for part of a generation it is the only source they know. The truth is wikipedia is the contribution of anyone who is interested in editing a page. The fear of our dependence on wiki is the fact that anyone can edit a page and we can source incorrect information and receive a meaning or definition that has absolutely nothing to do with the topic. So how can we control or monitor its accuracy? For one thing for topics like celebrities, movies or personal profile, most people control their own pages and most people would not have a reason to manipulate them for any reason (we hope).

The thing we need to be cautious about is the potential for biased opinion. This is easy to come by on many wiki pages especially if the topic is centers around politics or political issues.  How can we ensure unbiased factual information is on wikipedia? Right now we cannot but I believe if we are able to set regulations to this will ensure the accuracy of the information there. Everyone who wants to edit a page with updated in depth information should have to sign a clause/agreement to adhere to the integrity of a wiki page.

I do think that the encyclopedia is probably more accurate then wikipedia – reason being that the writers of the encyclopedia take time to research the information, words and even slang to make sure it is in compliance with the English language.

Wikipedia is the new way of searching for information; honestly I rely on it and take its information as truth. Since we will continue to relay on wikipedia as our main source of definition information, it is up to us citizen journalist to make sure it is accurate for all of us.

Response Blog: Congress Tackles Health care in a Never Ending Session

My opinion on the topic of our nation passing Healthcare reform is in response to my classmate Amanda’s blog post. Inducting healthcare into law has caused many reactions and feelings with the American people who will be affected by the move. Reactions have ranged from feelings of historic, exhilarated, touchy and divisive. So who is really happy with the passage of Health care reform besides those in congress? Those who don’t have coverage I would assume, but I would like to talk about the “everyday man” (and woman) who will be touched by the passing of this reform bill.

Most people who read this blog (if you are reading and you should be) probably has a job and all of their (your) friends have jobs and everyone more than likely gets health coverage from those jobs. So why do the employed need to pay for additional health care, healthcare they obviously don’t need? It’s hard to wrap your head around the notion. Even when the everyday man can speak to times of unemployment from college to a job or graduate school to a job  - they don’t have health coverage; most people just don’t bother getting coverage during this time. The odds are you just might not need it and most people are comfortable taking that chance (especially if you are lucky enough to have great health).

Amanda’s blog put up a clip of Nancy Pelosi on MSNBC discussing (or not discussing) who will pick up the brunt of this health care tab and from the sounds of it the balance ball is leaning towards the “everyday man” handling the check. There are so many unanswered questions for all American people regarding the benefits of this reform and since everyone is so deeply divided on the effects of Healthcare reform, we will all just have to wait and see who was right.

Personal Blog 3: Men on the Metro – Chivalry might be completely dead

If you are lucky enough to live in a metropolitan city like Chicago, New York, Boston or Washington, DC your means of transportation is more then likely by train or metro, which most people would find great, the convenience of not having to find parking or pay for gas, to sit back and let the conductor take you to your destination. However there is a truth that most people would not want to admit openly but will complain about it to their friends and that is the reality that chivalry is completely dead.

If you are a woman looking to sit down on the metro after a long stressful day in your heels, don’t look to the opposite sex to give you a seat and rest those tired soles.  If you are pregnant, elderly or with young kids don’t expect to have someone tap you on the shoulders and say, “Would you like to sit down?” I know it is unfair of me to generalize many men as performing such selfish acts of non chivalrous behavior, but my observations while living in three of these major cities (and currently DC) has led me to notice that the courtesy of giving up a seat for someone who looks like they could use the rest a bit more – is an act that has long past. It is as if people have become desensitized to giving up a seat to a more deserving passenger.

Just recently I was sitting in one of the row seats on the orange line metro heading in the direction of Vienna during heavy rush hour. I was lucky enough to get a seat, which I had scrambled for to rest my tired soles after a long day of work and heading to a long evening of class, but after two or three stops a young obviously pregnant woman hopped on the train and without even a hopeful look for a seat, grabbed the pole, eased her way around and held on to await her destination. Without hesitation (I mean her stomach was looking at me) I tapped her on the shoulders and asked her if she would like to sit down. “That’s so nice of you, “she responded with her lightly touched southern accent “no one has ever offered.” I couldn’t believe she just said that; no one has ever offered? I was shockingly outraged. The idea that absolutely no one has ever offered up his or her seat that just didn’t make any sense. She was so grateful to me and so where her parents (come to find out the older couple standing with her belonged to her) when she got off she and her parents thanked me again. I looked around and I could tell people were embarrassed and continued to do what they always do when they see someone they know deserves that seat more then they do – they pretended to be asleep or too oblivious to know what was going on (the old oblivious trick).

Why are people so desensitized to common courtesy or chivalry? What has happened to make a lot of men (and women but honestly men should take the lead on this one) in general uninterested in giving up their seat to someone who needs it more then themselves?

Weekly Blog 6: MMO’s

Second Life offers an amazing escapism life via the virtual world that allows you to be someone else, meet new people and actually interact with them via your virtual avatar. I am not completely shocked by its cosmic success thinking back on my childhood I much enjoyed the game “Sim City” and the virtual world it provided. Though I do think second life is a fun and exciting way to pass sometime and life out your wildest socialite lifestyle for a while I am concerned by the growing audience that is taking virtual reality and yearning to replace it with their own actual reality.

Just three months ago the anticipated flick avatar premiered in the theater braking box office records and giving us, the audience a chance to enter a magical world and spend three hours in Pandora (the world created by James Cameron) via 3-D classes.  This world offered viewers a chance to experience a world of perfection but instead as reported last January by CNN Avatar Audiences experience ‘Avatar blues’ a feeling of depression and suicidal thought after viewing the flick. This unhealthy and obsessive feeling towards a fictitious world is the reason virtual reality games might be too dangerous for people to handle. In 2005 a gamer died in North Korea from game playing addiction.

Massive Multiplayer Online games (MMOG’s) cannot be overlooked (and that comment is directed towards those who do not consider themselves gamers and are wondering what the commotion is all about) by the non-gaming community, we currently don’t know how as a business we will be able to utilize the arena but we have to understand that there is a real community of people living in this virtual reality. Whether we like it or not we have to accept it.

Weekly Blog 5: Should we be afraid of Google?

I am sure many people think that we should be afraid of google they are even prepared to support some of google’s completion but honestly can we be afraid on a search engine that has revolutionized our world and our lives?  – I don’t think so.

 I understand the scary part is that we easily confess things to google that we probably would not want to tell a soul but the truth is search engines are an integral part of our lives. there is a whole generation growing up within the search engine era and will never know a world without it. The point it is not going away.

 We need to trust google. There company philosophy is “Don’t no evil” and since we will continue to reveal who we really are the questions that plague us most to google it is a bit of a comfort to know that they uphold efforts to not use our information to do evil.

 Competition for google is becoming more pertinent and this means people will soon be turning to other search engines to retrieve information, and because of that we will need to begin to doing our homework and read the fine print to see how our searches, IP address and information will be handled.

 I do not work for google in case this sounds like some sort of google praise – that could be a new google application but I know it is a product that we all have come to rely on when in need of a quick search and answers to questions.

 Can you really not trust someone who tells you “what it is” all the time?