Is social media here to stay?

 

Is social Media here to stay? Or is it just another illusion of the technology revolution? Are we going to talk about it ten years from now? Social Media is the new big thing out and just like CDs and Betamax in the past, social media have the risk to disappear. Other Social Media network websites like MySpace and Friendster have failed to make a bigger impact in society. What guarantees new sites like Twitter and Facebook to be successful? Maybe is because they have been out in the market for almost a decade. During this time, social media have influenced people’s way to interact and ways to think. The other reason might be that both websites are revolutionizing people’s lives. 

I think Social Media will run people’s life. I think social media will be the new way to meet people, social media is already an important thing when you’re trying to get a job. For me social media is here to stay for a while. Until something better or more innovated comes out, social media will influence people’s lives. 

 

How bad do we need Internet?

 

I can recall when the Internet came around. I was about thirteen years old and my dad bought a computer so we could use this amazing thing call Internet. I didn’t really know how to used it but in a short time I was spending more time sitting in front of it than playing with my friends or my toys. As the time passed, I my necessity for this new device became unstoppable. Since I have pretty much swim all my life, my social life was attached to this thing we call Windows Messenger. Now we don’t use messenger at all, but we have multiple social networks like Twitter and Facebook, that have linked a social presence with us. Thanks to the Internet we can talk to people across the world. Share anything you want using Instagram or Facebook.  Before Internet all homework were done using libraries, now pretty much all researches are done via Internet.

I don’t know how are lives would be if Vint Cerf wouldn’t have created the Internet. I think something else would be around, maybe not as big as the Internet, but it would give us some source of worldwide connection. Maybe other technology would have emerged to take control. For people who don’t have Internet, life might be more calm and quite. They would get all news and information from TV news and newspapers. I think for some people that were born in before the 80s Internet is not a necessity but for us the new young generation Internet is one of the more important tools of information. 

Can I have a second?

Mobile phones have definitely change people’s lives. Over the last couple years the mobile industry has develop an enormous amount of innovations that is hard to remember what were we doing before the era of the cell phones came. I remember when I didn’t have a phone, I felt like everything was more peaceful and people were not in a hurry for everything. Now time is one of the most valuable things in society. “Can I have a second? I’m leaving in a minute.” I also spent more time with my friends and family. When I first got a phone I was around fourteen, and everything change since then. My friends got a phone too and we started texting and it became a social problem. Today I struggle if I forget my phone at the locker room or at my car. I need it for everything, society made us phone dependent.

Today kids get phones before they turn six years old. I think kids should have a phone before ten. The social implications of have a phone are dramatic. If we don’t want kids to be ten times more media-technology dependent that we are right now, we should limit their access to social media and technology at such an early age. Mobile phones are like video games, they should be carefully supply to kids and more carefully supervise by the parents. 

Rap Genious

Royalties and sues, the music industry has issues all over the place. in the twenty-first century nobody wants to pay for music or a movie. Piracy gives you the option of sharing music and videos for free. The problem in music industry is that, there is people trying to get free content and on the other side there is people suing everybody because they wanna make more and more money.  Now we see people benefiting from lyrics. All the lyrics have copyright just like the songs. The issue is not the lyrics but the webpage. When you have 50.000 lyrics in your web site you receive a lot of visits per day. This is the issue, advertisers are looking for popular websites to put some adds. So this illegal activity is generating profit to an unlicensed webpage. This is the main issue for NMPA. Does it harm the artist? I don’t know, but is harming the industry.

I think this website need to go negotiate and start pay to get this lyrics, or be ready to be shut down. I think some new regulation need to be apply to the industry in general. Copyrights and royalties to the artist and publishers need to be closely regulate. As I already mention, the main issue is that there is some people trying to take advantage of the freedom of the internet and some others just being super dramatic and suing  everybody. 

 

Teaching through video Games

The argument about educational video games is still open. Some people like Eliza Krigman argue that video Games would be able to teach subjects like math and science to little kids but this is still an open debate. Experts suggests that video games would keep kids motivated  with STEM.

I think kids are more interested in other kind of video games, like Call of Duty or Battlefield, and they don’t want to see how school is getting in the way with the fun. I think one way to start incorporating the academic-educational field into the video game world is through apps. Apps like Angry Birds and Candy Crush are revolutionizing the world of smart phones and tablets, and will emerge as new force in the video game industry. Incorporating a small relation of apps like this ones or like the one Brain Challenge puts, will reinforce the use of video games and new technologies for educational purposes. Small educational emphasis is the key to make STEM successful through video games.

Personal Compters

I still remember when my dad bought our first desktop computer. I was about ten when he came back on a Friday afternoon and told me “I have a surprise”. It was smaller than a TV, with a lot of cables that went in and out, and with a tower next to it. Then I saw something strange connected to it by the cables (keyboard and the mouse) and realized it wasn’t a TV. It was what my friends called a desktop computer. I remember that all I cared about was trying it. Then I remembered everything my friends talked about the online games and all the awesome things they could do with a computer. My dad taught me how to used it and gave some security advices.

The first time I heard from personal computers was when I was twelve years old. I think I saw a TV commercial. By the age of fifteen, I convinced my mom to buy me a personal computer for my sixteen birthday. She bought me a 13-inch Hewlett-Packard for $650. It was the best present ever, we didn’t really know much about personal computers, but it was a great deal for us. It was 2007, and having a personal computer as a sixteen year old in Colombia was a big deal. By the time I decided I needed a new one I was nineteen and I knew a lot about personal computers by then. I have a couple friends that taught me more about specifications and accessories. Then, I bought a Sony Vaio a powerful machine, but with one problem; the battery. The battery didn’t last three hours. It was really annoying it was like having a semi-desktop computer, because I had to be connected all the time. In addition to the first problem, the connection button broke my freshman year of college. After mending the power button a couple times, I gave up. It was time for a new one. With some economic help of my parents I bought a Mac Book pro two years ago. I finally fixed my Vaio and sold it for a reasonable price. I really enjoy using my Mac Book, but I still miss my old Sony Vaio.