This semester I learned quite a few things in LIB 3040 that I can take with me into future classes at Baruch and also in my graduate schooling. Of everything we learned, the three activities that stood out to me most were: using the Newman libary’s database system, the use of mind maps and the use of Wikis. Before this class, I was already familiar with all of these activties. However, the class strengthened my knowledge base and showed me the application of these technologies better.

My english Professor and my mentor first introduced me to mindmapping. My english Professor introduced me to the technique and my mentor encouraged me to use it to figure out my future career possibilities. Using the mindmapping in this class to outline our Filter Bubble presentation showed me that mindmapping could be used in a number of ways. For example, as a great way for taking notes and outlining complied works of literature. I will definetly use the mindmapping technique for understanding complex ideas as I continue my education.

The Newman libary databases was another tool I learned how to navigate better in this class. Before the class, I knew about the databases, and was encouraged to use them by previous professors, but I never bothered to because it seemed to difficult. LIB 3040 showed me that it was not difficult at all. It also showed me the numerous amounts of information available at Baruch students’ fingertips. Specifically, I learned that the terms ‘and’ and ‘or’ could alter your search results. I also learned that using quotes around words can keep the words and thus the  thought together in search engines. A better understandng of using databases will help me in any future class I take because it will improve my research for papers.

Finally, the Wikis was something that was interesting to learn and use. I knew that with Wikipedia people can add or remove information; but  I had no idea of the actual process. The video that we saw really did a good job at explaning the development of Wikis. Actually, working on a Wiki helped solidify my knowleldge and understanding of Wikis. If future professors, request the use of Wikis or if my future boss requests this, I will know how to use it.

One thing that I wish we could have covered more in class was how information and information policies affect the government and what poltical implications they have for businesses. Also, I would have liked to learn more about major policy issues surrounding a growing information society. As a political science major and an Information Technology Social Responsibility minor, I would have liked to see more links between the two. Otherwise, great class!

The three pages I edited in the Wiki are: What Plazas Are, Desired Uses, and Desired Amenities.

In the What Plazas Are Page, I posed the question to the author challenging them to think about our thining regarding the plaza. Should we think of the 25th street plaza in terms of collegiate life or in terms of public use. Because those two ways of thinking would alter the way we design and construct the plaza. If we’re thinking collegiately, then we may want to designate quiet areas, as opposed to thinking publicly, this may not be the best option.

The next page I editied was the Desired Uses page, I was the original author of this page so I just added more ideas for potential uses for the plaza. I made a distinction between daily uses and special events. Daily uses would include use by clubs and professors. Special events would be uses for traditonal events like Freshman Convocation and Spring Fling and also cultural planning committee events.

The last page I edited was the Desired Amenities page in which I added a picture of a Professor leading a class discussion outdoors. This shows that we can have a space for class in the 25st plaza.

I came across the article, “Underground Cellphone Service Expands, but Some Call for Quiet.” And I thought, well that’s strange, who wouldn’t be happy about this? I mean personally, I think this is great. If people are able to communicate underground it could increase security and lessen crime. People would be able to call 911 and potential theives/muggers/perverts would realize this as well. Secondly, if you need to get in contact with someone you can. In the past, I experienced forgetting to send a text or place a call, but it’s already too late once I’m already beyond the turnstiles. Also, if the train is delayed, people could let others know they will be running late. The list goes on and on.

Potential objectors to this new expansion might argue that the train rides will become even less pleasant with people able to talk on the phone now. But I think this is an easy fix, wear headphones. I mean, if you look for the solice of a quiet ride home on a busy train, that’s your mistake. Why should everyone else have to suffer? Expanding cellphone service benefits certainly outweigh the downsides. And quite frankly, I think it’s about time they do this. They keep increasing the fare so it’s nice to see some improvements. The United States has the money and capabaility to make these changes to the MTA. And we spend money on wars and on everything everywhere else so I think this improvement is long overdue.

Check out the link and let me know what you think. Does the good outweigh the bad, or not?

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/26/nyregion/30-more-new-york-subway-stations-get-cellphone-service.html?ref=technology&_r=0

This morning was a complete and utter disaster. Every morning that I have classes I take the Long Island Railroad to get to class on time. Today, when I arrived at the station I found out that they’re system was down and was not able to tender credit or debit transactions. Although, I usually have cash on me, today I didn’t because I was running late and didn’t have time to stop at the bank. So I was pretty much stranded at the LIRR station with no where to go. How ironic?

This got me thinking about how much we really do rely on technology. To place important phone calls, to operate the trains and cars we use, to make simple transactions, everything is powered by technology. If one little thing goes wrong, it can reconfigure our entire day or quite possibly our life. This might seem like a bit of a stretch, but just think about it. How much do you rely on transportation? Probably more than you think.

In fact, people today rely on technology for things that we could do for ourselves. For example, before the development of the GPS people got around just fine. They would drive from the east coast to the west coast with just a map. Now I am a sensible person; I acknowledge that technology has helped people in numerous ways, but perhaps we have become too dependent on it. What do you think? Does the good outweigh the bad?

Chapter 8 of The Filter Bubble delineated a host of possible actions individuals, the government and companies can take to combat the filter bubble and the downsides of personalization. One of the first ideas he put forth were for individuals to stop being a mouse. Meaning, to drop the routine of checking three or four websites a day and start “stretching your interests in new directions,” which gives the “personalizing code more breadth to work with.” (Pariser 223) I thought that this recommendation was the least likely to stop the filter bubble because it is impractical. Eli Pariser urges people to basically try new things that they otherwise would not be interested in. That way the filtering code won’t over-personalize you and ascribe specific information to you.

I don’t agree with Pariser because he is asking people to change their interests. He says, “Someone who shows interest in opera and comic books and South African politics and Tom Cruise is harder to pigeonhole than someone who just shows interest in one of those things.” (Pariser 223,224) And while this may true, the obvious truth is that people may not have so many diverse interests and therefore they would not search for such diverse interests. Pariser’s suggestion of stop being a mouse is impractical and would prove least effective in combating the filter bubble.

Another idea Eli Pariser puts forth is for companies and new filterers to “start making their filtering systems more transparent to the public, so that it’s possible to have a discussion about how they’re exercising their responsibilities in the first place.” (Pariser, 229) I think this is a good proposition but it is not quite the best. “There’s plenty that the companies that power the filter bubble can do to mitigate the negative consequences of personalization, but ultimately, some of these problems are too important to leave in the hands of private actors with profit-seeking motives. That’s where governments come in.” (Pariser 237)

The best idea Pariser presents to combat the filter bubble is for the government to require “companies to give us real control over our personal information.” (Pariser 238) I think this is the best solution because only we truly know our interest, inspirations, dreams, and beliefs whether we decide to share it with the world or not. We know what’s best for us; therefore we should be the sole determinants of our personalization. No algorithm will ever understand who we really are.

So as many of you have heard, 56 year old Dina Perez was mugged at approximately 2:40 am in a NYC F train subway. 21 year old Aidan Folan was arrested for the brutal mugging and robbery because he was connected to the assault and robbery through social media.

Allegedly, Aidan Folan was wearing the Alpha Di Delta fraternity sweater, that he was caught on camera wearing when he assaulted Perez. He claims that his APD sweater was stolen the night of the assault and he is being framed.  Online commenters  from Gawker linked the person in the video to Aidan Folan’s facebook account as soon as the video was released. The commenter identified Folan by the pledge name printed on the back of his sweater, ‘Stugotz’ which is Italian slang for “balls.” Numerous photos on Facebook show Folan wearing the sweater. Following the linkage, a number of commenters flooded Folan’s Facebook account calling him a loser, etc.

According to Folan’s Facebook account, he graduated from St. Francis College with a degree in Broadcast Journalism and has worked as a counselor at the Center for Family Life in Sunset Park. I don’t know why someone would rob a woman when they have a sweater on that easily identifies. It is either pretty fishy or just plain stupid. Maybe he was out of his mind or maybe he was framed. What implications does the social media and online commenters have for the future of crime? Let me know what you think.

You can find this article at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/03/aidan-folan-arrested-for-subway-mugging-fraternity-sweatshirt_n_3009024.html?ir=New+York

“The Doctor is In (Well, Logged In)” is an article I found on the NY Times. I found this article to be both extremely interesting and at the same time kind of unsettling. Here’s a little background: Dr. Jay Parkinson is a 37 year old doctor who graduated from Penn State College of Medicine and did his residency at both St. Vincent’s Manhatten Hospital and Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. After finishing his residency, he decided he really didn’t want to go into a private practice and work long hours for little pay. His next move was pretty bold and somewhat outside of the character of what we envision doctors to be and do.

Dr. Jay Parkinson became the founder of Sherpaa, an online website that operates as a virtual doctor’s office, examining patients via email and text messaging. He says, “We’re using the Internet to reinvent health care.” I agree with him on this, he is certainly changing the way we think about health care. And while this sounds incredibly cool and makes visiting a doctor more accessible to patients, I take a different view.

Absolutely, Dr. Parkinson is brilliant and deserves his accolades but in the long run, this method of health care could never really work. First of all, Dr. Parkinson is about making money, not helping people. For one he let his licence to practice medicine lapse. Secondly, his clients are not everyday working people, they are “Web luminaries like David Karp, founder of Tumblr, Chris Hughes a founder of Facebook,” and other company giants. These giants are very interested in Dr. Parkinson’s new health care model which will seek to cut employee health care costs  by $4,000 a year per employee. Not to mention celebs like Tyra Banks want him on their shows. I respect Dr. Parkinson for doing something as brilliant as he did, my only hope is that we don’t disguise new ways of making money as groundbreaking health care.

What do you think about this? And what implications does it have for technology and healthcare?

You can find this article at http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/21/fashion/jay-parkinson-the-doctor-is-in-well-logged-in.html?ref=technology&_r=0

I came across an article in the NY Times called, “Face-lift at Facebook, to Keep its Users Engaged.” This article examined the current status of facebook. Facebook has one billion users worldwide and is known as one of the most profitable enterprises to date. However, recently facebook suffered a drop in share value as well as unsettling news that 61% of users had “taken a sabbatical from the social newtwork, sometimes for months at a time,” due to boredom.

Facebook is always trying to reinvent itself by constantly trying to add new features. Most recently, Facebook is working to revamp the News Feed, to allow for “bigger photos, more videos and  more engaging ads.” I believe this can work for a while, if Facebook is able to get relevant News Feed data available to its users. If they can’t then they can actually alienate some users with “finely targeted advertisements” that don’t reach them.

My question is , will  Facebook be able to continue to remake and reinvent itself to keep users engaged? Can Facebook ever become irrevelant like Myspace or  other social networks that we no longer use? Or is facebook simply so valuable to marketers that they will ensure its success and that it is here to stay?

I think that the value of Facebook to users is often undervalued. Yes, many users are switching to Instagram and Twitter but Facebook is still overwelmingly better at connecting people from all corners of the earth. I also believe that facebook has become a necessary tool for marketers and they don’t want to see it go anywhere. Society is also moving towards personalization and Facebook mirrors that.

What do you think?