Reading Response #5

“Information Technology 101” by Andrea Foster was an interesting article. It mainly concentrates on how college students are very adapt at using technology, but not necessarily as it pertains to valid and reliable research techniques. Students are overwhelmed by the simple vastness of the information available both online and compiled on library shelves. Librarians and Universities are now challenged to inform students and make sure they understand how to conduct research in this new digital age. I think this article was very on point, students do rely on Google and other free search engines more than they should when they really need to be looking for scholarly journals and other more reliable forms of research. We, as students have access to tons of databases and scholarly journals through our campus library, we have the option of inter-library loan. We have all these options to find lots of information that is going to be more reliable than most of what we can find on Google or Yahoo, but the problem is we are lazy. There I said it! We don’t want to have to bother trying to get to the databases, through all the passwords and usernames, and we don’t want to actually go to the library, when we can hop on our laptops real quick and find out almost exactly what we need to know within seconds. There is a problem with that though, you have to ask yourself how reliable the information you are getting is. It may take more effort to get to the databases and scholarly journals, but the information you get will be a higher caliber and worth the effort.

Reading Response #4

“The Infodiet: How Libraries Can Offer an Appetizing Alternative to Google” is an interesting look at how libraries as are first method of finding information is not yet dead. Yes today we want our information now, not ten minutes after we have looked up a subject and found a book and call number. Today libraries still have a place in society you have librarians to help you find reliable information from reliable sources. Yes you many be able to find information faster online and you don’t have to leave the comfort of your computer desk, but you still have to question the information as far as its validity, and reliability. At least in the library you have that personal support to help you and you are not depending solely on the technology you have on hand. Libraries have been used to store our information for centuries, why rock the boat now. My favorite quote of the article was “Working together, librarians, professors, and developers can show students that research, like reading and classroom discussions, requires careful reflection. supersized search engines that imitate Google, producing piles of full-text articles, may initially be as satisfying as a candy bar. But empty calories — or citations — are not what the educated consumer wants.” We want access to valid and solidly supported information, libraries are still the best way to access this information, while still not taking years to find the information you need. This article brought up some interesting points regarding the ongoing war between libraries and the internet, but there really isn’t a war when you think about it, they are two very different entities that both have pros and cons and both have their individual uses. However when those uses converge, we as students have to decide which one will be most effective to find the information we need.

Reading #3 Summary

The reading begins describing how without libraries most of the legendary artist, scientist, Leonardo DaVinci’s work would have been lost. In the Middle Ages books were to expensive, so they were precious and kept locked up, with the invention of the Gutenberg’s printing press books became more and more accessible. Later on from 1883-1929 the affluent business man Andrew Carnegie funded the building of 2,509 libraries all over the world. However the actual purpose of libraries and need for them is changing. Information is now more than ever available at the fingertips of most people via the internet. People are moving faster, multi-tasking everyday. They watch television and surf the web at the same time, eat lunch on the run and the demand for increasingly faster access to information and communication is growing. Books need to become more than a product; they need to become an experience in order to keep up in this new world. Libraries are no longer needed for information, we have the internet for that, they will become the center of culture, like museums, in order to survive. This article was very interesting because it really makes some good points. In the past libraries were essential, they managed to preserve our history and save it for today, when we can now access it online. In this new age of instant, free, access to information from any computer with internet access, the actual need for a library is fading. The libraries need to adapt and embrace the new technologies that are taking over and not fight back, because if they don’t they will disappear.

Is Wikipedia Reliable?

In “Can Wikipedia Ever Make the Grade?” by Brock Read the author discusses how Wikipedia one of the newest and hottest ways on the internet to get information is not all its cracked up to be. The main problem he brings up is that anyone can add material to the encyclopedia's entries without having to show any proof of expertise. However after he assumed another name and posted random and obviously false information on several topics he realized that Wikipedia’s editors were doing their jobs well. Less than three hours after he posted the false information the information was taken down and he was asked by the editors to stop posting false information. Though some professors critique it because the site does not show them favor and the editing process does not seem very turn key, Read’s experiment shows that though the information can be posted by anyone, the editors are doing a good job of filtering out he junk and making the site a much more useable and reliable site to go to for legitimate information. Read even goes through and grades how the site provides information for “Brave New World” based on links provided and reliability of information, and it does quite well. Read’s experiment proved the experts and the scholars wrong by proving that the editing process that Wikipedia uses does in fact work. You still have to be careful about using information from the site however you could log on and get that false information in the short time between false addition and editing. So simply double check the information you are provided with there and you will be fine using Wikipedia as a source of information today.

Reading #1 Summary

Reading #1: “Web Hoaxes, Counterfeit Sites, and Other Spurious Information on the Internet”

This first reading was very interesting. It is all about how the internet misinforms, misleads, and how it can very easily scam you out money and other things. Just because a website looks legitimate doesn’t mean that it was set up by an actual legitimate company or that the information provided on it is factual. Anyone can go online and create a website now, but there are warning signs though. If information provided on a website is misspelled or contradicts obvious or common knowledge know that it is more than likely full of misinformation. There are so many hoax websites now that there are websites set up to keep track of them like register.com. Also you should consider referencing print materials if you cannot verify the URL or are still not sure if the website is legitimate. The article also brings up hacks and spoofs and how sometimes they are not as obvious as you think. Again you have to be very careful to verify information and using the detailed search options on search engines like GOOGLE and YAHOO are always good options to help you narrow down your searches to good legitimate information. You aren’t even safe just reading the news online. Writers don’t always check their stories and sometimes information is false. Remember use your common sense when getting information online and always double check your information to make sure your not getting fed false information by fake websites. Also beware of sites that claim to be charities of any kind. Make sure any charity you donate to online is registered, you could just be paying someone’s rent.

Spam Blog?

To the person reviewing my blog because it is suspected as a spam blog: I am a college student. I had to start this blog to post my news reports for my teacher;s review. I go to UNC-Wilmington as supported by my school e-mail address that you have. This is not a spam blog it is just a school assignment.

News Report #5

“China Internet Use Exceeds Global Average”
K.C. Jones, Information Week
January 15, 2009
http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=212900560&subSection=Browsers

The People’s Republic now has over 300 million internet users. China’s population growth of 42% in 2008 is another factor that led to its internet domination. The number of people using the internet in China has more than doubled since 2006. It is also found that ninety percent of internet users in China use broadband service according to the Internet Network Information Service.

We are living in a technological age. We live in a world where a household of four can have six computers all with internet access and their own wireless internet routing system. Did I mention the four televisions also in the home. In 2008 China actually surpassed the United States in internet users, what a shocking concept. We use the internet to connect with our friends, do our homework for school, check e-mails for work, read the latest news and check the weather. It doesn’t surprise me that China has finally surpassed the United States I do wish that the Chinese government will eventually allow their citizens to use the internet and not be censored. The Chinese government has imprisoned people for posting certain things in web blogs and for searching particular things on the internet. I hope that eventually this age of internet freedom and free speech will eventually be fully extended in the country that actually harbors the most internet users in the world. At least we can be thankful that the censorship factor has not affected the number of people who use the internet in China.

News Report #4

“Social Network Sites Not Just for Teens”
Scott Nichols, PC World
January 15, 2009
http://www.pcworld.com/article/157753/social_network_sites_not_just_for_teens.html

Though it is thought that most people on the online social sites such as Facebook and Myspace are teenagers, a resent study by Pew Research shows that teens aren’t the only ones profiling themselves online. In February 2005, only 8 percent of adult Internet users claimed to use social networking sites, but that number has increased to 35 percent as of December 2008. If you breakdown the adult users by age social networks are still mostly populated by younger users. 75 percent of 18 to 24 year olds use social networking sites, with a still respectable 57 percent of 25 to 34 year olds also using sites. The percentage steadily decreases as the age increases, but there are still 7 percent of adults 65 and older have accounts on social networking sites, which is a surprise to most people. Myspace is considered the site of young teenagers, while Facebook is mainly used by college students, and LinkedIn is meant more for adults. At least those are the stereotypes. It turns out though, in reality 50 percent of adults who subscribe to social networking sites are Myspace users, with only 22 percent on Facebook, and 6 percent on Linkedin.
This article just shows how much technology has spread and how it connects us all. Seventy-five percent of my age group is a member of at least one social network. That does not surprise me. We are all connected by technology and I think it is great that even seven percent of adults age 65 and older are actually members of social networks. That proves that social networks aren’t just for the younger generation, it is for everyone.

News Report #3

“United Airlines to Offer Aircell Gogo In flight Internet In 2009”
Raymond Padilla, The Feed
January 15, 2009
http://www.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/692463/United-Airlines-To-Offer-Aircell-Gogo-Inflight-Internet-In-2009.html

Starting in the second half of 2009 United Airlines will be the first to offer in flight wifi via Gogo in flight internet service. The wifi service will cost $12.95 for the entire flight. Aircell is already partnered with American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Air Canada, and Virgin America to offer the same service on all of those airlines.

It is about time that the airlines decided to offer in flight internet. This has been a long time coming and students, avid travelers and business men and going to be so ecstatic to pay that $12.95 in order to use the internet during their long flights. This is just another way that technology is moving forward even in the way we travel. The airlines have been going through a lot with the bankruptcies, pay cuts, layoffs and sales. However, now they are getting back to improving what they can offer their passengers in order to make their flight more convenient and make it easier for people to multi-task during long flights. So this is the next step in airline convenience and technology. Within the coming years maybe we will be able to use our cell phones and any other electronic device without having to worry about messing up the radio signals or tying up the cell phone towers. So even though this is a great step forward in technology, developers should be looking toward the next steps in making more and more electronics an option on flights. I mean could we get a cell phone call, please?

News Report #2

“Thai Man Arrested for Internet Comments on King”
The Associated Press, International Herald Tribune
January 15, 2009
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2009/01/15/asia/AS-Thailand-Monarchy.php

A man in Bangkok, Thailand named Suwicha Thakhor was arrested Wednesday for supposedly posting insulting messages regarding the Thai monarchy on the Internet, Thakhor denied the allegations. Thai police claim that Thakhor posted messages on some undisclosed websites that broke the lese majeste law which is basically a law in Thailand that forbids citizens to speak ill of the monarchy, the penalty for breaking it is three to fifteen years in prison. This law has been enforced more and more in the past years in order to keep the monarchy strong and safe from rebellion. Suwicha Thakhor is only one of many facing charges because of the lese majeste law another is Ji Ungpakorn, a political scientist at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University who is campaigning to abolishe the lese majeste law.

I found this article very interesting because we have a similar situation in the United States. We may not have an actual law that states “you must not speak poorly of the President of the United States,” however you can be questioned, have your home and personal property searched etc. if it is found out that you have made a threat against the President. In Thailand they claim that the lese majeste law is in place to create stability and reinforce the monarchy, but it will only bring about uprising from that oppression and probably eventually democracy because look at how the American Revolution began. You were not to speak ill of the King no matter what he did. Now it is easier for people to get caught in these laws, that deny free speech because of the internet and the other digital media we have. They could do podcast, post on a blog, post on a social network, even create their own website and simply state their opinion. Their opinion on their monarch might just land them in jail though.

News Report #1

“Blockbuster Offers Videos Via Internet”

Elizabeth Holmes, The Wall Street Journal

January 15, 2009

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123189862045179953.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Blockbuster has partnered with Sonic Solutions Inc. to offer movies for rent and for sale on a variety of broadband-connected digital devices, including personal computers, mobile phones, Internet-connected televisions and Blu-ray disc players. This came as a way for blockbuster to fight back against their lead competitor Netflix Inc. The senior vice president of digital entertainment for Blockbuster, Kevin Lewis, responded to questions about this new venture by saying the company hopes to offer its content in as many places as possible. Movies will also be able to transfer their choice of movie between digital devices. According to Tom Adams, president of Adams Market Research, the rental business was worth more than $9 billion last year. Internet on-demand video remains a smaller percentage of that $9 billion, but is has grown over the past year, from $28.4 million in 2007 to $88.5 million in 2008. Blockbuster accounts for roughly 40% of the $5.5 billion store business. Blockbuster hopes that making movie rental even more accessible to people the percentage of internet on-demand video will increase even more in the coming year.

Blockbuster is now competing in this new digital age we are living in. They are now allowing consumers to rent movies from basically any digital device they might own and transfer the movies between digital devices. Movie renting is becoming more and more convenient and hopefully Blockbuster’s move to increase their internet on-demand video rental sales will pay off in the long run and they will be able to beat out their newest competitor Netflix inc. we will all have to wait and see what happens in the coming year.

My First Post

I have to start this blog in order to post my Lib103 assignments and to show that I have actually been doing the work assigned. So there is more to come.