Technology
The Power of Social Media
Aug 22nd
We live in a time when anyone can find out information about anything or anyone. We live in a time where the world has become compressed due to the internet with its’ blogs and many social media sites. News that used to take years, months, days, weeks or hours to spread to other areas of the world now is instantaneous through new forms of media like Twitter and Facebook. We used to rely on newspapers and libraries for information where we now have access to information through various websites be it online versions of newspapers or books or through blogs. We used to have to rely on mainstream journalists for the news. Now everyone can share the news as it happens or even their own opinions through blogs, Facebook, Twitter etc..
With this ability to access information anywhere and any time, people need to know that what they say online can (and probably will) be seen by anyone at any time after it is posted. It may not be read right after it is posted but it is available to read anytime…even years into the future. You have to be aware of that. If it is on the internet it is there for everyone to read.
Don’t say anything online that you wouldn’t want plastered on a billboard with your face on it. –
A couple of items piqued my interest this week when it came to the power of social media. First off there was a blog in Edmonton that received a nasty response from an Artistic Director/Actor of a local theatre company. An attempt to resolve the issue privately failed as another blogger was basically told the same thing. I won’t go into the details of the whole thing as you can read them at the links in this paragraph. The second blogger decided to write a post responding to the initial and subsequent nasty responses and posted this on his blog. He then sent a tweet out to announce his blog post as he always does.
iPad – Why and for What?
Jan 31st
The big hype this past week in the world of technology was Apple’s introduction of the iPad. The Apple tablet that many have been talking about for the last year. From the many tweets and articles I have read since the launch, this is not the product that most were expecting.
Many, I think, were expecting a MacBook Air without the keyboard portion. What they got was a large iPhone/iPod Touch. So if this is not really a Mac then what is the purpose of it? I am not a Mac lover by any stretch of the imagination but I could understand Apple making a device that ran OS 10.5 (or whatever the latest version is) that relied completely on the touch screen. In fact I would have even thought that to be partially worthwhile. But what did they give their fan base? A large iPhone/iPod Touch.
I know the Twitterverse was a buzz with tweets last week with over 177,000 tweets on the iPad in the first hour alone. Many people we super excited about the device but my biggest question is why? What is the purpose of the device? If I have an iPhone or iPod Touch then what would be the reason to buy one? The only advantage I can see is the larger screen for web browsing but really, is it worth the money just for that? I know there will be some games developed over the next while to take advantage of the touch screen and the ability to play driving games while using your iPad as the steering wheel. But really is it worth it?
Where are the USB ports for me to hook additional storage? Where is my web camera so that I can Skype my friends and family? I know, you can add a webcam…no wait, that would require a USB port which there are none. Where is my replaceable battery so I can carry a spare in case I run out of power on the fly?
So someone, anyone, please tell me what the purpose of the iPad is. Tell me why I should/must have one because right now I really don’t see what the fuss is all about. I have my iPhone and it does everything the iPad does unless I am missing something.
Technorati Tags: Apple – Apple Inc. – iPhone – iPod – iPod Touch – iPad
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Inspiration? I’m Humbled
Aug 22nd
Posted by martin in About Me
1 comment
So in the past couple of months I have had several people who used to read my posts ask me if I was going to start writing again. 2 of my readers even went as far as saying that my writings on my struggles to lose weight and control my diabetes was an inspiration to them to either lose weight or live more healthy. For those thoughts I am humbled.
So, I have my computer set up and I will be back posting and hopefully people will come back and read what I have to say. You may not always agree with what I post but your opinion is as valuable to society as mine so either way, please leave me comments. It is this interaction that makes blogs and social medias successful.