Final Thoughts Com 300

 

I think the most important thing I learned from this course is the concept of scarcity in new media.  It was interesting to learn about how on-line media is based on scarcity.  On-line markets have created infinite shelf space with companies such as Amazon.com.  My group leader presentation greatly contributed to my learning and what I thought was most important in this glass.  It forced me to retain knowledge about scarcity and how it has been replaced by ubiquity. 

In addition, I think that I would have liked to have more time to study piracy.  It was interesting to learn how illegally downloading CD’s and DVD’s has created a market for so-called “criminals”.  Cell phone technology and on-line social networks was interesting to me as well.  I learned a lot about these topics and I would have liked to have spent more time on them.   

Moreover, it is difficult to say what was the least interesting.  Although learning about the importance of bloging in the on-line world was useful information, it’s not something I have much interest in.  Because of this course, I may develop an interest in bloging in the future.  But for now, I simply do not have time to blog other than for learning purposes.   

VoIP Services

Both Vonage and Speakeasy’s services were available at my current address.  I think I would choose Vonage over Speakeasy simply because Vonage’s web-site was a little more user friendly.  Vonage gave me a clear picture of the service plan, line configuration, and hardware.  Speakeasy forced me to provide false information just to see what my options were.  I like the fact that both companies wanted to see if they offer their services at my address before I wasted my time singing up.   

I would not choose to purchase these services for a few reasons: 1. If I were to sing up it would mean that I’m canceling my land-line, I have a cell phone and I do not need a land line. 2. It’s cheaper for me to stay on my cell phone plane because I already get free long distance within the
U.S. If I were calling overseas then I would reconsider. 3. Reliability and 911 calls would be a slight issue for me.  At least with a land line the 911 operator could trace the phone call.   

 

In addition, I would not keep my current number because the VoIP line would be used for business only.  The VoIP line would be replacing the land line that never existed and I would keep my cell phone with my current number for friends and family.   

 

I thought this assignment was fairly easy because of the previous research that we did as a class.  Previously I was unaware of these services; now that I’m better informed I can make an educated decision to purchase.

My week 9 reading comments are worth paying for!

This article gave me a vision of people at making phone calls through their laptops at starbucks.  Imagine if you could dial a phone number on your keyboard and see the person you’re talking to on the screen.  Although I have yet to see anyone make a phone call on their computer, according to the article, this technology is already available.  After all, VoIP is using analog audio signals and changing them into digital data over the internet. 

At this point, it’s difficult to determine what kind of impact this will have on cable and telephone networks.  Internet connection and reliability needs to improve to have any impact on the telephone and cable networks.  Assuming that reliability does improve, government regulations may determine who gets to market this technology.  I think this will cause companies to become ambitious to merge which invokes the language of synergy.  However, the failure of AOL Time Warner may suggest that bigger is not always better and synergy is not always the best strategy. 

1.     How might the telecommunications act of 1996 have an impact on this technology?

2.     Would you assume that packet switching using VoIP technology is secure?

3.     Would you be willing to pay more for this service?

Week 8 Readings

I think it’s only a matter of time before the whole world (within reason) has the same internet capabilities. Reason being: scarcity implies competition; this was the case in Bohechio when the village area network was provided.  Long distance calls were previously 30 cense a minute, now (because of competition) they are only 18 cense a minute.  

 

 

The influence of internet capabilities may be good in some developing countries, but in others, it may not be so good for the culture.  If the Samburu tribe of Africa’s
Mount Kenya stumbles upon a starbucks with internet access, it could be harmful to their religious and cultural ways.  Moreover, internet access in other developing countries is needed for the economy to flourish and as a learning aid in schools.   

 

 

 

1.     How can a country benefit from allowing license-exempt use of 2.4 GHz bands? 

 

2.     How can regulators ensure that universal access is profitable?  

 

3.     Do you think public policies will help develop wireless technology for universal access?

Newspaper/Blog Assignment

Reviewing information about the different newspapers and their blogs was a leaning experience for me. The blogs in particular, were quite different in terms of format and features.  Some blogs were easy to find and navigate, other blogs were difficult to tell where or not they even belonged to the newspaper.  I learned some new terms such as blogroll and permalink, which will be useful to me in the future.  Overall, I thought this assignment greatly improved my knowledge of bloging.  Searching for information made me become much more familiar with the blogs and the resources/information that they provide.

Podcast progress

I am still in the early stages of developing the structure of the podcast.  The content needs to be summarized in a way that my audience can understand.

-Week 7 readings- Internet and Politics

The support that Joe Trippi was getting through online strategies reminded me of local bands looking to gain support through their email sing up lists. It is a good organizational way of keeping track of your fans and keeping them updated with upcoming events.  This is similar to the Dean campaign gaining support with more email addresses and more bloggers.  Myspace has become a more effective tool for bands looking for supporters which makes me wonder if future political campaigns will use this strategy.  

I thought Kathy’s article contained very useful knowledge about the two political web sites.  A couple of topics that caught my attention were user log-ins and items that appeared to be banner ads.  Having to log-in to Kerry’s website is an interesting strategy, but I think it is ineffective.  The last thing I want to do when doing research is having to log-in to a website. In addition, banner ads are nearly invisible to me, not to mention items that resemble banner ads.  

Internet technology has an impact on politics simply because the internet is a useful communication tool.  Unlike television or a lemonade stand, you can follow a political campaign at your convenience.  And as I learned in the Joe Trippi article, the internet is a great way to keep track of your voters.   

Questions

1.     What improvements can be made to the 2004 campaign websites that are not mentioned in Kathy’s article?

2.     Would you add John Kerry or George Bush to your myspace page?

3.     How has blogging become beneficial to a political campaign?

Week 6 reading review

I thought Chapter one in Dan Gillmor’s book started as a great history lesson on journalism and the development of America’s media.   It’s difficult to imagine what this country would be like without journalists such as the muckrakers and Upton Sinclair.  Without this kind of journalism, I think that there’s a good chance that the economics of corporate media may have changed for the worse because of little public interest.  

I think that the successes of NPR’s podcasts may have set a trend in the podcast market.  I’m going to assume that there will be another company that uses NPR’s podcast features and improves on them.  Potential advertising in podcasts seems as if its’ a sure thing in the near future.  Advertisers could easily reach their target audiences through specific topics on a podcast.   

 New media is using blogging technology to promote themselves.  Blogs found on online news media such as CNN and Fox have links from their writers back the min web page.  

1.     How does information through journalism effect manufacturing technology from producer to consumer?

2.     Do you think that journalists benefit from blogging?  

Summary of my presentation (mike sela group 1)

             Memo to: Media Monopolists by Seth Godin, is an article about monopolists and an online market. It is a wake up call for monopolists because with advancements in new media and the online market, there is now infinite shelf space.             

Godin made a point about new markets for criminals.  People who download music and movies are considered criminals.  Seth Godin argues that we should make Steve Jobs a Criminal for selling ipods and Michael Dell a felon for selling laptops.                            

           Most industries have substitutes, which is why we do not spend $600.00 on a pair of Nike Shoes.  There are several other brands to choose from.  The media business and online marketing are different, they were built on scarcity.  They were built on scarcity caused by copyright and scarcity of shelf space, which monopolists thrive on. This is changing because of ubiquity and availability on-line.                        

          I thought this article was invaluable to my learning on this week’s topics and readings.  Scarcity, piracy, and availability are all topics that we have discussed in class and are relevant to the readings.  Presenting this information to several small groups has forced me to retain this knowledge…..It also made a bit easier to write this summary because it came from memory. 

Matt’s Lecture 2/1/07

           Matt had an interesting start to his journalism career in  Chicago.  His journalism work covering corruption and politics in Chicago lead to investigative reporting on airports such as O’Hare and Seatack.  While working for the Seattle Times in 1994, Matt created a blog page and named it Rosenblog. His blog featured commentary on topics such as international politics, policies, and business.           

          I found it difficult to agree or disagree with anything he had to say. However, I thought is was very useful information that I could agree with him when he said the following: “sending your readers to outside sources as opposed to linking them to your own page is good, it almost always brings the readers back to your page.”          

          I thought his lecture was full of relevant information and I thought it was a great learning experience. If I could ask him a question it would be about his income. I thought Matt’s lecture was an excellent follow up to the topic in class today.  Matt’s blog “Rosenblog” helped me better understand the key concepts of blogging.