Wiki article response

I completely agree with both articles regarding the validity of Wikipedia as a source for academic information. I did not hear about Wikipedia until I got to Stanford in the fall of last year, and did not really understand what it was until the fall of this year. Until this quarter, I did not know that it was an "encyclopedia" that could be edited by whomever. This fact alone made me skeptical. However, I have fallen into the "trap" of using Wikipedia as a reliable academic source. On more recent topics, there seems to be little published informaiton, simply because publishing materials is a long and arduous process. So, it is tempting to use the information in Wilipedia as fact, since there is an article concerning just about every topic out there, as well as relevant links. I was tempted to use it as a main source for my project right now, but was warned otherwise by Christine. I have, however, found it useful to utilize the links to other articles, as these can be taken more reliably as "fact." I was astonished to learn about the character defamation in the second article, that kind of thing makes me even more skeptical about the whole process. Not that this information couldn't have been put on the internet already, but the fact that it is on Wikipedia makes the "intent" of the article to be fact based. I enjoyed reading the articles, and was even inspired enough to try my own hand at article editing (although just a simple grammatical error).

Cripps article response

The main element of the Cripps article that I noticed was the language--the diction of the Theory section was very academic, which makes sense given the purpose of the writing. However, it was odd to me to see this type of academic writing in the hypertext context. Meaning: most hypertext writing is more informal, and the diction is much less sophisticated. If there is an academic piece if literature online, it is usually its own page, and is most likely a new window of black text on a white background. This piece, however, is black text with the blue background, and various hyperlinks at the top of the page. There is an artistic design outside of the writing itself, which is uncommon for academic pieces if writing. The writing was a little less formal in the sense that Cripps used parantheses quite often. This is a practice that would be frowned upon in a strictly academic setting; however, since it is on a website, which has a more casual feel, it is ok for the extensive use of parantheses.

PWROYOD

So today I transitioned from my research phase to my interview phase. I located Stanford students and professors that would be helpful to my research, and emailed them to see if they would be willing to help with my project. When I hear back from them, I plan on setting up interview times for early next week, and hopefully meeting with them.

Article Response

I thought that Ian Parker's article "Absolute Power Point" was very informative, yet highly entertaining. I learned a lot about the roots of PowerPoint, and how it all got started, as well as its evolution. I also enjoyed the numerous antecdotes about its use in the home, office, church, even laudrymat. The tone of the article was academic enough for its purpose, yet light and entertaining enough to make it fun to read. I completely agree with Parker's position on the spread of PowerPoint--although highly useful at conveying information, it has caused users to think less. Rather, information is merely summarized; there is no improvisation. I also though it was interesting how many Stanford connections there were in the article, it was fun to read about Stanfor students and professors, and their opinions about PowerPoint. Overall, a highly entertaining article to read; very well written.

Presentation Impressions

This week, I was VERY impressed with the presentations that I saw in class. I came in thinking that it might be a little weak, assuming Stanford students were only good at book smarts, not people skills. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the ease with which my classmates presented their topics, and the borad range of topics that I saw. I was particularly impressed today with Mike's presentation, and the way that he integrated technolgoy into his presentation, which is about sophisticated technology. I was also impressed with the way that Nate connected with the audience; his lack of technology and smooth, relaxed speech made him very easy to connect to. I also thought that Lauren's attire was very appropriate for the type of presentation--it is true that looking sharp can add to a presentation. I liked how Greg incorporated a topic that is particularly relevant to college students, and was able to apply it even further to Stanford. Overall, the passion with which my peers conveyed their topics was impressive to me; it is enjoyable to listen to someone speak when you know that they love what they are talking about. I am excited to see the final projects.

In-class writing

For many people, blogging is similar to a personal diary. People are able to express their thoughts and feelings in a manner that is similar to creating a diary entry. These entries can be fact or feeling based, but the point is that they are a personal expression of one’s own thoughts. In response to the two articles assigned for today, this holds true. In the blog about a journalist’s trip to Iraq, he was able to write in a voice that suited him, not some editor that he was trying to impress. While this may have made his journalism more biased than it would have been otherwise, his readers were able to appreciate the honesty and personal nature of the blog. In the other article, the blog was much more of a personal based one than the fact based writing of the journalist on Iraq. Her blog was “intended” to be much more private, even anonymous. However, it seems to me that the blog was far too obvious for such a high powered individual to be kept a secret. The issue with blogging is that some may wish it to be more personal and private in nature, but the reality is that anything that you post on the internet becomes something for the public. If you want it to be private, you should keep a diary instead.

Research Project Topics

1. My first idea falls under the category e-Commerce. The topic is online gambling, and whether or not it should be illegal. Congress just passed a law regarding online gambling. It has been illegal for some time due to the Interstate Commerce Law, but companies have been able to get around this by having foreign-based websites. Now, the US Government is going after the US credit card companies as a way to stop the abuse of online gambling. The issue here is: how to curb illegal activity online, especially if it lies outside of US jurisdiction.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,188048,00.html

2. My second idea can be considered a legal issue. It is the issue of illegal file sharing, and how to protect the movie and music industries. One option to consider is the prospect of a subscription service for music and movies. Users could get unlimited movies and music to listen to for a certain fee per month, or a limited number of both for a smaller fee per month. Songs and movies would be able to be played on the computer through the internet, but would not be saved onto the computer unless the user was to purchase the song or movie. Yahoo! Music Unlimited is a similar service for music--you can purchase the song to burn to a cd for $.79, or just listen for free.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/06/15/riaa_filesharing_stats/

3. My last topic falls unde the software and communication technology category, and is the issue of operating system wars. There are arguments both for and against the consolidation of operating systems. The arguments for include the ease of compatibility that Macs and PCs currently face in areas of email, pictures, music, etc. This would also make it easier for portable devices to all run on the same software. The arguments against are centered around the importance of competition in an issue like this. If there were only one operating system, competition would be eliminated, and thus companies would have no incentive for innovation. Competition breeds innovation.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/13/technology/13apple.html?ex=1271044800&en=0e0e0817aa6517f8&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland