Erin's Blog

Serious Health Effects of Social Networking

fischeee — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 02:38:43 +0000

A number of experts are implying that avid users of social networking sites are at risk of many health effects. The first concern is that screen socializing is infantizing the brain. This means that the brain is in a mode similar to that of an infant’s in that it has to be reminded that it exists by checking social networking sites. The same psychologist also worries that the use of technology in general may be contributing to attention deficit and hyperactivity disorders in many children. She states that throwing children into a world of flashing screens and quickly-changing images may overstimulate them and lead to these problems. There are also a number of experts concerned about digital communication taking the place of face-to-face interaction because face-to-face interaction has health benefits that online interaction can not replace. One of the studies regarding this issue, however, is outdated and doesn’t distinguish sitting in front of a television screen from working on a computer screen. Finally, another criticism of social networking is the fact that it becomes work at some point. Keeping in touch with so many people can become stressful and therefore harmful to one’s health. While I do see the validity of some of these concerns, I feel that an excessive amount of computer and social networking use would be required in order to reach the levels that would put users in danger of any of these problems. Social networking is like anything else in that moderation is key.

Passwords…Do you change yours?

fischeee — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 14:01:15 +0000

According to a recent article on ReadWriteWeb, a large number of Americans use the same password for all of the websites that they access. It may not seem like a big deal. In fact, I often use the same or similar passwords for a lot of the sites that I use, but experts admit that it could be dangerous. The article implies that people may lose sight of the fact that passwords are protection against actual people gaining access to personal information. It is predicted that the facelessness of the Internet removes the human aspect and danger. According to the article, Facebook Connect is one security system that seems to cut down on the misconception that human infiltration is not a possibility. The writer says, however, that if similar systems become the norm, new security issues will be presented and we will be back in the same boat. Basically, it comes down to your personal choice. If you want convenience and easy access to your own information, then you can use the same password. Just keep in mind that the same easy access could potentially become available to others as well. It seems that there is always going to be some sort of security issue, so I think it will have to be up to individuals to decide how to deal with whatever problems arise.

Paying for Youtube?

fischeee — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 02:20:18 +0000

Youtube users may be paying to download selected videos very soon. According to a post on ReadWriteWeb, the pay platform is currently in test stages, but may become a regular part of the site. Most videos that have been found to require pay cost about $1, but even this small fee seems to be in opposition to the original idea of Youtube. The user-generated content on the site is meant to be shared freely in order to encourage creativity. If cost becomes an issue, the creative fuel behind the site may be hindered. The post on ReadWriteWeb implies that Google is using the requirement of video purchase in order to promote its Google Checkout product. Google Checkout is the only way that users can purchase videos. In my opinion, this is a ridiculous way to promote a product. Hindering the abilities of one product, especially such a successful one, in order to further another doesn’t seem to be the best idea.

Facebook “Owns You” (or at least your information)

fischeee — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 02:08:29 +0000

The safety of Facebook has long been a concern of parents and Facebook users themselves. We have all heard our professors and advisers warning us about what we post, which are almost always accompanied with horror stories of job loss or denial based upon photos or information posted on Facebook. Now, according to comments made by Mark Zuckerberg, there may be even more reason to worry. Recent changes to the site’s Terms of Service allow Facebook to maintain information even after users delete accounts. The debate is raging across the web about the fairness of this issue. Many claim that information posted on the web already carries the risks of being shared and this should not be a concern, while others believe that content such as messages and photos should be owned completely by the user. While I can see both sides of the issue, I think that it is most important that users of any form of social networking platform are aware of the risks and public nature of information that they share. If users are careful about what they share on their pages, there should be no concern about whether or not the owners of the site have rights to that information or not.

Electronic Health Records

fischeee — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 02:42:02 +0000

The current administration’s push for national electronic health records may soon be coming to fruition with the economic stimulus plan, but not without fair criticism from the experts. A recent New York Times article focuses on the importance of distribution of funding in this project, specifically focusing on the need for strong IT support. Most importantly, experts wrote in a letter to the White House that simply giving physicians money will not work. Those who have worked on projects in New York and Massachusetts that are similar to the national plan warned that especially small practices in disadvantaged areas will have problems implementing the system. It is obviously very important that this money is spent wisely so that this plan can be carried out in the most efficient manner possible. Failure in this area may cause public doubt about actions of the current administration and other parts of the economic stimulus plan.

I am personally more concerned about the privacy of records that are made electronic and how the government will assure that they remain safe. There have been issues already with state and federal laptops being taken which contain tax information. The thought that this could potentially occur with health records is terrifying. Also, the access that insurance agencies have to these records will be interesting. While I know that similar systems have been used in many areas, I still have concerns about the safety of my personal information.

Super Bowl Tweets Map

fischeee — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 02:28:24 +0000

While I am not a huge fan of Twitter and often don’t see the usefulness of this site, I found an interactive map of Super Bowl tweets from The New York Times very interesting. While the information may not be universally useful, it is certainly interesting and telling of the thoughts of the nation as the game was being played. It’s interesting to watch the changes that occurred across the country as various events took place. This shows opinions of a portion of the general public. Such maps during other events would be interesting to see, such as tweets during the inauguration of Barack Obama or the passing of the economic stimulus bill in the Senate earlier today. The tweets that are displayed could paint a picture of how the public is responding to an event and how different parts of the country view it. More for personal interest than for any serious research or reporting, I found this map to be interesting and would like to see more that are similar.

Job Searching and Social Networking

fischeee — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 03:01:23 +0000

As a college student, the slow economy is the scariest thing that can happen. It’s terrifying to think that a degree could be potentially useless because there aren’t jobs available in any area. As students begin their job search though, they may have an advantage over older generations. This advantage is technology. A recent ZDNet post suggests that social networking may be the answer that job-seekers are looking for. Proper use of social networking sites could be a direct route to a job, potentially even an enjoyable job. If users work cooperatively first with close contacts and then with others on the site, their name and their resume could quickly be tossed to employers seeking similar qualities. Similarly, a resume could be perfected through peer-revision on these sites. While it may seem counter-intuitive, working with the competition may be the answer to finding a job that is right for you. So, maybe there is hope for the jobsearch after all, a hope that lies in technology.

A Changing Field

fischeee — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 02:45:24 +0000

It has been apparent for some time that the field of journalism is facing a huge change. Newsrooms in both print and broadcasting fields have been thining staff for some time in order to compete with the Internet and remain cost-effective. Because of these cuts, journalists are being forced to deal with the unknown: the digital medium. The problem is, the best way to employ this medium will take some time to determine. Everything from how sites will be funded to the style in which articles should be written to gain readers will be debated and changed time and again before a prototype of Internet journalism is found. An article on TechNewsWorld focuses on what one journalist believes is the future of online journalism. Many former big names of newspapers across the country are jumping on board and searching for the best way to maintain the quality of reporting in this new realm. As journalists work out the kinks, the industry is teetering. Journalism is already behind in the realm of technology and something needs to be done quickly or the up-hill battle for professional online journalism will certainly be lost.

The Reality of Web 2.0

fischeee — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 21:29:21 +0000

While Web 2.0 is incredibly useful and makes the web much more interactive and enjoyable on a large scale, there are obviously some risks involved. One such problem includes hackers, something that President Barack Obama’s staff is being forced to deal with. According to an article on PC World, hackers have been using the social networking capabilities of Obama’s campaign website to induce a Trojan horse program. The hackers are using bogus accounts to cause users of the site to enter a string of sites that lead to the Trojan. This is yet another reminder to web users that everything is not always as it may appear and Web 2.0 makes the risk even more real. While Obama’s large-scale online political campaign proved incredibly successful, this type of issue raises questions about the risk of the platform. Obama is expected to create similar lines of communication for the U.S. public to more actively participate in government. The idea of more open lines of communication between the people and the government seems to be a great idea, but risks will have to be closely monitored in order to ensure that something similar to hackers of Obama’s original site does not occur again. The article also talks about the way that search engines, such as Google, find content because hackers are posting links to the infiltrated across the web, making it more likely for users to come into contact with it. The moral of the story is that technology is a necessity and it can benefit us greatly, but even the most trusted sites can sometimes be a hoax, but the benefits seem to far outweigh the risks.

iReport.com

fischeee — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 03:44:55 +0000

CNN’s use of citizen journalism to cover the 2008 election and recent inauguration of President Obama has been a huge breakthrough in media coverage. According to CNN broadcasts the day after the inauguration, the number of posts by viewers on www.ireport.com on January 20th exceeded all previous records. The previous record was held by election night. I found this to be an interesting phenomenon that could predict the future of online and broadcast journalism. As crowdsourcing continues to be used to create media content, more journalism jobs are being put at risk. While much of the coverage may not be up to a professional standard, there is something compelling about a viewer creting their own content in order to put a more personal, relatable spin on things. This, in fact, could be considered the point of crowdsourcing, but it is still a scary thing for journalism majors like myself. While some jobs are at risk, however, new ones are also created being created as the technology emerges and is perfected. (Someone does have to scour through all of the posts and find the ones that are most reliable and informative, after all!) I hope that there can be a way to employ professional journalists and use the viewer-created content in the future, as a lot of the content created is incredibly unique and valuable in its own right. (The 3-D view of combined viewer photos from the inauguration would not have been possible without this crowdsourcing, for example.) No matter how you look at it, this signifies a new age of journalism, for better or worse.

Stories posted on ireport.com that were used by CNN can be viewed here: www.cnn.com/ireport