Everyone in class pegs John Heilemann as, "that annoying guy." He's a journalist who has been a columnist for The New Yorker, Wired and The Economist. Our class came to know him as the host of the Discovery Channel's documentary series, Download: The True Story of the Internet. I think he's pretty cool in those videos. He reminds me of a know-it-all game show host... as long as his sass isn't directed my way, I'm cool with it.
"Some folks say that our obsession with shopping reflects a certain decadence, a certain self-indulgence. But I say every time we whip out a piece of plastic and slap it down to buy some fresh bling-bling, we're taking park in an age-old tradition: the evolution of capitalism."
At present, I never really sat down to think about where this idea of e-commerce evolved and how it got off the ground; I'm just instantly disappointed when a vendor I'm interested in does not have a website. I'll admit I send a good amount of time on amazon. My bookmarked pages have folders and sub folders dedicated to exclusively online retailers and the online versions of stores I physically visit. But where did it all come from?
"Bubble" centers on the development of amazon and eBay. The "get big fast" mantra inspired amazon's exponential growth while global collectors fueled the interest and expansion of eBay. Start-up companies were a dime a dozen and investors clamored to have a hand in the potential profits.
"History tells us that every great wave of trans-formative innovation is accompanied by a financial mania... In every instance, the pattern was the same: a breakthrough technology creates scads of risky start-ups, investors get excited and rush in to buy a piece of the future and then it all ends in tears."
I had no idea! This all went down in the late 90s. I was busy with high school stuff like studying and hanging out with my misfit friends. I used the internet for updates on the Smashing Pumpkins, for chatting with my English and Swedish friends on an SP message board, for updating my livejournal. Words like "Public key cryptography" and "day traders" had not meaning for me although they have had a direct effect on my everyday life.
Security development will always be a developing field for the internet. As mathematicians, coders and developers create new ways to be safe, the bad guys are right on their heels. Now with the increased use of social media (that prompts people to give away their personal information freely and willingly) and the "geeks are cool" mindset, more and more people are involved with this technology than ever before... and we must be careful.
When you think about it now, you kinda wonder to yourself, "Why couldn't I have come up with that?" or "I could have come up with that!" Well, to tell you the truth, I have an idea ;)
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