PREDICTABILITY: I has it.

So... [AME]. I spend alot of time reading about Korean and Japanese music. I prefer my pop Korean and my rock Japanese. Anyway, there's a lot to cover and I'm happy to take on the challenge! (^_^)b

My Picks for SxSW 2010

Here are the panels at SxSW 2010 I hope get picked:

So You’ve Created Web Videos, Now What? In the past, media have always had a price tag. Now, however, it is a different story. Anyone & their dog can create content and push it on the web with minimal effort Everyone who has access to the Web can monetize their content. This panel looks interesting because I think there is a huge future in video marketing. Everyone is wondering what to do with their content after they get/create it. I think this panel will be very informative and valuable

Your Banners Are Bogus will be a great panel because I so often contemplate the effectiveness of advertising online. I think people are starting to realize that banners are ANNOYING--period. This panel will hopefully dig deeper into this topic and provide for great discussion.

The Cost, Commitment, & Satisfaction of Starting a Blog seems interesting because I am new to the blogging world. I have come to love it but have found myself being very inconsistent with blog entries and I am struggling to find things to write about. I feel I don't have enough time to blog, but really I think blogs are only effective if you have a plan and stick to it. Consistency seems to be the key. I need to learn how to blog in the most effective way.

Essential Wordpress Search Metrics Since I am relatively new to blogging, I want to know how to optimize my blog. I want to know what aspects people love and how to attract the most attention with the most readers. This panel is going to be so informative and I hope it gets chosen.

Blogging is Still Awesome & Yours Can Kick-Ass This panel is going to be so helpful to me and will teach people how to make a great blog. I want to learn how to attract the most people, encourage the most discussion, and provide the best entertaining and informative content to people who read my blog. This will be awesome.

I really hope these panels get picked so I can enhance my sweet, sweet blogging skills ;)

SXSW panels and the future of journalism

There is a lot going on at SXSW. I mean, A LOT. But these are my top five Interactive panels so far.

1. Bloggers vs. Journalists: It's a Psychological Thing
I would probably go to any panel organized by Jay Rosen, but this one is especially interesting to me. The idea of Bloggers vs. Journalists, or rather Journalists vs. Bloggers, is still ruffling feathers in newsrooms, and it's just silly at this point. I think it's a detriment to the newsroom, and "real journalists" who dismiss the web are missing the point.

2. Will News Apps Re-Invent Journalism?
Like No. 1, this hits close to home for me. Newspaper companies are scrambling to keep up with new technology. Newspapers can't wait to get their hands on apps, but it doesn't seem like they know what to do with them when they get them. And sometimes, the apps never even make it to people because the companies can't agree on who gets the biggest piece of the money pie. Will news apps re-invent journalism? I'd like to know the answer to that.

3. Offline America, Why We Have A Digital Divide
Reading about this panel made me stop and say, "Wait, wait, WAIT." The description says, "There is a complex combination of emotional, political and logistical reasons why 35% of Americans have no broadband at home and why 22% do not use the Internet at all. We can't start solving the problem until we understand it." While I firmly believe assistance should be given to people who want the Internet and can't get it, whether it's because of financial reasons or location or some other reason, I think people who choose not to live their lives online should be left alone. Why is it a problem? I hope the panel is a little more clear.

4. Beyond Check-Ins: Location Based Game Design
This is a new concept for me, and I find myself really interested in it. As someone who tends to adopt trends late, that says a lot. Location based social media has a lot of potential, and I think we're just seeing the beginning of what it can and will do. Newspapers, for example, haven't really considered using LBS to their advantage, but it's coming.

5. Mistakes I Made Building Netflix for the iPhone
OK, this one isn't really about journalism, but I love, love, LOVE Netflix. It sounds like it will be an informative and entertaining panel. It should also be interesting to anyone interested in how apps are built and how they work.

As for the keynote speakers, I'd see Blake Mycoskie of TOMS Shoes. A successful business with a genuine social conscience? WHAT? That alone is a cause for hope.

Check out the complete list of confirmed 2011 SXSW Interactive sessions.

Looking forward to seeing the next round of panels Nov. 8.

SXSW Panels

A lot of panels on a lot of interesting topics. A few that stuck out to me pertain to my interests in music and web or app design.

Behind the Curtain: Secrets of Mobile App Wizardry
I'm interested in this panel because I'd like to find out just how much is too much and how much is just right when it comes to functionality in an iPhone app. Many apps have failed, some have succeeded, but the real trick is getting more people who have downloaded the app to actually use it.

"Flash is Dead! Long Live Flash"
This will be interesting to find out how Flash and HTML5 will be used and how they will operate on an iPhone.

The Music of Interaction Design
This seems very interesting. It relates the process of composing music to the process of interaction design. I'd like to hear what is said on how rhythm, harmony, emotion etc. interweaves into the creation of a design project.

Web Anywhere: Mobile Optimisation With HTML5, CSS3, Javascript
This panel talks about how HTML5 and other programs are integrated into websites and phone apps. Methodologies will be explained to maximize efforts to build the best website or app. Interesting to hear what they have to say.

Your Mom Has an iPad: Designing for Boomers
This is reality. It will be interesting to see what will be added, what will left out, what is important and not important in the features and attributes of upcoming apps and devices.

My SXSW Panel Picks

Browsing through the thousands of panels vying to be chosen for SXSW in the Spring, something surprised me: I didn't feel as "out of my league" as I thought I would. In fact, I was familiar with the majority of the topics, and I already knew quite a bit about the issues addressed by many of them. When I went on to read the descriptions, I was even more surprised about how interested I was in the topics...so here are my picks for this year's panels

Your Data in the Cloud: Privacy, Ownership, Convenience

A major theme that emerged in last semester's New Media Issues class is the future shift in data storage to the 'cloud'. Storing our information in a virtual space on the internet, rather than on physical hard drives. Using cloud technology will allow us easier, more widespread access to our information from any outlet, rather than from our own computers. However, there are issues that come along with moving our information online, including greater risk of our information being stolen or our privacy being violated. I thought this panel looked interesting because it addresses the convenience of the cloud as well as those risks associated with putting our information online.

Continuing with the idea of the cloud, The Future of Music panel addresses cloud computing for music storage through services like Rdio, Mog, and Spotify. These programs allow users subscribe (for usually around $9.99 a month), download unlimited music, and access it anywhere. It is a significant alternative to how the majority of users download music (via iTunes or other online stores). Similarly, Digital Music ADD: Streaming, Clouds, and Stores addresses the positives and negatives for both consumers and musicians to using these cloud services. I've actually been using Mog for the past few months, trying to get myself to switch to it. While it is saving me money (I would usually spend more than $10 on music per month), I am still having trouble shifting my thinking about music ownership. Since the music isn't really mine (and I can't burn CDs or transfer them to my iTunes account), I just don't feel like I'm really downloading it. I think these panels will be interesting because they directly addresses the issues arising from cloud-based music services and explain how these services will be used in the future.

As you can probably tell, I am extremely interested in music and everything about the industry, and I feel like I need to stay on top of the shifts in music's relationship to new technology. For example, Finding Music with Pictures: Data Visualization for Discovery talks about how visual images such as artist maps or virtual environments could be used to help users discover new music. This is an intriguing idea, especially since people are no longer relying on album reviews in major magazines or radio playlists to discover new music these days.

The last panel I wanted to highlight addresses society's need for entertainment and how nonprofits or social causes can engage social media users in their cause: Why Lady Gaga Has More Followers Than Obama . While the name is funny, it seems like the panel will actually be addressing some serious topics, such as why we are more interested and engaged in trivial things like celebrity news and entertainment rather than social issues that directly affect us.

SXSW Interactive panels

Having never been to SXSW, I am really looking forward to finally being able to experience this event for the first time in the Spring of 2011. While looking over the number of panels, I have found a few that I am really interested in:

Your Mom Has an iPad: Designing for Boomers

I am really interested in this panel due to the information that will be presented for the boomers. My parents are right on the edge of that group and they have been using a Wii since 2008. I think that this panel would help me to explain to them more about social media and the new technologies of today that they will use before the end of their lives. Boomers are really taking to the new iPads, iPhones, and other technology out there. I have to say that part of the reason is because their jobs require them to do so.

When Facebook Falls: Future-Proofing Your Social Media Efforts

This panel is interesting based on the fact that I would love to hear about keeping the dream of Facebook alive. One of the questions that was submitted was whether or not you should still have a MySpace page or not. I would like to hear what the panel says regarding this issue. I still have my MySpace page due mostly to the fact that I have my blog posts over there and I cannot remember my password for my LiveJournal that I used to keep as a high schooler. I also want to know what they feel might be the next big thing in social media should Facebook go the way of the Dodo bird.

Terrorism 2.0: Al Qaeda's Online Tools

I think if there is one panel that I would really love to attend, this one would probably be it. It is one thing for there to be domestic terrorism by kids who watch online videos on how to make plastic explosives; however it is quite another to know that Al Qaeda is watching YouTube and learning things about us that we never thought they would know. They are able to plan their attacks better by seeing possible target locations, the infrastructure around them and the structures themselves. This is so that they are better prepared to inflict as much damage and death upon us as possible. I'd really like to find out if there is anything we could do to stop it from happening.

I'm So Productive, I Never Get Anything Done

This could be a really fun panel to take in. I am guilty of waking up in the morning, checking Facebook, email, Twitter, and other things before I text my girlfriend "good morning" or get out of bed. I've also noticed with the increase of social media items in my life, the less time I seem to have to do many other things like my homework or research papers. I would like to hear about what other people have to say on the subject, whether good or bad and what they would do differently if social media had not invaded their lives.

How Blogs With Balls Are Saving Sports Media

Ok, I lied. THIS might be the panel that I would love to visit the most. Especially because I should be (hopefully) in the middle of my internship at Texas State in their Athletic Department in the Sports Information Department. The fact that people who don't have enough credentials are able to break some of the biggest sports stories of the year is pretty impressive. Twitter and Facebook have easily made this possible. The one question that I would really love to bring up to this panel is: "With the advancement of amateur sports journalists and bloggers, should the big boys open up more jobs for these folks in an effort to cover more sports than ever before? Or should the big boys shut down these wannabes and discredit them as much as possible in an effort to reinstate their foothold in the sports world?" One reason I ask this is because a few years ago, I made my own Internet sports channel where I held a couple of "Bobcat Sports" shows which was unknowingly rivaling Texas State's own KTSW sports show "Bobcat Radio". I even went as far as broadcasting two Texas State baseball games while sitting right beside KTSW's sports crew. My broadcasts got a few listens which was surprising but I really enjoyed doing it until school took over my life and I had to lay down my Internet sports show. I was never told that I couldn't broadcast these games but I kind of felt that if I had promoted my broadcasts, I would be infringing on KTSW, Texas State and quite possibly the NCAA's broadcast rules. Oh well...

Super Sweet Interactive Panels 2011

Looking over the list of interactive panels for SXSW so far, there were quite a few that caught my eye; on the whole, it looks to be a pretty exciting event. The two that stood out in particular for me were:

Geppetto's Army: Creating International Incidents with Twitter Bots

The description for this panel painted a pretty interesting picture; a virtual "puppetmaster" sets up hundreds of Twitter Bots, gives them some time to develop a following of sorts, and then unleash a carefully crafted fake news story upon the world. Citing the "balloon boy" incident as an example of a made-up story being picked up and circulated rapidly, the whole thing has echoes of Hearst's involvement in the Spanish-American War.



"Please. You supply the tweets, I'll supply the war."

A little dramatic, maybe, but it does raise some interesting questions about the international news infrastructure and the way some news agencies handle certain things.

Game Publishing Evolution From Traditional To Digital Distribution

Naturally I zeroed in on one of the big gaming-related panels. There's been an increasing amount of buzz in the gaming industry over the last few years regarding digital distribution, thanks in no small part to Apple's masterful digital delivery system. The big developers have taken several steps towards digital distribution--some small, like offering classic games for download on your new systems, and some big, like Sony's terribly misguided decision to release a DD-only model PSP, the PSPGo.



There's really no way to put a positive spin on the fact that
your high-end handheld device is selling exponentially worse
than even the ten year-old PS2, but Sony is sure as hell trying.

Given the failure of the PSPGo, I'm curious to see what ideas this panel has about making digital distribution on mainstream videogame platforms a success. I've only got so much shelf space, after all, and those cases are starting to pile up.

SXPanels

First, my most obvious choice for an interesting panel- Big In Japan: Outreaching to a Unique Market from Ryan Homes of Hootsuite Media, Inc. Once I see the J-word, I'm in.

This panel focuses on the possibilities Japan may have for branching out their technologies to the rest of the world. This panel does make sure to include the fact that global social phenomena have developed differently in Japan. What prompts the alteration of these systems for the Japanese? Twitter, for example, has changed the way the Japanese regard sharing of information while their existing social media network, Mixi, has millions of users that feel using their real names is being too public. Let's see what makes it big from Japan! Go Japan! GANBATTE!

The topics of Twitter and Japan provide a suitable segue into this next article: Naked Dating: Finding Love in 140 Characters or Less from Jeremy Wright.

The reason this article sparked my interest immediately was because I'm planning on watching "Sunao ni Narenakute", a Japanese drama (with my favorite Korean guy, Kim Jaejoong!) that revolves around finding and falling in love... through Twitter! Is that even possible? Well, this panel sets out to answer that very question. What difficulties do single (or otherwise) folks face when trying to search for that special someone in the Twittersphere? *cue dramatic organ music* Find out at your local SXSW panel!

I've Never Met My Co-Workers - Running International Teams from Jason Lengstorf is another panel I'd love to make it out to for obvious reasons. The idea of, "reaching out and touching someone" through means of digital communication is beyond exciting to me. So what if you don't get to hang out with your work buddies after a long day of bizniz? Geography is no longer a hurdle in forming your perfect team. (Thank you, internets!) This panel addresses the benefits as well as concerns over forming an international team.

These next two panels involve a very serious topic, and one that's near and dear to my heart: comedy. Comedic Communication: Designing For Pleasure and Play and Social Media and Comedy: F**k Yeah!. Comedic Communication suggests that humor as a rhetorical strategy to reach audiences in a non-intimidating way has been largely ignored. Social Media and Comedy addresses the changes social media has made to the stand-up comedy circuit and the effects of clutter/over-saturation may have had on audience's taste in comedy.

SXSW panels!

I have never had the opportunity to attend SXSW but it has always seemed like an interesting event to me. When I heard that Quentin Tarantino held a panel I was so jealous of everyone who got to attend, but I guess that doesn't apply to this. After going through the list, several of the panels interested me, but i'll only cover 5 here so as not to bore you.

27 (Fun!) Ways to Kill Your Online Community: This one seems like it would please the sarcastic side of me. By presenting what you DON'T want to do with your online community, it's gonna teach entrepreneurs what to avoid when attempting to start a new online community. A friend and I have toyed with this idea and various social communities that we would like to start so I may take her to this one. Now only to get through this html class in order to build my own site... lol.

Fan to Fanatic: True Blood's Marketing Hook: I absolutely must attend this panel. I am an insane True Blood fan. HBO does a great job in promoting their shows with products. I have to admit i was one of the people that ordered the 4pack of 'trublood' drink from HBO.com for 24.99 plus 8.95 shipping. Yes. Ridiculous. I know. $34 for overpriced orange soda. But the packaging was amazing and was definitely a conversation starter in my room. The connection from fan to show based on products is such a fun concept, the show becomes more believe and makes me, as a fan, feel more connected to those fictional characters I let into my home once a week. Branding is also a very interesting topic to me. Jessica's blog, babyvamp-jessica.com has a look and feel a real blog that a teen started overnight. The success of these strategies is capitalizing the fan to show experience and i would love to learn more and possibly see what is in store for truebies like me!

Hispanic Marketing After the 2010 Census: being Hispanic and a graduate student, I am very interested in the subject because i want to apply it somewhere in my career. I did research in my undergraduate with mostly Hispanic subjects that i bet companies would pay for now that they know they HAVE to market to us :) Because there is so little data on the subject i think there is so much room for new data that is just out there for the taking.

It's Not Just Your Mother's Farm Anymore: I have to a admit the embarrassing fact that i was one of those annoying people polluting facebook feeds with my addiction to farmville. Although i don't play anymore, the almost overnight boom of this very simple facebook is a success in any one's eyes. Their revenue of over $150 million dollars a year is undeniably amazing, no matter how annoying it is to receive notices that someone sent you a cow for the 5th time today.It would be very interesting to listen to how they make these simple games so addicting... and profitable!

All Grown-up: Brand Mascots in the Digital Age: I would love to poke the pillsbury doughboy on facebook! I am a facebook addict and i would absolutely be the one befriending all these mascots! Schools have already integrated this by getting their mascots to tweet or post statuses, i would love to see where there is opportunity for growth in this field and possibly make some new FB friends!

There are so many other panels that look really interesting! I think i am going to have to fit SXSW into my schedule this year now that i am lucky to live close by!

SXSW Interactive Panel

When I think of SXSW, I think of music, entertainment, and awards given out. I have never branched out to the interactive panels before now. Looking over the hundreds of proposed panels I was impressed. I found all kinds of interesting things in the field of media design and mass communication. Also, I found a lot of funny title pages that caught my attention. All I can say is that I am a sucker for funny titles.

The first proposal I found was directly for our class. Hacking the News: Applying Computer Science to Journalism. What I understand in this panel is they are trying to tie computer science and journal together to make them co-exist with each to “create a structured data that can be mashed up in easier ways for readers”(B. Herman). After reading the article I looked in the comment box and who would of known, that our Teacher Cindy Royal wants to organize Hack/Hackers chapter Austin to help meld these two groups together.

The next few panels I found were some that had hilarious titles like “Help Save SXSW from Marketer Douchebaggery” (good luck on that one), “My kindergartner Markets Better than you,” and “Your mom has a Ipad: designer for boomers.”

Even though these panels title may not seem serious they grabbed my attention and sucked me in. After fully reading the panels I found most had valid points and reasoning to have a panel. “Save SXSW from Marketer Douchbaggery” might be a long shot, since good things always attract bad or annoying people. It seems like a long shot for this panel.

The “kindergartner markets better” had some good imagery of how we could look outside the box in a 5 yrs view. Another great way to look at marketing “Your mom has an Ipad.” For instance, this panel would focus on more of an Apple’s idea of marketing by exploring whether there is a simple way to market, which may speak to multiple generations.

Lastly, the “Social Media and Comedy” was very interesting to me because I have a friend who is a comedian named Bryan Gutmann in Austin. He uses social media such as YouTube and Facebook to promote his stand-up. Having a panel for this genre would help the growth our comedians in the city of Austin, which would be a cheep and affordable way to present their talent.

After looking SXSW interactive submission of panels I am now aware and understand that this great event encompasses many more areas than music, entertainment, and the awards.

SXSW 2011 Panels

South by Southwest will be here soon and I CAN'T wait! I have never been before, but I have heard nothing but wonderful things from (literally) every person that has attended SXSW ! I look forward to the several different panels and the opportunity to meet and greet people that I would not be able to otherwise. There are so many different panels with several of them being very interesting...but here are the top 5 I found the MOST interesting pertaining to me and my professional career:

Creating a career in digital product design
hottest job design prospects for the next century
The reason this panel caught my attention is because I am very interested in digital design and the behind the scenes part of it but I need to gain a better understanding of how it all works and the tools used to make it all work!

The Secret Lives of Content Sites
I found this panel to be something of interest to me because I work in an environment where our website and the others we maintain have LOADS of content and unfortunately we don't know exactly what to do with it and how to deal with it sometimes... I think this panel will help me gain a different strategy towards tackling the content on our various sites.

Das Stiletto: Discovering ladykind in the Social Web
(Grace Carter)
This title is really what got me...and once I started reading more of the description I knew I wanted to attend this panel! It is very interesting to see the different ways things are marketed towards women and how women are viewed and understood in a technology world. I am eager to learn more about these 2 ladies and hear what they have to say!

When Facebook falls: Future proofing your social media efforts
(Justin Clements, Springbox)
Not that I really think Facebook will fall....but I am interested to see what Clements take is on Social Media efforts in general and the strategies he suggest in order to keep your social media world alive....no matter what.

Will new Apps re-invent Journalism
(Jon Lebkowsky)
Because I am (obviously) interested in journalism and eager to learn what can be done to "save" the industry I can't wait to see what this panel is all about.... I would love to hear more about the storytelling side of things and how it all relates.

I hope to attend these panels and MANY more at SXSW, as long as my schedule permits! I look forward to this experience :) Thank you Texas State and @cindyroyal for giving me the opportunity to be a part of this!

SXSW Interactive Panels

South By Southwest is fast approaching, which means it is time to start researching who you want to see before it gets too late and you're too overwhelmed. Here are a few of the SXSW Interactive panels that caught my eye and hope to go see in March.

The Legal Ramifications of Saying "I'm Sorry" by Paula Berg, Linhart Public Relations

This panel will combine lawyers to discuss the legal issues associated with using the phrase, "I'm Sorry," rather than something like, "I regret." At first glance, I agree with those who commented on this panel. I always wonder how much is too much information to share, and it seems this panel will discuss this information. One thing I didn't initially think about, was saying, "I'm Sorry." I can understand that sometimes saying, "sorry" can automatically make you at fault, so I'm sure legal teams will tell you to avoid that word whenever possible. I think it is good to leave a multimedia or interactive event with some legal insight to primarily save you time and money, but to also know, whenever possible, when to say what and if you are being wronged without having to wait for the aid of a legal team.

My Kindergartner Markets Better Than You

By Kriselle Laran, bullfrog-media.com

This sounds like an interesting approach to marketing. Business professionals may be too focused on what they learned in school and in the workplace, and may be missing the point they're trying to get across. I think what Kriselle is saying is that many times it can be helpful to forget everything you've learned for 15 minutes and hang out with a 5-year-old. Theoretically and literally. It also appears that other aspects of kindergarten will be addressed in relation to marketing as well: dealing with bullies, learning to share, and doing the most with the little amount of time allotted to complete a task.

Comedic Communication: Designing for Pleasure and Play

By Chelsey Delaney, Carnegie Mellon University

Much like Jim Lyttle who commented on this panel, I was a little confused by the purpose of this panel as well, but Chelsey cleared that up pretty well. I know that many companies are using humor more often to keep the interest of the over-saturated consumers, but not so much in the design aspect. This should be an interesting, and assumingly humorous, approach from the design perspective. Hopefully this panel will further evaluate and uncover ways to use humor for serious issues.

Adaptive Path: 10 Years of Making Things Awesome-r

By Peter Merholz, Adaptive Path

I was honestly drawn to this panel initially by its name. Like much of technology, many of the things discussed in this panel started out as convenience but became a necessity. The speakers will go through their experiences and how they've improved their own strategies and where to go from here to improve more. According to the comments, these guys are credible, knowledgeable, and are great people all around.

I'm so Productive, I Never Get Anything Done

By David Carr, New York Times

I can most definitely relate to this. His job seems ideal to what I do with my day every day. Using social media as a career and once you're done, do it all again. If I got paid for how much I'm on Facebook or the Internet in general, I would have a pretty good life. I love how it seems, though, as if he never gets anything done by all the "nothing" that he does. And he puts things into perspective when questioning whether the Internet is the greatest productivity tool ever or the greatest destroyer of initiative and long thoughts. I would love to see this panel and evaluate this question myself.

If I had to choose just five panels of all the ones already approved, these would definitely be ones I would choose. They cover various bases and will hopefully provide a well-rounded approach to interactive media.

2010 SXSWi

Looking at the 2011 SXSWi topics, several of them practically jumped of the web page at me. One, in particular: “The Art of Immersion: Tron,” presented by Frank Rose of Wired magazine. Ever since the first Tron movie came out in 1982, it has been a cult favorite, always surrounded by rumors of a sequel. Tron Legacy (for years it was mistakenly speculated it would be called “Tron 2.0”) will finally be released on December 17, 2010 – resuming the Tron franchise after a 27-year hiatus. If you check my Facebook posts, you will find that I actually began crying real tears of joy the first time I saw the Tron Legacy trailer last month. (My wife, who was sitting next to me in the movie theater, was not amused.) For those who are not familiar with the groundbreaking first Tron movie, it starred Jeff Bridges and was the first movie to feature computer animation. (Bridges will also star in the sequel, 27 years later, appearing as both his aged self and his computer-enhanced young self!) Appropriately, most of the first film’s action occurred inside the computer’s processes as personified programs fight to stop the evil Master Control Program (and, apparently, its 2010 successor in the sequel) from accessing and absorbing any program it chooses to link to. The pioneering animation was cool at the time, is still interesting today, and the overall phenomenon is FANTASTIC.) Much of my study time at Southwest Texas State University in the early 1980s was spent becoming a master of the Tron arcade game (which cost a whole 50 cents to play, instead of just a quarter). Back then, there were even two different arcade games, with a primitive computer game in the interim. The new movie will be accompanied by a 42 Entertainment/Disney interactive gaming experience, linking the movie and the interactive gaming media platforms – entirely appropriate to (and even mirroring) the movie’s subject matter! Fellow nerds, I’m pretty stoked about this one. “There are no problems. Only solutions.”

Another panel that is of particular interest to me is “Can Crowdsourcing Save Classical Music?”presented by Jennifer Bensko Ha of WQXR. The intent of the MFA in Mass Communication is to enter the field of radio broadcasting – one of my specific goals is to work as an announcer for a classical music radio station. This panel examines the identified trend showing a decline in classical music consumption by Generation Xers as they approach middle age (which has, for other generations, shown an increase in classical music consumption). What is to be done to appeal to this audience demographic? This discussion promises to have a direct application to my intended future career.

“I’m So Productive, I Never Get Anything Done” presented by David Carr of the New York Times seems to voice one of my primary complaints about the way things (dys-)fuction these days. So much non-productive “busyness” generating a negligible net output. Are people just consuming media, or are they also producing it? There seems to be a lot of activity, but little of real consequence or value – basically, there has an exponential increase in the frequency and volume of crap. “Is free flow of information making you smarter or just distracted?” This was highlighted for me just this week: Another graduate student and I were trying to contact each other about something. We finally were able to actually speak with one another after three days of e-mail and cell phone tag. (This makes me crazy!) I remember the days before cell phones and before e-mail, I used to pick up a “land line” telephone and dial the number of the person to whom I wanted to speak. Then I spoke to them. That system worked! So what happened? None of what is going on now is convenient, and it is certainly not more efficient. Most e-mails are not answered, and those that are generally not answered competently. Is this crumbling technologically-based, or does it have to do with the fact that people are so distracted by trying to keep up with all of their attention-demanding gadgets that they no longer know how to reach beyond the actual devices and connect with the tasks?

“Voting: The 233 Year Old Design Problem” led by Dana Crisnell also promises to be an interesting overview of how ballot design affects political elections. Though I am actually more interested in the mechanics of elections, as long as we retain our current electoral process the ballots’ formulation will become an issue, particularly since the losing candidate will always cry, “Foul! I lost the election because of someone else’s _______.” [As for me: I actually believe the Electoral College should be done away with. I believe we should use today’s available technology to hold direct popular elections where each ballot counts for one whole vote. Such elections could be done through electronic ballots, tabulated in real time when they are submitted. Everyone could vote from their home computers (or from public polling places) by using unique voter PIDs. … but back to the topic: ] Though (based on the blurb) I doubt I will agree with Crisnell’s political leanings, an overview of ballot design may provide an interesting look into one manifestation of post-election whining and whether or not it is credible.

(Possibly saving the best for last…) Jeffrey Zeldman. Jeffrey Zeldman. Jeffrey Zeldman. Without knowing anything about Jeffrey Zeldman, I stumbled across one of his articles well over a decade ago (back when he looked like Alan Ginsberg) and became hooked. This guy is a riot! I wouldn’t care what he was talking about – I’d want to go see him even if he was talking about Lawrence Welk. The fact that he’s talking about web design will just make it that much better. “Jeffrey Zeldman’s Awesome Internet Design Panel” promises to be one of the most entertaining and engrossing of SXSWi. I want a full video recording of this one. “Combustible wit will fill the room.” No doubt. You’ll be laughing so hard, you’ll wish you hadn’t drunk all that water during the previous break.

SXSW Interactive He We Come

Out of all the panels and programs that currently made the cut for the upcoming SXSW Interactive a few in particular caught my eye.
First, I was surprised to see a panel called "Banks: Innovate or Die" on new wave financial institutions leading the way in the old school banking industry with social and interactive media tools and programs. Come to think of it, the banking industry is falling behind in the social media realm and I think could really improve customer service experiences with more interactive programs like virtual banking online. This would have been quite helpful over the weekend when I was experiencing major issues synching my online banking account with my Quicken money management software. The only help offered was through a marginal chat service...and let's just say I was not too happy about wasting a few of my precious weekend time.
Another topic that sparked my interest is on the constant struggle between journalists and bloggers in this new age of interactive journalism titled "Bloggers vs. Journalists: It's a Psychological Thing". Being in the public relations field it is interesting to hear veteran reporters complain how their jobs are being taken by pajama bloggers that seem to have infiltrated the industry. Anyone can be a blogger these days, but does the public really care to listen?

Moving on, another panel that looks interesting titled "Fitness 2.0: Reverse Engineering Your Excuse Compiler" is how social networking tools, geolocation and the real-time web can be used to help create more personalized opportunities for fitness programs and ultimately create a fitter society. I would love a personalized application that would automatically send me new swim and weight workouts every day so I wouldn't have to make these up on my own or print out workouts found on the Internet. I know alot of avid runners who are utilizing apps to find running routes when they travel for business. I think the ultimate challenge with all this new technology is remembering to step away from it and disconnect. My biggest pet peeve is seeing people on the Hike and Bike Trail talking on their phones while taking a walk...is this really necessary? This leads into another interesting panel titled "Health: Is There Really an App for That" that will investigate if digital health tools are having an impact on people’s health and if so, how and if not, why not.
Finally, a panel titled "Local Online Communities: Won't You Be My Neighbor" looks interesting and will discuss how location based technologies are being used to create and develop more engaged communities. I think location based technologies are particularly useful here as I would love to connect with neighbors who have an interest in swimming or running; working out with a friend or neighbor is so much more motivating than working out alone. I could also see how this could be useful in neighborhoods or communities with a large kid population for activities, parties and childcare.
With so many interesting panels on the horizon I think the most difficult task will just entail mapping out my schedule. Hope to see you there.

History of the Internet pt. 2!

I was amazed by most of this documentary we saw in class about the history of the internet. I find it completely amazing that so many people from all over the world worked together to create this magical web we take for granted today. The internet revolutionized everything we do in our lives and we could not be where we are without it. Most of us can't even make it through the morning without at least checking our emails! What i found the most fascinating was the tremendous growth in the early 90's. The statistic that completely baffled me was that the growth after the creation of Netscape as a browser was more than 300,000%! That to me is completely insane! If there was 50 webpages on the internet, that would mean 150,000 sprung up over a relatively small period of time. While that may not be as impressive today as it was back then, since today i can make site about the lint on my dryer if i so please, back then it was completely revolutionizing.

The rise of commercialization on the web was also a huge contribution to our economy. This youTube video from the 80's is about how newspapers first went "digital" by sending out coupons that people could then return to get e-copies of the paper. At the time, they didn't seen so threatened by it but today the newspaper industry is suffering. This ancient video (from the 80's lol) seems almost a parody, a mockery, of what is happning today to the print news industry. At the end the host adds that it takes an hour to load.... I would wait a minute to get something to load nowadays!

To wrap things up, the internet is such an amazing invention that has come such a long way in such a relatively small amount of time. We should all thanks Tim Berners-Lee for this great invention that allows me to look at great sites like thisiswhyyourefat.com. :) and yes this delicious picture is a link!

History of the Internet

The history of the internet is something that we do not think of often-at least I never had. I feel like I grew up with computers and when the internet came along it seemed like a natural progression of technology. But when you realize everything that went into giving us the internet and the web it is pretty amazing.

One of its most important features is the demand access. Everyone can have access at anytime in any place. There is no one person that can turn the internet on and off, instead everyone controls the content. Another great feature is the invention of packet switching. There is no dedicated path for the information that is sent, instead it is broken up into small bits of information and then each packet finds it way along the network separately. Then it all comes together and give you the page you see in front of you.

Another great thing about the internet is all the great applications that came after. Can you imagine a world without email? What if we had to write letters, or... talk to someone in person! oh no! Before email it must have taken months to accomplish something that can be done in a day.

And nobody did any of this because they were forced to, or paid to. The internet, the web, email, facebook and so many other inventions that have changed our online lives were created because someone saw a need for it, and thought we could all benefit from the access to information.

"History of the Internet" Video

The video we watched in class, “The History of the Internet,” took us through the history of the Internet, beginning with its birth. Where did it come from? What made this possible? The video explained it all. I was shocked at how “inventors” responded to questions & explained how the Internet began in such a casual "no big deal" kind of way. Pretty humorous that people initially saw no purpose for it.

What really stuck out to me was that the “Web” is basically a circuit of interconnecting communication lines, which provide pathways for messages travel along to reach its destination. Email (transferring files) was the first “killer application.” Each message was chopped up & separated into tiny packets that each had their own address. This process has come a long way in terms of the time it takes for the message to arrive at its ultimate destination.

It’s a very interesting idea that no one actually CONTROLS the Internet. All throughout history, the video explained that the Internet has reported on events in an uncensored way. Really, it still is one of the most uncensored media out there still today. I sincerely hope that never changes.

I also thought it was crazy that the primary “need” for Internet as a communication device stemmed from a fear during the Cold War that if a bomb struck our country and the Soviets attacked us with nuclear warfare, telephone lines would be destroyed. There would be no way to communicate. Now look at what we use the Internet for! Very interesting.

This is all really interesting & exciting to learn about…but what is REALLY the inspiring idea I took away from this video was that the Internet began with ONE IDEA. Seriously, one idea turned into such an extraordinary invention that the majority of the population today relies upon (and takes for granted the complexities of.) The “Father of the Internet” even explained on the video that everyone thought it was a dumb idea at first and saw no use for it. Now look at it. This just proves that one idea (big or tiny) can revolutionize the entire world. The invention of the Internet was a home run to say the least.

ARPANET to Skynet

After watching half of, “The Internet Behind the Web,” it made me ponder how could people get so engaged in punch cards and sitting at computers that are as big as my house with no screen. I would not be able to develop computers or the Internet like Vinton Cerf. It seems that is was a mundane job that was filled with tons of rejection and failure with their technology.

Thanks to these Internet pioneers, now I use the Internet in my every daily life. Sometimes I wonder what would happen if the Internet was never invented? Would NASA, our government, entertainment, and economy in the early 90’s boomed? This rapid pace of information from our computers and Internet has provided an ample amount of information that has change our way of life. Also, how far can we go with this technology and is our future going to look like an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie? Lastly, after watching the evolution of the internet I think it is funny how technology started out so simple but tedious then became very technical. Now in 2010 we have done a 360 and we are back to simple App technology that was first start by email.

last week's "History of the Internet" video

I like to keep things funny. What mean, "funny." If ever I need a really great laugh, I go to Cracked.com or look up lolcats or demotivational posters.

But where can I find these epic, user-created comedic masterpieces?!

Well, my good friends, you've come to the right place: the internet!

Our Online Media Design class viewed a segment of video on The History of the Internet. While the video itself was a little dated, the information remains relevant and provides a glimpse into the process of making probably the most used communication platform on Earth.

The video covered lots of ground: from the space race to the phone companies' epic fail when they decided to skip out on having a stake in the production of the internet.

To have been a part of the handfuls of folks that made the web a reality must be, well, super neat-0. So many hurdles, problems, complications, non-believers, and so little money. But they did it anyway.

I have seen the video once before and the same notion sticks out in my mind: They did this for free! Ray Tomlinson, the inventor of The Killer App! - email - said he worked on figuring out how to deliver electronic messages because he though it would be cool. Wait, wha? Fame and fortune were not the motivators of Mr. Tomlinson back in the '70s. Instead, what made him jump through coded hoops was the idea of innovation. That, to me, is way too rad.

These guys had no idea what was in their hands and now the world owes them infinite high-fives.

History of the Internet

This viewing of the video was, like a few others in the class, my second time to watch the movie. Although I do have to say that I didn't retain much from the first viewing of the video. But that is beside the point. Speaking of points, there are a few of them that I saw as pretty interesting while watching the video again.

When you log onto the internet, the only authority figure that you know of within the web are those who host websites and the internet service providers who allow you the access to the web. Yet, the truth is that no one really controls the internet. Just think about that for a moment. Have you ever asked yourself the question of, "Does someone control the internet?" Kinda interesting thought if you ask me.

Another point of interest to me is the fact that back in the 40s and 50s, computers got the same respect as UFOs and laser guns. And when I say they got respect, I mean that they were horribly over-exaggerated but the fact is that they were depicted in movies back then is interesting if you love foreshadowing.

Something that I also found interesting was the fact that the main invention of the internet had basically been left up to grad students. That kinda tells me that the brains of the 'Net really didn't mind if it failed or not. However, an interesting point was made...Had ARPAnet failed, would we know the internet as it is today? Or would we be without it. We will never know....

Simple Visions Turn into Revolutionary Possibilities

This is my second time watching the History of the Internet and I am still amazed at the way the inventors of e-mail and ethernet and the like talked so casually about their drive and fascination to create some of the most widely used applications and products for the Web. It surprised me the first time and it still gets me now. I thought for sure that both Ray Tomlinson and Robert Metcalfe would have had more of a desire to impact the world and earn millions of dollars, but Ray Tomlinson created e-mail to simply make it easier for him and his company to communicate around the office. And that's how he spoke about it in the interview. So casual, like it was no big deal at the time. And at the time, it wasn't. But, he had no idea what he created in the sense of how many people would be affected. That's just amazing. What an awesome thing to have one simple vision turn into something completely revolutionary for the whole world to potentially take part in.

I think it's really neat to see interviews of those guys. The Web has changed immensely from 10 years ago, but e-mail has impacted the world on many levels and is still continuing to do so today. I would hope we would still be able to get interviews from those guys even today. I wonder if they would say anything differently from the video 10 years ago. My guess is no.

Changing Everything

This is the second time I've seen the History of the Internet video now, but hearing the stories about the development of technology since then will never cease to amaze me. I think the theme that sticks out the most when looking at the development of the web is the speed with which these advances get used and integrated into our lives.

In the video, this was exemplified with email, the first 'killer app'. No one was asking for an electronic mailing system to be created, but Ray Tomlinson played around with Internet capabilities and came up with it on his own time. Since then, it has become much more commonly used than the traditional mail system. In fact, the video mentions that more email than post office letters are delivered...and the video is old. I think older generations might lean towards traditional mailing systems more, but almost everyone I know (including my parents) has adopted email as their mailing system of choice.

This theme can also be seen with the creation of other 'apps', like Google, Facebook, and Twitter. None of the creators expected their site to become as widely known and used as they have become. Almost instantaneously, each of these sites grew from a fledgling idea (concocted in a dorm room in some cases) to a massive, global phenomenon that has undeniably changed aspects of our culture.

Another small thing I thought was interesting from the movie was that phone companies didn't want to get involved in computer networks because they didn't think they would be useful or important for mainstream use. WRONG. I bet they are still kicking themselves about that one. But if you think about it, we're probably lucky that major phone companies didn't get involved, otherwise the internet we have today would likely be much less 'free'.

Cause/Effect

The "History of the Internet" video we watched in class was interesting to me for a number of reasons, most of which my classmates have already talked about.  The one bit that stuck out to me the most, though, was the part about ARPANET.

At one point, I believe someone in the video stated that the basic idea behind ARPANET was to create a communications network that would survive a bombing attack, as traditional telephone communication would be easily disrupted, leaving the US unable to retaliate.

With most of the early work taking place in the 1960's during the Cold War, obviously the government was concerned about a bombing attack instigated by the Soviets and their allies--a nuclear attack.

The MAD doctrine (Mutually Assured Destruction), as you know, is the idea that no country would instigate a nuclear attack because their target could and should be expected to retaliate in kind, leading to both parties' total destruction.  It's the principle that, some would say, kept the US and the Soviet Union from engaging in all-out nuclear war.

So basically, ARPANET was created to put the "assured" in "mutually assured destruction."  After all, if our communications network was destroyed as the result of an attack, how could we hope to retaliate?

If you wanted to break things down simply, you could say that the internet is a by-product of the Cold War.

Or you could say that I've probably just been reading too much Cold War stuff lately.  Still, it's kind of funny that something created for a task as grim as carrying news of a nuclear attack is now used to tell strangers what you thought of the latest episode of Jersey Shore or to watch videos of people buttering their bathroom floor so their roommate trips when they get out of the shower.  As seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zx7CRlYiR2A

The First Killer App

I only wish I could have invented the first killer app, aka email. What a genius idea and I give props to Ray Tomlinson for having the smarts and creativity in 1971 to develop such a powerful tool that has revolutionized how people, businesses and public entities interact with each other.

After watching a video on the history of the internet in my graduate online media design class, I was shocked to learn Ray wasn't tasked by his employer to develop the email machine, he instead did this totally on his own free time, like a pet project.

I did some more research on Ray and came across a pretty cool and informative Q&A with him on DataMation that posted in 2002 called "A Conversation with the Inventor of Email".

One of the questions touched on when Ray realized how big email was going to be. His answer is not big at first since there were not many computers at that time. He also stated that he never documented the creation of the program, but around 1993 when someone started to ask where email started he knew he had created the program.



Another question touched on Ray's thoughts about Spam. His answer is that he gets irked when he gets it and hopes to see a solution come along to address it. Surprisingly, he is not spending time trying to solve this problem and really hasn't touched the email program after the late 70's. Maybe if Ray still was involved we'd have another genius solution!

Most interesting to me is the question that touched on if Ray has been bothered that his name is not a household name despite the major contributions he has made. His answer is no...how modest of him. Ray states that he is recognized in the geek world and is flattered when non-techy people recognize his name, but getting recognition is not the center of his life. Ray is actually most known for the workstation he built around 1980. According to Ray this was the biggest single thing he's ever done.

I am not sure if I can even come close to Ray's accomplishments, but I am sure thankful he's created such a killer app that keeps my life moving along. Thanks Ray.

The history of the internet

The internet today is our life. Plain and simple.....to think that even 50 years ago this concept was new and very naive is almost unreal. Now there are millions of people online daily doing a variety of different things.

Recently in my online media design class with @cindyroyal we watched the "history of the internet" produced by the History channel which describes the internet as "no other invention that has grown so fast and touched so many lives" and also as "in an instant you have access to things everywhere" In the beginning of it all, ARPA created something called the ARPANET.

Vinton Cerf who now works for Google is recognized as one of the "fathers of the internet" describes the WWW as the Telecom infrastructure of the 21st century. I would say he was pretty accurate. The video provides insight from the brilliant individuals involved in the creation and advancement of the internet and the way the networks were established. Interestingly enough, some of these remarkable individuals were graduate students at the time of their discoveries and decisions that are important today. It gives us grad students some inspiration! :)

Just to name a few of these pretty neat and creative individuals:

Dr. Leonard Kleinwreck - professor at UCLA also known as the "father of the internet" he developed the theory of the packet of networks. His host computer at UCLA became the first node of the internet in September 1969. And....he was a graduate student at the time:)

Ray Tomlinson -BBN - 1971 wrote a program to enable electronic mail to be sent over the ARPANET. He sent the first true email over the ARPANET, Tomlinson is the inventer of email. He also developed the @host convention. He my friends.....developed "the killer app" What in the world would we do without email? This is an effective and convenient way of communicating to people no matter where they are.

Robert Metcalfe- created a wire-based system using protocols for Local Area Networks (LANS) which becomes Ethernet.

It is intriguing to think about these individuals who created and developed technologies that are SO important and integrated so heavily in our lives.

A history of the internet for visual learners

In class we watched a video on the History of the Internet. While it provided a great background on the the ideas and innovators behind the internet, I had difficulty conceptualizing the progression from ARPAnet to the web we know today. I did some research and found this great video on topic that is visually stimulating and easy to understand. The video was made entirely from in PICOL, a pictorial communication language which aims to find a common language for online communication. I found this visual representation of the Internet's evolution very effective. Hope you enjoy!

History of the Internet from Melih Bilgil on Vimeo.

The History of the Internet

Today we can search for just about anything and within hundredths of a second we can find an answer. It's amazing. I never really knew a time of doing research in an actual library. I can go to a library's web site or just "Google" something if I really want to know about it.

The Internet is a crazy thing. While very new, it actually goes back farther that what people think. But where does the Internet come from?

Interestingly enough, the Internet’s origins began in the 1950’s, and computers were originally seen as sci-fi props that were involved with aliens. It was entertaining watching footage from old movies and how hi-tech they portrayed computers.

The original concept for the Internet that is still in use today is, “No one switch should control the network, but everyone controls it.”

There is no one person that controls all the information provided to us by the Internet. We all have a say in what's posted on those websites. One perfect example is Wikipedia. While not very credible some of the time, since anyone can update the information to say whatever they want, it is an online super encyclopedia with information on just about anything. From a specific band, to diseases, you can search for just about anything.

Originally, the first type of connection was four giant computers interconnected with smaller Interface Message Processors, IMPs. Dr. Paul Baran helped to develop a way for this connection to get a message to its destination, even if it is somehow disrupted. They called this time sharing.

There was a lot of skepticism and many wouldn't help fund this project, but thanks to BBN's courage, it began, ultimately creating what we now call the Internet.

The first draft of a form of the Internet was in 1969, like I was talking about earlier with the four giant computers in different places. It was referred to as "archanet." By 1971, after there was proof this crazy experiment actually worked, there were 18 networks. The rest is history.

Today, with our high-tech smart phones, we have apps that can plan our weddings, plan diets and workouts, give us movie times, and help us locate local businesses. Our phones can do just about anything these days. But what was the original killer app? E-mail.

I have never really known much of a time before the Internet, and could not imagine a life without it.

The Accidental Applicabilities

In watching the documentary on the History of the Web, I was struck by how many of the applications that are now global - and which we use on a daily basis - were developed to address some single organization's specific internal needs. They often seem to have had much more limited scope in their applications, and may not have been envisioned to have much more than the limited use for which they were originally designed. Innovation in general, it seems, tends to follow this pattern.



E-mail, for example, evolved from the specific way electronic notes were left between users at a single computer mainframe computer at MIT in the 1960s; in 1971, Ray Tomlinson sent the first true e-mail via the ARPANet; from there, e-mail applications began popping up in LANs, and eventually migrated to the World Wide Web as a means of efficient, effective, trackable communication. In specifically addressing the need for "time-sharing" within large, institutional mainframe computers, J.C.R. Licklider laid the theoretical groundwork (1960) for a type of Internet where information and applications would be shared between computers via user-friendly interfaces (lowering costs and increasing productivity while exponentially expanding the knowledge base).


Technological innovation, it seems, generally tends to work this way: Each innovation is designed to address a very specific issue, but - as it does so - others look at the innovation and find additional (sometimes unrelated) needs it can address, as well. The Edison Phonograph, for example, came to be most famous for its ability to provide musical entertainment. Billions of dollars - and, indeed, entire new entertainment industries - came into being as a result of this expanded application. The original intent of the phonograph when it was developed by Edison, however, was only to provide a means for recording dictation for business applications, and he allegedly initially resisted the phonograph being used for frivolous entertainment purposes. Likewise, the radio was designed to transmit news and information (particularly in military applications), but soon became more profitable as a medium of mass entertainment.


The specific, original intent of the technological innovation leading to motion pictures was not to entertain, but to settle a wager as two whether or not all of a galloping horse's legs left the ground at the same time. (The famous 1878 "moving picture" is now known as "Sallie Gardner at a Gallop.") Automobiles (that is, vehicles that move under their own power) were developed from an original, operational 1769 military vehicle designed by N.J. Cugnot, specifically intended to tow canons around the city of Paris.


Okay. Enough of the history lesson. Returning to the topic of discussion: What struck me most as I rewatched the History of the Web was that so many of the innovations that make up our daily e-nteractions (to coin a word) did not necessarily start out as what we know them as today, but were much more limited in their scope and application. Some even had different limited intended uses, but became adapted for broader applications that changed not only the organizations for which they were developed, but changed the world at large, too. (Note: Without Net Neutrality, this would not have been possible.)


So, maybe the knife was made specifically to get peanut butter out of the jar, but I'll bet you can also use it for jelly. When you add bread (from yet another source!), the result is a truly great sandwich.