Blog Council on Nerd Alert

This week we enjoyed reading everyone’s posts about how changes in technology have affected us, particularly social media and the invention of the smartphone.  It is clear that advances in technology have made the world more interconnected and we are increasingly more dependent on it. It was shocking to see that we are all aware of our overuse of technology and dependence on it…will we ever cut the cord? It’s like we are on a merry go round and the momentum is too strong for us to stop it.

How Far is Too Far?

Social media has grown hand in hand with the current generation of camera phones becoming ubiquitous.  A camera in every pocket, alongside the ease of sharing photos and videos in seconds globally,  has facilitated a revolution in the way information is shared today.  From Twitter to Facebook, media is shared to millions, with a plethora of additional information just a few clicks away.  According to the technology quiz, I am a digital collaborator, which I believe accurately describes my approach to and use of technology.  I believe in the connection of a larger community and the power of these groups to make a difference and serve a greater purpose.  Whether providing live information during natural disasters, crowd-funding business projects, or sharing footage of events and locales around the world, I believe social media has redefined how a global community can interact, sharing and discussing information like never before.

The Use of Technology in Social Situations

In today’s world, especially in the United States, everyone relies so heavily on technology. The question “How difficult would it be, if at all, to give up the following things in your life? Your television, Your cell phone, The Internet” really threw me off a bit. The options “very hard”, “somewhat hard”, “not too hard”, “not at all hard” are almost comical. The only option I could think of was ‘impossible.”  It would be impossible for me to live my life without these things. I think this would be true for pretty much everyone else in America.

Put the Phone Down

As a “Roving Node” according to the tech user quiz, I am personally quite involved with technology. I enjoy using my phone and computer in order to be productive in school and also for my social life. I also enjoy many different social media outlets because they allow me to stay in touch with friends and family, while also allowing access to all different types of information. At the same time, I realize that social media and technology can sometimes take away from face to face social interactions. I think a lot of us, including myself, are guilty of being too immersed in their phones or other types of technology and we end up not paying full attention to the people around us.

Social Media, You, and Business-Society

For this week’s blog post, we will be looking into technology and its impact on society.  You have three options for your prompt.

First, we suggest you take this short quiz to see what kind of technology user you are.

The first is to discuss the effect that social media has on organizations.  Talk about both positives and negatives and try to give examples of organizations that have been successful or unsuccessful in utilizing social media.

TED week, Blog 10

This week is about using media, finding interesting topics, and exploring horizons.

The Technology Education and Design [TED] conference started some 30 years ago as a way for Silicon Valley, academia, and public intellectuals to share ideas and help set the stage for “the next big thing.”  Partly as a response to criticisms of the cost of attending, partly as celebrating information transparency, the talks, more than 1,000 now, are free to view online.

Your goal: watch a TED talk and talk about why it moved you or made you think.  We cannot all watch 18 talks, so be sure to reference a particular place in the talk that is key or memorable.  You can do so by indicating the time.

TED talks are EASY to embed in your post.  There is a special embed code for a ted talk you just cut and paste into wordpress.com  See here for instructions.

TRY NOT TO REPEAT someone else’s talk.

Optional: you _might_ find a talk related to your paper 2 OR white paper. For example, thinking of Dan, i put in “patriot act.”  The search result had this hit about ways to address violence.  Or, Jenna is doing hers on the Khan academy.  Well, Salman Khan has a talk there!

TED has many ways to search its archive.  You can use playlists.  There is a catalog of speakers. You can also search by topic.  For the super-interested, you can sign up and it will recommend content.

ENJOY!

iTruth: tech, art, ethics, media, and the world of our devices… (Blog 3)

Blog 3 Prompt

Post DUE SUNDAY.  COMMENTS MONDAY.

What is truth?  Lies?  Who gets to decide?

Montage of Daisey and Jobs from New York Magazine

Now things get complicated.  You heard This American Life’s podcast focusing on Mike Daisey’s monologue-play and the issues it raises about Apple, China, worker rights, us as consumers, and globalization.

There is a reason I had you listen to that bootleg version.  TAL scrubbed the podcast from its website and released “Retraction” in which they devoted a full hour to “retracting” the original podcast.

Was Mike Daisey an unethical liar?  What, exactly, did he lie about, or not?  What is art, journalism, or truth?  Who decides?  These are some of the questions this new chapter in the story presents.

Please listen now to “Retraction.”  You can do so on-line here, or you can get it through iTunes or other distributor like Amazon.  There is even a TAL app (iphone and droid).

In your post, discuss any issue the “Retraction” episode brings to mind.   Be sure to include any links to other resources, media, or photographs.  Write clearly, but also in your own voice.  Please also discuss how your reaction is shaped by the information to which you have access and what that access says about truth, objective “facts” versus “opinions,” lies, meaning, knowledge, and any other aspect of these events that relates to how we know what we know (formally called epistemology- the study of knowing).

Your post should be at least three paragraphs.

More Relevant Information

Mike Daisey Blog

Bucknell’s tech/no performance of the interrupted monologue (Fall 2012).

Original and Revised scripts (for free!) from Mike Daisey.

Daisy on Foxconn

I found that Mike Daisy’s recount of the conditions of the Foxconn plant to be very graphic and disturbing.  However, I do not think that this is the fault of Apple, but rather Foxconn and the totalitarian regime of China.  The reason that the majority of U.S. products are manufactured in China is because the cost is so much cheaper than in the United States.  Unfortunately, this cheap labor breeds awful working conditions.  The Chinese government does not enforce labor standards, allowing for underage workers, harsh conditions, extended hours, and low wages.  Foxconn operates on the basis of many Chinese companies that people are expendable and like parts of a machine.

Apple, on the other hand, has done nothing wrong.  It periodically checks the plants for stable working conditions and—at least on the surface—investigates any labor issues that occur.  Daisy even recounted that Foxconn knew when the plants were being audited and would adjust their standards accordingly.  But the real point—though a controversial one—is that Apple needs the low cost labor of Foxconn to exist in the first place.  If Foxconn increased wages and benefits to the levels that Americans enjoy, Apple would cease to exist, as the average wage in China is $2.00 compared to the average wage in the U.S. of $34.75 (this would be an additional $25 billion per year in costs and Apple makes roughly $14 billion) ₁.

While the conditions in China are terrible, we cannot blame Apple for producing its products there to stay in business (focusing on the design of their products that consumers love so much).  It is the role of the Chinese government to enact and enforce laws that help the people gain better working conditions, as companies like Foxconn are designed to minimize costs at all costs.  However, as we have seen before from the communist China (i.e. sending a 14-year old to the Olympics in 2000), the government only views its citizens as tools to serve the state.

 

1 – http://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesleadershipforum/2012/01/25/the-real-reason-the-u-s-doesnt-make-iphones-we-wouldnt-want-to/