All Together Now, to Each His Own Sync

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Week #2

Title: In this post, I will be commenting on the article “All Together Now, to Each His Own Sync” by Anand Griridharadas.

Comments: I found this article a little whiny. The information was all there and seemed factually accurate, but the way it was presented seem to favor one side more than the other. And not just the usually subjectivity that you find, but a noticeable bias towards the worry of becoming “detached” through too much inner synchronicity. I found this a little annoying, because it distracted me from the topic that was being discussed.

The topic, however, I found very interesting. I personally think that our modern technology is pushing us towards a global society, and a global culture, rather than a regional culture that has existed for so long. However, I don’t believe that the regional association will be totally overwhelmed by this new global society. Rather I think that the two will merge together into something distinctly new and different than we’ve ever see before.

From a New Media perspective, this article shows a good example of two sides of an argument, one on the positive aspect of change and the other on the negative side of it. However, regardless if the change is good or bad, it’s change. And that’s what New Media is all about.

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Bold Ideas Inspire New Life for Magazines

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Week #2

Title: In this post, I’ll be commenting on the article “Bold Ideas Inspire New Life for Magazines” by Jeanne Carstensen.

Comments: I myself have never really been a magazine person, but I have found myself thinking time to time of what is going to happen to the magazine in the future as we move more and more into a internet-based world that gets its entertainment from the web. After reading this article, I can see know that innovation never fails to leave anything special behind in the metaphorical dust.

The switch to making magazines more personalized is a great idea, because you can then tailor to a specific audience and provide them with material you know they will understand and love, and forget about anyone who is outside of your target audience. It makes it much easier to find exactly what you want or need, and gives companies a definitive group of consumers they can then tailor their product to.

I found the idea of a live theater version of a magazine to be absolutely brilliant. The thought had never even occurred to me, but the simplicity and the brilliance was immediately apparent. To combine the classic aesthetic appeal of a magazine and the entertaining aspect of live theater makes for a terrific combo. I wonder which subscription I would choose to watch?

From a New Media perspective, this is a way for a dying industry to be reborn into something new and different, and therefore something that audiences  and consumers will want to experience and enjoy. Again we see the blend of something new with something old, and the result is something entirely different.

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The Future of Journalism as Seen Through Computer Science

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Week #2

Title: In this post, I’ll be commenting on the article “The Future of Journalism as Seen Through Computer Science” by Nicholas Carlson.

Comments: The first thing I thought of when I read this article was “why haven’t they thought of this before?” This concept seems like a really good idea to keep an old career from dying out entirely in this new day and age of modern technology and New Media. It also seems like a more obvious answer, and one that shouldn’t come as a surprise to people. The evolution from the  journalist who relies on others for information to the journalist who can fill her own data base with findings that she collected herself, using modern technology. It seems that more careers than just that of a journalist could really reap the benefits of using a system like this to keep ahead in their field.

When we look at this from a New Media perspective, you see the blend of something old with something new, which is one of the basic definitions of New Media we found in our class discussions. They’ve taken and old career, one of the journalist, and incorporated new technologies and processes that allow the journalist to then do her job in a more efficient way than ever before. This seems like the perfect example of what New Media is, and how it affects our every day lives. A great article.

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A Strong Password Isn’t the Strongest Security

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Week #2

Title: In this post, I’ll be commenting on the article “A Strong Password Isn\’t the Strongest Security” by Randall Stross.

Comments: Online security has never been extremely crucial to me, because I’m quite naive when it comes to the subject of identity theft and stolen information. I’ve never had it happen to me, and the information I keep online I don’t see as information that someone would be willing to risk jail time to take from me. Therefore, I’ve become very lazy and lax on the position of internet passwords. But I am a big fan of short passwords.

Because I am a fan of the short, easy to remember, personalized password, I agree with the arguments these men have voiced to websites across the board. I think lengthy passwords full of restrictions and a required update at certain intervals is silly and ridiculous. I find it interesting that the research these men have done seems to agree with my statement. If you think about it from a thief’s perspective, though, it makes a good deal of sense. If you have a long, complicated password, odds are you’d have to write it down in order to remember it. That makes it simple for someone to simply scan your documents for these important keywords, and then use your information at will.

From a New Media perspective, I think this shows a new awareness of how effective an old tool/method of internet security actually is, and having the technology available to help us find a new solution to the old, unreliable methods shows the growth of New Media in a practical area such as security. There is definite opportunity for exploration and research done on other outdated methods of anti-theft and anti-virus programming as well. A very thought provoking article all together.

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