Reflective Blog #7

"Should SMS be accepted as a new language and taught in schools?"

This blog will likely be a bit more concise than the others. In short, my answer is; no, it should not. 

SMS is not a different language. It is short hand. And at that, it is highly personalized. Very few people have the same way of texting. Different age groups have different styles. Different cultures have different styles. Different cliques have their own words and specialized emoticons. There is just no way to classify this as a real language.

Beyond this, it is also very trend oriented. Every few years it seems to change. Different programs, different hardware, different media influences, etc.

At some point SMS will no longer be a popular mode of communication and we will move on. And some time later that mode of communication will become outdated and something else will take over. 

So, no, I do not think that SMS should be taught in schools or considered a language. 

Reflective Blog #6

 "To what extent do relationships that are formed online and remain virtual differ from ones that are formed as a result of meeting in person?"

This is a very interesting question and one that I have a lot of experience with. The phenomenon of "internet friends" is in no way a new concept, and I would even go so far as to say it is one that is fading away. 

10+ years ago, well before "web 2.0" was a thing, the internet was a much more mysterious and experimental place. People were using web forums, online chat rooms, gaming, using IRC to chat, share files, and share a lot of not-quite-legal information with one-another, and online dating was still in development. The fact that people could connect with someone across the globe and talk about something they had in common was still exciting and new to many people. That glow, I fear, has faded. Today the ability to communicate with anyone, anywhere, any time is pretty much a given. Social media is the dominant way that we communicate with one another, and most of those people are within our circle of friends. 

This is not to say that people aren't meeting others online anymore. Forums are still active, online dating is huge, and chat rooms still exist. From my experience, however, it is just not the same. 

That being said, I feel that for many people "online friends" and "real life friends" are different for everyone. There are groups of people out there who consider their online friends to be true friends. Taking World of Warcraft as an example, the guilds people create often have very tight bonds and these people sometimes share every detail of their lives with one another. They become very close and in many ways may even be closer than their "real life friends". Some, however, form relationships with people in chat rooms and forums that are strictly professional, or just people that they chat with to have fun and may never think about them otherwise. 

In my own life, I have met many people online who later became my real life friends. I even met girls I dated through the internet when I was younger. Meeting someone through the internet was exciting because it meant you could talk to someone who lived an hour away that you may otherwise never meet in person and then connect in real life. One of my first girlfriends (a girl who lived 45 minutes from me) was met this way, and we still talk to this day even though she now lives across the country. 

I also have had a number of friendships that were maintained solely online through various message boards, games, and things of this nature. I never made that deep connection with these people like some do - it was always just chatting about whatever hobby or game we were interested in. I think that this type of friendship is pretty interesting because it is almost like a specialized friendship or even a business partnership. You serve a mutually beneficial, and quite specific, purpose to one another and that is what maintains your relationship. 

Ultimately I think what I said in the beginning - that this is different for everyone - is the real answer. It is all about how you think about people and how much you let them into your life. Either way, though, it is a very interesting topic and there are surely a million different opinions and likely a ton of research done on it. 

Network Tour

1. Describe, briefly, the overall network design strategy at Edgewood
2. What approach has been used when determining the specific technologies needed to expand the network to match the needs of the organization?
3. What types of technologies have been utilized to integrate the various facilities at Edgewood? 

4. Based on Joe's talk, what types of skills do you think are needed in order to work in the networking area of IT?

1. Joe talked about redundancy and fail safes a lot. He stressed how important it was to make sure the network was always up and if something did happen, the fact that they implemented systems to switch over the network traffic would save them. He also discussed how important their backup system was and the fact that it was updated every night and they even trade tapes between campuses to make sure there is a backup in case of a disaster.

2. It seems that it has all been an upgrade as you go kind of deal. As they have increased demand, they add capacity and work from there He mentioned they just upgraded their connection and are already maxing it out. It seems they are limited by budget, space, and time.

3. Standard cable Ethernet, fiber, and WiFi are all used throughout the campuses. Buildings and classrooms are hard wired, but the network is extended to mobile users through WiFi hotspots all over campus. Ot

4. It is obvious a deep knowledge of hardware, cabling, and the technology available is extremely important. Understanding basic networking theory, problem solving, patience, and solid pc troubleshooting skills are also likely needed. It would also seem that things like video surveillance and and understanding of telephone systems is important. A wide skill set is likely your best bet.

Reflective Blog #5

"Describe how using social networking technologies changes how you communicate with your family and friends."

The ways that social networking has impacted how I communicate with friends is HUGE. There are times where I go weeks or even months without physically talking to friends, yet we will message on Facebook regularly to keep up. The convenience factor is the key here. 

Currently I am planning my 30th birthday party and a scooter rally on Facebook, as well as tracking my attendance at around 10 other events in the next few months. This makes it so I can contact everyone that is going, send reminders, get reminders myself, and search for other events too. 

As far as family goes - I try to avoid them online as much as possible. I have a few family members as friends but I try to keep in touch with them via phone or in person. It is nice, however, to see pictures of my cousins and other family members I don't get to see often.

I feel that the move towards social media and how ingrained in our society it has become is fairly inevitable. I have been a member of various incarnations of social media for nearly 15 years now, and have always known it would be huge. First it was personal home pages, then it was blogs, then it was your Myspace page, now it is Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and many more that are used every day.