Given the readings you've done so far this semester, what are the most important takeaways? List and describe any terms, concepts, issues, or questions you feel are crucial to these first three weeks.
Thinking back on the last few weeks this semester, I think that one of the most important takeaways is that technology isn't all that bad. After reading the article, "It Takes a Village to Find an iPhone," it is clear that social media can help rather than harm. This is just one story, however. There are countless others that explain that technology can do a lot of harm, but I think that we need to acknowledge technology's successes with the same energy as criticizing it when it helps us. In addition to Shirkey's article, I think that the concept of race is another important issue to discuss. I never understood how race and technology related to each other, but given the context of a story like the one about the "lost" iPhone, I believe that race was definitely an issue. I can definitely see how a person's race and class can make someone think that they don't deserve the latest and greatest technology such as, Apple products.
Another good takeaway was our discussion about the Google algorithm. I think it's important that we "wake up" and realize that our web surfing isn't all that private. Why are we seeing ads on Facebook that we are interested in? One may say that they never even looked up that certain product. The system of the search engine is a biased one. In any case, we all want to find what we are looking for with the least amount of clicks as possible. What I'm inferring is that Google noticed this demand and probably tweaked their algorithm to where it doesn't matter what you search, the most popular and favorable results will show up on the first page. No one will be willing to travel to the 10th page of results to find something. Thinking about this issue gets me to ask, "How different are we from each other?" Given the technology in today's day and age, we are all connect in one way or another. Our acquaintances may not be mutual, but through multiple people and/or sources, we know each other. That's the power of technology right now.
Our discussion on the history of information is another good takeaway. I think that EVERYTHING is information; our sense of smell, taste, touch, hearing and sight all give us information. It's amazing walking around campus now that I have this knowledge of acquiring information. It's hard for me to walk from point A to point B without seeing several people on their phones/iPods. I am a victim of this, however, but I do not have an addiction; which I find quite disturbing. It's one thing to quit a video game because you've been playing too long, but it's a completely different story when you quit your job because you've been playing too long. There are multiple ways to acquire information. A lot of these ways doesn't have to involve technology. Being that we are so immersed in the technology life as of late, I don't think it will be possible to find alternatives. Kids will still be playing video games, adults will still be scheduling their lives on their iPhones. However, if we take some time to interact with each other to talk about technology face to face, the time we take talking to each other through a screen can be decreased significantly.
Given the above stated reasons, one can conclude that technology has definitely affected us in a negative way because most of us base our whole life on it. Nonetheless, we should also give light to the fact that technology has created a positive impact on us and has given us the advancements to accomplish great feats.
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