What I Learned in 49900 Reflection 15

Dr. Ho's class taught me the importance of social media, networking and having a profile online. I was pretty conservative to my presence online and actually tried to have zero presence online. So, this class was to say "informative" in the least.

Now I actually WANT to have my name online. I want to create a reputation that tells users who I am. It is a positive thing to google your name and see results. Before, I cringed when I saw my name and I tried to remove it. Obviously I want to keep my private data private but I also do want certain people to know my name.

Its important to know what type of brand you want to create for yourself. I wouldn't want employees or coworks to see personal photos so I need to be sure to not post them. Or if I do then use the right privacy setting.

I have found that Twitter is an excellent way to network. If you follow the right people they will post about local events that I'm interested in. Since I'm interested in Information Technology then it would be a benefit for me to follow people with the same interests. Its a positive thing to be aware of seminar, classes, or events that are happening around town.

My class project was about Iran and social media. That project was a learning experience for me! I was aware of the limitations there but I did not know to what extent. It was an educational experience for me. I'm glad I chose that topic and got to learn about the injustice in Iran.

Class 49900 was a class that I was able to take information with me and use in the future. THAT is always a good class. I didn't just go through the steps to earn a grade. I learned along the way.

Thank you.

Google: U.S. Demanded User Info 3,500 Times in 6 Months | Threat Level | Wired.com

• Google: U.S. Demanded User Info 3,500 Times in 6 Months Threat Level Wired.com

Search Engines and Internet Service providers have never released the statistics on how many times the government requests or forces them to hand over user information. Google has now done this. Google is the first search engine to compile a list that provides users with how many times the government request user information or have asked Google to remove content from their site, removed content from their search index and where in the world it occured.

Its called the government request tool. "The answer for U.S. users is 3,580 total requests for information over a six-month period from July 2009 to December 2009." Google has decided to display this information in hopes of eliminating censorship. They are currently censored in 25 countries.

Microsoft has no plans to reveal any statistics in regards to government requests. Yahoo did post the following comment.

"“In support of both user privacy and public safety interests, we do not generally discuss the details of law enforcement demands,” the company said in an e-mailed statement. “As a general matter, Yahoo! Inc. and its subsidiaries around the world receive law enforcement demands relating to only a tiny fraction (less than one one-hundredth of 1%) of the Yahoo! user base."

How user information is stored and shared should be transparent. Google is the first company to provide these numbers but I certainly hope they are not the last.

Email currently loses its legal protection after 6 months but for how long? Lately, Facebook has seemed all too eager to share user information to the public. Facebook no longer demands that 3rd party applications trash user information in 24hrs. They share your information and they continue to extend the duration of time that companies can have access to your information.

We need to have more transparancy in our ISPs, search engines, etc. I want to know where more data is. After i delete an email how long is it stored on Yahoo servers? In this case what users do not know may continue to be....what they don't know.

Social Marketing

Douglas Karr was a guest speaker this week in class. He did a great job! He was entertaining, informative and you could tell he was passionate about what he was lecturing about. I would love for him to do another lecture or to have more guest speakers in all my classes. Guest speakers are a rare thing in my experience at IUPUI. This past Thursday was a refreshing change.

I liked that Douglas really got into the subject. It was hillarious how he was "disqualified" in an online competition. He knows really knows his stuff. He was able to get traffic to that business's website and also his own.

Douglas mentioned how important networking is in our profession. Especially now with the economy. It seems like your chance of getting hired for a job with out knowing someone is slim. I added Douglas to my Twitter and Facebook account and because I really found his lecture fascinating and thought he was a good communicator I passed his information along to my manager. Who knows. We currently work with a different company for marketing but I would recommend Doug if we started looking for a replacement.

There are so many different ways to get your name out on the web. You can have a professional image or a beer drinking image. Its up to you. I haven't perfected my image online yet. Obviously I want a professional image but I haven't devoted enough time to really cultivate exactly what I want. This past lecture renewed my enthusiasm for social marketing and marketing yourself.

I want to have a profile online that I can point to at any given moment. If a potential employer, friend, fellow classmate, or family want to learn more about me I think it would be worthwile to have a link to send them. Plus, it would be fun!! I'm thinking this may become a summer project for myself.

Twitter Hits Its Stride, Plans New Features - PCWorld

• Twitter Hits Its Stride, Plans New Features - PCWorld

  tags: no_tag

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Google Offers Twitter Replay -- InformationWeek

• Google Offers Twitter Replay -- InformationWeek

  tags: Twitter, Archived

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Google is providing both a time-line chart that displays the volume of tweets on previous days and the ability to replay these past tweets.

Google product manager Dylan Casey says "Tweets and other short-form updates create a history of commentary that can provide valuable insights into what's happened and how people have reacted. We want to give you a way to search across this information and make it useful."

The Library of Congress is going to archive all the tweets that have been posted since Twitter began in March 2006. The amount of tweets since then is in the billions. That is a LOT of data. When people signed on to twitter did they know that their tweets were going to be archived at the Library of Congress? Is there an option to opt out? What if I like to tweet but I don't want my posts to be search-able by Google?

Its fascinating to be able to look back at events like Obama being president and reading his tweet. Obama used twitter when he was inaugurated! Twitter updates can now be cited as sources in upcoming reports.

I think that as long as Twitter is clear on their privacy regulations and make it obvious to users that their data will be public then its a great idea. So many times Facebook will make updates to their privacy statement and it confuses the users. It should be clear and concise. There should always be an option to opt out of a new option if you do not want to participate.

Can you imagine your great-grandkids doing research on a topic and discovering a tweet that you had posted in regards to it?

RIP

Dr. Henry Edward Roberts passed away on April 1, 2010. He had lost his battle with pneumonia after a long struggle. Dr. Henry Edwards Roberts revolutionalized technology. He is the inventor of the personal computer in 1975. It was called the Altair 8800. Without him Bill Gates and Paul Allen would not have created Microsoft. It was Dr. Roberts who gave Bill Gates and Paul Allen a chance to write a program for his personal computer. Bill Gates made a statement in regards to Dr. Robert's passing.

"Ed was willing to take a chance on us -- two young guys interested in computers long before they were commonplace -- and we have always been grateful to him... The day our first untested software worked on his Altair was the start of a lot of great things. We will always have many fond memories of working with Ed in Albuquerque, in the MITS office right on Route 66 -- where so many exciting things happened that none of us could have imagined back then."

Thanks to Dr. Henry Edwards Roberts we are able to enjoy desktops, laptops, netbooks and other devices that derived from the first personal computer and the microprocessor that went into it. He made several major contributions to technology such as the 4 bit calculator.

Threats from China

The military is warning of increased threatening internet activity from China. Companies like Google and GoDaddy.com are reporting that in the past few months they have both received an increasing number of attacked that appear to originate from China. Both companies have stated that they are limiting their business in China immediately. U.S. Navy Admiral Robert Willard said "U.S. military and government networks and computer systems continue to be the target of intrusions that appear to have originated from within the PRC (People's Republic of China)," in a report that he gave in front of Congress earler this week.

Dell is another huge company that does business in China. They have over 5000 employees in China and they do about 25 billions dollars in outsourcing there. If Dell removes itself from China and looks elsewhere for locations for their manufacturers this could be a major blow to China. Maybe the threat of Dell leaving China will prompt the Chinese government in to action. So far the China government has not played a role in stopping these attacks or investigating them. Perhaps the loss of revenue will also motivate China to deploy an investigation.

What is the purpose behind the Chinese attacks on the U.S network? Are the attacks coming from a civilian or the government? What information have they intercepted already? What precautions can we take to prevent security breaches?

Feds on Social Sites

An article recently in the Indianapolis Star covered Federal investigators on social websites like, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and etc. The Feds are able to check alibis by using services like Foursquare and updates from Twitter. The person of interest will update their status location and it differs from the alibi that they gave police. They can also use Facebook photos as evidence against someone who stole items and posted a picture of him/her with it. When an agent takes on a case they are advised to research their suspect and it now includes the social websites mentioned. It is completely acceptable in court to use the evidence found on these sites. Its almost funny that an FBI agent doesn't even have to "friend" you necessarily on Facebook and he or she can gather evidence against you.

Its not a new trend that Feds are going under cover online. I remember a few years earlier I remember chat rooms being all the rage. Shows like 20/2o and Dateline would do shows featuring catching predators from those websites. There was an anonymity to those chat sites and children could be easily fooled. They would believe they were talking to a 10 year old girl about Barbies but really she was talking to a 40 year old man with other things on his mind.

Since I've recently had a laptop stolen from me I would love to get a call from the police saying they saw the criminal with my laptop....on Facebook! If the Feds are able to build their case against criminals and win then its a wonderful idea.

A Electronic Frontier Foundation in San Francisco doesn't agree with me. They believe its a violation on our civil liberties and is now suing the Justice Department.

Whether you believe its a violation on our civil liberties or not its hard not to agree that social sites are huge and both sides of the law are utilizing it!

Week 8

This is the time of year that taxes must be filed. Recently I filed my taxes and I completed it online. Accounding to the article Tax-Prep Site found at http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/190866/taxprep_sites_the_big_three_fight_for_your_2009_return.html

there is three main competitors for online tax filing. They are Turbo Tax, H&R Block and TaxAct. Since each service offers varying degrees of importing the previous year's return into the current return many users stay with the same provider from year to year. Turbo Tax offers the best import service. Although Turbo Tax is the most expensive it seems to also offer the most support. There is an online community, a telephone number, and a support section on their website.

H&R Block went through a make over and it is cosmetically more appealing. H&R does not offer the ability to offer all forms such as the 1099 which puts it at a disadvantage to Turbo Tax. It also does not allow you to jump from one section to the next. You must file your return in a step by step process that H&R dictates for you.

TaxAct allows the users to jump from section to section. It does not allow imports from many forms but it is the least expensive of the three. The support for TaxAct is limited and if your new to filing your own taxes it may not be your best choice.

Filing taxes online can be easy and a lot less expensive than taking it to a professional. All three of the above services make it possible to do it yourself. I have always done my own taxes. Its a learning process but an interesting one. I enjoy having the knowlege of where my money goes each year and how I file. Each year I research the new credits and cuts. Its another way to keep control over my dollars. If you do choose to have a professional file your taxes for you be sure to know exactly what he or she is doing. Do not be left out in the dark. It is your money and you better know where its going!

I can breathe a sign of relief that my taxes done and that I can check one more item off my to-do list. Which tax service do you use? Do you take your taxes to a professional? What are the advatages and disadvantages?

Please Rob Me

A couple of weeks ago in class we discussed a website called www.pleaserobme.com. It is a website that posts feeds from Facebook, Foursquare and Twitter in regards to people's location. I also discovered that people are advertising ways to search Twitter to find the posts that let users know they are not at home. "Cleverly designed Twitter Search" does just that.

In this past Thursday''s Indianapolis Star there was also an article about pleaserobme.com A family had been robbed and they believe it was because of the tweets they had sent while not at home.

It seems it has been a recent development that sites like pleaserobme are becoming popular. The economy is bad and times are tough. There are desperate people out there. Its incredibly easy to know the whereabouts of people and if its a good time to rob them. Its sad that a fun social networking tool can be used against you but its a reminder to everyone that what you post is public. Use safe practices when tweeting. Do not post that you are going to be out on vacation for a whole week and that you wouldn't find a house sitter.

I enjoy using Facebook to post pictures of events that I attend but I feel that its safer than posting on Twitter because of the security settings. Only my friends can see my posts. I do not accept all friend requests and I make lists to determine who can see what. I think Twitter needs to have the same options.

If I didn't use social sites on the internet then I would talk to my friends even less. Using Facebook and Twitter has allowed me to stay in touch with friends and family. Its an amazing thing to catch up with someone that you haven't spoken to in 10 years. Even though there are people out there that want to use social networking to their robbing advantage, I will not stop using Twitter or Facebook. I will be careful and mindful about what I post but I can't give up on something that I enjoy so much.

What I Have Learned - Week 5

I bookmarked an interesting article from my class's twitter account that offers ideas on what to post about. The article can be found here:

http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/10_ways_social_media_will_change_in_2010.php?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+readwriteweb+%28ReadWriteWeb%29

I wanted to write about the impact woman will have in particular on social media. This excerpt can be found on page 2.

"2009 revealed the growing role women play online. Women make 75% of all buying decisions for the home, and 85% of all consumer purchases. Social networks have at least 50% female members, and it is women ages 35-55 who make up the fastest-growing population on Facebook -- not the expected Gen-Y population as previously anticipated. Previously limited by organizational hierarchies and job demands, women today are free to create, express and promote themselves using social media channels. Innately excelling at communication, relationship building and multi-level attention, women will take the reins on their careers and network becoming both a sought-after consumer segment as well as driving business strategies for social-media-connected companies."

Its exciting to read that industries and people are taking notice that women play a major role in how social media will develop. This economy is depending on women to make the smart decision. 75% of women make all the buying decisions for their home. It only make sense to market towards these women. Develop sites with women in mind. Tweet coupons, friend grocery stores, blog about the necessities that a woman and her family can not do with out. For example, I do not make a major purchase without doing some serious investigation work. It would be nice to have a website that does the work for me but also gives me the feeling that its other women making the reviews and these women are in similar circumstances as me. I'm seen a site or two like this but it usually isn't developed well. If what this article is predicting is true then maybe there will be more sites that offer this to me.

2010 will be an exciting year as far as social media goes. Not only will women make the majority of the purchasing decision but women will also have careers, families and other responsibilities. With all of these things on our plates we want things to be streamlined. We want to have our grocery list, our friends updates, email, projects and music all in one place. We want it all. It must not be complicated, it must save time and money. What will 2010 bring? I can't wait to find out!

Reflect on what you learned - 4

Course Project
In week four, with the help of Dr. Ho, I chose a course project. My project will be about the censorship in either Iran or China. I'm excited about the topic because its something I know a little bit about but have never researched. What limitations does Iran have? What do I take for granted that the Chinese can not access? It interests me greatly! I would never do a project for any class that didn't intrigue me. I will learn a lot from this project. My proposal is due next week and I have to make sure I include a clear outline of what I will discuss.

I'm becoming more familiar with Twitter. We're suppose to learn how to better utilize the site for research next week. That will be good. I know more about Twitter but it seems like I'm still missing something...

Google Buzz
I plan on checking out Google Buzz later this weekend. I have a gmail account and ever since I opened it I have been real pleased with my account. I like the layout, storage, attachment size quota and I like having iGoogle has my home page. Needless to say, I'm a fan of Google and like checking out their latest creations when they are released.

Blogging
I read any interesting article about blogging that provided statistics on the decline and rise of blogging between age groups.

A study released by the the Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project has indicated that blogging has dropped among teens and young adults while simultaneously rising among older adults since 2006.

http://www.eyefortravel.com/news/marketing/study-indicates-decline-blogging-among-teens

It went on to say that the overall blogging on the internet has remained the same but that it had shifted in age groups. I wasn't to surprised by that analysis. I did think it was interesting 73% of teens use social networks compared to 55% in 2006. It shows what we already know. Social networking is HUGE. Its a great tool for businesses and people.

The article also mentions Twitter and states that the biggest users of Twitter are from the age range 18-29. I hear about Twitter constantly on the television and I also see it on websites. Its almost a catchphrase now for businesses to advertise "follow us on Twitter". I haven't followed a business on Twitter yet. I wonder what the benefits would be? I'm sure they tweet about upcoming sales and promotions and maybe links to coupons. Saving money is always a benefit to consumers.

ECET 209

I'm taking a class called Intro to Microcontrollers this semester. I remembered when I first started my education at IUPUI my advisor warned me about Intro to Microcontrollers or ECET 209. She told me it was an extremely difficult class and not to take it with several other classes at once since I work full time. It would be to heavy a load. I was left basically with the impression that I was not going to enjoy the class and that since it was a requirement I had no choice but to take it and suffer through it.

I can happlily report that my advisor was wrong. I love the class! The material is so interesting and the instructor is an excelent teacher and communicator. The lab can last as late as 11pm on Thursdays after the 3 hour lecture. Its is great to take a class that is so interesting and really keeps you involved.

The first half of the class is programming machine code and the second half is about C+. I have taken programming classes before and I struggled. I am not a programmers. I thought this class may fall in the same category but again, I am happy to report that I am learning!

This past lab our assignment was to write a program that lit up the switches on a board. I was partnered up with another student and we really went through the lab line by line and learned a lot. It was late by the time we were done but it was so thrilling to complete the lab and know that it was a job well done.

I have taken many classes at IUPUI and I really believe that if you do not have an instructor that is passionate about the topic they are teaching that it reflects in the student grades and attendance. I am lucky that this sememster all 3 classes that I am taking all the instructors are excited about what they are teaching and enjoy doing it.

Thank you to all the teachers out there who love what they do and pass on their knowledge to their students. As a student I appreciate it, I am thankful for it, and I learn a lot from them. Education is so powerful and what a great responsibility it must be to be able to pass it along to other generations.

Reflect on what you learned -week 1

In my first week of class for CIT49900 I was introduced to Diigo, Twitter, Friendsfeed, and this website -blogger.com I am not in the habit of keeping a blog so this will definitely be an adjustment. I'm typically a private person and prefer to not express my thoughts on the internet. I will do my best though!

I opened a twitter account and sent a couple of "tweets." I'm familiar with Facebook and like that site a lot so maybe the transition to twitter won't be so hard. The navigation in Twitter seem more difficult though. I also like the privacy settings in Facebook and I don't believe Twitter has many privacy settings. I'll have to do some research.

Its fun trying to figure out who is who in my class from their username and profiles. Dr. Ho seems to be a master at Twitter and I can recall being introduced to Twitter a couple of years ago by him. I not sure I'll get to the level of sending as many tweets as him but you never know.

Its interesting to see how media sites like Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, YouTube have really taken off and influenced our nation. Its amazing how fast this technology is growing and uniting us.

What I Have Learned - 2

This post will cover what I have learned in class CIT 49900 week 3. In particular I will cover the discuss the following bullet points:

• what you learned in class
• your social media experiences
• your experiences with IT infrastructure products & services
• your progress on your course project

What I learned in class
I have learned that I have no idea how twitter, livestream, Diigo, or blogger.com works. I hadn't even heard of Diigo before. I was familiar with twitter before this class and even had an account but I had not posted any "tweets." I am still confused on how twitter works but I do understand that it can be a very resourceful tool. I'm still learning how to use livestream and blogger. I hope next week to have more of a grasp on it next week!

Social media experiences
I have a Facebook account. That is the extent of it. I have not used MySpace, twitter or any other social networks before. I do like using Facebook because it has connected me with so many people that I had lost contact with. Its a great networking tool also. I am friends with many coworkers, professors and students. Its a good idea to keep in touch with others. You never know when you may be of use to someone or when you need to ask someone a question.

Experiences with IT infrastructure products & services
I have experience in computer networking. Its my job and its also what I'm seeking my degree in. I enjoy the field and am always looking to learn and experience more. It is an interesting and challenging field.

Progress on your course project
I have not decided on a topic. I'm still researching and considering different ideas. I hope to have it narrowed down more next week.