Max's Blog

COM 300 wrap-up

Max Schuetze — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 20:37:07 +0000

What is the most important thing you learned in this course? Why? The most important thing I learned in this class was how involved I am in our digital information world. I was introduced to many new parts of the web that I did not even know about and am glad that now I can begin to be a larger part of and help form our information society.

What would you like to have had more time to study? Why?/What topic was the least interesting to you? Why? I think that the most interesting was Web 2.0 and I wish we went more into this. It is a very interesting concept, the video today really made me think about how the web is changing and I wish we could look deeper into that. The least interesting, only because of the reading was access. I enjoyed our discussion but the reading was a bit dry. I really feel like we covered everything well and I don’t think anything needed more or less time. The only thing I would recommend is more time for discussion. I enjoyed the lectures and they often incorporated many new concepts for me but our discussions in groups and as a class were what helped me the most.

VoIP Service

Max Schuetze — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 21:04:12 +0000

Speakeasy.net ended up being the easiest to use for this exercise. I was able to type in my address and the service was available. The only issue was that as far as pricing is concerned they made the base price available to me upfront but I had to search for the comparison of prices myself. It ends up that with different speeds you set up you can raise or lower the price of your service (On a small note at the bottom that was not easy to find they mention that the highest speed is only available in certain areas). Also after looking at Vonage quickly they seemed to show prices for equipement while Speakeasy only shows the price including the services after installation. Again only after looking closely at the notes on the bottom is it mentioned that the tax is not included and a 99 dollar equipement fee and another 99 for installation will be charged.

The VoIP service can be argued back and forth as a better choice because of technology but as far as setting up it is exactly like any normal phone service and there seems to be a screw-you-over business sense to it. I was a bit disappointed with both services because of the confusion encountered as far as pricing and set up. Also a better explanation of exactly how VoIP will help would have been nice as well.

VoIP for me?

Max Schuetze — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 01:26:52 +0000

What concerns me as far as VoIP is concerned is that it would be using a technology that we are still working on perfected. As the article said we are unhappy but not too worried when our e-mail doesn’t work for a half an hour, but phone service on the other hand is a huge deal if it is not available. Other issues such as the 911-call identification, wall power, and security seem to be hurdles that are going to slow the progress.

However, with our continuing advancement in technology I do not see how these problems cannot be worked on and fixed to make VoIP a viable phone service to take over. It was very interesting and unknown to me that before our fiber optic lines we have now we used to rely on switches creating a line of copper wire to complete a call. If we can expand from that we can certainly step forward once again. Vonage is trying and from what their commercials show it seems to be working to an extent.

I think the major issue, as it seems to be with everything in America, is cost. The additional services VoIP could offer at no cost are certainly a plus. Although the thought of having certain numbers being sent to faulty reject lines, and fake not in service messages has me a bit worried. I think that if the issues of power and stability can be fixed it would make a lot of sense to make the switch.

Discussion Questions:

1. Do you take your phone service for granted?

2. Are phones something you would be willing to take the risk of reliability with?

3. Could a take-over by computer-computer VoIP service make the computer our essential tool in the future? What would the impact of this be?

Newspaper Reflection

Max Schuetze — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 05:51:56 +0000

I think what was most interesting about the data sheets on the individual newspapers was that the blog hype to me has yet to completely integrate itself into the culture. Many of the sites made it hard for blogs to be found and almost none had any sort of blog index. RSS feeds seem to what is catching on, although with the XML document conversion we talked about, some of the sites organization did not come out correctly on my mac using certain browsers. I think that the newspapers are certainly pushing for both RSS feeds and blogs but the system for presenting them I don’t think is perfected yet. The interactive newspaper with forums, blogs (which are comment enabled), and citizen blogs seems to the trend of the future… I am just wondering how well it will catch on.

WiFun

Max Schuetze — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 18:26:32 +0000

I had no idea that there were so many regulations/laws as far was wifi and the internet access is concerned. I have always sort of thought as the internet as a connection flowing through wires or the air and all that was necessary was more wires or towers. Along with the so very exciting new definitions I know like 802.16 and WMAN the interesting points were the attempts at securing internet in less developed countries. Projects like the VAN and CorDECT surprised me.

The complexity of access of usability was unknown to me. Handheld devices used in the VAN project seemed like more work to me, but because of boundaries economically and geographically it is not as easy as enabling wifi at your local starbucks. I begin to feel as if we take our access to the internet for granted as I sit here in the HUB writing.

What was also surprising was the UAP and the words “profitable”. The internet is becoming such an essential tool in this information society that is taking over our globe. Just like our hunger and health issues we seem to fight taking a hit in profits to help and it is the same for the inernet. For some reason, and maybe it is an unreasonable idea but I feel as if we have a surplus of capability here and it would not be hard to help out other countries. It was just odd to read about these detailed and difficult access points/tools when all some countries have to do is turn their computer on and turn on an airport.

Discussion Questions:

1. Do you feel like we take our easy access for granted? Would you be up for using the VAN or corDECT systems?
2. Do you see a time of universal wifi? Or will there always be a shortage and inabilty to reach everyone?

3. Can anyone actually name the system/steps that they are using to access the internet during their day?

Podcast Update

Max Schuetze — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 21:04:27 +0000

After reading the comment that “satire is hard to do” on my search assignment I am a bit worried about my radio podcast. I think I may just take 6 minutes to reflect on a scholarly journal and what the class has made me realize. I want to stick to my idea that mediated communication has desensitized us but the form could easily change. I am excited to get started but haven’t done anything yet as far as recording or research other than the search assignment.

Powerpoint / Discussion

Max Schuetze — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 03:17:12 +0000

http://students.washington.edu/maxsch/com300/COM300.ppt

<>SUMMARY: My article, “ONLINE CAMPAIGN COMMUNICATION AND THE PHENOMENON OF BLOGGING: An analysis of web logs during the 2005 British general election campaign” was (well obviously) about the political blogging occurring during the 2005 British general election. The study was brought about by the huge influx in the use of blogs in the US during the 2004 election. Certain questions were looked at, including; size, publishers, views, attacks, connections and general impact.It was interesting to find that the size of the blogosphere was much smaller than the US and only 312 political blogs were found. At the time bloggers in the UK were considered a minority. As far as publishers go it was the non-partisan and left-wingers that populated the blogspace. This to me was not a surprise. The views and attacks seemed to correspond. The majority of subjects discussed were on topics such as campaign events and promotion and comments on the blog were about these topics as well. The most critical of bloggers were the public as organizations attempted to stay centered. Blogrolls were also studied and only half of the blogs included a blogroll. The interesting fact was that the left-wing blogs links were skewed while the small minority of right-wing ones linked to a variety of sites.

Overall the impact of the blogs on the campaign was not too large but it is expected to be bigger in the years to come. The fact that the most popular blog at the time of the election was not even political showed that the impact was not maximized.

<>REFLECTION: The discussion with the groups went well and most were really interested to hear about the blogoshpere in another country. We seem to stay centered on American politics and they seemed to be refreshed and surprised by the smaller impact of blogs. Most agreed though that it is probably only a matter of catching up and then the frenzy will begin.

Internet Politics

Max Schuetze — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 18:23:07 +0000

Just like the rest of the world it is now becoming very hard to stay away from the internet. After reading the article for the week it is clear that politicians have certainly joined the bandwagon as well (and some are doing better jobs than others). It is a ploy to reach the political arm into the information overload and make sure that as many people are affected as possible and who can blame them. More money will be spent on internet campaigning as the population catches up with the internet.

What I thought was most interesting was the comparison between the Kerry and Bush websites. In my opinion some of the flaws found in the websites seem to be there for a reason. For example the PC compatibility of the Bush website may not appeal to the red states but what it does do is click with the businessman. And the Kerry website may be a bit tough for an elderly person to read but as we saw Kerry was pulling hard for the younger vote. It is seemed to me that choices were made to make the websites around their desired audience. However it would be nice to see them incorporate more standards and make it easier for all to see.

I think the use of internet in politics will certainly help to raise voter awareness and this is a good thing. However as discussed in previous weeks the internet is a place with endless information and how much of politics gets lost within the mix of personal blogs, instapundit’s and real politicians sites is something that could easily create confusion. We’re going to be forced to sift again for what we believe is our most valued opinion (and in some cases I think people’s first choice isn’t the candidates site) but now it is with a very important issue.

Discussion Questions:

1. When voting did you research at all on a candidates website?

2. If you were a politician would you consider using a personal blog touching on issues of politics and general life experiences on the campaign?

Atmosphere, Lithosphere, Blogosphere….

Max Schuetze — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 02:36:44 +0000

The readings for this week were very interesting in that they showed how we have been progressing towards blogs for a while now. News has always been searching for outlets to reach larger audiences. What is most interesting is blogs coupling with open source. It is a format that allows us to vary the number of communicators within the system. Entire communities can contribute and read, or two people can share feelings with each other.

The options are many within the format and this is what seems to make it so popular. Opinions can easily be added or left out, and niches can be reached that the mainstream won’t even research. It comes back to open source again in that it’s easier to provide more information without the physical shelf space. A newspaper can only hold so many stories… a radio broadcast can only last so long. Within these formats news must be chosen carefully, whereas on a Blog, the topics have an infinite range.

There are big questions that came up though. For instance, where is the money going to come from? These days popular blogs may get a small amount of money from ads and most are lucky just to have donations. Also, in what direction are the Blog and Podcast taking us? Can we give any more freedom, and ability to spread information?

Discussion Questions:

1. Where will money come from for Blogs? Is this an issue that will hinder the Blogging community?

2. Are there any predictions on what may follow the blog as far as alternative news goes? Will TV be the nest frontier? And can this go too far?

3. Do you agree with Rosenberg’s idea that newspapers are sticking around?

Rosenblogblog

Max Schuetze — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 07:55:58 +0000

I have to say that what I took most out of Mr. Rosenburg’s lecture was his point about newspapers importance in the system of news blogs. He made a very good case that this growing view that blogs are taking down newspapers is wrong and I have to say I believed him. It also made me feel good, because this whole open source and blog take over was a bit depressing. I also really enjoyed his stories, although they didn’t do a whole lot in explaining blogs, I was impressed with his undercover work and future dedication to investigative reporting. On the topic of blogs though I had to also agree with his point that for news blogs to actually be credible they have to send people away and the idea that there is a community to the blogosphere.

Questions I would have asked would have been:

1. Where do you see the future of blogs headed and will they continue to gain steam or is it just a fad?

2. Elaborate on any struggles moving from the print to digital media, was it a smooth transition?