Catfish

We've talked a lot about how our Facebook profiles are an electronic identity of ourselves. But one really important thing to remember is that our profile depicts ourselves how we want it to. We decide what to share, what to leave out, and how we actually portray ourself. But because we can pick and choose what our profile says, how can you really know someone if they are deciding to leave specific details out? All of his reminds me of the MTV show Catfish. The show investigates online "couples" and sees if they are actually real or if their Facebook profile is fake. Some people get their heart broken because they find out that their online girlfriend/boyfriend is fake; aspects of them are real, but their profile is depicting someone else. 

I think one thing we really need to keep in mind is that an online profile cannot replace a real person. No matter how much information I share on my Facebook profile, someone who hasn't met me or gotten to know me in person, will never know the real me. 

Generation Why?

While, yes, it might seem like technology has taken over our generation and our lives, I don't think technology is our life. Like Zadie Smith said, no computer can replace a human, and of course I agree with this. I personally do not think technology or things like Facebook are replacing humans in any way mostly because a computer cannot have/feel emotions like humans do. Zadie said that when a person becomes a set of data like on Facebook, they are reduced. I think this is a very interesting point because no matter how much Facebook tries to make a timeline of our life, there are still things about each person that are not displayed on their profile. You could stalk someone's Facebook for years and still not know that person completely without actually meeting them and getting to know them. When it comes to someone's profile, "they are more interesting than it is. They deserve better;"there is a lot more to each person than their profile lets on.

I find this whole idea of people just being a set of data very uncomfortable, it reminds me of Ray Kurzweil and his whole idea that biology and technology will fuse together. As much as I love technology, i really don't like the thought that people will become technology/computers. I think the reason it makes me so uncomfortable is because when people become computers, nothing is personal, private, or emotional anymore. People would no longer think or feel for themselves; they wouldn't be human any more, they'd just be another piece of technology.

(Ironically as I was writing this last part of this post, the song "Human" by Christina Perri came on which repeatedly says the phrase "I'm only human." This is ironic because this phrase would no longer be valid if humans and technology fuse like Kurzweil suggests.)

#6 You can make money without doing evil

Ten things we know to be true

Number five on Google's list of things they know to be true is "you can make money without doing evil." I think this says a lot about Google as a company; they aren't trying to trick anyone or use them for the company's own personal benefit. Google tries to be a true and honest company to their users. This reminds me of religion in relation to the idea of "being a good christian." A good christian, or anyone who follows their religion well, would be true and honest and not do any evil like Google. Evil and religion are obviously closely intertwined with one another but it is interesting to examine the concept of evil through Google as a tool for the choosing Self.

Human dystopia

Today in class we watched the Ray Kurzweil video which led us to talk about the Singularity idea and about technology merging with biology to a point where our lives are run on technology. During this whole discussion all I could think about were the people from the movie Wall-e. In the movie earth is completely desolate and all humans live on this spaceship thing called "Human dystopia." Everyone living on Human dystopia is completely reliant on technology to the point where they don't even walk to interact with other people face to face (its all done through computers and screens). I think this says a lot about where technology could be taking us in this world. The name "human dystopia" itself even implies something unpleasant, dystopia is the opposite of utopia. I personally do not like this whole idea of biology and technology merging because it makes me think life would be like in Wall-e, which really scares me.

Battle of the CEOs: Google vs Apple

After reading all about Steve Jobs, it's hard to go through I'm Feeling Lucky without comparing Larry and Sergey to Jobs. While both company's CEOs are highly involved in their companys, their styles are veryyyy different. Apple has always focused on perfecting every detail of every product, but Google has lived by a different motto: "good enough is good enough". Rather than getting caught up in every little detail about every little thing, Google keeps moving forward, they "spend time doing, not deciding." I think these two mottos are what make Google stand out so differently from other companies like Apple. Google has no problem making products that aren't 100% perfect when they first come out (no shame in beta versions). Google is more concerned with keeping things moving forward and providing their customers with what they want which is why if you look at all the projects Google Ina's going on now, the list is long and only getting longer!! I think Google takes pride in putting out beta versions of their products to later improve with feedback from users/customers. 

                                   

Google Doodle

If you googled anything today (which is highly likely), you would have noticed that today's google logo on the homepage looks a little different. Its not the Goggle logo, its the Google Doodle for the 2014 winter Olympics. 

A team of Google doodlers work together to brainstorm and design doodles for the Google homepage to celebrate holidays, anniversaries, and the lives of famous artists, pioneers, and scientists. Some days the doodles are informative or educational and other days they are fun and interactive. Even though we might not all know what they're called, everyone knows about the ever changing Google Doodle. So far Google has created over 1,000 doodles so far, but here are a few of the ones I liked. 

Check out the whole Doodle archive!

Google

Google in its simplest form is a medium for searching and obtaining information. But Google has become so much more than just a search engine. Google is the driving force for how people look up information. At the same time though, it has moved passed just being a search engine and now has Google Maps, Google Earth, Gmail, Google Docs, Google Drive, Google Chrome and the list goes on and on. You can use Google for almost anything, and if you can use Google to do something, you can google how to. Today's younger generation would be lost without Google, I know I would be (in more than one way, I live by google maps!). Google has become an essential part in everyday life to the point where its not called searching for something anymore, its googling for something; Google has become its own verb (its even in the dictionary).

Being the geographically challenged individual that I am, Google maps saves me. Even when I'm talking to my older brother about pretty much anything, if I don't know what something he said means or don't know where a place is that he's talking about, being the teacher he is, he tells me to learn for myself and go google it. I honestly cannot remember the last time I went a day without googling something. Google is a medium that has become a way of life for our generation.

The Chive

Below is the link to my presentation about the Chive, check it out! And remember KCCO!!

The Chive Presentation