Kyleigh

[kgaff13-blog]

All of this fighting that is going on in the Middle East has caused all of the fighting to get to a new medium.  Gaza and Israel are now in the midst of twitter war as some may call it. And some are calling it a "new thing".  It has kind of reminded many of how the military used the radio back in World War II and how it has been a crucial development in recording live feedback and news from the site itself. Twitter has been under scrutiny because of the fact they want to be a carrier service and not an editorial service, but most of the users and some of the content that they are posting is mostly because of the war and it is just an opinion on their part.  

I think twitter as the normal medium that is currently in the world, there is going to be scrutiny that comes along with it.  People that are users have to take the necessary means to advise what they are putting on their tweets.  They need to realize that tweets spread and that they are going to have opinions be heard.  Gaza and Israel are having a problem and we are getting tweets from everywhere saying that it is getting worse.  Those live tweets can be interpreted in a way that someone takes wrongly and other rumors would be spread about it.  When is there ever going to be a time when there is going to be peace in this world and when is there ever going to be a time when everyone's opinions are taken to the extent that everyone accepts them?

[kgaff13-blog]

Now even though this has nothing to do with technology ( I mean maybe it could), a boy in Utah claimed to have been attacked by a goat name Voldemort on his way home from his paper route.  Say what?  I guess the boy was on his paper route when he noticed something from a far and he thought it was a dog.  He said that the goat just took him right off the bike and trampled him.

Now I am no expert on goats, but seriously?  This has probably been one of the funniest stories that I have heard in a while. Harry Potter goes to the extreme I guess when it comes to its fans.  The owner said that the goat is pretty nice to her kids that she would have never thought that Voldemort would go after another kid.  If it's a pet fish or a pet goat, the love for Harry Potter exists everywhere.  

[kgaff13-blog]

Well, well, well, that's more like it.  Homosexual couples are now getting more and more in notifications that they are able to do what they have been fighting for all along.  In this election, we saw a lot of new politicians endorsing same- sex marriage, including the first openly gay senator from Wisconsin and President Obama's stance on same- sex marriage.  In the 4 states that allowed same- sex marriage this election, they have previously denied it many times because of reasons that they were not seeing the other side.  

I do not understand why this was an issue anyway.  I understand that religion has some sort to do with it, but I do not understand why people are are just now starting to realize that it is ok to have same- sex marriage.  When politicians and celebrities say it is okay, then is it really ok?  It is great that same- sex marriage is now being legalized, but when is it that it just not going to be a law anymore and it is going to be the freedom of the people to get married.  We should be able to get married to whomever we want with no control from the government. It is the separation of church and state that led us here and we need to realize that more. 

[kgaff13-blog]

Well, here you have it.  5 things everyone wants to know about what happened on election night and why or why not their respective did or did not win.  5 little things separating a win from a loss. That's it.  All of these things seemed like they were the right thing when we learned that President Obama was going to have another term in the White House. 

Check out what are the 5 things that helped America get 4 more years!

[kgaff13-blog]

When was there ever going to be a time that anyone thought business cards were going to be brought to the social media stage?  Well the time is now.  There are 5 new apps out there that you can literally put your business cards on them and that is the new way people can get your contact information through that.  Will it work though?

At first I did not think that this was a good idea.  Many people are still getting used to the idea that the internet is on phones.  I mean I guess in the new age of new business employees, we are going to have business cards and we already know how to use all the apps. So then it made me think that it was a good idea because we are know relying on computers and cell phones to control our lives.  We will see what is next!

[kgaff13-blog]

So there was once a day the new thing to get with smart phones was the Blackberry.  Seemingly everywhere, everyone wanted one of these nice new phones that you go search the web with on this tiny little screen. A couple of years later iPhones are the new craze and agencies are dropping Blackberry as a user.  Now if federal agencies such as the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement are dropping them, then there is a problem.  What happened to them?

Not only are the government agencies dropping them, but there are other users that are switching over to other phones.  Those government agencies that are continuing to use the Blackberry's have upgraded in the past year. They are relying on that money from the government, but they are planning to make another version of the Blackberry. 

If I were Blackberry, I would make a new one fast.  The ability for other companies to have passed them is obviously what happened, Blackberry needs to fight for what they first thought of when going in the direction of a smartphone.  The reliability of Blackberry is slowing down and other smartphones are trampling them with new techniques of looking at a picture or something to do with a new way of texting and finding some place to eat.  Looks like Blackberry, isn't a Crackberry anymore.  

[kgaff13-blog]

Now if nobody has heard of the phrase Romney stated and blurted out during the debate this past Tuesday night, then you must be living under a hole.  Romney was talking about this so called "binder" in regards to how he was trying to get his Cabinet in Massachusetts to become more equally gendered and he asked around to see if there were any women that anyone knew about and once the application process was brought about, there was a binder full of women.  Once that word binder and the rest of the sentence came about, the Twitter world jumped right on it as well.  Accounts were made and people started following them in an instance. 

 It made Romney look like women's equality in the workplace and in general was not of importance to him and he could easily joke about it. Yes it was a statement that may have been blown out of proportion, but at the same time, we are allowed to think of those things because of the stereotypes and the meanings from things in the past that have come about because of it.  This statement I think hurt him in the long run for this election because there is going to be this lack of understanding about what he really means about certain things.  Not only does this look bad for him, but also it looks bad for the state of Massachusetts and his Republican Party. Coming from Massachusetts, I have been witness to what Romney has done and this is just another thing to add to the list.  Don't you just love politics?  One minute something looks like it is going right and then the next it strays a whole different direction.  Twisting words and meanings to help the other side.  Watch what you say, is all I can say. 

[kgaff13-blog]

Remember that time, that one newspaper really, really supported President Obama in 2008, and in 2012 they just kinda supported him?  Yes, that is what is happening today in Ohio where the Cleveland Plain Dealer, a newspaper in Cleveland, is backing the President once again, but with less enthusiasm than in 2008.  The paper stated that "Obama has often been his own worst enemy".  They do not think he has done much to regain what he has been trying to recover from with the last president that was in office.    All of the plans he tried to go with, they say, he has not followed with.  

I feel like this is wrong.  If a newspaper is backing a candidate up, then they should either back them up all the way, or none at all.  To be less enthused with supporting who you supported just 4 years before is something that the editors should take up with while thinking about who to support.  Saying this kind of states as well that they may back Romney in the campaign as well.  I know newspapers should be open to both sides of the campaign process and showing and stating you are less enthused with a candidate, but are still supporting him shows that you obviously do care about what he is doing.  Even if it means that he is doing anything, you still think that there is that HOPE.

[sillygrl01-blog]

Drunk people can be so entertaining. Especially when they start to dance…

[kgaff13-blog]

Facebook has now hit its milestone! After recording 1 billion users, CEO and Founder Mark Zuckerburg, has fulfilled his dream.  Facebook has now reached and connected everyone in the world and now has been able to become the fastest growing social media website.  Not only is it connecting people in America and Europe now, but it is also connecting people to Asia and other countries that have strict internet rules.  

[kgaff13-blog]

Imagine living in a country that did not have the ability to go out and use the internet or the ability to actually have a phone in your hand that gives you what it is like to have an actual computer.  In Africa, citizens only have their phones to use and access the internet and even with that, the screens are so small and you can access the internet in only black and white.  Phones that they are using have been the same kinds of phones we used back in the 90s and the only thing about that is how text messaging can appear on any phone. They are also the leading nation for mobile to mobile money exchange and it is important in their country.  

I understand that this once "Hopeless Place" was never going to be able to move past any point of technology, but now they are changing the way economics happen in the world.  The money to money exchange helps this country build revenue and help them check different statuses of different stuff. I feel like this is good, Africa is changing for the better and defying what we once thought was never able to happen.  But to imagine not being able to look at pictures and color from a 15 inch screen and only being able to look at it from small, black and white text, would be a change in lifestyle, but maybe it would be an eye opener to what we don't ever think about.  

[kgaff13-blog]

Who knew that discs know longer would be that much of a use or a pain to carry around anymore.  New technology has changed the way we listen to music and this was just one step closer to a new wave of technology.  Check here to see the history of the CD!

[kgaff13-blog]

Ever since mobile phones have been using the term of smart phones because of the way that they have been made for today's new world of technology.  The concern that is affecting this new technology now is mobile advertising.  Facebook, for example, relies on its advertising to help keep its site running.  Now that Facebook is a valuable thing to most users, either when they are commuting to work, or even when its just to get out of an uncomfortable situation, they look straight to their phones to look over what's going on in everyone else's' lives. More of the concern is with the screen on these smart phones. People mostly get their news and information from their phones now and the screen is only big enough to get the news story.  Ads are trying to squeeze in there, but it is just way to small. 

I think this concern is going to get stronger.  The concern of how Facebook, and of course every other site, is going to get their revenue is slowly dwindling away.  I think that rethinking about different ways to get advertising out into the world, would be a good way to start somewhere.  Mobile phones are everyone's go to, as I said, and because of the busyness of everyone now a days, the source of computers and internet are less of a concern to people now because they can get all their sources from the compatibleness of smart phones.  I mean Facebook is dwindling I feel, and I wonder how this advertising concern is going to cost them in the future. But let's be honest, they are already accidental billionaires, pun intended. 

[kgaff13-blog]

Remember when phones were just to merely call and talk to someone?  Well times have changed, as if everyone already didn't know.  Smartphones these days are coming to terms with the fact that it basically just helps people with everything.  Mobile phones were simply just for calling and now they have turned into a sidekick, capturing images of people or videos of something that they can send into news stations and in turn they can become famous for sending a clip in.  The use of phones have also led to isolation between people.  Ever notice those people on the trains and buses now?  No one talks and their faces are in their phones, instead of newspapers and magazines.  Texting offers short and sweet conversation, sometimes conveying the wrong message, and there sometimes doesn't even have to be a response involved.  When this happens though, communication is cut- off. 

I think people are becoming more and more reliant on their smartphones.  Those smartphones have updates on them and the amount of times people look at it for breaking news or the latest entertainment news is quickly and rapidly growing.  They use it for everything and I feel like they are disconnected from the real world.  Communication is a form of communicating with people by talking, but now communicating has translated into "let me text you and I can wait for your reply". We all know that using our phones in class has become a continuing phenomenon, but is there going to be a time when phones are actually going to help students even more?  The phrase goes "there are apps for everything", so what else can happen?

[kgaff13-blog]

During the 2012 Democratic National and Republication National Conventions, Romney and Obama sent out hashtags after each of the conventions.  Romney came out with #RomneyRyan2012 and after the RNC he tweeted #AreYouBetterOff and #16TrillionFail.  Obama came right back with #Forward2012.  Each of those trending hashtags have been bought and promoted by each of the campaigners and they have been used to fire back and see who has gotten most of the responses.  Most of it was for the use of just being able to remember who was who and just to be the center of attention.  

I understand how tweets and trending topics on Twitter can influence people to sway and comment on a topic from one of the potential new presidents, but where is the line drawn?  I feel like social media laws are involved in cases with this and I feel like today, tweets and comments especially, social media has taken campaigns to a whole new level.  We never know where a topic is going to stem from and where it can stem from in the future because of different comments left by people.  But the real question is still being left:  Where is the line drawn?  When will people start realizing that campaigns are not something that can be bought.  Only the true words that come out of peoples mouths is what people are going to read about and I feel like social media has made us forget about that.

[kgaff13-blog]

This article is a representation on how text messaging is becoming more of a concern than just a simple thing to do.  With the arrival of emails and texting, it makes it seem impossible to actually have conversations on a telephone.  Jeffrey Kluger, the author of the article, stated that he hates talking on the phones because "it takes up too much time and with texting he can say what he wants and when he wants to".  Can we say lazy?  It gave us statistics about people "ages 18-29 send and receive an average of 88 text messages a day".  Here at Miami, we all are a part of this and even though I just said that people are lazy, I am a huge offender of this.  I hate talking on the phone, but I am worried that the skills that are there with actually hearing the other persons voice on the phone are dwindling because of my lack of ability to have a conversation with a person.  We can say things in a text message and we will have a less than emotional way of saying it and the person receiving the text message can get the wrong idea.  I am afraid to what is going to come from other generations as technology through the phone gets more advanced. 

[kgaff13-blog]

Just a little kid learning how to ride his bike and encouraging everyone out there to believe in themselves because they, too, can ride a bike.