six sense technology.

This blog is only going to make sense to you if you take a few minutes to check out these vids:

http://www.ted.com/talks/pattie_maes_demos_the_sixth_sense.html

http://www.ted.com/talks/pranav_mistry_the_thrilling_potential_of_sixthsense_technology.html

 

This is RIDONCULOUS! I honestly don't even know what to say in response to these videos. Except that I'm hating this idea. I think the creator is a genius, no doubt about that. But this is seriously just ridiculous. It's hard for me to even have my iphone around all the time, because information is at the tips of my fingers at all times, I don't have to wait for anything, I don't have to wonder anything, because it's there. google is always seconds away. I feel like my thoughts are scattered with this topic. I know that I don't like the idea of this technology, but I can't put my finger on exactly why. 

Maybe because it removes us so far from interpersonal interaction. Farther than we've already become. Everything is just connected. The way he was able to grab information from a textbook, put it onto his tablet (piece of paper) and then print it, it's just too much. There's just a line, where certain things shouldn't overlap, and that crossed it. It blows my mind. I can't understand how it works. 

When the creator makes comments such as it will "help us stay human", or "to stay more connected to our physical world" or even "it will help us avoid being machines sitting in front of other machines" ... honestly makes me laugh. Are you kidding me!?

WIX.

The past couple of weeks, we've been working on a group website project where we have to create a website that has something to do with our campus at Western or the surrounding city (Bellingham). My group and I decided to do "Western Secrets". (You can check out the finished product at www.wix.com/meganrunkel/western-secrets). - We had a choice between using the website building sites, Wix or Weebly. We decided to try out Wix. It's a very simple website to use, making it easy to import pictures, and change or input text. The only difficulty we ran into, was the fact that we had a lot of text, and wanted to make it slideshow somehow, and couldn't figure it out too easily. In the end, we decided to cut the amount of info we had down, in order to take away some of the text so it wasn't too overwhelming.
All in all though, i really enjoyed using Wix. They have so many pre-done designs that you can choose from. Then just throw all your info in, and wham! done. It's fabulous! check it out at www.wix.com.

social media & networkz.

Before starting this blog, I was asked to watch this Youtube video. check it out real quick. It changes my ideas a bit regarding social media. We're on this earth to interact with one another, not to waste away behind a screen. A screen can't comfort you in your hurt, give you a hug, listen to your problems, laugh with you. I'm sure you can make it "do" all of those things... but it's not the same. and instead we are wasting away behind a screen. It's an unfortunate existence. these screens, whether it be social networking or games, are ruining relationships. One of the main things that helps us survive. In a blog in The Economist, the author wrote,  "...effective social movements require sacrifice, which is built on strong bonds between people—the kind where you can demand real participation from each other. Social networks, on the other hand, are good for building and maintaining thousands of weak relationships—the kind where you can get people to "like" your cause or re-tweet your message, but not show up to an actual protest." - I really liked this quote a lot, it speaks a lot of truth to me. In my own opinion, social networking can be extremely healthy and helpful, but when it gets to that point, leave it there. Don't let it reach an unhealthy level, where obsession gets into the mix. that's when it starts to worry me about the incredible growth it's had in this world. There are so many more life-giving things in this world waiting for us to enjoy, we just need to step away from our facebooks, twitters, blogs, etc. and find them!

references:

"The Social Media Revolution 2012 - YouTube." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. Web. 07 Feb. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eUeL3n7fDs>.

R.A. "Can You Social Network Your Way to Revolution?" The Economist. 27 Sept. 2010. Web. 7 Feb. 2012. <https://courses.wwu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_26206_1%26url%3D>.