South Sound Technology Conference

Not to be a suck-up, but the South Sound Technology Conference was amazing to have on campus and be able to make available to the public (as well as free!). Being able to attend was a highlight of this quarter, even if it wasn't worth the extra credit. The main auditorium speakers were wonderful, but the most relevant to my life and work at the moment was the breakout session with Erik Hanberg (great to have him in class as well) and Scott Kuehn, discussing the topic of Non-Profits and Technology. I currently work in media in a major non-profit and many of the topics discussed were struggles that I face every time I do a show, set up a presentation, and simplify make sure equipment is working.

Big thanks to Andrew Fry for moderating the conference and for all the others that helped put together this event!

Erik Hanberg and his Little Book of Gold

Erik Hanberg stopped by class to speak on the idea of scalable income as well as the limits that come with hourly and salary wages. His examples brought up in class of how writers become great and some stay poor were excellent for scalable work. One book could net millions of sales or twenty, everything depends on the market you aim for. Something that can relate to a subculture may not be relevant to the masses but may help to spawn a growth in the subculture.

Convergence

The internet has, for many years now, been shutting down brick and mortor businesses. These businesses lived in one place at all times. Without adapation and integration of the internet, these businesses will fail outright.

Financial institutions are a great example of the leaders in the idea of convergence. Nearly all investment, brokerage, and stock institutions now live on the internet. The collective voice of these groups on the internet allows for a single person to find endless possibilities on how to grow their dollar without spending anything. The era of free information helps even the most novice of money understanding learn of smart investment and banking.

Scavenger Hunt Items!

1. http://www.w3.org/TR/NOTE-WCA/

http://www.w3.org/1998/11/05/WC-workshop/Papers/Fry.html

2...

3...

4. Metric, Janelle Morae, Weezer, MXPX, The Prodigy, No Doubt

5. Jdate.com, Christiansingles.com, match.com

6. http://www.digitalhollywood.com/2001LVAgenda.html

Bruce Eisen
Rick Bender
Scott Harrison   

7. http://www.redfin.com/WA/Tacoma/4250-Kootnai-St-W-98466/home/2843748

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/4108-Brouse-Blvd-W-University-Place-WA-98466/49245491_zpid/

10. http://www.realnetworks.com/pressroom/releases/2009/q309_results_lkj946kjh75.aspx

11. http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/genmessage.php/?board=951994&topic=52295585

12. http://www.allgetaways.com/view_destination.asp?destinationid=XGP213-S02

13. Sock Puppet - An account made on an internet message board, by a person who already has an account, for the purpose of posting more-or-less anonymously. (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=sock%20puppet&defid=59385)


Sock Puppet - A phony name made up by a user in order to masquerade as someone else on the Internet. Sock puppets can make controversial comments or vote for or against a cause without revealing their identity. They may respond to their own Usenet or blog posts praising the articles they wrote themselves or disagree with comments criticizing them on other sites.

14. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057193/
Spencer Tracy ... Capt. C. G. Culpepper
Milton Berle ... J. Russell Finch
Sid Caesar ... Melville Crump, DDS
Buddy Hackett ... Benjy Benjamin
Ethel Merman ... Mrs. Marcus
Mickey Rooney ... Ding 'Dingy' Bell

15. http://i49.tinypic.com/11t0vft.jpg

17. http://www.facebook.com/people/Andrew-Fry/872315500

18. http://i49.tinypic.com/xpvx9h.jpg

Documentation: Physical or Virutal

In this day and age, everything we hold dear is on some digital format. The computer has become one of the most important tools that at any moment could fail, we have begun to put so much trust within these boxes of silicon and steel. Memories, reports, conversations, and all types of business documents are digital and we trust the "back-ups" we make to not fail. If at any time an anomaly occurred, all this data could be lost just to something as small as a magnet being rubbed against a hard drive.

Although physical documents can be destroyed and show age, at least there is no possibility of dropping out of existence in our hands. Physical damage such as fire can destroy physical documents, but at least there is possibility of some recovering the memories.

I love Metorites? Uhhh...no.

The vanity search is almost like a popularity contest for your own name, or really how realevant are you on the internet?
- I am supposedly am a lover of meteorites. Not really.
- A photographer? I am, but not professionally.
- Went to BYU? Nope, I am at UWT right?
I had to add the city where I have lived in the majority of my life to even get results remotely close to my actual person's. Glad I can stay somewhat anonymous in these days where almost nothing is private...

Transform your business. Build your audience.

While Mark Briggs stopped into class to talk about the new generation of journalism, I thought back on my first job as a paperboy. The shift to web journalism was already beginning at that time and I was losing costumers left and right. The change of business models was inevitable with a different demand for information. Tastes in information and what was posted began becoming more diverse and the idea of personalized news streams (blogs) began to take over. Anyone with a computer and an internet connection can get information custom tailored to their needs.

Building Webpages

Having dabbled in HTML a bit before, I found this "My First Page" instructional assignment to be quite simple but refreshing in the basics. One of the most basic but important pieces to this I had glanced over in other pages was the HTML version. In previous pages, I was only required to formulate only the most basic of pages without an overview version in the past and just thought that the overview was unnecessary.

This explanation is perfect for beginners that have never touched HTML before. The language of the paper is simple and if I had to have my computer illiterate sister do this assignment, she would understand without question.

What I've been recently looking at: Google Wave Development Introduction

Dying Breed

My first real job was delivering the Tacoma News Tribune, I was nine. It wasn't the best pay, but what the heck did I care? I got to buy the Star Wars Pod Racer Special Edition Nintendo 64, with my own money. I bought a camcorder next. I made skateboard films with my friends in the Proctor District, by our standards they were awesome. I had money in my pocket at all times, and still had started to save for college. Who starts to save for college at nine? I did.

I'd like to think that the newspaper will last many more decades but I don't believe that will occur. The newspaper industry that I worked in was dying even when I was getting started in the late nineties and early two-thousands. Every month my subscription base would shrink by one or two, rarely growing growing. The only time it didn't, was when the News Tribune offered a cash reward for gaining more subscriptions via knocking on doors and getting home owners to accept a 3 month free trial and paying for a year of subscription if I remember correctly.

People today don't need a subscription to anything, not even one to an internet service to get the news, weather, sports, or anything else a newspaper has to offer except a physical form. Walking into a coffee shop with a laptop or an iPod Touch is all you need to read the News Tribune, New York Times, or any other "newspaper" around the world. Digital connection is for our time, the next best thing. Just as everyone thought that video would replace the radio medium, newspapers won't be immediately replaced by digital news but will be phased out or be used in a new form.

Bonus:
Video Killed the Radio Star - The Buggles
(The first music video to be played on MTV)

E-Mail and Part of What is Keeping Me in School

E-Mail is not going away anytime soon. We may look at it for hours on end or even just a second (Just looked down to see if my red mail light on my "Crackberry" was blinking...) to keep in touch with friends, family, and co-workers. The amount we stare at screens to make sure that we stay connected to one another is astounding. My friends/coworkers and I will text each other from across the room to find out if our audio levels are not destroying ear drums (I am a professional audio technician and DJ) and to pass the time. As long as I have legs to walk with and a mouth to talk with, I will find this ironic.

I like to think I am a self-motivated individual and I want to succeed, but E-Mail is killing part of what is keeping me in school, the United States Postal Service, or USPS. My mother has worked for the USPS for over 25 years and a large portion of money saved for me to go to college and further my education was made through delivering mail and working as a clerk. I would like to think that my mother will be able to continue to help send me to school until I am able to provide for myself but if E-Mail, electronic invoicing, and other forms of non-verbal communication continue to grow as they are, I hope she still has a job. I hear stories from my mother and read stories such as the one below, and I get anxious over what my future will look like without the USPS.


Hundreds of Post Offices Could Soon Close - Washington Post