My Thoughts on the Future of the Internet

Technology is always evolving, who knows what's to come next? I sat and thought about this hard, and I really have no clue what the digital world will be like in the future. I mean it's.....UNPREDICTABLE. -.- However, I am very sure that speed and convenience are going to dominate the world even more then.

I have always imagined and fantasized about how technology can just take over the world. Crazy examples like you don't have to take a bus or even drive to school because you can "fly" or "teleport" some way or another. Or, you don't have to worry about forgetting to bring your things out because you can get it "sent" to you in a minute. Or like, you can see what's going on in your house when you're out and if you forgot to switch off a particular machine or gadget, all you have to do is to press a button on your smartphone and that's it, done. Hassle-free.

Yes, that's the keyword: Hassle-freeeeee. That is why things are made fast and convenient for us at a pretty good efficiency rate with internet. And I feel that this will turn us all intro useless monsters. No one knows how to do anything anymore because it's all computed for us. The worst thing that can happen is when technology decides to shut down on us. Who is going to save us?? The IT technicians? Or maybe we could save ourselves by becoming "tech-gods". For all we know, we might be. You see, people evolve and adapt along with their environments. Hence, in this growing digital age, I am sure the future generations are going to be highly in-sync with the advancements of technology.

Whatever it is, I don't want to be talking to computers for the rest of my life. When I order my McBurgers, I want to order it from a real human. When I go shopping, I want to be served and I want to buy my stuffs from a real person, and when I take on learning courses like cooking or dancing, there is NO WAY i'm learning it from a robot or whatever machine, no way. Human contact is essential for living, Like I always mention in my posts, let internet stay as an enhancement in our lives, helping us with necessary activities such as gathering of information and entertainment. Nothing more.

Twitter vs. Facebook

There are so many social networking sites now but I feel that Twitter and Facebook are the most popular ones because not only me, but all of my friends are using it! That is why it is called social networking right?? Keep in touch with your friends :)





















To me, both of them are totally different. However, I still did a bit of research and found out some proper differences that I could pen down.

Openness
Facebook was designed as a web-browser based service: you log into their site through your web-browser to see status updates from your friends mixed with their advertisements.

Twitter has, since it’s early days, provided a programming interface (API) to it’s service. This interface let’s programmers write applications that check for new tweets, submit your own status messages, etc, all without actually visiting Twitter’s web page. The result is that there are many many applications and ways to interact with Twitter content besides just navigating to the twitter web page. The most popular ones tend to be the ones that sit on your desktop or in your toolbar and notify you when new tweets arrive.

Openness of the Data
By default, Facebook hides all your data so only friends (and approved game applications) can see your status updates and personal information.

Twitter is the opposite though, for both good and bad. It defaults to posting your messages publicly for the world to search through.

This, by far, is the biggest in usage differences. If you end up using both systems, just think before you post who your audience is. But more importantly, I like it this way. There are many updates that I post to both systems because I either don’t care or actually want them heard widely. The announcement for this blog posting, for example, I’ll submit to both services. I also tend to post smaller and more frequent comments to just Twitter. And much more personal comments to just Facebook.

Update Frequency
Because of the open API and extensive external application support, Twitter is more in your face 24/7 and integrates into your day rather well. The result is kind of a constant connection feeling with lots of friends, services and celebrities. The ability to tweet quickly in seconds is always present because somewhere on your screen you already have an open box waiting for you to type in your latest pontification. There are even application plugins that monitor what you’re doing and provide a tweet on your behalf (such as every time your music player switches songs). Many early tweeters make the mistake of tweeting way too much and let you know all about their third bite of a taco bell buritto you probably don’t care about. (They also quickly lose their followers). The better twitterers post only interesting thoughts and activities.

Facebook on the other hand is designed for less frequent status updates and less frequent review of your friend’s updates. Most users log into the site a few times a day, respond to the discussions, update their status (maybe) and play a game or two. It’s designed to be a “visit when I have time site” and is not designed to let you know that your BFF just put on her left sock.

But the instant notification ability of Twitter is what makes it far superior for service broadcasts. Many important services today have twitter feeds for major events (eg, the White House, the RedCross, CNN Breaking News or even Earthquakes that occur near San Francisco) so that you can be instantly informed about events happening at a given instant.

Twitter has also always had the ability to send and receive cell phone text messages. You can have the service text you when your favorite friends update their status and likewise you can update yours by sending a text too. Many smartphones have Facebook applications or web browsers, but twitters SMS tie-in is, again, designed to make you feel continuously connected (no matter how old your phone is).

Status Update Size
Twitter messages have a size limit of 140 characters, which isn’t much (note how easily it fits into a 160 character SMS message? Surely their choice of size was deliberate!). Twitterers learn to abbreviate and be witty in a very small space.

Facebook, however, lets users write multiple paragraphs about their current thoughts. This works much better for ideas you just can’t convey in a short burst. Twitter is referred to as micro-blogging, and Facebook is in between Twitter and a full-size, long-winded blog like this one.

Data vs Presentation
Another major difference between Facebook and Twitter is the presentation. Twitter is all about the content and the data. It doesn’t concentrate on presenting it in fancy graphics on their site (though many desktop applications actually look much better than the Twitter home page). Twitter just wants to bring you data fast and it excels at doing just that.

Facebook, on the other hand, is a complete package. It’s like the “Hotel California” as it wants you to never leave. It’s entrance hall is splendidly decorated with fancy graphics, profiles, pretty colored reply boxes, etc. Every link from Facebook tends to take you to another Facebook wrapped external page or application so you’re always encouraged to return to Facebook immediately. But, their web interface is a beautiful blend of simplicity and function (apple would be proud).

Twitter is also just status messages only with no extra features, while Facebook is constantly tempting you to take a new quiz or play a new game. Facebook’s interactive and highly-addictive multi-player games are wonderful distractions and suck up hours of your time. Twitter almost seems dull after having spent an hour trolling around Facebook’s site.

So which one would you choose to use? My answer is BOTH! I use them on a daily basis and I love them equally as I use each social network differently. If you do not have either one of them, try using it now! I'm sure you'd be hooked. :)

Week 10: Internet & Journalism

Internet has changed the world and the lives of people. It has improved many life aspects in terms of speed, convenience and efficiency. Like all the other topics I have blogged about, jounalism is no exception.

With the rise of online journalism, will print journalism fade and disappear from face of the media world?


In my opinion, my answer is no. Like I always believed, internet serves as an enhancement to these existing mediums. It improvises the quality of journalism in terms of its content and it helps to raise other issues that are related to the one at hand. This is possible because of the participation of general citizens who offer their opinions to generate more news stories to debate about. Everybody has an opinion, and internet is the platform for their voices.

There are many benefits for reading news on the internet, but print journalism will always have a place in the society because the quality of news can never be replaced by online versions that are altered by the citizens. In fact, according to Tom Carver, a BBC journalist, internet shapes journalism in the following ways:

Ability to interact

This is what makes the internet such an extraordinary medium - the ability to interact instantaneously with people from all over the world in both print and on video. Will it change the role of a journalist? Not immediately, but in the long run, definitely. At the moment, most people are more accustomed to the passive format of radio and TV and don't know how to interact. But they are learning fast.

Genuinely two-way

Journalists can receive viewers' questions any time, anywhere. As the internet moves into the next stage of broadband and wireless, it is going to turn TV into a genuine two-way medium. Journalists will be able to read e-mails off their wireless phones as they come in, live on air from almost any spot in the planet.

The videophone - a concept that seemed like science fiction five years ago - will become more robust and versatile and, as more people get high-speed internet access, the viewing figures of webcasts will grow. Is it good development? Absolutely.

Internet equals engaged

If people are interacting, it means they are engaged, and that must be healthy for society and democracy. It also keeps media organisations on their toes and gives them a better sense of who they are broadcasting to. Just seeing a name and a town on the e-mails can make a journalist feel connected to his or her audience. They were no longer an anonymous mass but a collection of individuals. There were e-mails from as far afield as Botswana, Belgium, Ghana, France, Canada and Germany, all united by a desire to know more about the American election. This has been called "user-controlled journalism", but hopefully it isn't that.

Editorial expertise

The BBC's value lies in its editorial expertise. That is what they are paid to do as journalists, to follow what they think are the stories of significance. Thus, they chose which e-mails to read out, which to follow up.

The digital divide separates those who know from those who don't. Interaction should not mean surrendering control of the process. Viewers told what they wanted to know about, but journalists still had to meet the needs of the many who didn't email them but were nonetheless following the website. For there is a very real risk that the world will be divided between those with the confidence and the eloquence to speak out and those who remain silent and unheard.

Education is the key

It is not a question of laziness but education. The digital divide is not between those with access to the internet and those without, but between those who have the learning to know how to use this extraordinary tool and those who do not. The internet's trailblazers are beginning to realise that without a well-educated populace, the internet will never be used to its full potential.

Week 9: Internet & Politics

Internet has become a powerful platform for political leaders to send their message across to the people and at the same time receive opinions and feedback from them. Back in the days of low technology, political big brothers were reliant on the electronic media like television, radio and the powerful newspapers.

However, there was no direct connection between the leaders and the general people. That is why, there are many political leaders who prefer to use the internet to deliver their messages and information to update their supporters and people on the present situation. They reveal their own programs and agenda of their respective parties through a number of social networks online. They have their own sites and these sites are loaded with current data and information about the mission of their parties. The internet has now become the most powerful weapon of the election campaigning and mass communication.

People at home can now browse the internet to check what is the most updated information about their legislative members or any leader of the political wing. To be brief, leaders are can now reach millions of supporters through the internet with comfort and convenience.

It is so efficient that you don't have to wait overnight to collect a newspaper the next morning to read the headlines. You don't have to wait to tune in to radios and televisions to know about the present election or anything in regards to the on-goings in the political world. The internet is available 24/7 allowing you to be updated with every single detail that you need to know.

Lastly, due to the flexibility and easy accessibility to the internet, the political leaders are able to understand the general people by reading the online reviews and feedbacks given by different persons through online services. The technology has grown so amazing that people can now cast their votes online without leaving their homes.

Now, who would have known about how powerful internet can be?

Week 8: Multimedia Wowness

Many people love multimedia. Who doesn't like to be engaged with video and audio elementsalong with the text and visuals they see? Advertisements are never boring now with the technology of multimedia-they give life to advertisements; evolving it into something that 'talks and moves'. Multimedia marketing is the answer to convert customer leads into a sales.

When you make customers experience with your advertisment rich and satisfying, you are building a relationship with them. Plus, did you know that just by adding an audio element to your advertisement or website can increase your response rate by 300%! Wow, you got to admit that it's AWESOME POSSUM.

Recently, LG mobile phones creates integrated, multi-media marketing campaign for James Cameron's 'Avatar'. The marketing campaign appeals to forward-thinking technology enthusiasts. The marketing execution includes a TV spot that features the "Avatar" movie trailer footage being projected from LG eXpo, a smartphone handset that features a detachable mobile projector. To further support the campaign, LG developed an interactive micro site, www.lgexpo.com, which includes exclusive movie content, and is also launching an exclusive joint-sponsored Facebook page between FOX and MTV.

"AVATAR was created using a revolutionary technology with a new generation of special effects to tell this story. I was grateful to have the opportunity to work with a cast and crew that allowed me to take risks," said AVATAR Director James Cameron. "To be supported by a brand such as LG Mobile Phones, which continually strives to push technological boundaries, provided additional reinforcement for this endeavour."

Here's a funny video that introduces the LG eXpo, a Feature-rich Smartphone with a Mobile Projector with a tie-in with 'Avatar'. :)