Response to: Clay Shirky, Here Comes Everybody (excerpt)

It’s a little crazy to think that one cellphone, lost in one cab, in one city, could have brought hundreds upon hundreds people together to basically play a big game off manhunt. What’s even crazier is that this girl is from my neighborhood, and heard the story about it through mutual friends from around my way, i never thought it would grow to this scale and would even be something worth publishing. It’s kinda scary how anyone can gain access to your personal life just from an email, phone number, or even a picture, we saturate the internet with personal information and expect others to not take advantage of it? Don’t get me wrong, i think its a good thing people were able to find her and get the phone back, eventhough it was taken to the extreme, justice was served, but what about creepy people that are just into crawling the net in search for information? What do we have to protect us? Sure you can make your social network info private, and have a 17 digit case sensitive letter and number combination password for all of your emails and other online accounts, but are you really safe? It’s so easy to trick people into unknowingly giving up this type of information, all it takes is a dedicated person to keep trying and for you to let your guard down.

Filed under: Class 2, Writing, Cellphone

Response to “The New Journalism: Goosing the Gray Lady”

I find it kinda crazy that the New York Times was getting hit so hard by the way people sought out news. No longer was the newspaper the best and easiest way to get the morning news, now people are able to check out news on their computers, cellphones and more. People much rather not pay for a newspaper they need to dispose of later, when they can get the same kind of information for free and without the need to worry about finding a recycle bin.

Filed under: Class 1, Writing, New York Times

Wikipedia Style Entry: Graffiti

Graffiti (singular: graffito; the plural is used as a mass noun) is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property. Graffiti is sometimes regarded as a form of art and other ancient times, with examples dating back to times regarded as unsightly damage or unwanted.

History

My History with Graffiti began about 15 years ago when I saw somebody in my school write their name and throw a cloud around it. I was very intruigued and questioned what it was he was doing, he explained he was just catching a tag, and that he was doing graffiti. That night all i could do was scribble my name all over any paper I could find.

Filed under: Class 1, Images, Writing, Design, Future, Graffiti, History, Images, Wikipedia

In response to Design and the Elastic Mind:

It’s been said that those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. The same can be said about those that do not embrace the future won’t be ready to accept it. As the passage of Design and the Elastic Mind explained, predictions were made on several pieces of technology we use today which were proven wrong, and not only are the Engineers behind that technology responsible, but the Designers as well. Being able to cram a roomful of machines into a neatly designed and user friendly package is the reason why we are all sitting in front of a computer right now.

We do not know what the future is going to bring, it’s hard if not impossible to predict what will be the next huge leap in technology that will change the way we act and react to our surroundings. Will nanotechnology enable us to embed cell phones and other wireless devices into our skin? Will a newer, smaller, safer technology be discovered 5 years from now making nanotechnology obsolete? We have come to grasps with the fact that technology, science and design go hand in hand, where in the past design wouldn’t have a reason to interact with the other two. We have also come to understand that unless we become involved with the bigger picture that is the modern world and try to make an impact, then whatever predictions or ideas we have in our heads will never come to light and have a chance at molding our future.

Filed under: Class 1, Writing, Design, Future, Technology