WWW REVOLUTION: JOBS LOST

I wasn't in class the day that this blog was described to everyone, so I am going to guess and kinda talk about how the revolution has changed the shift of jobs. By the title of this blog post, you would think that the revolution of the world wide web would have resulted in people losing their jobs. While this is true, I also think that the real wording should be "jobs shifted".
In one of my other classes we have talked about a shift of jobs and the need for a more educated workforce. Fifty years ago, someone could walk into a warehouse or a industrial area and get a job. You didn't need to be highly educated. All someone needed was the ability to follow directions and use your hands. As time as gone on, machines have taken over a lot of these types of jobs. Not only is it cheaper for industries to have machines put together their products, but it also saves a lot of time and helps keep all products identical. However, since it seems that their has been a decline in these types of jobs, there has been an increase in more technical fields. Where there is a machine, there has to be a human to assemble is and keep it running. Machines can't run their own annual test and fix any shortages shall they arise. Also, programming, security, and electrical engineers are all new types of jobs that are now available when there weren't 50 years ago.

A VISIT FROM ERIK HANBERG

About 10 years ago, my dad decided to write a book about officiating football. He has been a professional football referee since I was born so it is definitely in his blood. He had to retire from working on the field due to some back problems, but still wanted to be apart of the game. That's when the book came about. He didn't get very many publishing offers in the beginning and decided to self publish and advertise. Why you ask did I just tell you this story? Because it came to my mind a lot during Erik Hanberg's presentation to our class.
I am so amazed by people that can write novels. The dedication and focus that someone must have to be able to write that much and stay on track is amazing to me. Even more, I can't believe how many Erik has wrote. The way that he talked about advertising and how much is changing now with social media and being able to cut costs by doing a lot of it yourself instead of paying others to do it was pretty amazing. I know a lot of people that do sales for at-home businesses on Facebook and seem to make a lot of sales. Might as well advertise yourself instead of just share pictures of your kids.
Erik seems like a very talented man and has lots of knowledge. He has a great following and is very organized in what he does. I really enjoyed his presentation.

WHAT MAKES A COMMUNITY???

So, I have a very skewed idea of what a "community" is and I do believe that it has changed drastically over time. Growing up, I was in a very conservative neighborhood. We all went to the same schools, shopped at the same stores, and went to the same church EVERY Sunday. I felt a strong sense of community and felt like my family and I really belonged there. As I grew up and flapped my own wings, I ended up moving all over the country. Being in the military and then married to a military man, we never lived in the same place longer than 2-3 years. Building that community was hard because just as we got familiar, we left. I learned through doing this long enough, that community doesn't have to be just the people you live around. You can have a long distance community through pen-pals or the internet. With the advancement of technology, the fact that your community doesn't have to be those geographically close to you is the new norm.
My community is people that I have met from all walks of life. Whether it be the mail man from my neighborhood in North Carolina, my favorite server at our regular date night spot in Colorado, or my sons preschool teacher here in Washington. These are my community. These are the people that I have made a difference in my life. Whether we talk anymore or not, they will always be members of my community.
With social media and new ways that are coming up all time to be able to talk to people online, its much easier to keep an online community than even a face to face one. You can talk to them when its convenient with you, only have to share certain information with them, and can be involved at your own pace. To me, virtual communities are much better than physical communities.

dot.com to dot.bomb

I honestly didn't really know what to expect when we started this topic. I came to class and there was about 5 different plastic dinosaurs on the table in the front of the room and knew that somehow they were going to tie into the virtual world. Far fetched right? I thought the same thing!
Well honestly, Professor Fry did an amazing job of explaining the "dinosaurs" of the technology age and tied them in great. When the internet was first invented, if you were to tell the people that were showing interest in it that eventually there was going to be a huge bubble around it that will burst and ruin a lot of lives and companies, they would have called you crazy. But thats exactly what happened. The "dinosaurs" that people thought were too big to fail, did just that. Money was being thrown around in hopes that this new theory of online communications would never have a downfall. New companies were started left and right offering products or services online that had never been able to be a country or worldwide product before. For instance, pets.com was a site that you went to to order supplies for your pets and get information. No one would have expected it to burst in the early moments of the bubble and go away. But it did just that.
Even thought I was born in the 80's and remember the days of early internet with AOL CD's and the 7 minutes it takes to connect online, I don't remember much about the dot.com boom. I do remember having to tell my whole family that they wouldn't be able to talk on the phone for the next hour because I was going to go online to chat with my friends though. LOL

PRESENTATIONS

I will be honest, I don't remember the name of the group that did the presentation, but my favorite one was talking about ethics on the internet. As a parent, I know that I post a lot of things about my son without his consent. He is 3 years old so he really doesn't understand what is going on. He will grow up with people that are strangers to him knowing a lot of personal things he has gone through. That is a scary thought to think about.
However, he will be growing up in a technology era. The information that is at our fingertips right now is something that he will grow up with as being "normal". He won't know what dial up internet is, or using a paper phonebook, or what life is like without social media. That will be instilled in his brain. And he also wont be alone. All the kids that are growing up in his generation will all be exposed to social media from a young age. Access to baby pictures, milestones, and funny moments of their childhood is something that they can all sit around and laugh at together.
I also enjoyed learning about the Black Lives Matter movement. I know that a lot of the things that movement fights for does not affect my everyday life. But the fact that it is important to a group means its important to me. And I would hope that they would have the same respect for my views. Social media isn't just about sharing baby pictures of our kids, but can be used as a platform for change.

GUEST SPEAKER - JOEL LARSEN

So I was a little nervous about this guest speaker and his presentation. When I sat down in class and the slideshow was titles "databases" I figured it was going to be a lot of detail oriented information and quite possibly over my head. I do have a background working with databases when I was active duty in the military, but it has been years since I worked in the field.
I was pleasantly surprised when Joel's presentation was the complete opposite of what I was expecting. He was very personable and kept the information on a basic type level so that he wouldn't lose the whole class with glossed over looks.
I think my favorite part of his presentation was when he spoke about the NCR (National Cash Register). When he explained how grocery stores use to operate, I was blown away. The system 50 years ago seems more simple, but also that there was a huge margin of error. Lots of money could be lost very easily just by counting wrong or human error at checkout. With the advancements of databases and being able to electronically keep track of inventory and prices for everything, the margin of error was significantly reduced. Also, there was a huge increase in the number of products and brands that were now available to the consumer. Pretty amazing!
It's things like the advancement of NCR that people don't think about, but most people would not be able to do much throughout their normal day if databases weren't around. They help this scary world of technology be more organized and filter the mass amounts of information in an instant. Joel had a great presentation! I would definitely like to learn more from him.

3 THINGS I WOULD NEVER BUY ONLINE

When I was in high school, I had a part time job working at the JCPenney catalog call center. I would have all of the magazines and catalogs that were in circulation in front of me at my desk as references, and would answer call after call of people wanting to place orders. Not only did I enter in the information that the customer would give me, but I would add on extras such as gift wrap or magazine subscriptions. At the end of the call I would take the credit card information and move on the the next customer. I was essentially a shopping cart. I would collect the products to be purchased and help get them home to each person.

Nowadays, this whole process is done online. Not only can you choose your different size, color, or details, but you can see each of the products on the screen in front of you. You can browse all different looks and makes without having to flip through hundreds of pages. With this amazing technology of online shopping, a lot of guessing also comes into play. Because you can't see and touch the products in person, you must rely on trust of what the online resource states about the product. This trust is sometimes very easy because it is a cheaper product or something that can be easily returned. Other times, however, it is very hard to put my trust into the online world. Here are some of the things that I would never buy online.

1- PRESCRIPTION MEDICATION: Personally, I would find it very difficult to receive prescription medication online. I have quite a few allergies to certain medications, so I am very wary about who fills my prescriptions. Not knowing the actual source would make me scared.

2- ANIMALS: I have had so many family pets in my life so far. From dogs to cats to bird and fish. I know that animals require a lot of attention and medical care just like humans do. Without knowing the breeder or current care situations of the pet, it would be very hard for me to purchase a pet online. So many people can scam you about the pets current health, the pets background with other animals or children, and their exact breed. For these reasons, I would want to speak with a person face to face before purchasing a pet.

3- USED ELECTRONICS: The reason I would not buy any used electronics online, is because I am guilty for selling something that had some damage internally that I did not disclose to the buyer. When I was 18 I wanted to sell my camera and I knew that the flash didn't work. I wanted money to buy a new one, so I listed it on EBAY to sell. I set it at a decent price so that nobody would be suspicious of it. The camera sold quickly and I was able to purchase another one. However, I have had a guilty consciousness about it ever since. I could never buy a used electronic without trying it first and knowing that all the components work.