Filed under: Milestones
I think that Excel is an interesting program because it is capable of performing so many functions and calculations, yet many people never benefit from its capabilities because they are unaware of features or confused by the program. I am included in this population. At my last internship I did learn a lot about Excel and some of its convenient functions (i.e. mail merge, auto filter, etc.) but I know there are countless other functions that I do not take advantage of. I thought that Snyder’s discussion of Excel was pretty elementary, but useful for people who are not at all familiar with the program.. The very basic data presented in this chapter made it difficult to develop a class project that was stimulating and informative, not knowing the extent to which the class already understood Excel. But in preparing the presentation, I did come across some different ideas and products that may someday help me as a manager. As we presented in class, different software programs will now allow you to perform additional calculations within an Excel worksheet and some programs have developed their own spreadsheets taking “the best Excel has to offer” and adding more features. As a manager, programs like these would probably allow you to store and manipulate many types of information spanning many years, in just one program. Prior to the presentation, I was also unaware of how easily and quickly I could import data from an outside source. I remember in undergrad doing a large project dealing with census data, and I actually retyped several pages of the census to accompany my written findings. Had I known of the import feature at that time, I would have saved myself hours (literally) of work.
Filed under: Digital Governance Nuggets
Although I stated in my last blog that I am tired of discussing privacy issues, my web search this week has produced one more reason in which I feel compelled to again revisit the issue. Microsoft is currently engaged in a project called MyLifeBits that will essentially digitalize every single photo, CD, card, book, phone conversation, lecture, website, home video, television show, etc. that a person experiences in his life. The program will build a virtual memory that will allow users to search by keyword nearly any aspect of their life thus far. The very first thing I thought of when I read the article was, you guessed it, privacy! In a society that has some afraid to simply conduct a web search or send an email, I wonder if there would be a market for software capable of digitally recording the most intimate aspects of one’s life? The MyLifeBits project however, has been going on for five years, thus beginning before the major privacy issues of today were a concern. Knowing that, I began wondering about the utility of the project if privacy were not an issue. Do people really desire to save every phone conversation, email, card, website, television show, photograph, etc? Assuming people want to save all of these things, assumes that there is meaning attached to each of these things, but I don’t think that is necessarily true. Every year for the last 24 years, I have received a birthday card from my Uncle that says the same thing, “Happy Birthday, Erin. Have a Great year!” When it comes in the mail, I barely look at it anymore. I would have no desire to save it, let alone 24 of them. The same holds true for television shows or websites. I can’t count the number of hours in my life that I have spent aimlessly gazing at the TV or browsing the web for no significant reason. Would I want all of this recorded? No. I don’t feel cheated that I don’t know what I watched on TV as a seven year old. I realize that there are significant moments over my last 24 years that I have forgotten all together or may not remember as well as I used to, but I don’t think a “digital diary” is the answer to that problem. I am sure that the development of software to handle such a project is very expensive, and I’m not sure that the worth of it is comparable. I will rely on pen, paper and a scrapbook for the important stuff, and hopefully quickly forget the rest.
Filed under: Milestones
After reading Snyder’s chapter 17, Garson’s chapter 6, discussing student’s papers concerning privacy and debating the state of privacy post 9/11, I’m tired of discussing privacy issues! It is a frustrating issue that is not easily agreed upon and will likely remain a debatable issue for years to come. Snyder’s discussion of encryption seems ridiculous. If the point of encrypting is to maintain one’s privacy while communicating via the internet, then fine. But as Dr. Shulman pointed out, doesn’t encrypting messages simply “flag” that person as having something to hide? If so, then encrypting messages may limit one’s privacy even more. After all, with time and resources, any code can be broke. But even if someone was absolutely sure their code could not be cracked, who has time to encrypt and decode messages??? I just cannot see encryption as a beneficial option for everyday internet users. I did enjoy the discussion of cookies, both in the chapter and during the class exercise. Prior to this class, I had heard of cookies, but had no idea what they were, or where they were stored. Being able to see in class how easily and quickly cookies can accumulate, I was prompted to check the status of cookies on my home computer. I had 436 cookies on my computer!
Filed under: Digital Governance Nuggets
A few weeks ago in class, we staged a debate in which the digital divide was disputed. One student, when comparing the digital divide with pollution, said it is not the goal to provide internet access to every single person in the world, but instead to expand access to a majority of people. Considering the complexity of providing internet access to the billions of people in the world, at the time of the debate, I agreed with that student. But upon further researching the subject, I now believe that with the proper players and governmental cooperation, internet access could be provided to the entire world. I realize that this is a very optimistic thought, but very few pessimists have ever changed the world! An article at www.cnn.com reported that through a collaboration with the Libyan government and the non-profit agency, One Laptop per Child, all 1.2 million school children in
Libya will receive laptop computers and internet access. The most shocking aspect of the program is that 1.2 million computers, a server in each school, a team of technical advisors, satellite internet service and other infrastructure can all be provided for only $250 million. The computers are even equipped with foot pedals and solar energy adaptations in cases of inadequate electricity. At first $250 million seems like a lot of money, but considering the multitude of products and services it provides, coupled with Western government’s pace of spending (the United States’ Military spending in 2005 was more than $420 Billion!), $250 million is pretty cheap. So, if it can be done in
Libya, why can’t it be done everywhere? In my opinion, one of the biggest reasons internet access is not worldwide is the gross distribution of wealth in our world. I had recently heard that for the first time ever, Forbes Magazine’s annual list of the100 wealthiest people did not contain one millionaire; they were all billionaire’s. The people on this list have more personal money than some entire nations in the developing world. When discussing distribution of wealth, it is easy to point fingers at government’s such as our own that spend billions of dollars frivolously or billionaires living in multi-million dollar homes, but the average American often forgets that we too are players in the distribution of wealth game. The
United States is home to nearly 300 million people. Imagine if all of us donated just $1 to One Laptop per Child. More than 1.2 million people could be provided internet access. Imagine if we all donated $5. More than 8 million people would be provided internet access. So next time you stop at Starbucks on your way to work, think about the real difference that $4 you just spent on a small coffee could have really made. My argument may seem extreme and unrealistic, but I am a firm believer in the power of charitable giving and the desire to help people. A whole new world will be opened up to those Libyan school children, and hopefully someday, everybody will get that same opportunity.
Laptop provided to Libyan school children
Filed under: Milestones
This is actually the first Snyder chapter that I have read and already been familiar with the content. He mentions the importance of narrowing your search by uncovering relevant search words via certain credible sites. In my research, I have always found it helpful to check www.wikipedia.com first. Although this information is not always credible, I can usually find keywords that I can then plug into a new Google search. And luckily, I have had pretty good luck with extracting decent information from the website. Snyder’s chapter did introduce me to a new search site; www.google.com/advanced_image_search I’ve searched many images since reading the chapter and am amazed at the quantity and variety of available pictures. I’m looking forward to using some images in upcoming blogs.
Filed under: Digital Governance Nuggets
Shortly after the Pope had made remarks about the Muslim religion, and riots had broke out throughout the Middle East, I heard a reporter say that much of the conflict can be blamed on the Internet; stating that in pre-Internet days, only a handful of people would have heard the comments. But today, with the ability for the speech to be easily accessed and repeatedly played, the comments reached millions and led to violence. This made me think quite a bit about the role the Internet has played in the growing tension between the West and the
Middle East. Events such as the publication in a Denmark newspaper of a cartoon depicting Mohammed as wearing a “bomb turban” and reports of abuse to the Qur’an atGuantanamo
Bay, are two other incidences which have fueled hatred of the West but may have been avoided if internet access was not what it is. In terms of terrorism though, the internet is not only a tool used by extremists to receive information, but also to send information. Each time Al Queada has made a statement, it has not been via a telephone call to George Bush or Tony Blair, but via the internet. This system of airing statements on the Internet is extremely unique and can be viewed as a positive or negative. With each statement made by Osama Bin Laden or Ayman al-Zawahri, it is likely that thousands of individuals throughout the
Middle East will view them, allowing the statements to be used as a catalyst for enlisting more individuals in the Jihad. Similarly, extremists can find information regarding bomb making procedures, watch martyrdom videos and see images of Western hostages taken captive by smaller terrorist groups, all on the web. On the flip side though, it is also likely that thousands of individuals throughout the West will also see these statements and images, and become privy to information that the Government may not openly share with the public. And just as the Internet has been utilized to mobilize Muslim extremists, it has been utilized to mobilize Westerners, especially those against the war in
Iraq. Organizations such as Move On and individuals such as Cindy Sheehan have utilized the Internet to build up a support base, disseminate information and organize events. The Internet has successfully been utilized to organize rallies and prayer vigils throughout the country. Considering the numerous ways in which the Internet has been used by all parties involved in the “war on terror,” I can’t help but think how everything would be if the Internet did not exist. Based on historical events, it is reasonable to believe that there would have always been extremists unhappy with the West (especially the United States) and always been Westerners skeptical of the
Middle East, but I’m not sure that the events of the past 4 years would have played out the same. Although there is no way of knowing for sure, I do believe that access of images, information, governmental statements, etc. via the Internet has helped to force governments and civilians throughout the world to pay attention to what is going on, and in some cases, fueled individuals to take a definitive stance on the “war on terror.”
