Reviewed: The Digitally Underserved

 

 

Its surprising to know that only two-thirds of the world has access to the latest technology. I watched “Technology Crafts for the Digitally Underserved” by Vinay Venkatraman. The video was inspired by a customer who had his iPhone repaired at a variety shop in India. The repair inspired the customer to develop electronic devices for those in remote places, where the latest technologies were not available. He walked around the village and gathered materials: a flashlight, mini speakers and a vintage cell phone. Using those materials he was able to create a digital projector. In addition he developed a medical device by using an alarm clock as its base.

The speaker used a PowerPoint presentation and working product to deliver the message. I believe the visuals were key to adding detail to the presentation. Without the visuals I believe that the concept would have been too complicated to quickly conceptualize. There were no questions asked nor was there humor used. The pacing was relaxed. The speaker explained how the concept originated, how it was executed and what he hoped to accomplish in a chronological fashion. I definitely was inspired to see  that gadgets that are not very expensive could save lives and promote technological growth.

How do Social Media Titans Yahoo! and Google Use Facebook and Twitter?

By OliviaTwoStreams

Yahoo! and Google are well known to social media. Both companies have so many divisions it is intriguing how they manage their parent companies, in relation to their subsidiaries on social media. Originally, I understood their use of non-proprietary social media to be non-profitable, basic and a hindrance to their own social media platforms.  Something to the extent of search engine, subject matter is what I expected to see when I went to their social media pages. However, I discovered their Facebook and Twitter accounts were much more. It was interesting to see how companies that had their own social media divisions, were using nonproprietary tools.

For the purpose of this assignment I will concentrate primarily on the parent companies Yahoo! And Google and not their subdivisions. Both companies have a link in their respective Facebook About sections http://www.google.com/options/index.html and https://everything.yahoo.com/ that reference their various divisions. Most of their tags and links are general and do not explicitly reference other divisions. However when you click on a link you will more than likely be sent to a Yahoo! or Google owned web application.  For example, below Exhibit A is a story on Yahoo’s Facebook page, when you click the story link it takes you to Exhibit B, the Yahoo! News website. Similarly, when you click a link on Goggle’s Facebook page you could end up on http://googleblog.blogspot.com or https://www.google.com/maps. I think the integration of Yahoo!  and Google products into social media sites are brilliant. The integration allows the companies to be relevant on competing platforms, which also redirects users to their services. 

                                        Exhibit A¹                                                                               Exhibit B²

With regards to content, both companies have frequent updates on both Facebook and Twitter. The content is typically trending topics, national news and some company based updates. On Twitter the pictures did seem to reflect each company. Yahoo! seems to have a more global, national presence. Its pictures are rarely company based and more news centered. Google's pictures do encompass many topics but are brand heavy.

On the flip side, I wanted to know if Facebook or Twitter used a Yahoo! or Google platform in order to maintain a presence on social media.  I could not find a Facebook Blogspot or a Twitter Flickr page, but I did find a Twitter application (Exhibit C) listed on Google Play, which allows a Twitter user to access the app on a myriad of Google products. In addition, Facebook and Twitter do use Google’s Youtube mainly for ad promotion and news updates.

Exhibit C³ Twitter

In an article called, “Who Uses Twitter? Young, Affluent, Educated Non-White Males, Suggests Data [STUDY]”⁴ author Shea Bennett explains most Twitter users are males ranging from 18-29. Furthermore, an article called “What Is the Breakdown of Facebook Users by Age?”⁵ by James Lee Phillips, reveals the average Facebook user in the United States is 41 years old. The information on Yahoo!’s and Google’s Facebook and Twitter pages were not dramatically different and did not appear to be geared towards a specific audience. Based on my findings I believe the social media target for Yahoo! and Google pages are variable. No target age. No target gender. With social media Yahoo! and Google can appeal to whoever based on what’s trending. Hot topics and current events will allow both companies to target active users no matter the age or gender.

¹ http://www.facebook.com/Yahoo

² http://www.news.yahoo.com

³ Twitter app on Google Play, https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.twitter.android

⁴ Bennett, Shea, “Who Uses Twitter? Young, Affluent, Educated Non-White Males, Suggests Data [STUDY]”, Social Times (www.adweek.com), August 2013, http://www.adweek.com/socialtimes/twitter-users-2013/488921

⁵ Phillips, James Lee “What Is the Breakdown of Facebook Users by Age?”, Chron (www.chron.com), http://smallbusiness.chron.com/breakdown-facebook-users-age-63280.html

Hub, Switch, Router? Anyone?

The Ethernet architecture is able to utilize several different networking devices to interconnect computers. So, I decided to look for more information to help me get a better understanding of how to choose the best device for a network . I discovered a great informative video on PieterExplainsTech's YouTube channel, called "Hub, Switch or Router? Network Devices Explained".

After watching the video I learned that:

a. If you need to connect Ethernet networks to outside networks to use a router

b. Connecting the uplink port of a switch to a router allows you access to other networks

c. Avoid using hubs because they waste bandwidth
d. A switch is the rebirth of a hub that uses ARP to efficiently route packets  

FYI PieterExplainsTech's YouTube channel has other networking videos available for your viewing pleasure.

My Premature Take on SlingTV

No I have not used the SlingTV service yet, but I am totally excited that networks are finally offering internet-based TV packages that cater to the individual. The price is enticing too, $20 per month. Most of the channels offered like TNT, ESPN and TBS are already available for live stream with paid subscriptions through many cable service providers. So, those networks have not made any drastic changes to the way they deliver their content. Although, there are only a few networks available, I am hopeful that more will be available in the future. Can we all say "Networks a la carte ooo la la"? Check it out for yourself at SlingTV.

Why I am at MATC

Ask me any basic tech question and I will either answer it or desire to know the answer. I am great at help desk work and every time I troubleshoot, even if its routine, I learn something new. I love troubleshooting, configuration, research and emerging technology. My experience with desktop troubleshooting has led me to MATC's IT-Network Specialist degree program.

I chose MATC because I wanted to attend a technical college, avoid filler classes and fast track my career. Moreover, I chose the IT-Network Specialist program because it incorporated everything the other IT programs offered. As I looked over the course curriculum and compared it to current job postings, I was confident that MATC would prepare me for a career in networking.