GoodBye

Well I would first like to thank dave for a great class that was motivating and really got me to understand blogging and the internet better as a whole. My sister and I both use firefox and love it and I now know how to blog, use flickr, delicious, and wikipedia. I know I will need to know those in the future. Coming to the conclusion of the class I did many things to help out with the moma Ipod tours. First off I was a key person in coming up with the idea of the interviews realizing that our first ideas would have been hard to achieve and finish on time. I helped to come up with how the interviews would be conducted using scanned pictures from the Moma and what types of individuals we would use to capture both knowledge of art as well as humour. Unfortunately I was not able to participate in the interviews because I was not assigned that task, I would have loved to have been a part of that. I did however promote the casts through handing out flyers at school and surrounding colleges. I thought that this was a great project and helped me to learn how to promote and collaborate with others. I hope everyone has a great summer and I hope to see all of you next year. Thanks.
-Danielle Alberico

Linux Vs. Walmart

After watching both films, the documentary on Linux and the Frontline special on Walmart I am surprised at how much these companies depend on other sources for their success. I am also surprised to know that many of the products are made in other countries and these other countries employ workers there more than in America.


The documentary on Linux was very interesting yet sometimes confusing. I understand most of the concepts and what it is trying achieve but I do not understand how the system works exactly. The documentary was also very funny and reminded me of the Cluetrain Manifesto with the sarcasim, and the idea of the underdog winning. The opening sequence is funny because it proves that these middle class head honchos that run these companies know nothing compared to these scruffy hackers that spend most of their time and energy on the internet. The Linux company has been around for quite awhile and this was the first time I have ever heard of it. The aspect of Linux that makes it unique from the rest is that is freely distributed.


The special on Wal-mart was also extrememly interesting. It also proves the problem with hierarchy in businesses and how the people on top make the most money due to low cost of products and workers overseas. The people they employ are willing to work for low wages and except these jobs helping the people on top to make billions of dollars when they make close to nothing. This whole aspect goes back to the balance of power and the problems with this. the company makes so much money by our large consumerism and then paying little to nothing to employees. When I think about this is sickens me. You think because Wal-Mart has cheaper prices that it helps to save people money when in fact it does not. The lack of job opportunity for such a large company (the Largest company according to (www.fastcompany.com)is astonishing. The website also talks about outsourcing products from overseas. This again brings up the problem with consumerism in America. The way we spend money is outsourcing and causing many problems in other countries. Our large spending effects the entire world and puts many people, businesses, and sources out of production. Anah Shah author of Behind the Consumption and Consumerism in America, states "Today's consumption is undermining the environmental resource base. It is exacerbating inequalities. And the dynamics of the consumption-poverty-inequality-environment nexus are accelerating. If the trends continue without change - not redistributing from high-income to low-income consumers, not shifting from polluting to cleaner goods and production technologies, not promoting goods that empower poor producers, not shifting priority from consumption for conspicuous display to meeting basic needs - today's problems of consumption and human development will worsen".


laura , Julia, and Jean all make very good comparisons between both Linux and wal-mart as companies, as well as the key aspects in their success. I found this material interesting but at times a little repetitive in order to make a bias point.

The Long Tail

Now this is something I found very interesting. The Long Tail, a diary on its way to a book, which describes the term and the way in which it is used, is a great place to understand business and economic models. The site provides a way for people to express their concern of the damage the internet has had on television, radio, and music sales. This has been an on-going problem for the past five years and I feel soon it will be nonexistent because our society will adapt to these changes.


Alexis makes great points on the importance of the Long Tail. Businesses make money on every product they sell even if the product is not in high demand. These uncommon products keep business alive and prosper. I feel that this is true with all businesses. Movie theaters stay open due to all the movies they show including the ones that do not sell the most tickets, same thing with delis and stores. Chris Anderson, who came up with the term and is in the process of publishing a book on the topic, concentrates on the Long Tail of internet companies. He uses some examples such as netflix and Amazon.com. I can see how this works with Amazon.com because there are so many products sold and a wide variety of products. There is still a high demand for less known books and movies especially sought out through the internet.


Many companies think that if they get rid of products with low demand that they are going to save money but they may be losing money. Although these sales are low they keep the business flowing when the high demand products/new products are lacking. I think that businesses would be more successful if they replaced products quickly and kept a smaller amount of low demand products in stock. According to the global issue website Americans spend about eight billion a year on cosmetics, twelve billion on perfume, and 5 billion on cigarettes. Having a large amount of cosmetics, perfume, and tabacco will keep sales high. This is why a company like Wal-Mart is successful because they carry everything from food, to alcohol, to cigarettes and clothing. It has both low and high demand products selling non-stop. Other students that make great comments on this topic are Meghan, Jessica, and Laura.

Folksonomy

Folksonomy is a very important term today involving terms and language used on the internet. The term is fairly new and means something socially created. I learned that it was coined by a man named Thomas Vander Wal. I am impressed at the way we as individuals have become so involved with the internet and how some know more than others. We have become a generation of folksonomies. Tagging is something we have become accustomed to with both flicker and delicious. These new meanings are soon to be understood and used by many. Its a way to communicate more fluidly and fast. That is one of the main aspects of the internet, fast communication.


Both Deanna and Joy make great comments on how folksonomies are original because they are created by people for the people. It is almost in a sense a new language. New words and phrases are developed to make information sharing quicker. For example, many people know that when someone writes in all caps, its described as "screaming". This is known by many internet and computer savvy people. I find myself "tagging" all the time. I will tag my photos and blogs with short quick descriptions and those somehow become staples for the images. This may or may not have a positive effect. Jessica really helps to understand folksonomy in a way the websites I looked at did not. Tagging is explained great on this website I found and it really promotes it as something for people to use to be able to define themselves through their own language.


This makes me think of a recent conversation with my sister tonight. We talked about some of the language we use that is made up and not in the dictionary. It all started when we went out to a bar and I was wearing a shirt I refered to as a muumuu. My sister kept saying that I had made it up but I kept reasuring her it was a real word. Finally she was reading a magazine where a man was pictured wearing a "muumuu". We came to the conclusion, her misunderstanding was because there are words people use that are not real words. For us its the word "grody". Has anyone ever heard this word used before? My friend says that she only hears my sister and I use it therefore its a made up word. We traced the origin of the word back to my father and that he had turned "gross" into grody. Anyways, that was a little off topic but it all comes back to tagging and the way people use their own language to describe and create unique meaning.