About Speaker: Derek Young

Our class had another visitor by the name of Derek Young, who came to share his experiences with us on Wednesday the 29th. Mr. Young is a very talented entrepreneur who is involved in many organizations, mainly in managing the company of data science. His role was to help in the protection of data along with administration and research. Not only this, he was also the creator of a writing company called Exit 133 right here in Tacoma! One of the most memorable comments he made that I got out of the conversation revolves around knowing your experts in order to make valuable connections. He gave us an example of  how if you’re given a certain task by a company and you have no clue to figuring out how to make it work, let them know that you could accomplish it anyways by going to the resources that you have to make it happen, instead of rejecting it on the spot.  

Another interesting subject that came up during Derek’s presentation was hearing about his connections to social media through a non-profit social run event that he organized for the Tacoma runners. Derek used Twitter and Facebook to coordinate this event and it became one of the fastest growing companies in the social circle. It was a shock knowing that there would be around 150 runners who shows up every Thursday to participate and how Derek is planning to expand this event through trips such as China, Italy, and even Greece! We could all agree that it’s a great way to connect with the communities and meet new people. 

Class Scavenger Hunt

On Wednesday our class was assigned to participate in our first Scavenger Hunt. We had to pair up in groups of three to find the items listed using the internet. A majority of the items include personal information as well as professional related ones to our professor. The goal of the exercise was to be able to know which search engines to use to get accurate results. I realized while doing my search hunt that Google was not helpful at all when it comes to finding a specific item or person. For example, one of the questions consisted of finding how much a certain item cost and the total after shipping. Amazon fit right into the puzzle and within only a few minutes I was able to get the answer I was looking for. Another interesting but difficult search that our class encountered was finding the middle name that belongs to our professor’s sister. Surprisingly, without him even telling us what it was – one group managed to find it. This proves that there are no barriers when it comes to digging up other people information on the internet.

This Scavenger Hunt is a good practice that enables us to discover how to search up things more effectively using the internet. It’s also a reminder of the lack of privacy we have that others can easily access. 

A Visit From Eric Hanberg

          Eric Hanberg is indeed a technology expert in my opinion. It was very interesting hearing him talk about his earlier experiences in working with networks. After his presentation, I felt like my concern about privacy had been answered. It started off when he brought up the subject of LinkedIn, and how putting yourself out there to the world is beneficial towards your professional career. This is something that I never thought of since I didn't even know about this website to begin with. He also added that in order to get what we want through the web, we have to give up something – which unfortunately is our privacy. I got chills when he mentioned how the amount of privacy we have right now is all the privacy we’ll ever get. It makes me realize that this is something we all have to learn to accept once we exposed ourselves on the internet.

        Among the various topics Eric informed us about, I was actually surprised that he’s an author of various books including the one that revolves around privacy called “The Lead Cloak”. I heard a glimpse of the book summary on how it’ll take us into the future where privacy no longer exists. Geez…imagine that. Another helpful subject that he touched on was in order to be a successful entrepreneur, you have to have balance your time in the cave and the stream; which refers to the working station and being updated on social media. These informative topics and advice he gave were helpful to us all.

Reflection: The Machine is Us/ing Us

        “Captivating” was the first word that came to mind when I saw this video. Not only is it showing how the web changes over the years, it allows us to see how we change as well. The fact that we’re so involved with using the internet and the web is what leads to these transformations, iterating the fact that “we are the web”. In less than five minutes this piece of media is addressing the issues that arise with technology, making us rethink about privacy, identity, and ourselves.

        The advancement of these technological innovations over the last seven years is incredible. I’ve noticed that the internet has come a long way compared to back then, with high speed access that gets you the information you need faster! The overall design of the different websites is more modern, not like the ones we were once accustomed to seeing on dial-up internet. This shows a point on how the improvement of the internet and the web made it easier for us to stay connected to the world.

        I believe the important message behind this video is for us to be aware of the future that technology holds and continue to learn from it, instead of being fearful. What we should get out of this instead is be more caution in terms of how we live, act and socialized. Using technology to share and discuss with the public is a great resource to link the population together. Using the machine or letting it use us depends on “us.”

What I want out of TINST 207

     Technology – it’s everywhere! It’s growing and expanding at a rapid pace right before our very eyes. The internet plays a huge role in our daily lives, influencing the people we stay connected with while providing us the information that we need. You can say we consider it more than just necessary; it’s crucial. So crucial that it becomes addicting. Scary right? But ironically, we love it! Growing up, I was surrounded by technology and do greatly appreciate it. I can’t imagine what education would be like without having access to it, let alone what the world would be like.

Coming into this class, I was simply hoping to fulfill the requirements for my major, but after a couple of times learning about the innovation of these technological software and devices, I realize how little I know about the history of its evolution. I want to be able to explore the different areas of the World Wide Web, such as the danger behind those consuming it, and the affects it will have on us. My other objective includes learning about the privacy that revolves around it – or is there none at all? It definitely will be exciting to indulge in this matter and discover new information that I didn't know before.

I am looking forward to dive into how technology has changed over the centuries and where it would take us in the near future.