Thursday, September 29, 2011

Blogs vs. Wikis

Blogs and Wikis. If you asked someone ten years ago what they thought about this debate they would think you were a weirdo. That is how new these things are and I think that their true impact is only starting to come forth.

Blogs are very much the conduit through with individuals can share their ideas and thoughts on certain aspects of whatever it is they are interested in (i.e. what I am doing right now). They have many options of customization and alteration which gives the end user many options in being able to let their blog represent them. A wiki is somewhat different. There are many things you can alter but aside from the information presented there is not much option to allow for the user to customize the look. However, the wiki is much more in depth than a blog. It is basically your own intranet. One can create many pages and link and build up a whole online database, which is what Wikipedia is.

In the article "Pentagon Keeps Wary Watch as Troops Blog", James Dao explains that soldiers use the blogs to relay their experiences of war, uncensored. This is their personal website and only they can alter it behind the firewalls. Thus we see that blogs are very much more of an individualistic nature. Conversely, in the article "How To Use Wikis For Business", Ezra Goodnoe explains how a business can use a wiki to increase productivity or revenue. The tern "database" is once again brought up and it is mentioned that all the employees can access and alter the information. Thus, we see that wikis are much more group oriented. 

As to which one is better, well that is like comparing apples to oranges. I like apples with my salad and oranges on hot summer days. Like wise, blogs and wikis can, and I think should, be used according to the situation and ones needs. Like all new media, these are tools to help us develop and a tool is only useful when used for what it was designed to be used for. 

ArcPolitic,



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Thursday, September 15, 2011

My Research Project: Video Conferencing

For my research project I have decided and obtained the approval to do "Video Conferencing: The New Alternative to Traditional Social Interaction".

In this project I wish to first showcase the technology behind video conferencing and from whence it stemmed. I will then be looking at the way in which social meeting and interactions have changed since the adoption of video conferencing, the pro and cons to such technology, and prospect for the future in video conferencing. 

I currently believe that this is a beneficial and productive technology and hope to prove myself right through my research. I will be posting information and links to this blog and I continue through my research.

Wish me luck!

Shane

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Dear Everyone,

This is my first official Blog. I am not sure if anyone out there will even read it but I hope to express my views on sports, politics, life, and current events. Please leave a reply and I will do my best to respond. I am creating this Blog mainly for a class I am currently taking but plan to do much more with it.

Thank You,

Shane York

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