How many functions can we put in one device?

Epilogue: What have you had to “unlearn” (i.e. that only phones are for having conversations) in the past 10 years due to technological change?

In the past 10 years due to technological change I have had to unlearn:

• that cameras are only for taking pictures
• that mp3 players are only for listening to music
• that mail needs a stamp
• that music and books needed to be bought at a store

Rating Systems

Chapter 11: Many online merchants today, such as eBay and Amazon, use rating systems empowered by its customers. Is this adequate for determining which products to buy, or which users to trust? Cite examples from these two merchants that support your opinion (whether it is good enough, or inadequate).

Customer review for Zhu Zhu Pets Hamster Mr. Squiggles - Light Brown

84 of 89 people found the following review helpful:

this is just a cat toy really, November 8, 2009

By	D. J. Hoppe

Durability: Fun: Educational:

After much hype and anticipation, we finally got mr squiggles today. The kids played with him for about 30 secs. and he was put down. I think this product was a little oversold. As far as I can tell, it does nothing but run though its toys making farm animal sounds. It also has a function where it doesn't run, it just makes cooing noises. I really don't see the "personality" on display. If you buy this for your child for christmas, make sure you have a back up gift. This will probably not be a big hit by christmas afternoon.

I feel that this review is good enough, and would sway me not to buy the toy. After people make reviews, people can comment so you can see what other people think about the review and if they found it helpful too. The star rating system also gives the user a quick way to see what people think without having to read the whole review.

Customer review for VIZIO 22" 1080p Class LCD HDTV - Black (VA22LFHDTV10T)

2 out of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4 stars

July 25, 2009

VERY HAPPY

Reviewer: New life for an old house "Riley" (Keansburg, NJ, USA) See all my reviews

I bought this model about a month ago...The picture comes in very clear, and the sound is not bad...However I did find that you put the color on custom in order to adjust picture when watching dvd's, otherwise the color bleeds a bit. Other then that it's a great tv or the price, and size.

This review is helpful because it lets you know what they think, has a star rating, and you can see if other people found the review helpful. Overall, sites that provide reviews are almost always helpful, but it is also important to realize that the people that are going to post are most likely strongly opinionated about the product, so the reviews will either be really good or really bad.

The Wise Crowd

Chapter 11: James Surowiecki’s book mentioned in this chapter outlines four elements to create a so-called “wise crowd,” one that can make decisions better than experts. These include “diversity of opinion” and “independence.” Since social groups online seem to form crowds of many like-minded people, what caution would you give someone using information they find from a socialized website or resource?

The first piece of advice that I would give someone who was using information they found from a socialized website or resource would be to always be cautious of the information you take from the web. The world wide web is a wonderful resource with lots of information, but that information isn't always reliable. I would also tell that just because you were able to find a website where people think like you, doesn't mean that everyone does. Just because you found a few strong opinionated people that posted their thoughts on the web doesn't mean that everyone else will agree with you. I would also mention that "members who aren't connected can often generate better answers, by pooling their knowledge or intuition without having to come to an agreement." pg. 267 So in the end I would say take from the site what you want, but always check reliability.

Grades, Grades, Grades

Shirky Chapter 10: Think back to your experiences in middle and high school. How many opportunities were you given to experiment and “fail” in solving a problem? How could a school work today where students were regularly offered such opportunities?

In middle and high school students are not provided with many opportunities to fail. It is all about grades, grades, grades. You have to do it right the first time or you will not reap the benefits. Everything is centered around getting good grades and getting into college. Schools today shouldn't be worried about grades as much, they should be worried about learning, that the students have learned and grasped the material. Second tries should be allowed, or some kind of extra work to make up for the fact that they didn't understand the information the first time around. I feel that there shouldn't be as much as and emphasis on memorization, but on long term learning. In general I think that a better system should be put into place that isn't so concentrated on grades specifically, but the learning that should be going on.

FOAF

Shirky Chapter 9: What professional benefits do you see by investing time into a FOAF-style network?

Professional benefits from investing time into a friend-of-a-friend networking is connecting people that cuts out the middle man in introducing people. If you see that you know someone in common, then you are more likely to interact with that person and want to do business with them. Cutting out the middle man, knowing that the connecting person is friends with both makes it easier for everyone. "The software didn't actually introduce us; it simply provided me the tool to make the introduction myself. Because the number of people you could know at any given moment is always a tiny fraction of the people you do know, social tools have to help us decide when to actually make a connection." pg. 220

"Because information in the system is passed along by friends and friends of friends, people tend to get information that is also of interest to their friends." pg. 221 In a professional setting this would be beneficial because information about your colleagues that interested you could be passed along, and they could connect you and give you the ability to be exposed to information though them.

Online vs. Print Media

Blog Question 2: While younger people today may not make distinctions between online and real-world friends according to Shirky, do you make distinctions between online vs. print media? Why or why not? Is there an advantage to one or the other?

I do make distinctions between online vs. print media, because anything can be posted on the internet. Growing up in a time where the internet was slowing rising to what it is today, I was brought up to research and trust books. I love the easy accessibility of the internet and the variety of options, but at the same time you don't always know if it is credible. I prefer to read things from a print media, having the tangible thing in front of me. It is sometimes hard to find if things are in actuality credible on the internet if you don't go directly to a site that is known to be credible. I think that both print and online media have their advantages, and I also think it depends on the user what they prefer to use. I think having information online is easier accessible and easier to maneuver then a book might be, is instant, and will most likely provide with at least one thing that you are looking for. I think books are credible without question and give you a tangible thing to look at, but it may take longer to find what you want and you might have to do a lot more reading.

When You Do It eBay

Blog Question 1: Considering the Prisoner’s Dilemma in this chapter, provide your own insight on how sites such as eBay “work” for most participants of this popular online auction site. Do they really work? Or is there too much risk?

"eBay may have been founded on a basic trust in human goodness, but within a couple of months after it launched, enough of the transactions were going awry in one way or another that the company had to respond. EBay's solution was to create a reputation systems, allowing the buyer and seller in any transaction to publicly report their satisfaction with each other. This system was designed to cast the shadow of the future over both parties, giving each an incentive to maintain or improve their standing on the site; with that addition, eBay became the site we know today." pg. 284 I do think that sites like eBay "work" for most participants because of the explosion of popularity it has, and the coined phrases like "sell it on eBay" As a personal eBay user myself, I have never had any problems buying and receiving what I want and what I win.

"Omidyar was right, with a caveat: people are basically good, when they are in circumstances that reward goodness while restraining impulses to defect. The rewards are restraints can be quite simple and small, but in big groups with relatively anonymous actors, they need to be there or behavior will decay over time." pg 284 I also think it "works" because the main incentive is to buy and sell, and people who really want to sell or buy will do so, and will lash out if not pleased with how the transaction went. With the process of allowing comments, if the user wasn't rewarded and was screwed by the process, as a possible Prisoner's dilema, there is now agreements that need to signed and that could have been not followed and can slam them in comments about their purchase/selling habits.