Final Post: Our Relationship with Technology

    

Technology has become one of the greatest inventions known to mankind. It has revolutionized our world as we know it. We now have faster ways to get from point A to B and more efficient ways to communicate with one another. While there are many obvious positives to technology, there are also many negatives to technology. Some obvious (hopefully) ones being that it takes up a ton of your time and can even drag you apart from the people you love most in this world. We all have relationships with technology. Have you ever thought if you have a healthy or unhealthy relationship with technology? Healthy relationships would be having good habits with technology and limiting your time on it. 

    As I reflect on my relationships with technology, I find that I have a healthy, but also an unhealthy relationship with technology. I tend to spend a lot of time on technology, but most of it is for school work. I also spend a lot of time on social media and games on my phone. These kinds of relationships are unhealthy because if I spend too much time on technology doing unproductive things, my mental health can deteriorate. I feel that I should definitely set more limits for my time on technology. Setting limits would be a very productive way to getting a fully healthy relationship with technology. You could allow yourself to only get on social media in the morning and at night. My issue is that I tend to get bored during the day, so I find myself scrolling through social media for the third time in 10 minutes. When I get bored, the best thing for me to do is to read a book, or maybe talk to a family member that I haven't talked to in a while. You could turn a negative about technology into a positive really quickly. If staring at a screen is taking up to much time (negative), then call a family member and have a nice conversation with them (positive). Many times we look at news on technology now because it more convenient and much quicker than getting a newspaper. Whenever I look at news on technology, I make sure to go on reliable websites such as Fox News or CNN. Many go on Twitter to get their news, and most of the time it is fake news. Growing up with technology, I found that most social media sites have fake news on them. In order to get the most reliable news, it is best to go on the news websites. 

    After self-reflecting on my relationship with technology, I now would encourage everyone to do the same. I have seen technology ruin people's relationships because of how unhealthy their relationship with technology is. It is important to self-reflect every once in a while to get your priorities straight. Technology is very helpful in life and an incredible invention, but it us very important to limit yourself so you do not waste your day to day lives on it. 

Week 15 Blog Post: Online Presence

    Growing up, I didn't think about my online presence much. I got my first social media account at about 14 years old and I was just thrilled to finally be on social media. On Instagram, I made my account private because I didn't want any strangers following me or stalking my page. Making my accounts private was about the only time I ever thought about my online presence. Ever since I've had social media, I have always made sure to keep a clean profile because I have always heard that people will look on your social media profiles when applying for jobs. Over the years, I have gotten more social media accounts. I now have Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok. I deleted the Twitter app so I do not get on my account much, and I also do not post anything on TikTok. A few years ago, I decided to make my Instagram profile public so anyone can scroll through it and follow me. I made that decision because I didn't want to go through and accept follow requests anymore. Now, if someone follows me that looks like they may have bad intentions, I just block them. I also sometimes put locations on my posts. I do not post much, but when I do, I occasionally put my location on them. After reading some articles about our online presence I may stop putting my location on my posts and make my account private. I want to make sure that I have a very safe and professional online presence so when I go to apply for jobs after college, they do not find any 'dirt' on me. 

    I have talked to my friends before about social media and how it makes them feel. Most of their responses are, "it is not good for my self-esteem", or "it makes me feel like I'm missing out". Social media can be a big source of depression and anxiety for some people. When you are scrolling through social media, you can see other people's seemingly "perfect" bodies and some friends having the time of their lives without you. Seeing these things on a daily basis can make a person feel really lonely and like they do not belong in the world. I think it is important that we do not put our importance in social media, and if it is causing you to feel depressed, then it might be a good idea to delete it for a while. 

     

             

    Other than social media, I do make account on some clothing websites and other websites as well. Any website that I may purchase things from a lot, I make an account. I give them my name, email, address, phone number (if they ask for it), and also my card information when I go to check out. Before learning about my online presence, I have not thought twice about creating accounts and giving out my information. The websites always make me give it to them if I want to buy something so I never have asked why. I do not even read their terms and conditions of agreement before I make an account. The website company could say anything in those terms and conditions of agreements about using the information I give them. Before creating accounts, I will make sure they are a safe and reliable company and will start reading the section in the terms and conditions of agreement about sharing my information. 

 

EOTO: Vertical Integration

    Vertical integration is a strategy where a company owns or controls its suppliers, distributors, or retail locations to control its value or supply chain. This benefits companies because it allows them to control the process, reduce cost, and improve efficiency. Businesses are always looking for ways to reduce costs and to control the quality of their products so many businesses choose to acquire vertical integration. An example of vertical integration is target. Target has its own store brands while also selling other manufactured products.

    There are several different types of vertical integration. The differences depend on where the company falls in the order of the supply chain. Forward integration is when a company expands by purchasing and controlling the direct distribution or supply of its products. One example of forward integration is when a farmer directly sells his crops at a local grocery store rather than a distribution center to control where it is going. Backward integration happens when businesses at the end of the supply chain take on activities that are "upstream" of its products or services. An example of backward integration is Netflix. They are a video streaming company that distributes and creates its own content. The last type of integration is called balance integration. Balance integration is where a company merges with other businesses to attempt to control both upstream and downstream activities. An example of balanced integration is the company Hershey. Hershey relies on cocoa bean suppliers to provide its raw materials and it also relies on retail stores to sell its product. 

    There are several benefits of vertical integration that give companies an advantage over non-integrated companies. One advantage is that a vertically integrated company can avoid supply disruption because it controls its own supply chain. Another benefit is that a company benefits by avoiding suppliers with market power. Once a company avoids these suppliers, they are then able to reduce costs and prevent slow downs in their production. One benefit is that companies keep themselves informed on their competition. Retailers will know what is selling well when they integrate with other companies. 

    There are also several disadvantages of vertical integration. The main disadvantage of vertical integration is how expensive it is. Companies must keep everything up and running and that takes a lot of time and money. Another disadvantage is that vertical integration reduces a company's flexibility. When a company integrates with another business, they have to acquire the way they do things and they can't be as flexible as they once were. They have to take into consideration what the other business did and the products they have. One last disadvantage is that vertical integration can cause a loss of focus. Integration with another business can cause the management to focus more on the new product they acquired and less on the core things that really matter to the company. 

    Vertical integration is something that can either benefit a company greatly or bring the company down. Many large businesses decide to take the step to integrate their companies because they have all the necessary resources to do so. 

    

Privacy on the Internet

    Have you ever felt like you were being tracked or listened to on the internet? If you have felt like that, then you most likely have been tracked or listened to. I know for me personally, there have been many instances where I was talking about something in particular around my house, and then I see an ad pop up for it on my phone. For example, a while back, my family and I mentioned taking a trip to Mexico one summer. We mentioned it around the house a couple times in one day. The next day, we all started getting ads on our phones and laptops about an all inclusive resort in Mexico. Needless to say, we were pretty freaked out. 

    How many times have read the terms and conditions of agreement before using an app? I'm going to guess not many times. By clicking accept on the terms of agreement, you are agreeing to let them use and collect all of your information. When you open Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, they can collect your information and store it up in their program. Also, when you use the Google Chrome Browser, then they can track you and "listen" in on conversations. Chrome tracks every website you use by collecting cookies. Basically, there are many ways that websites and apps can track you and what you are doing on the internet. Now I am going to let you think over what you just learned, and make sure you are being a little more careful about what you put on the internet. 

Blog 7: Diffusion of Innovation Theory

Diffusion of Innovation Theory

    

    The diffusion of innovations is a theory that seeks to explain how, why and at what rate new technology and ideas spread. Everett Rogers, a communication studies professor, came up with this diffusion of innovation or ideas theory. While coming up with this theory, Rogers proposed four main elements that influence the spread of a new idea or innovation. The four main elements are the innovation itself, communication channels, time, and a social system. Rogers comes to find that the innovation itself must become widely adopted to self-sustain. One innovation that I will be talking is Facebook.

    One new innovation or idea that came about is Facebook. Facebook was up and running in 2005 and is still one of the most popular social media sites to this day. How did Facebook become so big so quickly? Well, to start out, Facebook was the first social media where you could post updates about your life and see your friends and family post updates. It was the first time you could stay up to date with friends and family that you may not have seen in a very long time. Facebook connected people from across the country or even across the world. Because people can stay connected so easily, they adopted this new technology very early. Some people did join right away because it took them some time to simply see the point of Facebook. Many people think that they should just text or call their family and friends to stay in touch with them. That is one great way to stay in touch, but Facebook provides you the opportunity to see their life in pictures as well. The late adopters, after hearing a lot about Facebook, finally join because they may feel as if they are missing out. Some people, even after hearing about Facebook, still decide to opt-out of it. This may be because they think the downsides of this technology far outweigh the good. For example, the downsides to Facebook is that there have been some trouble with keeping a lot of your information private. Another major downside is that it is time consuming. Many people do not want to waste hours a day on Facebook, so they do not put in the effort to create an account at all. 

    I believe that the positives of technology, especially ones like Facebook, are much more beneficial than they are hurtful. You can stay in touch with your friends, while staying up to date on the newest and best technology of your time. If you are concerned about spending too much time on the app, then you can set time limits to limit yourself. But, staying up to date with new innovations and ideas will help you stay connected with the younger generations and maybe will even make you feel as if you are young again. 

Presentations: Invention of the Internet

 

    In one presentation, I learned about the World Wide Web and how that got started. Tim Berners-Lee created the World Wide Web in 1990. He created some fundamentals for the World Wide Web while working for a European Company called CERN which is for Nuclear Research. He created HTML, URI, HTTP. It initially became open to just people working for CERN. After it became really popular, it opened to more people. The WWW connects people from all over and provides people with endless information. Instead of going to the library to look at the encyclopedia to gather information, you can go on the internet and look up something within seconds. Because of the internet, you can email and send instant messages to people to stay connected with them. You can also do online banking and shopping on the WWW.

    The invention of the World Wide Web has made life so much easier for Americans. But, there are also some negatives to it. There is some illegal and inappropriate content on the internet. That causes people to go to jail or become addicted to certain things. You can also illegally download music and movies. Downloading and viewing these can cause viruses to invade your computer. These viruses can cause your computer to stop working so you have to go buy a new one. Criminals can get your information through these viruses since online banking is linked to the internet. While there are many positives to the WWW, there are also some negatives that you have to keep in mind.  

Anti-War Voices

    When watching the news, have you ever seen anything about anti-war movements? Have you ever wondered why that is? As you think about past anti-war movements, think about what happened to the protestors. As people protested World War II, many got thrown in jail just for voicing their opinions. Officials claimed that they were undermining the government and not supporting them, so they justified throwing them in jail by saying that. There are also many anti-war websites that have news stories about what is going on overseas. I have never heard of some of them because they are not advertised at all. The media never talks about anti-war because they may be scared about how some people may perceive them.

    Perhaps we don't hear much about anti-war or see anyone protesting because the last time there were protests, people got thrown in jail. Even when we do not hear about war going on, there are always troops overseas defending our country. We need media to cover overseas activity so we can be aware of what is happening with the people who are defending our country. When there were some anti-war movements recently, not many people attend them, and they didn’t get off the ground and gain traction. Recently, there have not been as many anti-war movements because we have been more concerned about what is going on in our own country. There have been policemen killing blacks and buildings being burned down because of that. Even though there are many things going on in our country, there are still many troops overseas handling things in the Middle East.