Today i am procrastinating. i know i shouldn't be, but i can't stop myself. i woke up around eight, which is just about right, as i finally got my sleep schedule regulated after weeks of insomnia. It's the day after Chubuncle's birthday, and it made me think of Chubaunt, because she's due in a week and a half but Chubuncle and his father were both born on February 28 on a leap year and wouldn't it be crazy if his baby was too? So i read Chubaunt's blog, which always makes me laugh and feel happy, and then went on to read I Remember..., which i haven't enjoyed in a very long time. i've read posts dated a year ago and still haven't gotten back to what i had read. What she writes is so engrossing that i don't want to stop reading it, to have lived such a full life that was full of life, and to still be living it, it blows me away. (Both of these blogs are linked to on the right.)
Lately i have been feeling a very strong sense of me, of peace that i am where i am supposed to be, and the sensation that something important is about to happen. You see, today i should be finding a procter for my upcoming English midterm, and doing the homework for State Government and Technical Writing that is due today (that i should have already done, truth be told, and then would not be so hard pressed to do it now), but i don't feel like doing those things. i feel like reading, and writing, and listening to music, and dancing, and being. i feel like continuing to be myself, a self that is more in touch with herself and who she is than she has ever been before. And yet i lack direction, i feel like i'm standing on the edge of the cliff but i don't know which direction to dive, and i have many different directions to choose from.
i have turned my back on film school now... should i stay at Mesa State or go to another college? Should i finish college at all or find a way to support myself now? If i am going to finally start my career, how will i support myself? My thoughts turn to freelance writing, but while i am at school i do not have the time for it. Could i support myself with my writing? Would it be important for me to get my degree? i want to fly now, why do i always have to wait??? i am so sick of waiting, and sacrificing, and denying myself. Can't i serve others by being myself? Is there no way for me to be happy and whole while also being able to support myself and contributing to society?
Why am i always at a crossroads no matter what choices i make? i strive so hard, and yet i never get anywhere. All the choices before me are always forward, never back, but they never get me to where i am going. i don't feel depressed in this space, just dissatisfied with the options that are before me, which are so few. i feel as if there is something that i'm missing, that i should have seen already, but i don't see it. At church on Sunday (the second church we went to... which is a story in itself) was the first time that i heard a pastor confirm in a sermon that sometimes the hard places, the darkness, the lows, are exactly where God wants us to be, are His perfect will. He talked about what i have been dealing with for eight years, the fact that the plan God has for us isn't always easy.
Last night i watched Lost and it was a Desmond flashback to when he was at boot camp. His mind was flashing back and forth between the two times, and if he could not find anything to anchor himself to the future then he would die. He had to find Penny in the past to get her phone number so he could call her on Christmas Eve eight years later. It struck me that eight years is such a long time to be separated from the one that you love. It made me think about what anchors me to the future, i have no person that i can see face to face, that i can talk to on the phone, or hold their hand and kiss them on the face. i have God. He is so silent, and yet i hear Him. i cannot hear Him, but i feel so often that i just know what He wants and is thinking even though i can't hear it and it is so beyond my comprehension. i wish i could see it in a dream or vision, but it is not as easy as that, i have to just take it on faith. i struggle to put this in words, but i cannot, and it is time for me to go. i have so much to say and yet no words to say it with. So i stand here on the edge and wonder: which way do i leap?
Friday, February 29, 2008
Monday, February 25, 2008
stuck in my head... re: on fire again
they tell you where you need to go ~ tell you when you need to leave ~ they tell you what you need to know ~ tell you who you need to be ~ but everything inside you knows there's more than what you’ve heard ~ there's so much more than empty conversations filled with empty words
and you’re on fire when He’s near you ~ you’re on fire when He speaks ~ you’re on fire burning at these mysteries
give me one more time around ~ give me one more chance to see ~ give me everything You are ~ give me one more chance to be near you ~ when everything inside me looks like everything i hate ~ You are the hope i have for change ~ You are the only chance i’ll take
i’m on fire when you’re near me ~ i’m on fire when you speak ~ and i’m on fire burning at these mysteries
i’m standing on the edge of me ~ i'm standing on the edge of everything i've never been before
~ On Fire by Switchfoot
and you’re on fire when He’s near you ~ you’re on fire when He speaks ~ you’re on fire burning at these mysteries
give me one more time around ~ give me one more chance to see ~ give me everything You are ~ give me one more chance to be near you ~ when everything inside me looks like everything i hate ~ You are the hope i have for change ~ You are the only chance i’ll take
i’m on fire when you’re near me ~ i’m on fire when you speak ~ and i’m on fire burning at these mysteries
i’m standing on the edge of me ~ i'm standing on the edge of everything i've never been before
~ On Fire by Switchfoot
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Standard English (for Structure of the English Language)
English is a language that constantly adapts, adopting words from other languages, creating new words to meet the needs of its culture and times, but retaining its foundation to allow the reader to understand what was being said and written down hundreds of years ago. The collective dialect has changed over time, just as surely as it is different from region to region, but we are still connected to people in the past through our language.
Jones describes Standard English as “pronunciation” and argues that its adaptation comes from formal, informal, familial, and local influences (450). Knott’s definition for Standard English is even broader:
I doubt that Knott could have even imagined YouTube or blogs in his wildest dreams (he was writing this when my grandfather was an infant). In the past new words and expressions were adopted and adapted by word of mouth, most likely changing quickly in a select peer group but more slowly in a larger region and the world. Today anyone can instantly self-publish themselves on a blog or podcast and be read or heard milliseconds later just as easily by someone who lives next door as someone on the other side of the planet. The news of election results and disasters once took days and weeks, if not months, to be reported on, then heard by word of mouth or read in a letter or newspaper, now we have instant access. On September 11th the entire world gave a collective gasp when they saw the Twin Towers collapse. When the next Election Day comes around, we will probably know who the new President of the United States is by the same night or next morning.
In today’s world it is more important than ever to be able to effectively communicate with others. If we all used the same words, but didn’t use punctuation, or tense, and generally we were taught is good grammar, then many people will be scratching their heads and some will most likely be offended. I predict that as technology and cultures continue to adapt and collide that Standard English will be more important than ever, will have to change drastically to meet other languages halfway, or will become a dead language itself. English may be the language of communication and free trade now, but that was because the British Empire spread the language throughout the world. In today’s world birth rates are on the decline in English speaking countries, while on the rise for Muslim people, and all of us are still vastly outnumbered by the Chinese people. As much as I love to speak, read, sing, and write in English, in today’s political environment one starts to wonder how long it will last.
Grey writes, “The only way we can understand our world is through language” (Does Thought Depend on Language?), but what would we become if our language changed? Will our children and their children speak English, and if they do speak another language will they think the same way we do? We don’t know the answers to these questions yet. Language separates us from other cultures, and they usually learn our language, but I wonder what will happen if the United States is overthrown, or evolves into something else, and English is no longer the unofficial national language, but is instead replaced with something else. We all instinctually know what Standard English is now, but if that day ever comes then all of these definitions will be thrown out the window. Instead of being part of our being and life the will become part of history. We cannot know the answers to these questions: not yet, at least, but no matter what happens we will continue to learn what Standard English was as we influence the English of tomorrow.
Annotated Bibliography
Barry, Anita K. English Grammar: Language as Human Behavior. 2nd. ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1997.
Our textbook and the beginning point of my research.
Buckhurst, Helen McM. “Some Recent Americanisms in Standard English.” American Speech, Dec. 25. 159-166. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ufh&AN=9942053&site=ehost-live
Discusses how some slang is forgotten yet some is adopted into the English language. The article is written from a British perspective and points out that Americans are usually more concise.
Grey, D.S. “Does Thought Depend on Language?” Language in Use. 2007. Cambridge, UK. 20 Feb. 2008. http://www.putlearningfirst.com/language/research/thought.html
---. “Endangered Languages.” Language in Use. 2007. Cambridge, UK. 20 Feb. 2008. http://www.putlearningfirst.com/language/04change/endangered.html
---. “The Notion of Correctness.” Language in Use. 2007. Cambridge, UK. 18 Feb. 2008. http://www.putlearningfirst.com/language/07crect/07crect.html
---. “The Standard English Dialect.” Language in Use. 2007. Cambridge, UK. 18 Feb. 2008. http://www.putlearningfirst.com/language/12dial/standard.html
The links that were in our checklist along with other articles available on the same site. Short, but sparks some interesting ideas.
Jones, Margaret E. “The Case for Standard English.” Quarterly Journal of Speech, Oct. 36. 449-456. 20 Feb. 2008. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ufh&AN=9225206&site=ehost-live
A college professor discusses Standard English and its relationship with dialect and education: this is especially influenced by the fact that her fellow professors are from various areas of the country and even abroad.
Knott, Thomas K. “Standard English and Incorrect English.” American Speech, Apr. 34. 83-90. 20 Feb. 2008. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ufh&AN=9989499&site=ehost-live
Examines Standard English in regard to mass education, new technology, population growth, and (then) current world events. This is interesting to read in contrast to the technology and war that we are currently experiencing.
Jones describes Standard English as “pronunciation” and argues that its adaptation comes from formal, informal, familial, and local influences (450). Knott’s definition for Standard English is even broader:
Standard English is that aggregate of forms, idioms, patterns, words, phrases, and usages, which has been in part inherited and adopted, and in large part devised, cultivated, and perfected, by the aggregate of the long succession of professional literary composers whose oral, manuscript, and printed work constitutes the body of English literature in the broadest sense. (83)The words you hear, even the way they are pronounced, can be vastly different from region to region (even leaving out the differences between American and British speech), but we are all affected by broader influences which also unite us. Every one of us helps define Standard English, though not on our own. Our first influences are our family and the people we are surrounded with as a baby, for they are who we instinctually learn how to speak from. As we grow older we go to school and learn how to read, and our influences suddenly become vaster. Each one of us is taught by our teacher what formal English was, from our peers what informal English is, and are constantly redefining what English will become. If Knott had written today he might cite the influences of music, television/films, and magazines, but during his childhood the greatest influences were most likely the stories his grandparents told him, plays, and books.
I doubt that Knott could have even imagined YouTube or blogs in his wildest dreams (he was writing this when my grandfather was an infant). In the past new words and expressions were adopted and adapted by word of mouth, most likely changing quickly in a select peer group but more slowly in a larger region and the world. Today anyone can instantly self-publish themselves on a blog or podcast and be read or heard milliseconds later just as easily by someone who lives next door as someone on the other side of the planet. The news of election results and disasters once took days and weeks, if not months, to be reported on, then heard by word of mouth or read in a letter or newspaper, now we have instant access. On September 11th the entire world gave a collective gasp when they saw the Twin Towers collapse. When the next Election Day comes around, we will probably know who the new President of the United States is by the same night or next morning.
In today’s world it is more important than ever to be able to effectively communicate with others. If we all used the same words, but didn’t use punctuation, or tense, and generally we were taught is good grammar, then many people will be scratching their heads and some will most likely be offended. I predict that as technology and cultures continue to adapt and collide that Standard English will be more important than ever, will have to change drastically to meet other languages halfway, or will become a dead language itself. English may be the language of communication and free trade now, but that was because the British Empire spread the language throughout the world. In today’s world birth rates are on the decline in English speaking countries, while on the rise for Muslim people, and all of us are still vastly outnumbered by the Chinese people. As much as I love to speak, read, sing, and write in English, in today’s political environment one starts to wonder how long it will last.
Grey writes, “The only way we can understand our world is through language” (Does Thought Depend on Language?), but what would we become if our language changed? Will our children and their children speak English, and if they do speak another language will they think the same way we do? We don’t know the answers to these questions yet. Language separates us from other cultures, and they usually learn our language, but I wonder what will happen if the United States is overthrown, or evolves into something else, and English is no longer the unofficial national language, but is instead replaced with something else. We all instinctually know what Standard English is now, but if that day ever comes then all of these definitions will be thrown out the window. Instead of being part of our being and life the will become part of history. We cannot know the answers to these questions: not yet, at least, but no matter what happens we will continue to learn what Standard English was as we influence the English of tomorrow.
Annotated Bibliography
Barry, Anita K. English Grammar: Language as Human Behavior. 2nd. ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1997.
Our textbook and the beginning point of my research.
Buckhurst, Helen McM. “Some Recent Americanisms in Standard English.” American Speech, Dec. 25. 159-166. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ufh&AN=9942053&site=ehost-live
Discusses how some slang is forgotten yet some is adopted into the English language. The article is written from a British perspective and points out that Americans are usually more concise.
Grey, D.S. “Does Thought Depend on Language?” Language in Use. 2007. Cambridge, UK. 20 Feb. 2008. http://www.putlearningfirst.com/language/research/thought.html
---. “Endangered Languages.” Language in Use. 2007. Cambridge, UK. 20 Feb. 2008. http://www.putlearningfirst.com/language/04change/endangered.html
---. “The Notion of Correctness.” Language in Use. 2007. Cambridge, UK. 18 Feb. 2008. http://www.putlearningfirst.com/language/07crect/07crect.html
---. “The Standard English Dialect.” Language in Use. 2007. Cambridge, UK. 18 Feb. 2008. http://www.putlearningfirst.com/language/12dial/standard.html
The links that were in our checklist along with other articles available on the same site. Short, but sparks some interesting ideas.
Jones, Margaret E. “The Case for Standard English.” Quarterly Journal of Speech, Oct. 36. 449-456. 20 Feb. 2008. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ufh&AN=9225206&site=ehost-live
A college professor discusses Standard English and its relationship with dialect and education: this is especially influenced by the fact that her fellow professors are from various areas of the country and even abroad.
Knott, Thomas K. “Standard English and Incorrect English.” American Speech, Apr. 34. 83-90. 20 Feb. 2008. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ufh&AN=9989499&site=ehost-live
Examines Standard English in regard to mass education, new technology, population growth, and (then) current world events. This is interesting to read in contrast to the technology and war that we are currently experiencing.
Friday, February 15, 2008
update the color scheme
As you may have noticed, this blues are now a little more cheerful and bright. Yep, i bit the bullet and updated my template. I'm thinking about an image for the header... that's a feature now. Don't know what to use, though. I need to update my webpage, , some people were complaining about my beautiful blues being hard to read. Don't know why... (;
finally, my company profile is finished!
i have spent the past three weeks getting this paper written, and it was exhausting. This was my first paper written in the APA style, and the in-text citations are omitted to follow the examples he gave us to work off of. It's not really like the other company profiles were, it's still intellectual questions being answered (rather than technical ones), but i think it's a lot easier reading material than the uninspiring bunk that most employee manuals consist of. I will never be a technical writer no matter how hard i try... i don't have the heart to slaughter words by assigning them to boring, badly constructed, limiting non-fiction.
Google Goes Wireless: An Analysis
Abstract
Over the past twelve years Google Inc. has expanded from a research project to one of the world’s most successful online corporations. Part of Google’s philosophy is, “It’s best to do one thing really, really, well,” and “You don’t need to be at your desk to need an answer.” Google has already done upheld the first promise with searching the internet, and they continue to pursue perfecting the second statement as well. The company’s services have expanded to include blogging, shopping, getting directions, and watching videos: now Google wants to bring these services to your cell phone while making it cheaper for everyone.
Introduction
Google was formed by two guys who didn’t like each other very much when they met, but when they started working together on a college research project they found a way to renovate the internet. Google has continued to provide applications and tools to make using the internet more convenient, bringing the power of their search engine to cell phones. Some of their services are controversial, but all of them are useful when applied in the right way. Google has continued to change how the internet is used and make it more accessible and useful. They’ve protected the rights of those who use the internet and are working to come up with new technologies to protect the planet. Next Google hopes to change the cell phone industry, and not in the way that the experts expected.
Research Methods
In order to write an effective profile about Google, I performed the following research:
1. I researched Google’s background by reading articles in journals and magazines (found via online databases such as Business Source Premiere), blogs (written by financial and technological experts), and information from the Google website and its affiliates. I looked for books at the library about the company, but because this research and analysis is based on current events I found that they were outdated or inapplicable to Google’s newest developments.
2. I identified what Google has accomplished as a company:
~ Two students performed a research project for a college course and decided to try putting it into practice.
~ As a new company Google revolutionized online searching and, later, what tools are available to internet surfers.
~ Google is continuing to expand its focus and goals to meet the world’s rapidly changing needs (more specifically, the information and technology explosion of the past decade).
3. I researched three of the projects that Google is currently working on in hopes of creating a better world. The most helpful resources were the official website and blog, as well as technical/computer related magazine articles and blogs.
History
Google, like many companies, is always changing to meet the needs of its consumers, but they are always at the forefront of adapting new technology to better pursue this goal. The company’s roots are embedded in working together despite differences of opinion to create something better than what the world already has to work with. In January 1996, two students at Stanford University—Larry Page and Sergey Brin—began designing a new type of internet search engine for a class project. The search engines of the day searched pages based on how many times keywords were found on a page; Page’s system was based on a mathematic graph of what pages were linked to other pages. He realized that for a webpage to be linked to another one that someone has to type the url into the html code and that person is only going to link to pages that are helpful.
Adapting the technology of the day, he and Brin began the project BackRub, which mapped the internet through back links, and eventually decided to try to sell the technology as a new type of search engine. Using funding from a National Science Foundation grant, the partners built their servers using discounted personal computers that used a Linux platform. Page and Brin didn’t find anyone to buy their search engine (now nicknamed Google), but they did find someone to back it financially in 1998. They quickly outgrew their garage (10,000 hits a day in September 1998), as well as the the Palo Alto, California, office (500,000 hits a day in February 1999) and moved into their new corporate headquarter in June 1999.
By September 1999 Google was used for over 3 million searches a day and had moved out of Beta: the search engine quickly became a household name and exploded in popularity. Over the next few years Google added the ability to search on a wireless device, in other languages, and changed the way ads work on the internet. Unlike other search providers and homepages, Google isn’t overwhelmed by images and ads: everything is text based and streamlined for faster loading, and all the advertisements are related to your search. The company developed a search bar that’s built into your browser, and by the end of 2000 Google fielded 100 Million searches a day.
Since then Google has made it possible to search for images, shop mail-order catalogs online, and later to search for the best price online. They acquired Blogspot.com and YouTube, started a free e-mail service, began mapping Earth with satellite imagery, and provided an easy way to search for a business or address, then find out how to get there on a map. There is an official blog to keep up with all the changes that are around the corner and anyone can personalize the homepage to suit their own individual needs.
Discussion
Not everyone is thrilled with some of the services Google is providing on the internet: Manes claims: “Google's search results pages (but not the home page) included an item called ‘Web History.’ I quickly discovered that this meant Google was keeping track of my personal surfing -- not just my searching,” and laments:
The feature that Manes laments has been embraced by others, such as Chitu, who comments: “Of course, such a service would cause a big debate regarding privacy and trust, so it will be disabled by default.” He points out that the service is a logical evolution of programs such as Google Desktop, which, again, must be purposefully downloaded and has terms of service that are agreed to before one starts to use it. Manes might have felt more at ease had he realized that Google has a policy “to anonymize our server logs after 18 to 24 months” and in the past resisted (and overcame) a government subpoena “demanding disclosure of two full months’ worth of search queries that Google received from its users”… but maybe not.
Another common complaint is that Google Earth and Google Maps satellite images show too much detail. Supporters of these features notice that Google Earth helped the Air Force save lives after Hurricane Katrina by providing up to date mapping of the flooded areas, which helped their evacuation efforts. All of these concerns are valid, but are also balanced out with positive reasons for using the new technology and safeguards that allow the consumer to opt out of using the service whenever they choose.
Nearly everyone who uses the internet has now heard of Google, but not everyone knows that they use solar panels at their headquarters, are mapping air quality and emissions for the Environmental Protection Agency, and support building better hybrid cars and more energy efficient computers. The Google Foundation has committed more than $75 million in grants and investments that are dedicated to saving the planet using new environmentally-friendly technologies. They offer incentives to their employees for buying hybrid cars, and most of the products offered in their store are environmentally friendly, by using rechargeable batteries or making t-shirts out of bamboo.
Google is always looking towards the future, and one of the most publicized announcements of the past couple of months is an initiative to make cell phone platforms open source. The experts expected the company to be announcing the development of one G-Phone, but instead Android and the Open Handset Alliance are the beginning of how Google is hoping to improve the way people talk, browse the internet, listen to music, and play games on all cell phones. Google has always been supported and used open source applications and organizations such as Linux, Firefox, Apache, and MySQL, so this is a logical next step that is being widely praised. The Open Source Initiative describes open source as: “a development method for software that harnesses the power of distributed peer review and transparency of process. The promise of open source is better quality, higher reliability, more flexibility, lower cost, and an end to predatory vendor lock-in.” Translated for the less technological savvy, this means that anyone can read the code, comment on it, and revise it for their own use. This may seem like a pipe dream, but companies like Sprint/Nextel, T-Mobile, and Verizon are already part of the Open Handset Alliance, too. Everyone is hoping to make it easier and cheaper for everyone to use the internet on their cell phone, along with adapting the device to meet your needs. They aren’t hoping to market a single cell phone the way Apple did: they want to bring everyone’s ideas to everyone’s phone. Cell phone companies spend a lot of money for their engineers and programmers to design a phone that their consumers will buy. If the initiative succeeds everyone will save money and receive better services, both the corporations and the consumers.
Conclusion
Google enables people to search for anything on the web by keyword, which includes names, photos, places, news, journals, and personal history. Privacy is sacrificed, of course: for the browser as well as the browsed upon. Most people are concerned about their privacy being compromised, so they install anti-virus software and don’t click on a link that Google warns them may be dangerous. The risk of losing more privacy can is rewarded by better searches and web surfing, and of course no one has to use the service, it’s up to each individual. It does feel nice to know that technology is saving lives, but it’s also comforting to find that a company is willing to spend money to protect our privacy when a government official decides that he or she needs to be checking up no the internet usage of people in the U.S. and throughout the world.
Not everyone believes in global warming, but that doesn’t mean that we don’t also believe in finding better ways to consume the resources our planet has given us. Bamboo, rechargeable batteries, hybrid cars, and solar panels are all more expensive up front, but they save money in the long run… along with preserving nature. When one company adopts new policies that prove to be viable then it’s not uncommon for other companies to do so as well.
Cell phones used to be for talking to co-workers, family, and friend, but that was in the ‘90’s. The industry has exploded and cell phones are now used for taking photos, text messaging, browsing the internet, watching videos, and listening to music. If everyone has a cell phone then it makes sense for everyone to be able to pick what features will help them and save money.
When people look at Google today they may see a multi-million dollar corporation that may someday become a competitor to companies such as Microsoft. Others may use Google simply because they provide services that no one else does, or in new ways that are better than their competitors methods. A lot of people probably just use Google’s search engine because it’s reliable, and you can always find what you need to know within a matter of seconds. I personally find it inspiring that two college students managed to become successful because they took a class project to the next step and changed the way that people use the internet. I can’t wait to see what the people at Google come up with next.
References
About Us (2008). Retrieved February 4, 2008 from Google.org. http://www.google.org/about.html
Android (2008). Retrieved January 30, 2008 from Open Handset Alliance. http://www.openhandsetalliance.com/android_overview.html
Ante, S. (2007, December 4). Verizon Embraces Google’s Android. Retrieved February 5, 2008 from Business Week Online. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=buh&AN=27740554&site=ehost-live
Chan, Jesse (2007, November 13). The Downfall of the Microsoft Empire. Retrieved February 5, 2008 from FishTrain. http://fishtrain.com/2007/11/13/the-downfall-of-the-microsoft-empire/
Chitu, Ionut Alex (2007, March 6). Web History, the Next Step in Personalized Search? Retrieved February 6, 2008 from Google Operating System. http://googlesystem.blogspot.com/2007/03/web-history-next-step-in.html
Corporate Information (2008). Our Philosophy. Retrieved January 31, 2008 from Google. http://www.google.com/corporate/tenthings.html
Environmental Protection Agency (2008, January). Google Adds Air Quality and Emissions Mapping. Retrieved February 14, 2008 from Civil Engineering. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=buh&AN=28142927&site=ehost-live
Fleischer, Peter (2007, June 11). Retrieved February 14, 2008 from The Official Google Blog. http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2007/06/how-long-should-google-remember.html
Google Milestones (2007). Corporate Information. Retrieved January 31, 2008 from Google. http://www.google.com/intl/en/corporate/history.html
Gralla, Preston (2007, March 28). Freebies in Action: How Craigslist and Google Earth Save Lives. Retrieved February 14, 2008 from PC World. http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,130045-page,9-c,freeware/article.html
Hart, David (2004, August 17). On the Origins of Google. Retrieved February 5, 2008 from National Science Foundation - Discoveries. http://www.nsf.gov/discoveries/disc_summ.jsp?cntn_id=100660&org=NSF
Manes, Stephen (2007, December). Today’s Web: Use at Your Own Risk. Retrieved February 5, 2008 from PCWorld. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=buh&AN=27460064&site=ehost-live
Open Source Initiative (2007). Retrieved February 6, 2008. http://www.opensource.org/
Web History (2008). Retrieved February 5, 2008 from Google. http://www.google.com/history/
Web History Privacy Notice (2007, February 22). Retrieved February 14, 2008 from Google. http://www.google.com/history/whprivacy.html
Wong, Nicole (2006, March 17). Judge Tells DoJ “No” on Search Queries. Retrieved February 14, 2008 from The Official Google Blog. http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2006/03/judge-tells-doj-no-on-search-queries.html
Wong, Nicole (2006, February 17). Response to the DoJ Motion. Retrieved February 14, 2008 from The Official Google Blog. http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2006/02/response-to-doj-motion.html
Over the past twelve years Google Inc. has expanded from a research project to one of the world’s most successful online corporations. Part of Google’s philosophy is, “It’s best to do one thing really, really, well,” and “You don’t need to be at your desk to need an answer.” Google has already done upheld the first promise with searching the internet, and they continue to pursue perfecting the second statement as well. The company’s services have expanded to include blogging, shopping, getting directions, and watching videos: now Google wants to bring these services to your cell phone while making it cheaper for everyone.
Introduction
Google was formed by two guys who didn’t like each other very much when they met, but when they started working together on a college research project they found a way to renovate the internet. Google has continued to provide applications and tools to make using the internet more convenient, bringing the power of their search engine to cell phones. Some of their services are controversial, but all of them are useful when applied in the right way. Google has continued to change how the internet is used and make it more accessible and useful. They’ve protected the rights of those who use the internet and are working to come up with new technologies to protect the planet. Next Google hopes to change the cell phone industry, and not in the way that the experts expected.
Research Methods
In order to write an effective profile about Google, I performed the following research:
1. I researched Google’s background by reading articles in journals and magazines (found via online databases such as Business Source Premiere), blogs (written by financial and technological experts), and information from the Google website and its affiliates. I looked for books at the library about the company, but because this research and analysis is based on current events I found that they were outdated or inapplicable to Google’s newest developments.
2. I identified what Google has accomplished as a company:
~ Two students performed a research project for a college course and decided to try putting it into practice.
~ As a new company Google revolutionized online searching and, later, what tools are available to internet surfers.
~ Google is continuing to expand its focus and goals to meet the world’s rapidly changing needs (more specifically, the information and technology explosion of the past decade).
3. I researched three of the projects that Google is currently working on in hopes of creating a better world. The most helpful resources were the official website and blog, as well as technical/computer related magazine articles and blogs.
History
Google, like many companies, is always changing to meet the needs of its consumers, but they are always at the forefront of adapting new technology to better pursue this goal. The company’s roots are embedded in working together despite differences of opinion to create something better than what the world already has to work with. In January 1996, two students at Stanford University—Larry Page and Sergey Brin—began designing a new type of internet search engine for a class project. The search engines of the day searched pages based on how many times keywords were found on a page; Page’s system was based on a mathematic graph of what pages were linked to other pages. He realized that for a webpage to be linked to another one that someone has to type the url into the html code and that person is only going to link to pages that are helpful.
Adapting the technology of the day, he and Brin began the project BackRub, which mapped the internet through back links, and eventually decided to try to sell the technology as a new type of search engine. Using funding from a National Science Foundation grant, the partners built their servers using discounted personal computers that used a Linux platform. Page and Brin didn’t find anyone to buy their search engine (now nicknamed Google), but they did find someone to back it financially in 1998. They quickly outgrew their garage (10,000 hits a day in September 1998), as well as the the Palo Alto, California, office (500,000 hits a day in February 1999) and moved into their new corporate headquarter in June 1999.
By September 1999 Google was used for over 3 million searches a day and had moved out of Beta: the search engine quickly became a household name and exploded in popularity. Over the next few years Google added the ability to search on a wireless device, in other languages, and changed the way ads work on the internet. Unlike other search providers and homepages, Google isn’t overwhelmed by images and ads: everything is text based and streamlined for faster loading, and all the advertisements are related to your search. The company developed a search bar that’s built into your browser, and by the end of 2000 Google fielded 100 Million searches a day.
Since then Google has made it possible to search for images, shop mail-order catalogs online, and later to search for the best price online. They acquired Blogspot.com and YouTube, started a free e-mail service, began mapping Earth with satellite imagery, and provided an easy way to search for a business or address, then find out how to get there on a map. There is an official blog to keep up with all the changes that are around the corner and anyone can personalize the homepage to suit their own individual needs.
Discussion
Not everyone is thrilled with some of the services Google is providing on the internet: Manes claims: “Google's search results pages (but not the home page) included an item called ‘Web History.’ I quickly discovered that this meant Google was keeping track of my personal surfing -- not just my searching,” and laments:
Google has separate terms of service and privacy policies, plus bonus policies for individual services. These tend to be vague and puzzling -- except for the stern disclaimers by which Google basically denies responsibility for anything, as in the warning that “you use the Services at your own risk.”My subsequent research led me to Google Web History, but I discovered that one must purposefully sign in to your account to activate the feature… you don’t automatically start using the feature, and the features are clearly outlined on the log in page. One could activate it if he weren’t paying attention, but that isn’t Google’s fault. Their privacy policy is easy to find and informs you how to opt out of the service.
The feature that Manes laments has been embraced by others, such as Chitu, who comments: “Of course, such a service would cause a big debate regarding privacy and trust, so it will be disabled by default.” He points out that the service is a logical evolution of programs such as Google Desktop, which, again, must be purposefully downloaded and has terms of service that are agreed to before one starts to use it. Manes might have felt more at ease had he realized that Google has a policy “to anonymize our server logs after 18 to 24 months” and in the past resisted (and overcame) a government subpoena “demanding disclosure of two full months’ worth of search queries that Google received from its users”… but maybe not.
Another common complaint is that Google Earth and Google Maps satellite images show too much detail. Supporters of these features notice that Google Earth helped the Air Force save lives after Hurricane Katrina by providing up to date mapping of the flooded areas, which helped their evacuation efforts. All of these concerns are valid, but are also balanced out with positive reasons for using the new technology and safeguards that allow the consumer to opt out of using the service whenever they choose.
Nearly everyone who uses the internet has now heard of Google, but not everyone knows that they use solar panels at their headquarters, are mapping air quality and emissions for the Environmental Protection Agency, and support building better hybrid cars and more energy efficient computers. The Google Foundation has committed more than $75 million in grants and investments that are dedicated to saving the planet using new environmentally-friendly technologies. They offer incentives to their employees for buying hybrid cars, and most of the products offered in their store are environmentally friendly, by using rechargeable batteries or making t-shirts out of bamboo.
Google is always looking towards the future, and one of the most publicized announcements of the past couple of months is an initiative to make cell phone platforms open source. The experts expected the company to be announcing the development of one G-Phone, but instead Android and the Open Handset Alliance are the beginning of how Google is hoping to improve the way people talk, browse the internet, listen to music, and play games on all cell phones. Google has always been supported and used open source applications and organizations such as Linux, Firefox, Apache, and MySQL, so this is a logical next step that is being widely praised. The Open Source Initiative describes open source as: “a development method for software that harnesses the power of distributed peer review and transparency of process. The promise of open source is better quality, higher reliability, more flexibility, lower cost, and an end to predatory vendor lock-in.” Translated for the less technological savvy, this means that anyone can read the code, comment on it, and revise it for their own use. This may seem like a pipe dream, but companies like Sprint/Nextel, T-Mobile, and Verizon are already part of the Open Handset Alliance, too. Everyone is hoping to make it easier and cheaper for everyone to use the internet on their cell phone, along with adapting the device to meet your needs. They aren’t hoping to market a single cell phone the way Apple did: they want to bring everyone’s ideas to everyone’s phone. Cell phone companies spend a lot of money for their engineers and programmers to design a phone that their consumers will buy. If the initiative succeeds everyone will save money and receive better services, both the corporations and the consumers.
Conclusion
Google enables people to search for anything on the web by keyword, which includes names, photos, places, news, journals, and personal history. Privacy is sacrificed, of course: for the browser as well as the browsed upon. Most people are concerned about their privacy being compromised, so they install anti-virus software and don’t click on a link that Google warns them may be dangerous. The risk of losing more privacy can is rewarded by better searches and web surfing, and of course no one has to use the service, it’s up to each individual. It does feel nice to know that technology is saving lives, but it’s also comforting to find that a company is willing to spend money to protect our privacy when a government official decides that he or she needs to be checking up no the internet usage of people in the U.S. and throughout the world.
Not everyone believes in global warming, but that doesn’t mean that we don’t also believe in finding better ways to consume the resources our planet has given us. Bamboo, rechargeable batteries, hybrid cars, and solar panels are all more expensive up front, but they save money in the long run… along with preserving nature. When one company adopts new policies that prove to be viable then it’s not uncommon for other companies to do so as well.
Cell phones used to be for talking to co-workers, family, and friend, but that was in the ‘90’s. The industry has exploded and cell phones are now used for taking photos, text messaging, browsing the internet, watching videos, and listening to music. If everyone has a cell phone then it makes sense for everyone to be able to pick what features will help them and save money.
When people look at Google today they may see a multi-million dollar corporation that may someday become a competitor to companies such as Microsoft. Others may use Google simply because they provide services that no one else does, or in new ways that are better than their competitors methods. A lot of people probably just use Google’s search engine because it’s reliable, and you can always find what you need to know within a matter of seconds. I personally find it inspiring that two college students managed to become successful because they took a class project to the next step and changed the way that people use the internet. I can’t wait to see what the people at Google come up with next.
References
About Us (2008). Retrieved February 4, 2008 from Google.org. http://www.google.org/about.html
Android (2008). Retrieved January 30, 2008 from Open Handset Alliance. http://www.openhandsetalliance.com/android_overview.html
Ante, S. (2007, December 4). Verizon Embraces Google’s Android. Retrieved February 5, 2008 from Business Week Online. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=buh&AN=27740554&site=ehost-live
Chan, Jesse (2007, November 13). The Downfall of the Microsoft Empire. Retrieved February 5, 2008 from FishTrain. http://fishtrain.com/2007/11/13/the-downfall-of-the-microsoft-empire/
Chitu, Ionut Alex (2007, March 6). Web History, the Next Step in Personalized Search? Retrieved February 6, 2008 from Google Operating System. http://googlesystem.blogspot.com/2007/03/web-history-next-step-in.html
Corporate Information (2008). Our Philosophy. Retrieved January 31, 2008 from Google. http://www.google.com/corporate/tenthings.html
Environmental Protection Agency (2008, January). Google Adds Air Quality and Emissions Mapping. Retrieved February 14, 2008 from Civil Engineering. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=buh&AN=28142927&site=ehost-live
Fleischer, Peter (2007, June 11). Retrieved February 14, 2008 from The Official Google Blog. http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2007/06/how-long-should-google-remember.html
Google Milestones (2007). Corporate Information. Retrieved January 31, 2008 from Google. http://www.google.com/intl/en/corporate/history.html
Gralla, Preston (2007, March 28). Freebies in Action: How Craigslist and Google Earth Save Lives. Retrieved February 14, 2008 from PC World. http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,130045-page,9-c,freeware/article.html
Hart, David (2004, August 17). On the Origins of Google. Retrieved February 5, 2008 from National Science Foundation - Discoveries. http://www.nsf.gov/discoveries/disc_summ.jsp?cntn_id=100660&org=NSF
Manes, Stephen (2007, December). Today’s Web: Use at Your Own Risk. Retrieved February 5, 2008 from PCWorld. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=buh&AN=27460064&site=ehost-live
Open Source Initiative (2007). Retrieved February 6, 2008. http://www.opensource.org/
Web History (2008). Retrieved February 5, 2008 from Google. http://www.google.com/history/
Web History Privacy Notice (2007, February 22). Retrieved February 14, 2008 from Google. http://www.google.com/history/whprivacy.html
Wong, Nicole (2006, March 17). Judge Tells DoJ “No” on Search Queries. Retrieved February 14, 2008 from The Official Google Blog. http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2006/03/judge-tells-doj-no-on-search-queries.html
Wong, Nicole (2006, February 17). Response to the DoJ Motion. Retrieved February 14, 2008 from The Official Google Blog. http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2006/02/response-to-doj-motion.html
State Government - Assignment 4
Under what circumstances would you participate in protest activity? Are there any forms of protest that you would refuse to use? If so, why?
When I was growing up it seemed like everyone in my family was anti-protest and none of my peers would even consider being involved politically. In high school the only issue that I would have considered picketing against was abortion, but there wasn’t a clinic anywhere near our humble little town, so it wasn’t exactly practical. As I grew older and began to attend college my view of protests gradually changed. In history class we read about Martin Luther King, Jr. We talked about these issues in my American Government and English classes, as I recall, as well. I began to watch some more serious movie, and saw Roots, Malcolm X, Ghandi, and some other historical films. One of my history professors even gave a lecture once about what it was like for him to go to college during Vietnam.
Something that I was always aware of growing up is the fact that my great-grandfather had been a member of the KKK. I didn’t know many black kids growing up, in fact there was only one family in our town for a couple of years, and everyone else was Caucasian or Mexican-American or Native American, with the exception of one Asian family that ran the town’s Chinese food restaurant. I was in band with one girl from that African American family for a couple of weeks (before she quit), and she was always disrupting class, ignoring the teacher’s instructions, and there was one day that I got so mad that I called her the N-word. I’ve always regretted that, I don’t know if I ever saw her again, and I know I never told her I was sorry.
As a child I always felt stigmatized because the only time I knew of white people protesting was when they were holding on to segregation or anti-War, and neither of those takes on those issues have ever applied to me (my father served in Desert Storm and our family is very pro-military). I have gradually become more anti-War but would not protest the war in Iraq. I no longer support it, but at the time it began I did: when everyone just knew that they had nuclear weapons and Hussein was acting like Hitler, I supported it, but now I feel like the U.S. needs to just get out of everyone else’s business and worry about things at home. I believe in protecting our borders but at this point I’m content to let the world blow itself up as long as it doesn’t blow us up. Who are we to get involved in other countries’ issues?
I will not protest gay marriage. I doubt I will ever protest at an abortion clinics. I most definitely would never lynch anyone or burn anything on someone’s lawn. A sit down, that I would do, a march, almost definitely, but it feels like no one cares about anything to protest anymore. People march for different things now, like finding the cure for cancer, birth defects, etc. I used to be very interested politically and now I am just tired. I can think of no issue that I care about enough to protest. My biggest form of protest at the moment is going to be not voting Republican: I haven’t even changed my party affiliation yet.
I feel like the country that I grew up loving is falling apart and I don’t know how to fix it, what to protest, but it’s like the smell of death is hanging over my head. I cannot put this fear into words, I cannot yet give voice to it, but I feel it every time I turn on the news or read the newspaper. I wish that I knew how to protest this, I wish that I knew what I could do, but all I can come up with is joining a militia. That’s so extreme, so anti-peace, and I don’t want to do this. But I am no Ghandi and have no idea how to bring about change. I feel small and insignificant and cut off. My only form of protest is my blog, and I don’t even have the time or energy to devote to that, it just takes it out of me. I refuse to burn the flag and I refuse to blow things up, but I’m afraid that those forms of protest are coming anyway.
When I was growing up it seemed like everyone in my family was anti-protest and none of my peers would even consider being involved politically. In high school the only issue that I would have considered picketing against was abortion, but there wasn’t a clinic anywhere near our humble little town, so it wasn’t exactly practical. As I grew older and began to attend college my view of protests gradually changed. In history class we read about Martin Luther King, Jr. We talked about these issues in my American Government and English classes, as I recall, as well. I began to watch some more serious movie, and saw Roots, Malcolm X, Ghandi, and some other historical films. One of my history professors even gave a lecture once about what it was like for him to go to college during Vietnam.
Something that I was always aware of growing up is the fact that my great-grandfather had been a member of the KKK. I didn’t know many black kids growing up, in fact there was only one family in our town for a couple of years, and everyone else was Caucasian or Mexican-American or Native American, with the exception of one Asian family that ran the town’s Chinese food restaurant. I was in band with one girl from that African American family for a couple of weeks (before she quit), and she was always disrupting class, ignoring the teacher’s instructions, and there was one day that I got so mad that I called her the N-word. I’ve always regretted that, I don’t know if I ever saw her again, and I know I never told her I was sorry.
As a child I always felt stigmatized because the only time I knew of white people protesting was when they were holding on to segregation or anti-War, and neither of those takes on those issues have ever applied to me (my father served in Desert Storm and our family is very pro-military). I have gradually become more anti-War but would not protest the war in Iraq. I no longer support it, but at the time it began I did: when everyone just knew that they had nuclear weapons and Hussein was acting like Hitler, I supported it, but now I feel like the U.S. needs to just get out of everyone else’s business and worry about things at home. I believe in protecting our borders but at this point I’m content to let the world blow itself up as long as it doesn’t blow us up. Who are we to get involved in other countries’ issues?
I will not protest gay marriage. I doubt I will ever protest at an abortion clinics. I most definitely would never lynch anyone or burn anything on someone’s lawn. A sit down, that I would do, a march, almost definitely, but it feels like no one cares about anything to protest anymore. People march for different things now, like finding the cure for cancer, birth defects, etc. I used to be very interested politically and now I am just tired. I can think of no issue that I care about enough to protest. My biggest form of protest at the moment is going to be not voting Republican: I haven’t even changed my party affiliation yet.
I feel like the country that I grew up loving is falling apart and I don’t know how to fix it, what to protest, but it’s like the smell of death is hanging over my head. I cannot put this fear into words, I cannot yet give voice to it, but I feel it every time I turn on the news or read the newspaper. I wish that I knew how to protest this, I wish that I knew what I could do, but all I can come up with is joining a militia. That’s so extreme, so anti-peace, and I don’t want to do this. But I am no Ghandi and have no idea how to bring about change. I feel small and insignificant and cut off. My only form of protest is my blog, and I don’t even have the time or energy to devote to that, it just takes it out of me. I refuse to burn the flag and I refuse to blow things up, but I’m afraid that those forms of protest are coming anyway.
Saturday, February 09, 2008
Monday, February 04, 2008
re: Sociology
i'm doing my homework. It's a lot of reading that isn't very in depth. It's easy to read, just not extremely informative. Last week i didn't have a book and managed to get 12 out of 20 questions right (i did read from the first chapter of an old edition and one of the articles as it had been printed in a book twenty years ago). Two things about this chapter have stuck out at me so far:
1) The book claims that hunter-gatherers was what families were until 10,000 years ago, when families suddenly started settling down and planting crops. This is the usual caveman bunk that has no verifiable basis in written history. So, the Bible claims that Adam and Eve settled down and started planting crops around 10,000 years ago. This was written about later, by Moses, but it's a story that was passed down by the family. However, this oral history that was later written down somehow holds less credence to the "experts" than their own unverifiable theories about pre-ancient history. Why is that? Why are they so quick to deny historical documents? Do they think Moses had this great idea, "Hey, I'll lie to everyone and see how many people believe me!"
2) According to the book a form of common law marriage was the norm from the early colonial days to the mid-1800s... That is to say, people said they were married (they didn't go to a church or courthouse, they just moved in together) and everyone accepted that they were married. If the man wanted to go west and was tired of his family he could leave her, find a new woman out west, and start a new family. The author compares this to present day cohabitation. This is vastly different from any concept of family that i have been taught in the past. People just decided they were married so everyone said they were? I'm not sure whether to be legalistic about it (how dare they not be married in a church!) or say good for them.... i mean, think about it, who performed the ceremony for Adam and Eve? Does a marriage have to be a ceremony or wedding, does it have to be witnessed? Don't let the million dollar wedding industry hear, or the u.s. government, but i've always felt that marriage was between a man, a woman, and God, period. But the church and the government always have to try to stick their fingers into our lives, don't they?
Yesterday i read a new term online--churchianity--which i believe begs some looking into. More on that later, back to the books for me.
1) The book claims that hunter-gatherers was what families were until 10,000 years ago, when families suddenly started settling down and planting crops. This is the usual caveman bunk that has no verifiable basis in written history. So, the Bible claims that Adam and Eve settled down and started planting crops around 10,000 years ago. This was written about later, by Moses, but it's a story that was passed down by the family. However, this oral history that was later written down somehow holds less credence to the "experts" than their own unverifiable theories about pre-ancient history. Why is that? Why are they so quick to deny historical documents? Do they think Moses had this great idea, "Hey, I'll lie to everyone and see how many people believe me!"
2) According to the book a form of common law marriage was the norm from the early colonial days to the mid-1800s... That is to say, people said they were married (they didn't go to a church or courthouse, they just moved in together) and everyone accepted that they were married. If the man wanted to go west and was tired of his family he could leave her, find a new woman out west, and start a new family. The author compares this to present day cohabitation. This is vastly different from any concept of family that i have been taught in the past. People just decided they were married so everyone said they were? I'm not sure whether to be legalistic about it (how dare they not be married in a church!) or say good for them.... i mean, think about it, who performed the ceremony for Adam and Eve? Does a marriage have to be a ceremony or wedding, does it have to be witnessed? Don't let the million dollar wedding industry hear, or the u.s. government, but i've always felt that marriage was between a man, a woman, and God, period. But the church and the government always have to try to stick their fingers into our lives, don't they?
Yesterday i read a new term online--churchianity--which i believe begs some looking into. More on that later, back to the books for me.
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