Music on Tap!

With the development of the I-pod and I-tunes we are now able to buy music on tap so to speak. Music can now be downloaded from the I-tunes store which is found on the internet. Now we can find any type of music at our finger tips from rock to pop to jazz all is a click away. I-tunes has an incredible array of music you can find almost any genre you want. Everything is available.

Now you don’t have to trawl the malls looking at cd store to cd store to find that elusive cd you have been looking for forever. Now it’s available from the comfort of your own home.

People have very different tastes of music and not everyone is a pop-addict that just follows the trends. Now we are able to find the music we like. We don’t have to go from store to store getting odd looks because we are not looking for the latest Britney Spears album.

I-tunes also sells music on a song by song biases so if you only like three of the songs off an album you don’t have to pay the full price anymore. You can purchase the songs you like and that’s all you no longer have to waste money on paying for a whole cd when you only want a few songs. I-tunes are also quicker, easier and less expensive. You don’t have to pay as much as before.

I-tunes has revolutionised the way we purchase music www.apple.com/i-tunes/overview . It has given the consumer the power we now have the ability to chose exactly what we want when we want and how we want. This has made I-tunes the future of music!

Social Network: The new business frontier.

Only two decades ago, e-mail was a foreign term that meant very little to anyone… while the internet was a concept with little to no relevance in anyone’s life.
We have come a long way since the early 90’s. The world in which we live and work today is infiltrated at every level with technological aids. The social network has developed to such an extent that it has given organizations, there customers and employees an interdependency on the technological links it provides.

The intranet is a system based on the same technology as the World Wide Web. The key difference is that it is an internal system, allowing organizations to share work and work collectively on projects regardless of their geographical location. This development, as with most technology, has opened the door to vast development and allowed “collective think” to progress greatly.

As Darwin described it, each succeeding technology “liberates humanity just that much more” (Marshall, p.29). The extranet has been a continuation of the intranet that has granted an organization great freedom in interacting efficiently with their clients and business partners. Its development has aided in the progression of efficiency and cost effective means of communication.

In modern society, the internet is not only used in our everyday private lives, its capabilities have extended to such a large extent that business operation and organizations depend on it. The question is, with these vast networks and the benefits gained from new technology – who is being left out of this ever growing community?

Mike Smith

Cell Phones: Protective devices

What are cell phones used for? They are used to make calls, to listen to music, to surf the internet, for instant messaging, to take photographs. However, their usage is changing. I read an article recently that the U.S government wants to use their citizen’s cell phone connections to alert them of impending terrorist attacks. This adds another element to the list of uses of the cell phone. I believe that it can now be called a device for personal “safety and protection”.

Mobile phone network companies in South Africa such as Vodacom and MTN are also trying to make cell phones “protective” devices. This is being conducted through a service called “Protect-Me” http://www.protect-me.co.za/. It is a personal safety and security service. Protect-me uses your cell phone as a mobile panic button. Once programmed your cell phone will be able to show your location using location based services (LBS) from cell phone network towers. This location is then displayed in the service control room on a computerised mapping system and the endangered person’s location details are sent via SMS to the nearest response unit who proceed to your location to secure your safety. This is invaluable protection for citizen’s living in a country such as South Africa where crime and hijacking occur.

The role of the cell phone as a “protective” device is showing us another social implication that it brings. Not only is it a communications and entertainment device, but it can now be used as a watchdog in modern society.

I-Pods: The death of socialization

With more and more people owning an I-pod these days’ people are becoming less and less social. Public transport is the perfect example of this. When you get on a bus or a train or even a plane no talks to anyone anymore, everybody is listening to their I-pod. Silence and heads turned down focused on one thing the I-pod is the only thing one can see on public transport. No one ever talks to friend or perfect stranger anymore; they just listen to their music and ignore everything else.
Groups of friends will board a train and put their earphones in and listen to their favourite music for the whole trip. They don’t talk to each other discuss things such as what going on with their lives or what’s happening in the world. They just listen. I find this rather sad as making connections with other people widen our points of view and broaden how we relate to others. With the invention of the I-pod we interact less and less with others and we become more involved in our world and not the world at large.
People are slowly moving away from each other and hiding themselves in a word of new media. With the invention of the I-pod and other mp3 players it is easier for people to hide themselves because it has become the norm these days. It is no longer anti-social to sit and listen to music instead of talking to friends or others in general.
Slowly and surely new media and inventions such as the I-pod have helped with the decline of public socialisation before we know it we will not be communicating with anyone except the new media.

Cell phones: The Evolution of Communication, Introduction

From their introduction into human social spheres years ago, to their present condition, one can assume that those who invented the ‘cell phone’ never expected it to evolve into the technological phenomena that it is today.
Yes, the word “phenomena” can be viewed to be extreme in describing this tool of communication, but it is undoubtedly appropriate. The cell phone has become ubiquitous, in that it is widely present in society today.

The main purpose of the cell phone was to enable users to have a more convenient way of communicating with people, thus providing portable telecommunication, or what we call ‘on the go’ communication. However, this has dramatically changed over the years. The cell phone not only provides a means of telecommunication, its ‘technological evolution’ has made it so much more. In its comprehensive list of functions the cell phone now provides its users with: telecommunication; internet connectivity; radio streaming; music playback (similar to that of the I-pod); digital camera features; video recording and reception. They also conduct similar functions to that of the PDA (personal digital assistant). Convergence of different technologies has caused the cellular phone to become a multimedia device. Some mobiles can even be described as ‘smart phones’!

The shift in the services and functions of the cell phone has brought with it several social implications. One implication is that certain groups in society believe they cause “public disturbance” due to their use without the use of correct etiquette. Another social implication of the cell phone is the introduction by governments in forming mobile phone laws which include bans on cell phone usage whilst driving. These bans show how vastly cell phones have penetrated the lives of people and thus that they must be regulated. The cellular phone has provided continuous social connectivity, in that one can now be in touch with friends and loved ones more easily and affordably. We can, send and check our email anytime and anywhere; send a text message via SMS (short message service); use instant messaging or simply make a call. Cell phones are sometimes seen as fashion accessories especially in adolescent circles. It has also been argued that cell phones may have privacy issues as they can gather intimate data about us, to the extent that hackers can find out a great deal about us and our communication channels. They have changed the way people budget and spend their money. Cell phone bills are now included in their budgets, thus having economic implications as well.

The argument above has shown how the mobile phone has penetrated every facet of the social world. Its impact on the way we communicate is just beginning. Years from now this generation will marvel at its unimaginable metamorphosis! The cellular phone…a modern day phenomenon! Is this statement really true or an exaggeration of fact?

Social Networks: More than just a communicative link

In my previous posts, I have referred to social networks as a means of keeping in touch with and communicating with people. What if, however, a simple website could develop into a community of people who interact both online and offline.

“Stop crime, say hello” (http://www.scsh.co.za/ourbeliefs.html), is a perfect example of such a development which is attempting to promote a network of people with same beliefs in mind.

Stop crime; say hello is a website which aims to promote a certain ethic and concept which should in theory make South Africa a safer and friendlier place. The website puts forward its simple suggestion, that by simply saying hello and being friendly to people we can foster a safer environment and one which promotes the concept of inter-human caring.

So why would this be a social network, you may ask. The reason is not that it physically links people, or even that it links them over the virtual network that is the internet. This campaign has become a social network because it links people around South Africa and around the globe with similar intent and philosophies. Every time someone says hello to another, with the websites ethic in mind, they are essentially participating in the development of this social network.

From my perception, social networks are not simply a direct link of people (be that physical or virtual), they are far more than this. A social network can be a simple link of philosophy, belief system or intent that arises from one point of reference.

Social Networks: A choice?

From my perception, I would contend that every form of technological development, including the modern social network, has good and bad elements. I would suggest that it is the users’ range of choices that causes a social network to become a positive enhancement to communication or a degrading element to society.
MXit, the Mobile based instant message service is a perfect point of reference in discussing whether communication is aided or harmed by technology. The suggestion I would like to emphasise is that its effects can be both positive and negative and that the outcome is entirely in the hands of the user.
On the positive side MXit and other technologically advanced social networks simply provide a quick, cheap and efficient form of communication to be used when needed. MXit’s mobility makes it a service that may be used anywhere and anyhow, as long as the user has his/her mobile phone and an active GPRS connection.
This mobility, however, can result in a negative outcome, when used incorrectly. There are not many more aggravating things than talking to a person who at the same time is involved in another conversation with his/her mobile phone. It is quite possible to have a serious conversation with someone while they may simultaneously be exchanging illicit thoughts or discussing what an idiot they think you are with one of their MXit contacts.
Now talking to someone while having a completely different conversation may be perceived as an incredibly good skill – I would suggest that it is blatantly rude and just another form of escapism from personal interaction. It is also likely that Mxit allows people to avoid personal interaction and develop de-humanized relationships with people.
The line between positive and negative is very narrow in terms of these types of social networks. It seems, however, that it is very easy to make the decision of where and when to use such a service. It is in fact simply up to the user whether these networks are an aid to society or simply another aspect of our lives that removes all form of healthy interaction and discussion.
Mike Smith