Internet Culture

As the world faces global warming, all signs point to the fact that people are going to start having to rely on natural, renewable resources in order to evolve along with our planet.  This is particularly true in energy technologies, specfiicially, fuel technologies.   According to Joanna Burgess, 80 percent of greenhouse gases consist of carbon dioxide that is generated partially through the burning of fossil fuels.  Our society must turn to alternative energy sources in order to preserve our planet.   Due to these reasons, it is my belief that one of the main next leaps of technology will revolve around solving this problem.

There are many different prediction as to what the future of car fuels will look like. One example of an alternative fuel being researched, is dubbed “electrofuel” by the federal agency funding it’s development.  Theses electofuels “could offer electricity storage that would have the energy density of fuels stuch as gasoline” according to one article in The Scientific American. This system could lead to a more efficient way of turning heat and light energy to fuel, and in turn store electrical energy in a way so that it could be used as transportation fuel.

Another example of potential fuel energy alternatives are fuel-cells.  Not only are fuel-cell vehicles being developed, but fuel-cells all around are considered to be one of the most exciting energy technologies because they are highly efficient and clean (ChemRec).  Fuel-cells can utilize all types of natural gas, syngas, biogas, methanol, and petroleum products according to  ChemRec, and fuel-cell vehicles are part of the “clean car revolution” (Burgess).

While the above examples are ways to manipulate current fuel technologies or further them, some researchers are thinking outside of the petroleum realm by examining different materials that can be used for energy purposes.   One car company, Toyota, is planning to take hydrogen fuel cell cars to market, and build a network of hydrogen outlets in preparation of its launch of the car next year (Laird). When compared to other alternative energy cars such as the Nisson Leaf or BMW i3, hydrogen fuel-cell cars offer major advantages, such as shorter charging time, and further range.  Another benefit is that according to Techradar, society could produce hydrogen from purely renewable energy sources, and as the Middle East runs out of fossil fuel, that definitely offers it’s advantages.

In my opinion, there will be many attempts to steer society in a variety of ways when it comes to fuel technologies.  Many of the options being pursued today seem to offer many of the same benefits and drawbacks, so I don’t foresee one specific technology dominating the rest.  However, on the business side of these technological advancements, the direction the world will go in fuel technology lays in the hands of car manufacturers.  The opportunity to steer the world in one way will create much business for car companies, and perhaps will strengthen our economy.  Regardless to say, the next twenty years will be critical for these fuel technologies to develop and it will be fascinating to see where the future of energy goes.

Biello, David. “Fossil FreeL Microbe Helps Convert Solar Power to Liquid Fuel”. The Scientific American. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/microbe-uses-solar-electricity-to-build-liquid-fuel/. 3/30/12. 8/27/14.

Burgess, Joanna. “5 Future Fossil Energy Technologies”. Discovery Channel http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/curiosity/topics/5-future-fossil-energy-technologies.htm.. 8/27/14.

“Fuel Cells- the energy technology for the future”. Chemrec. http://www.chemrec.se/Fuel-cells—the-future-energy-technology.aspx. 8/27/14.

Laird, Jeremy. “Is Hydrogen really the future of car fuels?”. TechRadar. http://www.techradar.com/us/news/car-tech/is-hydrogen-really-the-future-of-car-fuels–1213081. 1/8/14. 8/27/14.

While contemplating the prompt for this post, I found myself thinking about things I took totally for granted in my life.  Technology that I had never lived without, and didn’t realize that other people had.  What came first to my mind was none other than, the internet.  I was recently with my grandparents, who have not kept up with technological advancement in the slightest, and they lectured me on how the internet was ruining our society.  “People never go outside anymore. People don’t read the paper. Nobody communicates face to face anymore.” I had heard it all before, but this time, it really sunk in.  What was life like before the internet?  Has the internet actually had such a negative impact on society? Some think so.

One main argument against the benefit of the internet, that I shall explore, is the declining of face-to-face communication.  While it may not always be possible to meet in person to communicate, there are many benefits of face to face communication that are lost through text messages, email, phone calls, and other forms of messaging.  According to Virginette Acacio, one of the main benefits of face to face communication is that things get done more quickly and effectively:  “When there’s an issue that requires a decision, you’re able to reach a consensus more quickly. One simple 5 minute conversation could eliminate 15 back and forth emails.”  I have definitely experienced this in the workplace and as a student.  While technological advancement leads us toward easier and faster forms of communication, sometimes clarity of the messages we are trying to send can be lost due to the lack of face to face communication.  I personally have been on many email threads in which I get confused because I miss one aspect of a message due to it not being stated directly to me.  This could negatively affect my ability to communicate without using a form of face to face communication.

While one may form virtual friendships and relationships, they still will not equal the depth of relationship that face to face communication can create.  When trying to facilitate a community, one can also often be disadvantaged due to lack of face to face interaction.  One Forbes writer states that in a business setting, he requires face to face communication because, “My team members were more than just a voice on a conference call or a person I email, they became a “real” person who I could chat, laugh and connect with during our coffee breaks and working lunches.”  Not only does this allow for a better workplace environment, but these employees were given the opportunity to actually understand how their colleagues worked best with each other.

While some may argue that one can make text messaging or emails more personalized through the use of emojis, punctuation, and slang, I think that there is a fine line to walk when judging the appropriateness of this messaging.  One Ashton College writer even says,  “trying to make your digital communications seem more friendly or personalized runs the risk of being misinterpreted or viewed as unprofessional.”  I have been in situations in which I have questioned mine or another’s usage of punctuation or smiley faces due to lack of professionalism.

Finally, while this may be the most obvious loss due to lack of face-to-face communication, I believe it to be most important: non-verbal communication is key to truly understanding what message is being sent.  Without cues such as body language, tone of voice, facial expression, and more, messages can be severely misinterpreted.  Jenn Fusion from Demand Media writes: “face-to-face communication is best for persuasion, leadership, engagement, inspiration, decision-making, accountability, candor, focus and reaching a consensus.”  This is due to non-verbal cues that are nearly completely lost due to lack of face to face communication.

Acacio, Virginette. “The Benefits of Face-to-Face Communication.” Blue Jeans Network. N.p., 26 July 2012. Web. 20 Aug. 2014.

Fusion, Jenn. “Face-to-Face Communication in Business.” Small Business. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Aug. 2014.

“The Importance of Face-to-Face Communication – Ashton College.” Ashton College. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Aug. 2014.

“Top 4 Benefits Of Face-to-Face Team Meetings.” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 5 Mar. 2013. Web. 20 Aug. 2014.

In this day and age, keeping up with technological advancements are the key to business success.  Not only does keeping up with technology aid businesses in a competitive market, but creating their own technology can also give them a leg up.  While technology is important to keep tabs on, businesses struggle with maintaining a competitive nature, while still exercising corporate responsibility.

One company which has failed at maintaining social corporate responsibility is FIFA.  There was much controversy in preparation for World Cup 2014 this year in Brazil, including forced evictions from homes, tax evasion, labor abuse, and other human right violations.  According to Revolution News, “A dozen houses in the Mangueira slums of Rio de Janeiro have been demolished, and residents have been removed at gun point by the government of Brazil in order to build a parking lot for the upcoming World Cup.”  These actions have resulted in not only much controversy, but have had an extremely negative effect on the company’s reputation as well as Brazil’s society.  FIFA probably should have evaluated whether or not their actions would be ethical, and in this case, they definitely weren’t.  When companies act in this manner, with absolutely no regard for social corporate responsibility, it causes consumers to question their support of the products or services a company offers.

While the previous example is clearly a negative example of corporate social responsibility, sometimes it is not as clear ethically whether companies intend to have a negative impact or not.  One instance of this that occurred within the technology world was an incident in 2009 when Yahoo! held a Open Hack Day in Taiwan, and had some, well, unique, attendees. Yahoo employees were informed that in Taiwan, it was custom for there to be female entertainers present at many technology events, therefore they hired “Hack Girls” as an aspect of their Taiwan Hack Day.  These girls apparently crossed the line of appropriate behavior for a corporate event when they apparently started offering lap dances.  While Yahoo! (it seems) did not intend to portray women in that light, nor use sex to encourage developers to attend, it was generally a bad situation, particularly in the press.  Trying to compete and keep up with the technology community in Taiwan got Yahoo! into trouble, and did not strengthen their efforts toward corporate social responsibility in the slightest.

While these two examples are negative, there are many companies in our society who place much value on corporate social responsibility within their business model.  Gap Inc., among other serious efforts to maintain social responsibility, created a program that teaches skills like literacy, communication skills, health awareness, and other life skills to female garment workers in Cambodia and India.  According to their website, the program has reached 25,000 women.  Another focused effort that Gap Inc. is executing is the implementation of a youth career program called “The Way Ahead”, which offers internships and job training to underprivileged youth in New York City and San Francisco.  This is an excellent example of how a business can both promote technological advances and exercise corporate responsibility.  Gap’s efforts to educate underprivileged youth will benefit the technological world in the long run as those minds begin to contribute to the overall market.  Without their program, the youth that participate probably would have never received an opportunity to become a contributing member of society, and now can.

I believe it is extremely important for companies to have a strong sense of corporate social responsibility.  If corporations ignore their social responsibility, they will eventually weaken society and this will in turn weaken their business and the markets they are active in.  While some companies may consider themselves to be invincible due to assets, this is not the case.  The economy suffers when society suffers, and in order to maintain a healthy world, businesses must realize this.

“Brazil: FIFA Forces Evictions For World Cup, Police Brutality Rages – Revolution-news.com.” Revolution-news.com. 9 Jan. 2014. Web. 15 Aug. 2014. <http://revolution-news.com/brazil-fifa-forces-evictions-for-world-cup-police-brutality-rages/>.

Choney, Suzanne. “Yahoo Lap Dancers Make Wrong Moves.”Msnbc.com. 20 Oct. 2009. Web. 13 Aug. 2014. <http://www.nbcnews.com/id/33402109/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/t/yahoo-lap-dancers-make-wrong-moves/#.U-7P07xdX40>.

“Gap Inc.’s This Way Ahead.” Gap Inc.’s This Way Ahead. Web. 13 Aug. 2014. <http://cecp.co/press-room/cecp-insights/item/52-gap-inc’s-this-way-ahead.html>.

Danah Boyd brings to light some unique viewpoints on the world of blogging in her paper, “A Blogger’s Blog: Exploring the Definition of a Medium”.  She discusses the intent and meaning behind the creation and use of a blog, and how these each are usually misunderstood by the general public.  The concept of blogging seems to have many definitions, and it seems that the blogger is the one who creates their own meaning for this form of expression.

I personally have written for a few public blog sites which requires me to realize who my audience is and what interests them, as well as my more private blog which contains more of my own viewpoints and thoughts.  It is fun to have others reply to your work, but almost more fun to not be afraid of the responses your words may get by the public.  I would say that many aspects of the art of blogging are learned through experience.  For example, my first public blog post was received with some contempt due to a slightly obscene reference that I made.   I learned from my mistake however and gave more careful thought to who my audience was in order to make my posts more relatable and audience appropriate.

A final aspect that Boyd discusses which caught my eye was the the complicated relationship between Journalists and Bloggers.  While trying to decide what direction to take my writing career, I have often wondered if it is at all possible to consider myself both.

The relationship between bloggers and journalists is complicated. On one hand,
journalists feel intimidated by bloggers’ ability to rapidly cover new material; on the
other, journalists are dismissive of bloggers’ lack of code with respect to neutrality and
checking of sources. While most bloggers do not identify as journalists, some do.
Journalist-identified bloggers view their practice as journalism and their blog as their
journalist publication. They are actively involved in setting ethical codes and standards,
although many do not believe that those set forth by mainstream media organizations are
quintessential to the practice. Given their identification and practice, they believe that
they should be given journalistic protections under the law. In the case of Apple vs. Does
(EFF 2005), bloggers feel as though they should have the journalistic right to protect their
sources. At stake in this case is whether bloggers can be journalists as well as whether
journalists can blog as their means of production.

I believe that both genres of writing are still being defined by those within the industry and therefore there is no right answer to my questions.  I am sure that whatever my generation does with these new technological developments will define the industry of writing in a revolutionary way.