Coming to a close

Our class is coming to a close. I really enjoyed the online group work. I was hesitant about the wiki but I think it really came together. I also think the blog is going to help me put together some final thoughts about technology since it chronicles thoughts throughout the learning process. When this class ends, I will end this blog- but I am already starting to think about the next one I want to start.

Shopping Online-a very serious, deep subject

One of my favorite reflections on technology is the ease of online shopping. (I know- not very deep) but one of my recent experiences showed me how dependent I have become with immediate responses that are onvolved with online shopping. No browsing, just a click will take you to the best sale prices and available sizes. I recently scoured sites for a new pair of sneakers, found an affordable pair I liked and then ordered online. I received my immediate order confirmation and was told I would get an email when they were shipped in case I wanted to track. A week went by and no shipping email (expected arrival date was 2-3 days). I had all of the customer information saved in my original email so I was able to quickly email the store to see what the delay was. Again, an immediate response.-which read-
"We're sorry, Your item is no longer available-we sent you a postcard detailing this and are sorry if you did not receive it" Thought that was funny, that their communication was supposed to come via postcard after all of that online communication.

Dashboard Thoughts

I was looking around the blog dashboard today for more features. You can send a posting through your mobile phone. Another thing that I was looking at was the Google AdSense program that you can sign up for. This really interests me. I remember reading about a young man who put together a web page that posted reviews of different telecommunications phones and services. I can't remember exactly how he had Google on his page- maybe the search box and each month he received a large check from them because his site was so popular. I am thinking that the AdSense program is something like this.

One last thing about yesterday

Before my screen blacked out- I went into the blog help to see if I could figure out how to put in a picture. Not sure if they changed the way to do it- but if this works and you see a picture above then it was really easy.

Daily entry (yesterday's thoughts)

So I had a few things to post yesterday but my computer took on a life of its own. My monitor went black and I couldn't get anything to happen. I tried rebooting several times but couldn't see anything. Perhaps I accidentally put it in some kind of hibernation mode. Anyhow, it was a long day so I was way too frustrated to mess with it. The funny thing was that when I turn on my computer there is a safari theme and these jungle noises come on. Well, I thought I had finally shut it down but as I was dozing off, I would hear some random jungle noises every 1/2 hour or so.
Anyway- here is what I intended to write yesterday:
I was listening to a morning radio show on my way to work. Guess what? They were talking about blogs. A listener that lived near the radio personality had created a blog about him. It was set-up like a C list celebrity sighting. The young fan detailed what the daily activities of the DJ were. This made me think about freedom of speech and who is liable. Does blogspot release all rights as to what is posted on the site? Do they monitor it all? The above mentioned blog did not have anything that could be considered slander. But what if it did? Could I sue that person? Could I even find out who that person was?
Also you will notice that my post time is before 8:30 (at work) just in case anyone thought that I was completely disregarding the sample internet policy that I constructed as my last assignment.

Daily Entry

While researching my policy question, I learned something interesting. IM does not keep a record of conversations the way email does. At my job we are not allowed to have IM and if our IT department sees it, we are asked to remove it. Perhaps this is one of the reasons. Because we work with medical information, anything that we send out with medical statistics must go through a QA process first. Because IM can't be traced, this may be one of the reasons that they don't want it.

Daily Entry

Getting ready to go away for the weekend and the first thing I do to prepare is get my directions online. I am trying to remember what I did before internet directions. Read a map? I don't even think I know how to read one anymore.

Another thing I've noticed concerning work and email is that by the end of the week, I am tired of email. I will be looking forward to Natasha's take on no email Fridays and see if in some capacity, we might be able to do that within our team.

Within my team, we have went over objectives for the next fiscal year and one of the things we discussed is when using email to make sure that it is not used for addressing issues that one is extremely upset or frustrated about. For example, instead of typing up a 6 paragraph email about some policy or situation you don't agree with, it is better to make a one on one meeting. Also, a lot of times emails are constructed when people are going through those emotions, so I think professionally it is better to collect yourself and schedule a meeting when you have had time to think about it or at the least type an email and then let it sit for a day in draft. If you still feel the same way the next day then send it.

Checking out everyone else's work

One question down (rough draft) and tonight when I logged on, I felt like I could look around a little more. I had a chance to look at everyone else's blogs. (Sorry guys- not that I wasn't interested before, but I was just trying to get more comfortable with my projects).
I am loving the blog. I think it is organized and can be really useful or if you want it can be not that useful, but a lot of fun.
The IM, I am not sold on. It reminds me of the same way that I feel about a cell phone. Just because I am available, doesn't mean that I want to talk to someone at that moment. I feel that way about the IM. I know that you don't have to reply, but there is just something that bothers me about instant accessibility. At work, I have set a strict policy that my team only calls me on my mobile for an emergency. For updates or other non-urgent issues, they are to call my desk phone (which I do pick up often when I am not working on something). I would feel the same way about the IM. Unless someone needs an immediate answer, just send an email and when I am not interrupted then I can focus on the question and reply.
The wiki I am also enjoying, but I am still struggling with the formatting. If you look at my recent changes log, you will see how many times I think I have used the formatting symbol correctly but then go back and fix. I am now using the "minor edit" button for these so they don't flood the log.