Sunday, November 25, 2012
TWIF Flattener 9 - In-forming
Use one of the current events sources linked at http://mrsfridaysclass.wikispaces.com/Current+Events to find a recent news article that relates to, supports, or refutes Friedman's assertion that in-forming was a "flattener." Your comment should include the title of the news article, a link to the article, and a summary of the article including an explanation of how the article relates to this point. Don't forget to check your rubric for evaluation criteria!
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Google Unveils Superfast Internet in Kansas City, Mo.
ReplyDeletehttp://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/26/google-unveils-superfast-internet-in-kansas-city-mo/
Flattener nine consist of search engines and the one that comes to mind is Google. Of course there are other ones like Yahoo! and MSN, but Google is the king of search engines. When Friedman visits Googles's main building in California he encounters two words that symbolize Google. "Everything" and "everyone" are spoken by the cofounder of Google. This means that Google wants everyone to have the ability to search everything at anytime. This quote is said by Mr. Pichette, a Google executive, "We believe the Internet should give these high speeds to everyone in the U.S. It's about making it available." The quote said by Pichette was found in the article "Google Unveils Superfast Internet in Kansas City, Mo." In the article it tells of how Google wants to bring Kansas and Missouri its new ultrahigh- speed Internet network.
Facebook Unveils a New Search Tool
ReplyDeletehttp://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/15/facebook-unveils-a-new-search-tool/
This article discusses the search engine recently created by Facebook. The search engine is created to view your photos, statuses, likes etc. and then give you the top results according to your interests. The New York Times article relates back to the ninth Flattener in "The World is Flat" because both talk about the increased ability for anybody, anywhere to access information. Like Google, people from all over the world can type in whatever they wish and get information about it. But even greater than Google, Facebook's search option is tailored to your interests based on your Facebook page and what your friends like. This information is right at a person's fingertips just like Google, but is even more advanced. Facebook is taking another step forward to a "flattening" world.
Google boss urges greater freedom on North Korea visit
ReplyDeletehttp://www.euronews.com/2013/01/09/google-boss-urges-greater-freedom-on-north-korea-visit/
Friedman’s flattener #9 is in-forming which refers to obtaining information or finding people on the Web using search engines, such as Google or Yahoo!. These search engines are flatteners because they enable the same access to information to anyone around the world who has a computer and access to the internet. Which is not the case in North Korea. The government there hinders the inclusion of their citizens to participate in a flattened world by restricting access to the internet within their national boundaries. Access to the internet is reportedly only permitted by the leader’s family and a “special government department to maintain the regime.” Instead, North Korea operates its own closed network, or intranet, for its people. This way it can control and censor what its people can download or upload. As Friedman pointed out, although “the political constraint on individual reach collapsed with the fall of the Berlin Wall” there are still areas where people are repressed even today. North Korea is one of them, but Google executives are attempting to change that and give North Koreans access to the flattened world.
'It's About Time': Facebook Reveals New Search Feature
ReplyDeletehttp://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2013/01/16/169469050/its-about-time-facebook-reveals-new-search-feature
In-forming, in Friedman's book, is anyone's ability to access information about everything and everyone on the Internet using search engines. In the article, Facebook displays a new search engine for the social network that will make it easier for users to not only find specific people, places, venues, etc., but to protect their personal information. The new search tool on Facebook, that is still "in Beta", will make it easier to find friends who share mutual "likes" as well as find places near your location. The article also states that if the Facebook search engine cannot find a place or restaurant among friends, Bing (another widely-used search engine) will find the place or restaurant using the open Internet. This article relates to The World is Flat, specifically "In-forming", because it describes a search engine that is being constructed for users to access information on the Internet (the flattening force) more easily than before. This flattens the world by getting more and more people "on the same page" by giving them better access to more accurate information on the Internet.
Daily Report: Google Buys Frommer's, in Continuing Effort to Produce Origional Content
ReplyDeletehttp://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/14/daily-report-google-buys-frommers-in-continuing-effort-to-produce-original-content/
This interesting article explains how Google is planning to buy the Frommer's travel guide brands. They plan to make this purchase in order to contribute more information on searches relating to various points of interest. Before making this purchase, whenever someone types key words into Google's search bar, the website provides the user with random websites relating to the selected topic. However, Google has now taken an interest in Frommer's. As a result, instead of providing users with random websites on their selected topics, Google will also provide users with information from Frommer's, a website which they now will own. Google will now provide users with websites in which they have a direct interest. This flattener describes how people are capable of researching and looking up information by using a search engine. It flattened the world because individuals are not only able to search for anything, but for anyone. The article relates to this flattener because it shows how a search engine like Google is going to buy out a specific website and have it show up in people's search results. With this purchase, the search results may be biased.
Dr. Google is as popular as ever — can real doctors adapt?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/dr-google-is-as-popular-as-ever--can-real-doctors-adapt/2013/01/17/ee9b1f9e-607d-11e2-bc4f-1f06fffb7acf_story.html
This article demonstrates the way that anyone with internet access can get almost any information that they want. Unfortunately, people have been using search engines like Google for medical advice. "The report also found that those health searchers are reaching diagnoses that their doctors disagree with about one-fifth of the time" (DGPECRDA). Obviously, this can be disastrous, so some physicians are trying to keep up with technology. Some doctors are using Twitter and personal blogs to stay in touch and give reliable health information to their patients. The fact that people are able to get information about their health from the internet, whether reliable or not, supports Friedman's argument, but not in a positive way. Someone without insurance, or any way to see a doctor, is now able to search google and find out if the symptoms they're having are linked to cancer or if they are just the flu. This is revolutionary and would be impossible without these search engines.
Five Social Media Tools to Fight the Flu
ReplyDeletehttp://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-01-16/5-social-media-tools-to-fight-the-flu
Flattener #9 is informing which is the ability of people to get their own information. Informing has become easier to do with the increasing use of search engines like Google. Informing is a flattener because everyone can be equally informed at anytime and anywhere. This article is about the way people are using social media and tools like Google to be informed about the flu. The article names five tools that help inform people about the flu outbreak including the location of flu hotspots. For example, Google Flu Trends gives users "near real-time estimates" of flu data for 29 countries. This gives people instant access to information about the flu which they can use to make informed decisions. Before tools like these were available, people would have to get their information from TV or other news sources and most likely the information would be at least a day old.
Mixed Response to Comcast in Expanding Net Access
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/21/business/media/comcast-internet-essentials-brings-access-to-low-income-homes.html?ref=technology
Comcast knows that internet is a necessity in the 21st century which is why they are lowering the cost to $9.95 a month for low income families. Those who qualify for the National School Lunch Program qualify for the 1/4 the cost of internet monthly. Although this is seeming like a monopoly to some, company Connect2compete has signed other companies to offer low rates to internet for low income households. This is relevant to flattener #9 because it explains how internet and search engines are imperative to have in this century and companies are making the expenses cheaper so everyone can have it. In "The World Is Flat" Friedman discusses insourcing and search engines like google that can give you almost any information instantly. This is imperative to this day and age. The article and flattener come together, because it is imperative to have the internet so you can obtain information so easily.
Wikipedia: Meet the men and women who write the articles
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-18833763
In The World is Flat the ninth flattener is In-forming. In-forming flattens the world by providing equal amounts of information to any individual. This means a young child in china has access online to the same amount of information as a professor in Europe. One major site that allows in-forming is Wikipedia. Wikipedia allows all users access to their immense information bank. The article supports Friedman's claim that in-forming sites such as wikipedia provide equal amounts of information to unequal people.
Brin wears his Google glasses on NYC subway: Um, why?
ReplyDeletehttp://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-57565018-71/brin-wears-his-google-glasses-on-nyc-subway-um-why/
This article explains how Google's co-founder, Sergey Brin, was wearing Google glasses on a New York subway train. It is unknown if information was actually being presented in the glasses, but this is just another new example of how people can become informed. Friedman actually talks about Google in the book and describes how people have information at their fingertips. This futuristic development in technology would just be another way for people to obtain information, along with the computers and phones of today.
TiVo to Buy Company That Tracks Shopping of TV Viewers
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/17/business/media/tivo-to-buy-tra-which-tracks-buying-habits-of-tv-viewers.html
This article is about how TiVo has now bought out the company, TRA, that has been able to match up television viewing with the viewer's shopping habits. They make it possible to know which networks are most effective at selling certain products. TRA does this by collecting information from 1.5 million cable boxes and matching the viewers with information from "loyalty cards" from supermarkets. One example is shampoo. MTV received the highest amount of shampoo advertisements due to its large young audience; although the netword TNT, with a much older audience, had twice as many shampoo buyers as viewers. This would be helpful because now shampoo advertisers could see this and they would then advertise on TNT instead of MTV. This correlates to The World is Flat because one way of in-forming is collaborating with the users to get them what they want. TiVo had already been doing this with their digital recording because then the users could watch what they want whenever they want. Now TiVo is becoming more user-friendly and they are able to advertise products that the viewer would be interested in.
France Proposes an Internet Tax
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/21/business/global/21iht-datatax21.html
This article talks about a new tax that France has proposed. France plans to tax Internet companies who collect personal data, like Google, Amazon, and Facebook. These companies allow people to use search engines to find whatever information is wanted, but they also record the searches at the same time to sell to companies whose merchandise matches the searches. This relates to The World is Flat because Friedman talks about how search engines are flattening the world. They allow anybody to find information on the subject they search for. This supports Friedman's theory that the world is being flattened through the use of search engines because now more people are using the engines to collect information. France wants to tax search engines because more people are using them nowadays and more information is being collected.
New Google Tool Makes Search Engine More All Knowing
ReplyDeletehttp://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/08/new-google-tools-to-make-the-search-engine-more-all-knowing/?gwh=A68B43103B3AA5C06D61C8390491A1AB
This article talks about how Google wants to make the search engine obtain more information. more efficiently. They want to enhance the interactions of the search engine with the costumer to make it easier to use. Google would use voice recognition commands to interact with the costumer more efficiantly. The user would not just get results from the web but also searches from the their personal life. In the ninth flattener Friedman talks about the developement of search engines allows anyone to access significant amount of information with ease. This article agrees with Friedman's theory because it shows how search engines are becoming easier to use. Search engines are also obtaining more information for the user at a much faster rate.
Facebook 'mystery' event: A search engine in the works?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.csmonitor.com/Business/Latest-News-Wires/2013/0115/Facebook-mystery-event-A-search-engine-in-the-works?nav=300443-csm_subcategory-storyList
The article is about a search engine that can be coming to Facebook that could give Google and other search engines competition. The flattener Friedman talks about how information is much easier to be obtained because of how fast and easy a search engine like Google is. The more competition search engines have makes people have more places to go to find information.
A Search Engine Made for Mobile Devices
ReplyDeletehttp://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/08/a-search-engine-made-for-mobile-devices/
This article is about a new search engine,Izik, which boldly said that it will be better for mobile devices than Google is. It talks about how Google was made for computers and that this will work better and more efficiently than Google on devices like tablets. In the book Friedman talks about how easy it has now become for people to obtain information. He goes on talking about how quickly people can find information. If Izik is actually better suited for mobile devices, it will be possible for people to instantly access information basically anywhere they are.
Google Still in a Struggle With Mobile http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/23/technology/google-profit-exceeds-expectations.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1358910088-WkPAaG29bZti4WydYu8WPw
ReplyDeleteThis article is about google and how the corporation is still climbing to the top and is a huge money making business. Google is still number one for finding information and they are trying to improve on their mobile products. They are making sure that google keeps coming out with new things and they are now selling phones and tablets. This relates to flattener 9 because it is when google first came open to the public. They compared google to being "god" and now google is still that way. Google is making the corporation bigger so that knowledge is viewable to more people.