technology
Now this looks cool. Carnegie Mellon University researchers recently developed an interactive touch interface. It’s called “World Kit,” and a user can project it on to any flat service. It’s currently bulky, as you’ll see in the video; however, the researchers are working on getting it down to the size of a light bulb.
How would you use something like this in your home or business?
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If you’re anything like me, you bounce around various news and magazine sites daily on the Internet. It’s rare that I consume one site totally. I more often graze on information like a starving student at an all-you-can-eat buffet.
This is common for a majority of Internet users. According to new research from the University of Missouri, “Internet users often do not make the conscious decision to read news online, but they come across news when they are searching for other information or doing non-news related activities online, such as shopping or visiting social networking sites.”
“Incidental exposure to online news is becoming a major way for many people to receive information about news events,” said Borchuluun Yadamsuren, a post-doctoral fellow at the Reynolds Journalism Institute in the University of Missouri School of Journalism. “However, many people don’t realize how their news reading behavior is shifting to more serendipitous discovery.”
Yadamsuren surveyed almost 150 people and found that they experience online news in three different ways. The first way is specifically on news sites. The second way they’re exposed to news is via non-news sites and activities, such as social networking sites and checking email. The third way is by just happening upon news while conducting other Web searches.
Because of the many ways people come into contact with news, Yadamsuren believes organizations should have links to their stories on various Internet sites as much as possible.
Fair enough. But just having links doesn’t necessarily mean people are going to read it. For a perspective on that, we turn to an interesting piece called “The Top 5 Things That Bother Me About This Headline.”
In it, writer Alissa Walker questions how the Internet is changing the way she writes.
“…when I saw how a slight tweak to my text would make my page views skyrocket, I became a convert. Now, instead of organizing my thoughts into pithy paragraphs for readers, I engineer my words so they’re algorithmically attractive. I rewrite my headlines to make them more enticing to Google. I tag them with dozens of relevant phrases to boost my authority on specific topics. I add search terms to my text to further optimize my SEO ranking. I admit that I don’t totally understand what that last sentence even means.”
Meaning is what we writers and readers are constantly trying to find. What can I write that means something to someone? How do I find stories that mean something to me? There are no easy answers, because they rely on personal choices. You’re never going to write something meaningful if you’re creating quick-list articles. And you’re never going to read anything meaningful online if you’re always making the excuse that you don’t have time to read.
Where, then, is that middle ground? How do you find meaningful stories for yourself? What attracts you to online stories and news?
(Photo via Flickr: Mike Licht / Creative Commons)
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There’s some good news from the 2011 Cisco Connected World Technology Report. In it, 40 percent of college students or young professionals say they would take lower paying jobs if companies offered more flexible social media policies.
This shows, to me, that people are getting away from the idea that money buys happiness. We’re becoming a society that values time more than how fat a wallet can get.
Findings include:
For years, I’ve gone on record several times where I work that I’d take a pay cut if management would allow me more freedom in my workday. It’s a losing argument, though, because it means managers have to give up some control. They would have to focus mainly on results.
The result of a controlling mindset, though, could be a disengaged, unproductive workforce. That is, if people actually want to work for a company like that anymore. And it’s beginning to a lot look like people don’t.
How important is social media access and workplace flexibility to you? Or are you just happy to have a job (if you have one)?
(Photo via Flickr: Kalyan Chakravarthy / Creative Commons)
Send to KindleI’ve never been a fan of those Bluetooth ear pieces. Maybe it’s because a lot egotists wear them, trying to prove how important they are to everyone. I see a guy walk into a room wearing one, and I immediately think I’m dealing with a jerk.
There’s something different, though, about the WIMM Platform. Is it the design? The way it’s worn? The multiple ways you can use it? All of the above.
You can wear it on your wrist, clipped to your shirt, or hang it around your neck.
According to the press release, it will come with
Yeah, I’d give this a try. Definitely. Would you? Check out the video for more convincing.
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I was originally going to write about a recent survey result showing that women use social networking more than men. In my research on the story, though, I came across another study that I found more interesting.
According to a Walden University and Harris Interactive survey, “more than nine in 10 (92 percent) Americans have taken action to engage in positive social change in the past year and that more than three-fourths (77 percent) say it is important to them personally to be involved in social change.”
The Social Change Impact Report’s “results show that Americans have a strong belief in their own power to effect change with nearly nine in 10 adults (85 percent) agreeing that they can make the world a better place by their actions. Fifty-two percent say they are most likely to personally get involved in social change in the future as individuals acting on their own or in informal groups.”
The 2,148 U.S. adults surveyed believe that the top social change issues are education, health, and poverty. They also believe that technology enhances social change by making it easier to follow news and increasing awareness. Finally, they feel that the best way to impact change is to begin at the local level.
This survey interested me because lately I’ve been trying to impact change in various aspects of my life, some successfully, some not so successfully. Really, the ultimate local level is yourself. You can have the biggest ideas for change in the world, but sometimes it’s yourself that needs to change before larger changes can occur.
I can totally hear in my head Gandi’s quote now, as I’m sure you can: “Be the change you want to see in the world.” Personally, some changes I need to work on are learning better persuasion skills and becoming more accepting of the process of letting go.
We all have ideas and changes for the world. But before they happen, what are some of the changes you’re working on for yourself? What are your small changes that will lead to larger changes?
(Photo credit: love2dreamfish / creative commons)
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