After reading the article about Facebook users phone numbers being accessible, it made me want to rethink how much information I put on my page because just a phone number and your name put you at risk for identity theft and non stop scam calls "The exposed data could put users at risk of scam phone calls and other fraud, said Eva Velasquez, president and CEO of the Identity Theft Resource Center. A phone number combined with your name and any public information on your Facebook profile could help scammers convince you they're legitimate. Velasquez suggests making your social media profiles private whenever possible." (C|net, Eva Velasquez). When I was younger and first made my Facebook account, I didn't realize the dangers of putting my email or phone number on my page were because I was nieve and Facebook in the beginning was good at hiding this kind of information from its users especially since most were blinded by the excitement of a new social media site that was like no other.
In the article, it talked about how Facebook is cracking down on user data being released but personally I don't know if I buy that because Facebook makes money off of selling its users information to companies so why would they give that up. The only reason they are making that statement is because they have been exposed and want people to think Facebook will protect your privacy so users continue to trust them. If I could give one piece of advise that I have learned after reading these articles, it would be never put anything on Facebook that you wouldn't give to a stranger.
Lately, I have been seeing a lot of articles about how we are coming upon the so called "Post-Cellphone era" which is where gadgets like smart watches and other wearable devices are making the demand for cell phones less. When apple first released the Apple Watch in 2015 it was a hit because people loved the idea of being able to call or text anywhere anytime without having to hold a phone so you can multitask. Runners could send a quick text by speaking into the watch or talk on the phone while moving. The newer watch also allows you to check your emails which is great for a business person who is in a meeting and can't use their phone. Apple has released 5 models since 2015. Having this watch has opened up an even bigger door for communication because now you don't need your phone to get in contact with someone, all the power is in your wrist. In the most recent model that came out this year, you can also check Instagram and Facebook and use it how you would on the iPhone which is a big plus for most people with social media being one of the largest forms of communication today. My parents recently got newest apple watch and they love it! It's funny because I hardly ever see them using their cell phone now that they have the watch, instead they answer their texts and calls on the watch and my mom looks through her social media on it. Maybe I need to look into getting the new hot form of communication!
For my presentation, I did the history of Google and how it effects our world of communication today. For starters, I want to give you a little background of Google and where this great idea started that would change our world forever. It all started on September 4th, 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin. They met at Stanford and started working on a search engine together called Backrub. The name actually comes from a mathematical term for how many backlinks a page has and Google is a play on word of “googol” a mathematical term for 1 followed by 0’s. In 1998, Andy Bechtolsheim , Co founder of Sun wrote a check for $100,000 to the non-existent company after seeing a demo as he knew it would be the turn of the century, little did he know what it would one day evolve into.
Google took over worldwide pretty quickly with their first international office launched in 2001 in Tokyo. They did very well when it came to businesses as they offer Google images, Google toolbar, Google charts which allowed businesses to be more efficient in presentations. Google did not only make an impression in the business world but also among society with Google messaging, calendar, alerts, and the main Google search. Today, we use Google search on a daily basis and as a matter of fact I used it to research for this presentation. Ever since Google came along, going to the library to research information is little to none. Google has also added many services that have made advertising and keeping in touch with one another easy anywhere anytime. Google has also made the need for established media such as newspapers and magazines almost none because of its access to everything at the tip of your fingers which is the new wave of communication.
Overall, I think my group did a good job on our presentation and had a lot of interesting information that kept the audience engaged. I also enjoyed this project because I learned a lot of information about services/devices that we use today that I would never have known. You know what they say, you learn something new everyday!
