First YouTube Video

Below is my first ever YouTube video. This is my PSA about Prematurity Awareness Month:

Pizza Facebook

Papa John's is collaborating with Facebook in order to promote their online ordering service by allowing users to become a "fan" of Papa John's in exchange for a free medium pizza. I've talked before about how I feel like there is way more advertising on Facebook than ever before and how I don't necessarily like the changes, but this is a pretty novel idea to get people to do online ordering. In order to get your free pizza, you have to make an online order, which means you have to register on PapaJohns.com, but hey, free is free. Over the summer, I got a free Jimi wallet by becoming a fan of Chase +1 credit. I think that free gifts in exchange for promotion makes it a bit easier to stomach all the new ads on Facebook and I'll be a fan of anyone who is willing to gift me.

Obama Must Part With BlackBerry

I recently learned something very important about becoming the Commander-In Chief which I'm not sure how many people are aware of. According to a New York Times article, Mr. Obama might have to get rid of his coveted BlackBerry mobile device once he is sworn in. Apparently this is nothing new with former President Clinton not having used email and President Bush sending a farewell email to friends before he was sworn in. From what I understand, Presidents' communication is subject to public disclosure so they cannot use devices like cell phones to text or use email to communicate. "But before he arrives at the White House, he will probably be forced to sign off. In addition to concerns about e-mail security, he faces the Presidential Records Act, which puts his correspondence in the official record and ultimately up for public review, and the threat of subpoenas." Can you imagine giving up your phone and/or email? I know I would not be able to function without email. That's just too bad for the President-elect...the BlackBerry storm will be released on Friday.

Mobile Apps WILL Alter Our Web Usage

I'm not an Apple fanboy/adopter by any means. I don't own a Mac (though I'm finally starting to get the urge), nor an iPhone, and I didn't even own an iPod until a couple Christmases ago. I have to give Apple props though because they can make their products look so freaking cool that you feel like you're missing out on something if you don't own them. I keep seeing the commercials with iPhone apps and couldn't help but wonder if these apps will change the way we use the web. I think that the answer is emphatically yes. We've already discussed in class how blogging may eventually become obsolete as we move more towards mini-blog content such as Twitter. I would also venture to suggest that cell phones will be replaced by mobile devices. As more and more devices pop up such as the iPhone, the Google phone, and the heavily anticipated BlackBerry Storm, it seems as though the future will be dominated by Internet-ready mobile devices with touch screens. Even without flying cars it finally it feels as though we have some of the cool stuff the Jetson's have to play with in their futuristic space world.

I think one of the coolest apps I've seen in an iPhone commercial is Urbanspoon, the one that helps you find a local place to eat using criteria such as type of food, price range and neighborhood. My friends would vouch for me on this one because making choices on where to eat off-campus is one of the most perplexing decisions a college student faces. Check it out:


So yeah, I give Apple props because they're wearing me down and as soon as I escape from the plight of being a broke college student, I will probably buy a lot more of the cool stuff that they have to offer. I know that at the very least the use of mobile apps will become mainstream as people no longer have the option of buying a regular phone. Think about it, remember when it was cool to have a camera phone because it wasn't a standard feature? You'd be hard pressed to find one without a camera these days and I think the trend will continue with mobile devices as they become more of a commonplace in society.

Update: Why oh why must the people of Apple torment me so? Why must they brainwash me into wanting a phone that I don't need by dangling cool features in my face? As I was publishing this post (which leads me to believe Steve Jobs is spying on me), I saw another commerical for another cool iPhone app. This one which is even cooler than Urbanspoon is called Shazam. For music lovers this should be quite a treat...



This really is brilliant marketing though... "That's the iPhone. Solving life's dilemmas--one app at a time."

Web 2.0 Aids President-Elect

Well, it has finally come and gone...Election Day '08! Today's post will be a recap of the role technology has played in the 2008 Presidential Campaign. Surely Barack Obama's historic victory was aided by the heavy use of technology. Since the beginning, Obama has benefited from social networking technologies such as YouTube where users could find his campaign speeches readily available to be picked over and critiqued by would-be voters. Because the youth vote was so important to this election, the candidates' presence on social networking websites such as MySpace and Facebook was a factor down the late hours of the election. Facebook, for the first time ever allowed users to "donate" their Facebook status to remind their friends to go vote. After the numbers were tabulated 1,745,754 people participated in what Facebook called the largest online political rally ever! Moveon.org was very good about sending reminders for people to become politically involved and aware and they also distributed free political buttons and bumper stickers throughout the campaign.

In addition music artists such as Nas and Will.I.Am of the Black Eyed Peas have promoted Obama in the campaign through their music and Will.I.Am produced a track which he released on midnight, November 5th, to celebrate Obama's victory. The track entitled "It's a New Day" can be found here.

This has been a once in a first-of-its-kind election in so many ways, but we have finally seen the Internet and Web 2.0 change voter influence in ways never before seen. Could this bring us closer to a world in which we'll one day be able to use the Internet the vote from home?