1. Phone and Chat Services
While I was in China, I was able to connect with my family in Utah using Skype, a free computer-based phone and messaging service. Not only was I able to call my friends and family on the other side of the world, but we could use our laptop camera to actually see one another. Skype isn't the only computer phone service out there. Tokbox is another a web-based chat and video service. It offers some really cool chat and video communities where you can talk to experts about everything from selecting the perfect golf ball to online appointments with medical specialists. One of these communities is all about connecting baseball fans to their favorite players through the "chatting cage.""If you have a question, you should be able to look someone in the eye and ask it. Chatting Cage brings that opportunity to life for sports fans in a way they may never get to experience otherwise."These services also allow businesses to connect through conference video chats that would never have been possible without digital technology. It's amazing to me.
2. Online Gaming
I don't know very much about online gaming except that it often has the reputation of keeping people from living in the real world (especially those games where you create your own avatar). That may be true in some cases. But the idea of being able to play a game with someone on the other side of the world is pretty cool. My experience with multiplayer games is limited to what I've played locally with my family through multiplayer apps and computer games. But it's still amazing to me that we can be in different rooms on different devices and still have a great time playing together.
3. Identity
Digital gaming often asks you to create an avatar or identity for yourself. I guess that is one way to explore who you are or who you want to be. Another way that identity is used in digital technology is through target advertising. When a company is interested in making a commercial, they will focus on a target audience in order to sell themselves as supporters or members of that particular community. Coca-Cola has done this again and again in their advertising campaigns. By working within a target audience, not only sell more products to that community, but also solidify the existence of that community. P&G also has done the same thing in their recent Olympic ads.
4. Making a difference
I can't argue with the poetry slam piece that we watched the other day in class. It's hard to hug someone through a computer. But that doesn't mean that a complete stranger can't reach out through digital technology and touch another person's life.
5. Spreading Ideas: TED Talks
One way that digital technology works to connect people is through the dissemination of great ideas from people all over the world. TED talks are usually given to a live audience, but are often put online for people to watch for free. There are nearly 1500 videos online now. The people who are asked to give a talk might be an expert in their field or they might just have a story that the world needs to hear. What's great about TED talks is that it represents a huge variety of people and places in a setting where they can all be heard.
http://www.ted.com/talks/hyeonseo_lee_my_escape_from_north_korea.html
6. Spreading Stories: eReaders and self-publishing
Many authors find traditional publishing to be too slow or too picky. Self publishing sites like outskirts press or lulu.com are quickly becoming popular options for these authors. On these sites they can publish their work quickly and retain most of the money they make off of their stories for themselves. There are, of course, perks to going with a traditional publisher (editors, marketers, and designers all help to make a book the best it can be), but many great stories don't even get looked at in traditional publishing.
Another cool way that people are getting their stories out there is through eReaders. Both traditional and self publishing places use eReaders as a great way to reach audiences who may not be able to access a traditional book store.
7. Social Media Sites
I feel like this one is pretty self-explanatory. People can connect through these sites whether it's through photos, chatting, event planning . . . Social media really is a powerful tool.
8. Digital Mapping and Geocaching
If you've ever been on a geocaching hunt, you'll know that it really does feel like a treasure hunt. You use GPS technology to locate caches that other people have put together. Once you find it, you can swap one of your own things for something in the cache. The fact that it is a global activity that connects people with similar interests is really awesome.
"Geocaching is the real-world that's happening right now, all around you. There are 2,313,229 active geocaches and over 6 million geocachers worldwide." (geocaching.com)
9. Forums
People have questions. Other people have answers to those questions. That's the basic idea of a forum. You can ask any question online about any subject, and there's a good chance that there's a forum already set up for that question. Forum topics range from computer troubleshooting to medical advice. It's amazing to me that people who have never met can give one another advice and instruction online, just as if a friend or neighbor had brought the question to them.
10. Panoramas/Google Earth
I know this has been covered in class and by a few other people already, but I'm going to do it again here. It's incredible that we can see what any city in the world actually looks like without having to go there. I'm all for world travel, but if you can't afford to go, you can still see those places in a realistic way through google earth. Amazing.
http://www.panoramas.dk/fullscreen/fullscreen23.html
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