I have found an interesting article on ebooks and e-reading talking about the advantages of e-books. But first of all, what exactly is an ebook? It is a electronic format of a book.
It has several advantages as follows:
1) Environment Friendly.
2) Immediate deliuvery.
3) Ebooks are portable so you can carry 1000's of books in when you are traveling anywhere.
4) Ebooks are easier to read and information can be easily searched unlike in printed books where you will need to flip the pages.
What do you think are ebooks main disadvantages? Do you find it hard to read an ebook?
5) Some ebooks come with lot of bonuses, which you cannot get with the published version.
6) Ebooks contain links to information and websites so that you can easily access more related information.
7) They take up a lot less space than a printed book and you will not need a bookshelf to keep an ebook.
8) Many ebooks are interactive and contains audios, videos and flash which makes reading more appealing and entertaining.
9) It is possible to read ebooks anywhere nowadays due to the advancement in technology.
10) They cost much lesser than the printed format and there is also no extra shipping and packaging charges.
11) Ebooks can be easily printed when and where you want.
12) There are many free ebooks available on a lot of different topics and thus you will not need to buy anything if you find a free ebook.
13) Ebooks can be purchased and downloaded any time you want and anywhere you want. You will just need an Internet connection
14) It is easier to sell or distribute ebooks.
15) Audio ebooks help people with disabilities to study.
Nowadays a lot of people have adopted e-reading as the most preferred method of reading and ebooks as the most preferred format of books.
What do you think are its main disadvanatges? Do you find it hard to read an ebook?
nedelja, 16. maj 2010
ponedeljek, 3. maj 2010
New media saving lives?
Recently I read an interesting article Social Media Saves Lives: Salmonella Outbreak Pushes HHS, FDA, CDC to Get Social about how social media can be used for quick and effective information sharing. This article caught my attention because it shows how new media can be used literally for saving lives. In this case sharing information saved lives of people who could have been infected with salmonella, and the article is stressing out how the US government is now embracing social media as an effective channel for communications.
This case is only on example how Web 2.0 technologies will be integrated into health agencies from now on and how new media is enabling valuable collaboration.
This case is only on example how Web 2.0 technologies will be integrated into health agencies from now on and how new media is enabling valuable collaboration.
ponedeljek, 5. april 2010
Facebook - The meaning of the word "friend" is changing?
Thank you all sharing your point of views on my latest post. Facebook seems to be a very popular topic lately, therefore I decided to write another post about it.
Many of you who commented on my last post were saying that Facebook has nothing to do with the real life, that people are totally capable of distinguishing between "online" and "offline". Is that really so?
I found a research on how people start to confuse their online friends for real friends. The research was conducted by Doug Fodeman and Marje Monroe in Manchester in 2009. They were studying the impact of Facebook on teenagers.
They discovered that the meaning of the word "friend" is changing for their students at the Brookwood School and this change puts them at risk in several ways.
According to their findings an average teenager has between 200 and 500 on Facebook. Some of their friends are complete strangers. Researchers think that teenagers need to be challenged to think about what a friend is and consider the ways we typically value friends. They believe that student's risks rise when they apply traditional real-life values to the "friendships" some of them develop online in sites such as Facebook.
They also point out that it isn't an age-appropriate or developmentally healthy place for children and younger teens to have Facebook accounts. Because Facebook is not working to protect children and the laws in country are terribly inadequate to safeguard children online, in general.
Is the meaning of word friend really changing?
Many of you who commented on my last post were saying that Facebook has nothing to do with the real life, that people are totally capable of distinguishing between "online" and "offline". Is that really so?
I found a research on how people start to confuse their online friends for real friends. The research was conducted by Doug Fodeman and Marje Monroe in Manchester in 2009. They were studying the impact of Facebook on teenagers.
They discovered that the meaning of the word "friend" is changing for their students at the Brookwood School and this change puts them at risk in several ways.
According to their findings an average teenager has between 200 and 500 on Facebook. Some of their friends are complete strangers. Researchers think that teenagers need to be challenged to think about what a friend is and consider the ways we typically value friends. They believe that student's risks rise when they apply traditional real-life values to the "friendships" some of them develop online in sites such as Facebook.
They also point out that it isn't an age-appropriate or developmentally healthy place for children and younger teens to have Facebook accounts. Because Facebook is not working to protect children and the laws in country are terribly inadequate to safeguard children online, in general.
Is the meaning of word friend really changing?
sobota, 20. marec 2010
Facebook - the cause for increasing jealousy?
Recently I read an interesting article about how Facebook influences jealousy between relationship partners. It was published on Vizita.si .
It says that Amy Muise from university in Canada discovered several changes in relationships due to Facebook. She thinks that:
- Facebook creates addiction, once you start using it you keep coming back.
- More time you spent on Facebook, more jealous and suspicious you get.
- The same goes for your partner, especially, if you have ex girlfriends/boyfriends among Facebook friends. Amy Muise advices you to stop using Facebook in order to minimise your jealousy.
- She thinks catching a cheating partner can be way easier with Facebook, because you can spy on your partner's profile without his awareness.
I have to say I am somewhat sceptical about these statements. Does anyone feel more jealous because his relationship partner has a Facebook account? Or is this only an excuse for people who are over possessive anyway?
It says that Amy Muise from university in Canada discovered several changes in relationships due to Facebook. She thinks that:
- Facebook creates addiction, once you start using it you keep coming back.
- More time you spent on Facebook, more jealous and suspicious you get.
- The same goes for your partner, especially, if you have ex girlfriends/boyfriends among Facebook friends. Amy Muise advices you to stop using Facebook in order to minimise your jealousy.
- She thinks catching a cheating partner can be way easier with Facebook, because you can spy on your partner's profile without his awareness.
I have to say I am somewhat sceptical about these statements. Does anyone feel more jealous because his relationship partner has a Facebook account? Or is this only an excuse for people who are over possessive anyway?
ponedeljek, 15. marec 2010
Using Evernote
One of my desires and expectations about the New media and society class, was to get familiar with new programs, applications and other tools which make our life easier (e.g. help with writing, editing, communicating, collaborating, finding new information, etc.).
Today, I would like to introduce my experience with trying out an application called Evernote (www.evernote.com). Firstly, It is important to stress out that Evernote is not an application for academic writing. However, it has some advantages and disadvantages I am going to describe in this post.
I found Evernote easy to register, it is free and very simple to use. Design is plain and pleasant. Functions as font types, font size, alignment and other basic tools are visible and easily accessible. However, they are very basic. There are only 7 font types available and font size is not numbered, but it is described as small, medium, large and it is really hard to know which description matches which font size. No spell check is possible, as well as word count, and it has no undo button.
Its main advantages are: a document is accessible from anywhere (from any computer that has the Internet), and the documents are really easy to find (keywords).
Today, I would like to introduce my experience with trying out an application called Evernote (www.evernote.com). Firstly, It is important to stress out that Evernote is not an application for academic writing. However, it has some advantages and disadvantages I am going to describe in this post.
I found Evernote easy to register, it is free and very simple to use. Design is plain and pleasant. Functions as font types, font size, alignment and other basic tools are visible and easily accessible. However, they are very basic. There are only 7 font types available and font size is not numbered, but it is described as small, medium, large and it is really hard to know which description matches which font size. No spell check is possible, as well as word count, and it has no undo button.
Its main advantages are: a document is accessible from anywhere (from any computer that has the Internet), and the documents are really easy to find (keywords).
nedelja, 7. marec 2010
New media - a technological or a socio-cultural evolution?
I one of the first articles I have read on new media in society, authors were questioning themselves whether the new media are a social phenomenon or a technological change? Where is the boundary? Is there even one, or is it all interdependent? Do we have a revolution or is it just an evolution?
It is interesting that the articles I have read were written in 1999 by well-know authors Roger Silverstone and Sonia Livingston. Both authors recognized the interdependence between society and technology. With my background in economics, especially in marketing, I connected their perspective with my opinion. I believe most organizations in the market, especially successful ones, are market oriented. Therefore organizations seek to satisfy unfulfilled needs in the market. Taking this even further, from this concept it is clear that a change is driven mostly by the society. I do agree that change is interdependent. There is nothing without innovation. Organizations have to develop their technology all the time, in a way that they can offer a superior product or service for satisfying unserved needs in the market. Overall, the change is driven by both, the society and organizations (technology).
Do we have a revolution? I don't think so. Socio-cultural trends are one of the slowest changing macro trends in the market. If most organizations are market-oriented, that means that we have an evolution and not a revolution.
It is interesting that the articles I have read were written in 1999 by well-know authors Roger Silverstone and Sonia Livingston. Both authors recognized the interdependence between society and technology. With my background in economics, especially in marketing, I connected their perspective with my opinion. I believe most organizations in the market, especially successful ones, are market oriented. Therefore organizations seek to satisfy unfulfilled needs in the market. Taking this even further, from this concept it is clear that a change is driven mostly by the society. I do agree that change is interdependent. There is nothing without innovation. Organizations have to develop their technology all the time, in a way that they can offer a superior product or service for satisfying unserved needs in the market. Overall, the change is driven by both, the society and organizations (technology).
Do we have a revolution? I don't think so. Socio-cultural trends are one of the slowest changing macro trends in the market. If most organizations are market-oriented, that means that we have an evolution and not a revolution.
torek, 2. marec 2010
Introduction
Welcome to my blog, established for the New media and society class. At this point I would like to give you some information about my background and my interests.
I graduated in 2009 from the Faculty of Economics, University of Ljubljana and from Queen’s University (Queen’s School of Business, Canada), where I spent one year on exchange. Since 2005 I have been working as an entrepreneur in show business industry, in the last year mostly focusing on consulting. With this course, I am hoping to get a better insight into how to use online tools for finding valuable information (digital libraries, literature resources) and to understand opportunities and technology for online communications.
In the era of globalization, the Internet offers many options for retrieving information, connecting with interesting people, and I would like to be aware of those options. So far I have experience with online tools such as: social networking sites (LinkedIn, Facebook), peer-to-peer communication (Moodle, Google groups), and some online literature resources. There are more and more tools available and it is hard to explore all of them. I am hoping to get an idea of what tolls are available and which of them are the most useful for my needs.
I am looking forward sharing my thoughts with you!
Naročite se na:
Objave (Atom)
