Disqus - Latest Comments for Brittany Creamer

Re: Wikinomics » Blog Archive » Do you know where your children are? (Online)

Brittany Creamer — Wed, 14 May 2008 23:16:18 -0000

I agree with Ming that Web 2.0 technologies are revolutionizing how young people communicate. I graduated high school just three years ago and even as recently as 2005, we were not allowed to use internet sources, even academic databases, as sources for our papers and projects. As an undergraduate student at UT last semester, I was compiling my groups’ individual works cited and found that one group member cited an unsubstantiated Wikipedia article as a source for our academic project. She was offended when I asked her to find a more reliable source.

I wholeheartedly believe Wikipedia is an incredible tool and a great place to begin research, but it can hardly be the final word. Young researchers must learn how to use these resources wisely. As young students’ reliance on internet resources for academic purposes grows, so too must schools’ understanding of the technologies' implications and appropriate uses. Schools must adapt and teach students basic things like what constitutes a good source. Blocking wiki platforms and social networks on district computers is not the solution. Students must be taught that the internet’s greatest strength, its freedom and availability of information, is also its greatest weakness. Children’s use of web 2.0 technology is not just a parent’s responsibility.

Re: Wikinomics » Blog Archive » Virtual college fairs

Brittany Creamer — Thu, 15 May 2008 01:25:59 -0000

It’s fantastic that the new internet is making college visits more available and less expensive…if one has access to the internet. These tools are wonderful, but so many students are still left behind because they don’t have adequate access to computers with a high-speed internet connection. If our society truly wants to make higher education and information more accessible and even free (think MIT’s course info online), then shouldn’t every public school student have access to these amazing new tools? If these technologies are truly going to transform our society, then it must be a top priority to ensure that these resources are available for an entire generation of low-income students. Otherwise, the "the gap between the physical and virtual world" will not be the most relevant gap, but rather the gap between those who have access and those who do not that will carry the most consequences.

Re: Wikinomics » Blog Archive » LinkedIn to Target New Audience: Your Boss

Brittany Creamer — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 12:32:08 -0000

Leigh Himel is right on the money when she says that the very basic value to the user must be free. I think LinkedIn is right to shift to charging non-users like corporations to maximize utility for individual users, and I think they are on the right track to finding new ways to monetize their site. My only concern is if users are ready for their boss to be Big Brother, even when they are off the clock.

Re: Wikinomics » Blog Archive » What movie speaks for your generation?

Brittany Creamer — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 21:22:49 -0000

I agree with Justin that LOTR and HP do not define Gen Y, but I do think they are part of a new mythology that, in a way, is a reflection of our society as a whole. The explosion in popularity of fantasy series and super hero movies in the last 5 years or so is one example of this.

Re: Wikinomics » Blog Archive » Jeff tweets “it’s not you, it’s me”

Brittany Creamer — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 10:16:19 -0000

A friend of mine interviewed at Facebook, and during their tour they told her that their algorithms are able to predict when a couple on Facebook would break up, based on how often they looked at each others' profiles and how much time they spent looking at the profiles of other opposite-sex (in the case of heterosexuals) Facebookers. It is a little creepy that Facebook may know better than you when you will breakup!

Re: Wikinomics » Blog Archive » Universal power adapter way overdue

Brittany Creamer — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 11:17:16 -0000

I only own one laptop power cord, but have had my share of worries with the one and when, on occasion, it goes missing temporarily. Panic ensues, largely because I can't borrow one due to compatibility issues. My real gripe with power cords is with cell phones. I have NO IDEA how many chargers I have lying around (just in case) or which one of my old phones those cords go with. I'm too chicken to throw them away, considering a replacement is like $30. Give me a universal cell phone charger and I can die a happy girl!

Re: Thoughts on the New iPhone

Brittany Creamer — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 13:07:40 -0000

Words can't express how excited I was to hear about a more affordable iPhone. My dreams of owning the coveted iPhone raced through my mind, and the reality of those dreams was tangible. And then I realized it was going to cost a lot more than the easy-to-swallow-price of $199. I'm a college student. I'm not exactly broke, but I do pay for most expenses myself, and that includes my cell phone. Adding the iPhone data package would increase my cell phone bill by at least $40 a month...for the next 2 years. That ends up being an additional $960, bringing the subtotal for iPhone ownership to $1160. That $199 iPhone suddenly doesn't seem so cheap anymore, and my nearly fulfilled fantasy of iPhone ownership fades into oblivion.

Will the iPhone revolutionize the social web? Of course, for the affluent individuals that can afford to own one. The cost of owning these devices must become more affordable for the middle class before dramatic changes occur. If web 2.0 is supposed to democratize digital technology, we are still a good deal away from that achieving that goal, although every advance brings us one step closer. The digital divide, though its meaning has changed over the last 10 years, still exists: the iPhone haves and the iPhone have-nots. Until the day I join the ranks of the haves, I will continue to twitter from my laptop and lament my dependency on a computer.