Blog 8-Communication circuit

The Internet and the electronic age has changed the way business works. Dartons communication node to focus on here is that of the printing/manufacturing and shipping. In the Adams and Barker article is talks about how “manufacturing is primarily a matter of technology and economics.” Technology has advanced the paper industry throughout the years. From the print revolution to the industrial revolution it was always a matter of making cheaper and faster paper. Economics is the driving force behind if something is going to get published. Electronic technology, such as the Internet, has changed how we read.  Making it possible to deliver text wirelessly over cyber space has made literature more attainable then ever before. The main aspect behind running a business is making profit. If it is possible to not have to pay shipping cost, warehouse cost, paper and binding cost, then why not reproduce text electronically and sell them as electronic books. Companies, such as Amazon, are heading in this direction and are making great profit in the progress. Accoring to The Atlantic the E-books on the Kindel reader have recently outpaced hardcover sales. Since many aspects of life are evolved around money, this change of they way literature is read will have a lasting impact on society. I’m not saying hardcover books will be extinct in our lifetime, but the electronic age has added a whole new way of purchasing and reading literature.
 

Blog 7- Alphabetizing

Aww being a little kid again. The good days of waking up and not having a stress in the world. Riding your skateboard around, playing in the park, and knowing that your the best bike rider in your neighborhood. A time where you're learning how to spell doctor and finding out who George Washington was. This is one of the most important events in a young persons schooling life is that of how language works. Language and images define how "things" will be perceived. From The republic of ABC article: "An idea is generally defined a representation of a thing in the mind; it is a representation of something that we have seen, felt, hear, &c or been conscious of." The very first ways we learn and how we learn them will forever be remembered, consciously and subconsciously.

When ever you think of a word you always have some kind of image in your head. Why is it this image? Well a lot of it has to do with what surrounds you and what culture you grew up in. People might not remember that much about being in kindergarten, but subconsciously, in america, it seems we associate A with Apple. This seems like a cliche example, but it works and it makes sense. Since A is also the first letter in the alphabet, it seems we associate it with education in general. Apple is the cliche gift you give to a teacher and has been associated with this concept for ages. In my personal experience a way of teaching language was through rhyme. I still remember how we used different good bye expressions, such as: bye bye butterfly; so along king kong; see you soon raccoon. This was important aspect of learning words and pictures. Pictures were always associated with learning new words. These rhymes and pictures are forever implanted in a child's head.

An example I want to talk about is the of god vs God, or even saying a god for the proper God. I think it is interesting when were writing a paper and we come across a point where we have to write god/God. What do we do? What is are natural instinct? It can basically come down to what religion you are affiliated with, but that is not the most important part of this discussion. People that view your paper are going to have an immediate opinion once you decide to use god or God. If your writing a paper: ...only a god can save us now"; compared to: ...only God can save us now"; it puts a different view into our heads and changes the meaning of the sentence. This just shows that even the capitalization of one letter can change the perspective of a whole sentence.

Blog 6- MAPS!

Maps have come very long way haven’t they. The digital world has forever changed how location and directions are viewed. What I want to focus on here, about digital maps and distortions, is that of Iphone navigation applications. There are many navigation applications that are available in the Apple store that focus on different aspects of directions and location. The common theme I found with these applications is how the information is portrayed. You can tell that there are certain sponsors that promote their physical location. The Where application has sponsored ads that will come up when you are looking for a place to eat. These sponsored links will show you exactly how to get to their restaurant. Another common aspect that is incorporated into many of the navigation applications are social network tools. 

The article explains how Google Earth “…uniquely engages its users, not as disembodied voyeurs, but as participants in global dialog, represented spatially on the digital map.” Google Earth allows users to pin locations with dialog that lets users communicate with each other about that location. There are many Iphone applications that have the same type of function. The Where application allows people to write reviews on the certain locations that are in the program. Writing these reviews can change the outcome of somebody’s day. A personal experience of this happened last weekend. My parents were in town and I was looking for a place to eat. I searched for restaurants in Pullman and people recommended Swilleys. We ended up going, but the wait was 45 minutes. It did look like a nice place though. Facebook also has a function that allows users to post where they are. They can “tag” themselves at these locations to let their friends know where they are. 

Physical maps can be changed/made in many different ways. The main reason why map would look different from another map would be the person who makes the map. In the article it “… Details are commonly eliminated, falsified, or distorted so as to improve a map’s efficacy toward a particular end, resulting in the misrepresentation or exclusion of information which may serve other ends or reveal inconsistencies’.” Historically empires would alter maps to fit the needs of their empire. This change effects territorial borders and how society and cultures thought of them. 

All in all, maps and navigation have come a long way with the help of the digital world. The difference between physical maps of old and digital maps is that of social networks effect and empirical distortions effect.