History of the Internet-Ethan Zuckerman

I found this video very interesting in how the Internet evolved as a means of communication because that is what people used it for. I got a kick out of Zuckerman’s joke that the guys at BBN are the actual inventors of the Internet, not Al Gore. I really enjoy hearing Ethan Zuckerman speak because he is so knowledgeable about the Internet and is a strong advocate for net neutrality.

Nerds 2.0.1-Timeline

It is fascinating to me, and not at all shocking, that the Internet as we know it today exists because of technologies developed during the arms race between the United States and the U.S.S.R. Since the launch of the Sputnik satellite by the Russians, new advancements in technology appear to be a bi-annual occurrence spearheading in the Internet we use and rely on today.

The Internet a Decade Later

It seems like a lifetime ago that I was waiting for my dialup modem to connect to AOL so I could AIM (instant message) all my friends on the Internet. I also remember the excitement of downloading any CD my heart desired on Napster without fear of punishment, until Lars Ulrich and Metallica put an end to that. Now we have iTunes Store though and can legitimately purchase all our entertainment needs at the touch of a button. I can’t wait to see what the next decade has in store for the Internet.

The First Website

Seeing the First Website really shows me how far we have come in a short time from having what is now basic HTML code with simple text and hyperlinks as main features of the website, to now having intricate designs, graphics, and functions on our websites today.

The Evolution of the Web

What a fascinating way to deliver a timeline! Stunning visuals, interactive links, and a very simple yet elegant design is a fitting example way to deliver the evolution of the Web in a way that maximizes its current capabilities.

How Search Engines Work

Search engines are incredibly powerful tools to find what we’re looking for in a flash. “Spiders” get sent out all across the internet to pick and choose bits of data that apply to our search topics and then gather them in an orderly fashion so we can narrow down our search from a much more customized list of options instead of spending valuable time aimlessly searching for information on the net.

Get More out of Google

Google is a truly amazing company in the media/technology world. Arguably the most popular search engine on the web, I’m glad to now know some of the shortcuts and techniques provided by Google to find exactly what I’m looking for. It is also handy in that it can function as a dictionary, calculator, concierge, and much more.

Twitter:

I decided to follow KUTX Austin on Twitter because I hope to land an internship with them this Summer and following them will keep me posted on events I can get involved with at KUTX. I also followed Blizzard Entertainment because they have a headquarters in my hometown of Austin, TX where they produce video games. I am interested in the production side of the video game world and would be interested in working for them after college. Lastly, I followed an Austin company called Set.fm (or DejaSet) which is a really cool startup company that records live music shows in cooperation with local bands around Austin, then mixes them and posts a downloadable digital mp3 of the live show. This allows fans to attend a concert of a band they like, then buy a copy of that exact show 24 hours later to put have on iTunes as a live CD. I am considering applying for an internship with Set.fm as well. Pretty cool stuff.

History of the Internet-Ethan Zuckerman

I liked this video because it talked about how the internet is used to communicate/to talk to one another. The sole purpose of the creation of the internet was to connect, and I liked how Zuckerman brought that up. The timelines were extremely informative as well.

Nerds 2.0.1-Timeline

Honestly, I didn’t know a lot of the details from this timeline. Specifically that there was funding provided by the Air Force given to Paul Baron for  block switching network  to protect communications during an nuclear war & that the Queen of England sent an e-mail in 1976.

The Internet a Decade Later

I always find it interesting looking at early internet usage compared to how it is now, and the statistics are always mind blowing. The fact that we use the internet in everyday life now compared to 12 years ago is amazing. I learned specifically that in 2002 9.1% of the population used the internet compared to 33% in 2012. It also took 12.5 minutes to download a song in 2002. Compared to today’s 18 second downloads, where I get anxious after the first 5 seconds thinking something is wrong because it’s taking, “so long” to download. Incredible.

The First Website

I liked seeing this because it gives perspective on how the internet has grown. It looks a lot like my first ever attempt at HTML coding too, so that’s pretty comforting.

The Evolution of the Web

The visuals as a whole were enough of a learning experience for me. It’s incredible that we can create something like this timeline now when it was unheard of 10-10 years ago. I liked seeing that the ‘drag and drop’ feature was created around 2008 and that Safari was released in 2003.

How Search Engines Work

I actually learned about Spiders last semester! I found it fascinating that there’s a way to comb through the internet and find the most visited and most frequently returned-to sites on the internet and be able to compile them into a search engine site.

Get More out of Google

I had no idea that anything after a dash is excluded from the google search! That’s vital info! I also tend to ask google a lot of questions, and apparently that’s not a sufficient search tactic. Who knew?

On Twitter:

I followed Hunger Magazine because for some reason I wasn’t following them before.  I said that I wanted to eventually work for them in my about me post, so it’s a bit strange that I wasn’t following them. I also started following the AP Stylebook because I will always need that in my profession &, once again, I didn’t realize I wasn’t already following them. Since I’m already following Sugarscape, I decided to follow Vogue as a fallback. I follow Vogue UK, but now I’m following Vogue US. I need as many backups as I can!

Hi! My name is Lauren Welch & I’m a journalism major here at Texas State University. I’m 21 years old. I’m a gymnastics coach at gyms in Austin & Buda called Olympia Hills Gymnastics. I actually love my job, which most people can’t say while they’re still in school. I love seeing my students grow & progress in the sport. I teach all ages so I have a ton of different types of classes.

I continually tell myself (& others) that I’m terrible when it comes to all things web design, so by the end of this course I’d like to reassure myself that I’m at least slightly knowledgeable in the subject! I can’t wait to put these skills on my resume for potential jobs after graduation.

Speaking of potential jobs, I plan to get as far away from Texas as I can after graduation. Not that I don’t love this state, I’ve just always enjoyed change. My ultimate goal is to end up in the U.K. somewhere. Once I’ve saved up enough money doing whatever it is  I find there, I want to move to a flat in London & hopefully work my way onto the staff at either Hunger magazine or a simple gossip magazine called Sugarscape, eventually working my way up to something bigger. I love copy editing, so I hope to get a job in that field. I’d want to get a taste of column/feature writing as well. As you can tell, I’m a bit all over the place with what I want to do with my life. We’ll just have to see how it all pans out.

In my spare time I watch a lot of films. I love foreign films, indie films, even Disney films. I’m a sucker for a good story. Honestly, the majority of my paychecks go to renting movies at Hastings & buying new music. I’ve wanted to move to the UK since I was 12 years old, so I’m a British pop-culture follower. I think I watch more British TV shows & read more British magazines than I do American. I’m not a traitor I swear!

Hmmm, fun facts: I have an older brother. I’m an intern at Edible San Antonio this semester. I’m an absolute freak when it comes to live music. Honestly, concerts are probably one of my absolute favorite things in the world.

And I guess that’s about it!

twitter: laurenawelch17

email: lw1346@txstate.edu

Interaction Design Tactics For Visual Designers By Jeff Gothelf

            This post definitely made me think about what makes up a website and what makes it usable. Understanding the Before and After was something that I hadn’t really thought about before, and now I see what is so important about making sure you know where your consumer is going. When someone clicks a part of your website, or even just pushes back, that your website gives them feedback that helps them understand where they are why your website is doing what it is doing.

In Defense of Eye Candy by Stephen P. Anderson

          I really liked how this reading made me think about the “personality” of web pages. After I thought about it, I totally agree with everything that this reading said. There have been many times that I decided I didn’t like an app or didn’t download an app just because of its appearance. My favorite example they talked about was the puppy robot and how they made it a puppy because when a puppy doesn’t do something you tell it to, you think it is cute. If they would have made it a butler and it didn’t do what you asked it to do, you would just think it was broken and annoying.

Inclusive Design By Faruk Ateş

          I’ve never really thought about user interface before, but now I am seeing how important it is. I definitely agree that I don’t always know what I want, and if an app or web site could sense that for me that would be awesome. For instance, I think it would be really awesome if my iTunes could be better at predicting my songs that play on my shuffle. I have thousands of songs, but most days I am feeling one type of music. If I keep selecting more mellow songs, it would be great if my iTunes wouldn’t keep shuffling to rap songs, and instead just learned what I was into that day from my previous selections.

History of the Internet by Ethan Zuckerman

          I never knew that when the internet started out that one of the main uses for communication, and I was shocked that it all started in 1969. After watching this video I really understand how the internet has been used as a communication device since it was invented, through chat rooms, gaming sites, email and social media.

Nerds 2.0.1-Timeline (PBS)

          This site made me realize how much has happened for the internet to be where it is today, in such a short amount of time. It really makes me wonder: What will the internet be like in 20 years? If it keeps growing like it has been, the possibilities are endless!

The Internet: A Decade Later

          WOW! I can’t believe it used to take 12 minutes to download a song, and now it only takes 18 seconds. That is crazy! The strange part is that I was downloading songs then, and wasn’t even bothered by how long it took… I can’t imagine waiting that long today. I also remember when Yahoo! looked like it did in 2002. Oh the memories!

The First Website

          I can’t believe how far the web has come! I remember somethings similar to this setup when my family first got a computer.

How search engines work

          I had learned about the spiders and how search engines work in my CS1301 class, but this graphic really made it make more sense.

The Power of Google

          WOW! This reading was really helpful. The tools they show you to use to help narrow your search make total sense (for example using “-SATs” to not include SATs in your search). Google Scholar will also be particularly helpful for my research methods class when I have to find previous research on my topic. I knew most of the keyboard shortcuts, but I didn’t know how to screenshot my computer… so that will be helpful. This will definitely be a website that I revisit!

          After reading these articles, I got really inspired. I feel like I could possibly have a future in designing user interface  and learning interaction design tactics. So that brings me to my Twitter account. I haven’t ever really used my Twitter before, but today I thought I would clean it up a little and follow more people. I didn’t know where to start, but I knew that I wanted to follow more news organizations and someone that posted about media design (because I am really loving all these articles). So I started following @GirlsinTech,  @BBInteractive, @WebDesignShock, @NCWIT and @uxmag. I basically went through who @_caryanne was following and clicked on the ones that had the most web design articles that looked interesting to me. Hopefully following more interesting posters will make Twitter something I use more!

Hello!

My name is Brittani Hammock (My Twitter is @brittaniii), and I am a senior at Texas State. I am from a small town in west Texas called Greenwood, and moved to San Marcos with my girlfriend (Tedye), my 2 cats (Penny and Tiger) and my dog (Tucker). I LOVE San Marcos because it is SO much more beautiful than the flat, brown, dusty area I am from.

For a class last semester I even wrote a blog about how much I love the area around here. Now that I am surrounded by all this greenery, rolling hills and water spots I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. I love to hike, explore and take in as much of the beauty of the Hill Country as possible.

I’ve changed my major a few times (nursing, education, psychology, advertising) and now I am majoring in Public Relations with a minor in Psychology.  I wouldn’t really say that PR is my passion, I basically chose this major because I felt like I could really do anything with it. Everyone needs an employee who can communicate properly, right? My dream job would be doing something that involves my creative side, which is the main reason I am taking this class. I know that website design will look great on my resume, and hopefully if I get good enough at it then I can incorporate my creativity into my website designs.

I’ve taken 2 classes that gave me some basics on web design last semester (Fundementals of Online Media, and CS1308) and I really enjoyed them. I was especially glad that I had those 2 classes under my belt on the first day of our Media Design class, it helped out a lot. I’m hoping by the end of this class I will be able to code without having to have a template to look at, work WordPress flawlessly, have a better understanding of Photoshop, and become faster at editing videos. I’m really excited about all this class has to offer and plan to take advantage of all our learning opportunities. I hope everyone has a great semester!

Hello classmates, my name is Jeremy Goble, and I am a senior Electronic Media major minoring  in Music.­­­ I currently work five nights a week for the University of Texas Longhorn football team which has been very exciting lately with the hiring of a new head coach. However, the one thing you should know about me it is that I love to play, write, perform and listen to music.

I have been playing guitar and piano for over fifteen years now and have been producing my own original music in my home studio since 2004. In 2008 I attended the Austin Live Music Academy at the University of Texas where I took classes in music theory, live performance, composition, audio production, music business and private lessons. This was an invaluable experience for me as an aspiring professional songwriter and producer, but I still had a desire to earn my Bachelor’s degree which led­ me to Texas State University.

Check out some of my older music on My Webpage!

Check out my blog on juicing raw fruits and vegetables for health at JG-Juice!

Be well friends!

My name is Amanda Kay Myers, and I’m a senior studying Advertising with a minor in Psychology. I’m an Assistant Instructor Scuba Diver and I’m working on becoming a Dive Master. I would like to be either a copyrighter or a media seller when I graduate.

I have had previous experience creating marketing campaigns for small businesses like iGlow in Austin. And have also been a social media intern for a small glass distribution company called River Rats. Most of my experience stems from direct marketing, however I have participated in creating/placing newspaper & magazine ads, and managing social media for my previous employers.

My dream is to one day have my own freelance Ad company online for small businesses. I hope this class will give the the tools I need to create an effective website to reach my goals. I would like to become proficient in HTML, CSS, and Dreamweaver. I am looking forward to this class because I know the skills I will learn this semesters will effect my career forever. 

You can follow me on Twitter!

I just got a new boxer puppy!