Online Shopping Spree

You are driving to the mall, trying to find a parking spot in an endless lot, fighting over the one shirt in the right size at the crowded store, and finally, you are waiting in the infinite line for the fitting rooms. Why do all that when you can simply go shop online?
This is the new social trend which is taking over our shopping experience. Costumers feel more comfortable and efficient when they can click on the product they are interested in while sitting at home, and after couple of days get their purchase in the mail. It does not get more convenient than that. Or does it?
Wal-Mart, the world’s biggest retailer, came up with a new online program called “Pick Up Today” which is expected to increase online purchases and store sales as well. This program enables customers to choose from thousands of products online and receive a text message when their buy is ready for a pick up at the costumers’ local stores. This new marketing tool is handy for the shopper who gets free delivery to a close to home location, and is ultimately beneficial for the store as well. By requiring the buyer to physically enter the store, Wal-Mart increases the flow of customers and eventually increases its sales.
Interestingly enough, there is a paradox in this marketing method. Wal-Mart relies on customers to be constantly connected and shop online. Yet, Wal-Mart developed this application to enhance its at-the-store purchases in addition to the online buys. This recent marketing innovation represents the balance our society seeks of “old-school” habits and new technology. After all, every form of life on earth has to reach equilibrium at some point. As a society, we need to find a way to maintain our traditional life style while still pushing for higher life quality. This juggling around of events will eventually lead us to an ideal equilibrium.

Stick it to the Man

When deciding on a restaurant on a given Saturday night there are a few things I like to consider: cuisine, location, atmosphere, and quality. As a starving college student it is imperative I find a meal that is worth my time and money. Menus are confusing and biased and it is hard to say whether a lone critic has good taste or not; however, today I don’t even consider these sources. Before making decisions about local businesses I always turn to some user reviewed site such as Davis Wiki or Urban Spoon for assistance.

The blogs, tweets, and online review sites are helping consumers like me every day. The power of being constantly connected has given authority to the costumer to write about his or her personal experience. Users have the ability to log in to these sites and write critical reviews on any product or business and what is written will be heard; essentially, a more effective comment card.

The review forums have sparked a new form of blogging: the mother blogger. A New York Times article discussed the online community that has formed from mom bloggers across the country. Moms have the ability to speak out and help each other. They offer up suggestions from what products to use on stains to eco-friendly decorating tips.

Online communities have brought all types of consumers together. A few online reviews can make or break a business. Thanks to these sites, we can express our opinions and anyone can hear it. So thank you Davis Wiki, and all of its supporters; my dining decisions just got a lot simpler.

Can You Hear Me Now?

When walking down the street, you notice a woman pacing in circles while jabbing her phone in the air in a frustrated manner trying to get a signal. Then you sit down in at your favorite coffee shop, and the man at the adjacent table is yelling, “Can you hear me now?!” At this point you wonder: why does a dropped call or lack of phone service disorient us so much? Well the simple answer is: we are constantly connected and are dependent on our phones to survive.

I am one of those people who gets easily frustrated when my phone isn’t working correctly and I feel the pressing need to contact someone. Maybe we feel like a more important person when we get a lot of phone calls; we feel as if we are needed. Don’t you notice how famous and important people don’t get excited at the prospect of a phone call from someone, especially a fan? I definitely don’t receive very many calls or text messages in a day, and when my phone begins to vibrate, I am on top of it. When someone wants to talk to you or might have a question that you can answer, it feels nice. This creates a dependence on phones, and when they don’t work for us, we feel distraught.

This feeling of loss when technology doesn’t work is common in other areas of our lives too. If the Internet doesn’t work for example, I become very uncomfortable without the ability to check my e-mails. The same may go for Facebook, MySpace, or any other online communication device. This discomfort and feeling of loss indicates a dependence on constant connectivity to technology. So if we are wondering whether constant connectivity is a bane or boon, it might help to decide whether being disconnected is a bane or boon. At this stage in society, wouldn’t disconnection to technology disrupt our lives and livelihoods far more than the banes of constant connectivity?

Photo Credit

A Bittersweet Boon

To be honest, the subject of rape and sexual assaults make me greatly uncomfortable. The fact that I'm writing a post about an instance of rape surprises me to no end. But the reality of it is that these things happen all over the world, even in the most progressive and forward thinking societies. And unfortunately the small town of Cleveland, Texas, with a population of about 9,000, was no exception.

According to a New York Times article, a total of eighteen local males have been charged with participating in the gang rape of a young, eleven-year-old girl. The males range from players on the local high school basketball team, to middle school students, to previous felons, etc. What basically happened is that the victim, who had a history of hanging around older children - according to one interviewee- accepted a ride from a nineteen-year-old man who then kidnapped her and took her to a location where several other men were waiting for them.

There are, however, a few redeeming points to this story:

1. The victim walked away with her life and is attending school in a different district.
2. The perpetrators, or at least a great many of them, have been detained.

What makes this story remarkable is the way in which the crime was brought to light and the wrongdoers identified. Several (I'm using plural though it may have, in fact, merely been one person) of the individuals who were present at the time of the assault had taken video on their cellphones. This video circulated around the town, even permeating the elementary school. In fact, it was one of the girls in the elementary school who brought the video to the attention of a teacher as it included her classmate. I applaud this child who stepped forward and did the right thing at her young age, when dozens of others who had either witnessed the crime itself or heard about it later did nothing. Needless to say, it will be a long time before this little town recovers from these shocking events.

I came across this incredibly dimwitted poll as I was looking for an appropriate image for this post and thought I would include it to share with you all how ignorant some people can be: Poll: Is the 11 year old girl from Cleveland, Texas to blame for being gang raped?

Online Libraries- the New Theater

Ever since I began living by myself at college, with no parents to nag me, I have been watching some of my favorite TV shows and movie clips before going to sleep. This habit started as a rebellious- “I am mature and independent now” statement, but it developed into a daily hobby because of the easy access to this media online.
Netflix, Hulu and iTunes are the largest “online theaters”, enabling everyone access to all kinds of movies and shows for a trivial fee. Not only is the process effortless, the products are incredibly satisfactory. People can watch any movie, at any time, in any place, as long as they are connected to the server. Consequently, there is a major decrease in people’s interest in network television and cable. More specifically, Comcast- the biggest cable company in the U.S., has been experiencing a major increase in the number of cable-service-cancelations.
Interestingly enough, Comcast has been taking a friendly, competitive approach to this issue by advancing its own online applications and services. The company came up with a library of movies called Xfinitytv, offering all the popular TV and movie channels to signed members. In addition, Comcast developed couple of small advanced gadgets for its users such as a remote control to the TV through a laptop keyboard and a remote DVR programming Web browser.
The pitch which is most likely to restore the peace within the company is the incorporation of the iPad or the Android tablet into its future technology. Comcast is currently working on its Xfinitytv iPad app which will allow users to transform their iPads into an on-demand, light, comfortable-to-use, touch-screen remote. Nevertheless, Comcast hints about developing its revolutionary technology of a live TV accessible to watch on the compatible iPad screen.
While all these innovations will ultimately improve people’s media experience and will provide overall satisfaction, I wonder if this rivalry between monopoly companies to become exponentially more technologically advanced will ever cease. Whatever happens, I strongly believe we cannot ignore the social evolution we are all experiencing, at this very moment. We do require new ideas and tools to accommodate those social changes. Comcast’s approach shows us: “We need to work with the changing times instead of fighting them.”

Stay Alive. Don't Use A Smart Car and Drive

Almost everywhere that you go, you are likely to see a campaign sign or bumper sticker that says "Stay Alive. Don't Text and Drive." Even when I took my driver's permit test last summer, one of the questions on the test was whether texting while driving is safe. The obvious answer is "no," yet there are a lot of people on the road who don't quite understand this concept. While not texting during driving is an important message, it's interesting to think that texting may be more dangerous on the road than any other distraction...Or is it?

In a recent New York Times article, columnist Maureen Dowd discusses how automobiles are now "smart cars" that possess the capability to read your text messages to you, manage and play your iPod, adhere to your emotional needs (i.e. you're having a bad day, so your car will cheer you up through vibrating seats or heated steering wheel), and even manage your email for you. All of this while you're driving! Is this safe? Perhaps the larger question is whether or not it's rational to countenance any distraction whatsoever. What happened to simply listening to the radio or having a conversation with yourself as you drive? Do our lives really demand that we be constantly connected? If so, where do we draw the line?

No research is available at the present time to offer a reference to the affect that these smart cars are causing on drivers, but there are many potential dangers to such technology. Sue Cishke, a Ford executive, argues:

Given that Americans are addicted to Web access and tech toys...It will never work to simply ban them. So we’ve got to figure out how we make people safer, and the more people can just talk to their car like they’re talking to a passenger, the more useful it would be.

Perhaps Ms. Cishke has a point. Maybe the automobile industry should serve consumers who demand smart cars. Or maybe the automobile industry should serve consumers with the need for boundaries regarding automobiles and technology that provide constant connectivity. Ultimately, safety is important, and it's wonderful to have automobile technology with vehicles that strive to protect and serve the driver. Still, there comes a point when too many bells and whistles pose a threat to overall security because of the fact that these same bells and whistles provide the most dangerous thing on the road: distraction.

iPhone Captures Last Launch

Thanks to the constant connectivity currently available, a man who probably woke up concerned only with making his flight captured a piece of history. Thursday, February 24^th, the space shuttle “Discovery” lifted off for its final voyage into space. Few people witness a shuttle launch firsthand, but due to a two hour commercial flight delay, a man named Neil Monday and those lucky enough to be seated on his side of the airplane got to watch the takeoff midair.

Tech-savvy Neil immediately whipped out his iPhone and was able to capture this historical event and upload it to Youtube within minutes. The video has gone viral, and has been used by multiple blogs and news agencies. Were it not for his quick turn to technology (though many airlines request that phones be turned off,) millions would have been denied the ability to view such a spectacular sight from such an unusual, breath-taking angle. Thank you Neil Monday!