Group "Clan Family" Presents:

It is the end of the scool year and we are coming up on our final project (woohoo!). So, a quick insight on what were are going to be discussing:

Titlt/Topic: Online Community in the gaming world

Main Focus: 1. Clans in Real Time Stategy Games (RTS), 2. Clans in First Person Shooter Games (FPS), and finally 3. Guild in WoW and other such Role Playing Games (RPG).

Conclusion: To show that there are good and bad things that you can gain from these communities.

I will also include personal insight and stories from my/our experiences.... Hope you enjoy!

Technology and South Sound Meet

So, I went to the South Sound Tech Conference on the 20th of November and was allowed the chance to hear some of today's leading Tech Entrepenuer's talk about the future. Ofcourse when I say future, I am talking in a specific sense, as in "our" direct future. Technology seems to be grabbing people by the ankles and dangling them upside down for lunch money. It is the new "steam roller" on the block and these conferences are what we can use to monitor and stay up to date with them.

I got to also learn how the area is focusing on a more green way of life and trying to get businesses involved in a BIG way. This is pretty exciting, especially since it is long over due. I was allowed to ask them a few questions and can honestly say I was answered with respect and knowledge. I know I didn't give you much insight on the specific that were covered there, for the main reason that you need to go yourself and generate your own views. I will use what I learned in a day to help guide me through the rest of my tech life..... watch our, for it is here!

Me, Myself, and I

Vanity Search?

What is that?

A search about myself, why would there be anything about me?


These are the questions I had at the beginning, and Mr. Fry answered them with ease. He showed us a search about himself, and in seconds he had all of his info on the screen. It was pretty scary and I only hoped that type of info was not up on myself.

I began my search with a simple first and last name search, and came up empty handed. Then I went into more details and still came up with nothing. I refined my search to first and last name, location/Birthplace, and my current occupation and found nothing. The only info I found were some of sites like Myspace, and facebook from my wife. Maybe it is a good thing that she signs us up for those things.

I feel that the vanity search should be like mine; hard to find! Privacy is slipping away, and I would like to hold on to it...

Erik Hanberg The Man!!

So, on Monday the 23rd we were blessed with a guest speaker named Erik Hanberg. He came in with his stuff in order and ready to talk about the work that you have to put into the "Virtual World" today. He has done many things to include:

Executive of City Club (Non-Profit)
Writing for "Exit 133" in 2006
Graphics for "Mary Holste Design"
Wrote a book called "The Little Book of Gold"

He goes on to tell the class how much effort it is to get out there and that the more you do, the better your odds get. Breaking down work into 3 different types seemed to be the easy venue through the class. These 3 things were hourly, salary, and scalable work. He focused on Scalable work, as it is pretty much what the internet works with. The funny remarks he made was that he had wrote 9 novels and J.K. Rawling wrote 7, but only one of them is a billionaire. Can you guess who?

He was very inspiring and I feel like I have a better grasp of what I want to do for my online business. I appreciated his insight and his visit, and I hope to follow his career.

Scavenger Hunt of Doom!!!

Situation:

Find 18 different items from the internet as a team and turn them in to Mr. Fry.


Mission:

Team of 3: Monday, Finch, and Leech
Find 18 Items in the alloted time (before next class), and email to the instructor.

Execution:

Break the paper down into three parts:
1-5 : Mr. Finch
6-12: Mr. Monday
13 - 18: Mr Leech

Use all resources from the web and what you have learned in class and work as a team to complete this task.



So, this is our class project and we are currently halfway throuhg the task. This is really interesting and I could see people actually benefitting from all of this. Thanks!

Present Findings:
1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 13, and 15!!!!

What, no Paper Trail?

You can remember in the old times (maybe a few years ago) that people would be able to find out things about you due to a "paper trail" that you left behind. Today there is another view on this paper trail, which is what you do online. This is no small list either, because this list includes things like poems, essays, newspapers, articles, course work, loan documents, emails (email vs mail), and many many more. I can remember when these things were only allowed to be done by hand (person to person), in a physical place. I started seeing this slip away with the fax machine, and finally the digital scanner. Now, you just download something from the internet and sign it. I use to think that sending an email was not the same as sending regular mail. Mainly because you couldn't send a birthday card. Well, you can definitely send a 'E-Card" online now!

Prediction:

By April 2012, We will no longer be doing any physical signing or verifying of documents. Everything will be done digitally and will only take a few minutes.

By February 2014, The Postal Service business will come from 85% of it being packages only.

By 2015, Hallmark will no longer be printing Cards on a mass scale.


The best thing about physical documents, is that you have them and can make copies of them. If you lose your Computer to a virus or a crash, then all your things are gone (given that you didn't back up). I still print things off and back things up, for I do not trust the online document system as of yet. I may be persuaded in the near future with better tech, but we will see!

Mark Briggs.. Genius or Capitalist?

I would integrate those to words together and call him a geniulist! The most important part of inventing something is to find a need. Mark took that to the internet and saw what was happening all around us, and made a "new" product/idea. If I were to invest in someone's thought, I would have to imagine it would be someone like Mark. He gave us a nice 3 minute speech of what his company did and why, and I feel he got everything delivered. There is no doubt in my mind that News Papers will never be the same as they once were, and the internet is going to be here forever (opinion). So, what Mark is doing is playing the middle field with both of these things. He is not pushing the paper to the dirt, nor is he standing firmly behind his "internet news". I can see how this would give him plenty of room to expand and take his company to the "common" world. He has actually inspired me to start my own business and i look forward to incorporating some of his small techniques he talked about. Watch out world... there is a new thinker in town!