TINST - 207 Blog Post #10: "What makes a community?"

There are numerous components in what builds a community. From my experience of being involved with a community (now for almost 9 years), a community needs a common interest, a group of people with shared values. A common interest may be political or something based on a hobby, such as a community surrounded on a certain book or videogame series. Communities need shared values and interests, but that doesn't mean discussion is limited to just a common interest. Discussion amongst a community should be broad and open-minded. If a community builds too strong of a hive-mind, current and potential members may find themselves discouraged of being part of the community.

Communities aren’t just limited to discussion, either. Communities also exist in our local area because there are designated people who willingly care for certain aspects for a city or town, like education. Communities often form because there’s a need for something that’s missing, and there are people who may find themselves motivated towards a goal. Certain goals inspire individuals to join a community that shares the same desire.

My experience from being art of a community has opened my interests, improved my critical thinking skills, along with improving my quality of life. That’s the basis of what makes a community: people who share the same values who collaborate towards a goal to improve quality of life.

TINST - 207 Blog Post #9: Dot.com to Dot.bomb

The rise in popularity of the Dot-com was founded on the concept of e-commerce. E-commerce is something we’re all too familiar with in this modern digital age. Many people utilize e-commerce on a daily basis to purchase products on sites like Amazon, to pay for books and classes online. In its start, dot-com business thrived on selling products online. Some of the first items sold were books, software, and wine. These items are easy to ship and aren’t prone to expiration. Companies published e-catalogs to help consumers become acquainted with online shopping.

One of the biggest consequences found with the rise of the dot.com boom is disintermediation. Disintermediation means the exclusion of the middle man. Real estate and travel agents found themselves at serious risk, as did local retail stores as consumers were no longer required to visit a store for goods.

While confidence and company stocks were at an all-time high, many investors and businesses overlooked certain aspects. Numerous companies lost several shares and assets during the decline of the dot.com boom. Companies such as Cisco and Amazon managed to stay afloat and thrive to this day.

TINST - 207 Blog Post #8: Startup.com

Startup.com is a documentary featuring Kaleil Tuzman and Tom Herman in how they started govWorks.com. Govworks allowed citizens to pay city services, including parking tickets, list government jobs, all online. It was revolutionary at the time, which the site launched in 1999. Govworks gained a lot attraction from launching during the dot.com boom when large-scale global companies started offering services and products online, known more commonly as e-commerce.

The documentary follows the success and failure of not just govworks.com, but also Kaliel and Tom. Kaleil’s responsibility for the company was to raise money and support for the company, while Tom was left responsible for the technical infrastructure of the site and management. Success follows as we see Kaliel being interviewed on CNN, Time magazine, even having a public meeting with Bill Clinton. However the company takes a downturn when the third partner wanted to buy-out, and Kaliel and Tom’s friendship is put to the test.

Startup.com offers insight into the origins of e-commerce along with the rise and fall of the dot.com boom.

TINST - 207 Blog Post #7: Derek Young

The city of Tacoma has been evolving rapidly over the past couple decades. Many news events have happened in this city during this time, but a particular local news publisher has earned plenty of attention in the midst of events. Exit133 initially started as an experiment while Tacoma was thriving, Exit133 gained attention. Exit133 focuses on local art, politics, and real estate. The website has received some recognition from the AIA (American Institute of Architects.)

The person responsible for Exit133’s success is Derek Young. Derek’s professional career includes technology and marketing, having studied at the University of the Puget Sound and University of Washington. His range of professional experience ranges over 15 years, having been a project manager, global marketing program manager, publisher of Exit133, and co-founder of Tacoma Runners.

Tacoma Runners stands as one of his most interesting projects. It’s a weekly gathering of running enthusiasts who meet up at local bars and taverns. It’s a good representation of how social media sites like Twitter and Facebook have shaped the success of projects and businesses.

TINST - 207 Blog Post #6: "What would you not buy online?"

Whether or not I buy something is mostly based on current circumstances. An example would be my videogame buying habits. If it’s a a game I want on release date, I’d prefer to visit my local retailer to ensure I receive the game as soon as possible. Otherwise ordering online would take several days to arrive. If it’s a game than can wait, I’ll order it online.

I’m having some difficulty thinking of items I wouldn’t order online. Visiting any retailer requires I take time out of my schedule to bard the local transit. My experience with the local transit has left me unimpressed, something I’d prefer to avoid altogether. The only kind of items for certain I’d prefer to purchase in person are grocery items, mostly to ensure I receive what I want, and the price of shipping would probably double the total price.

There are many items I would prefer to obtain from online, atleast under my current circumstances. Clothes, books, electronics, computer accessories, school supplies… Items for certain I wouldn’t order online are food and furniture. Prices of shipping would be too much. It also helps to see it in person so you know exactly what you’re receiving.

TINST - 207 Blog Post #5: HTML Construction

Working through the HTML page construction assignment felt rather nostalgic for me. It was about five years ago that I first started working with HTML. That was Web Page Design in highschool. We spent the entire course (one semester) working with HTML in basic notepad. Most teachers would have offered advanced notepad software, but manually coding HTML has left it a skill I'll probably never forget. It wasn't until the next semester in Advanced Web Page Design that we used Adobe Dreamweaver that allowed not just HTML, but also CSS. It's leagues more advanced than HTML, but I wouldn't have understood CSS had I not mastered HTML first. The next year I spent another semester helping as a TA to help students create their own webpages. The last time I worked with HTML and webpage design software was in digital media publishing over a year ago, where we used Adobe Dreamweaver and Flash to produce websites.

Webpage design is something I'm certainly interested in, and I'm wanting to advancing my skills to produce higher quality and professional webpages.

FALL 2014 SEARCH HUNT

During class today we performed a series of online searches in understanding how many and what kind of searches available. Some of the searches involved finding some of our professor's professional information and personal information (like the name of his middle sister). Many, if not all, of the searches were easily performed from searching with Google or other popular search engines. The searches consisted of finding a specific person, or perhaps a post from a message board posted this instant.

It was an interesting exercise in how easy, and fast, it is to dig up personal information on an individual. It brings to question our privacy on the internet in what people can find about us.