Obama photo

After reading the article here about the iconic photo of Obama, and the controversy around it I learned something new! I had no idea that the picture was manipulated by someone other than the original owner, or at least that the owner didn't know anything about it! I figured it was made up by either his campaign, or someone working together. I think that creative commons could have played a big role in this, had the situation ever turned ugly. Thankfully, the original owner of the photo was not upset that his picture was used, but if he did take issue with it, creative commons would have been a great way to mediate the situation.

Animated GIF

This week we've been working on the animated GIF project. This actually is really good timing for me, as it goes along closely with something I am doing at work. We are in the process of coming up with ideas for rebuilding our website. As I am not a designer (I'm more involved in content rather than layout) this is really helpful for me. I especially liked the point Lisa made about not having more than one animation playing on a page, that it is just too much. This is a conversation that came up in the office, and like I said it's good timing. I'm able to put to use what I'm learning as I'm learning it!

Phone Photography

I have to admit that I am a phone photographer! I use my phone to take pictures all the time, and I find that I capture more of "life's moments" that way because it's something I always have on me. It's a little more cumbersome to always carry your camera around, even now that they are much smaller than the older one's used to be. I also think it's a lot easier to share them with others. As far as "art" goes, I must say this class is really the only reason I've dabbled in photo manipulation. I have to admit that once I got the hang of it I had fun with the cloud assignment, though. Who knows, I may continue trying to figure it out once this class is done!

Creative Commons

After reading up on creative commons (http://www.rss-specifications.com/creative-commons.htm) I was surprised! I never knew that anything like this existed. At first I was thinking that it would be a big risk by the creator of whatever art they are publishing. I would think giving the option for others to alter it in any way could be dangerous. But after reading more, I think it's a pretty cool idea. Copyright laws are so strict, and can in some cases be so "black and white" that they don't leave much room for interpretation or for creativity. I like that there are different types of creative commons licenses, and I think it gives a good option for those who are 'donating' for lack of a better word, their works to be used by others. I think that seeing what someone else could come up with while expanding upon someone elses works might be neat. However it still protects them enough that their property isn't completely relinquished. I also think that it makes it far more legitimate that it was come up with by not only intellectual property experts, but lawyers as well. It's the perfect mix to come up with the different licenses!

5000 days of the internet

After watching the video by Kevin Kelly on the next 5,000 days of the internet I was a little overwhelmed! He certainly used a lot of language that was slightly over my head. I can say that I don't understand all of the technical lingo when it comes to measurements of things, but I understood the general idea of what he was saying. The thing that sat with me most, was the fact that everything is free. I obviously knew that, because I go on the internet all the time, but I never have given it two thoughts. It made perfect sense what he said about how if you were to tell him all of this would exist in 5 years (5 years ago) and all be accessable for free, he said he would have never believed it. But it's here. And it's growing. It amazes me how much there is out there that is free, and what would we do without it? Go back to using the yellow pages? I don't think so!

The Cloud

My presence on the cloud involves a lot of different things. I think I'm one of the very few people who doesn't have a Facebook (I used to, but I deleted it a few years ago and never restarted it!) so I probably don't spend as much time as some. I use it a lot for work, which is the Aveda logo that is on my wiki illustration of the cloud. I also use it for Hotmail, Youtube (My favorite video is "David after Dentist") and to follow the Boston Red Sox. I also use Windows Messenger at work, which has made life so much easier than having to run from office to office or make a phone call everytime one of use needs to communicate. My web 2.0 experience 5 years ago mainly consisted of only Facebook, and the occasional e-mail. I also used Google a lot becaus ethat was my senior year in high school and I was searching for colleges at that time. I think in 5 years there will be such amazing advances that I really can't image what we are in for!

Kristina's Blog week 1

Hi. My name is Kristina and I created this blog for a class I'm taking. My goals for the class are to get better and more efficient using computer applications. I would like to spread my wings and figure out things more than Microsoft Word, and other simple programs. I am a little bit anxious about taking this class at all, and especially to take it online. I figured I would just give it a try and if I put my mind to it, I can do it. My anxiety over it comes from my lack of experience. I have not taken many other computer courses, I took one in 2006, however I never put to use anything I learned (photoshop, building websites, etc) so at this point I'm a little rusty. I hope to learn how to better use these programs, and I think that it will help me at work a lot. I am the Admissions Director of a Cosmetology school, and I have to come up with creative ways to advertise but it would be a lot easier if I was better at composing ads! I have taken other classes online, however this is my first tech class so I'm nervous but I think I can do it!
I have never blogged before, or followed anyone else's blog so this is very new to me! I'm looking forward to the rest of the class!