Technology Themed Thursday! TWITTER

I use Twitter, yes I do;

I use Twitter, how 'bout you?

A lot of people use twitter for microblogging or jotting down quick thoughts. A lot of other people use twitter to stay in contact with people and have active conversations. Still more people use twitter to describe every hour of their mundane lives. Some people hate twitter because of that. And some other people don't understand why twitter exists or how it could possibly be important.

Well, I am an advocate of twitter. I occasionally update with very mundane things ("going to class") but oftentimes I use it to talk to people, discover people, and really speak my mind, poetically or not ("Bruised up the ol' writing arm. I'm a pro"). I have complained on twitter and have been told to stop complaining on twitter. But there really is more to the picture than that.

What makes twitter revolutionary is the compatibility with almost any cell phone. If one doesn't have internet access on their phone, they can set options to get updates to and to send updates from one's phone via text message. This makes the spread of information increase tenfold in comparison to television or even web news. As soon as something happens and someone sends a quick tweet, a mass text or notification is sent to anyone following the individual and instantly they possess the same information.

How is this important?

A perfect example is the use of Twitter in Iran about a year ago. Countries like Iran and China have censorship on the kind of information that goes in and out of the country; it is controlled. But when stuff went down and people were demonstrating, what the government would have rather kept a secret, those who were involved or witnessed the event tweeted about it. The truth got out fast and there was nothing the country could have done to stop it.

As I had stated in a previous post, the smartphone is taking over as the number one media outlet. With this kind of instantaneous information going to and from these tiny devices, the information age is changing dramatically. Twitter is a very real reason why newspapers are going under. Television is also struggling as the stations can't get to events or get contacted fast enough to air it. Plus, Twitter information is not controlled by the media outlets agenda. Information comes from real people. That's as close to the truth as you can get.

Before I forget: follow me on Twitter! @sMarlo

Image of Interest Today

"Sent From My Blackberry" by Natalie Dee

I just bought myself a used smartphone. My past three cell phones have all been standard, bottom-of-the-line pieces of work and I was just tired of being at the lowest end of the phone chain. Instead of paying hundreds of dollars on an iPhone that I don't even want, I was lucky enough to have a connection. He had the first Android phone marketed and was willing to sell it for fifty bucks. I've been wanting an Android AND it was a steal. It is a T-Mobile G1 (aka HTC Dream), meaning I can't use it with my AT&T sim card until I unlock the phone. I paid for an unlock code and as of right now, I'm still waiting for it... meaning I've no other cool things to say about my stupid smartphone.

Cell phones, specifically this new breed, are becoming increasingly important in the world of media. Where one has to sit and watch tv from their home or sit in front of their computer to surf the internet from some other room in their home, using a phone can happen anywhere. And with 3- and 4G increasing the speeds of internet to such devices, it has become more and more of a priority for advertisers and content creators to make content appropriate for such a tiny screen. Small screens mean many details are lost in the background, so media has to be simple enough to view but memorable enough to be effective.

And people love their technology. If one could do EVERYTHING from their phone and could just plug in various accessories like screens or speakers to it for television, movies, or internet, that would definitely be the path most would want to take. No need in having multiple possessions. Downsize to a one-size-fits-most model. I definitely see this as the future of the smartphone.

But the problem is that it makes for much more media-saturated lives. It's become bad enough that kids these days don't go out as much but rather stay indoors and play video games all the time. It's bad enough that many people aren't developing the proper social skills due to spending most of their lives on the internet. Having a super smartphone could make you go out into the world more, but how much of it would you really be experiencing without tweeting it or seeing what everyone is doing on Facebook? How often would you watch a sunset instead of a brand new YouTube video?

Then again, everything should be in moderation - but not everyone knows how to exercise that. I think with new technology should come a LOT more education for the masses.

America's Obesity Epidemic is a Direct Fault of Capitalism

And SUGAR is America's number one TRUE enemy.

Why?
Because sugar is what actually makes us fat, not consuming foods with x-amount total fat. Sugar is known for its sweetness, a taste we humans love and crave, but unfortunately, because of the health detriments, it should be avoided as often as possible (because if we eat what we're supposed to, ie fruits, sugars may occur natural in them already... making those natural sugars okay in moderation).

But since we crave the flavour, oftentimes making it an addiction as poor diet brings sweet and salty cravings, companies try to capitalize on it by including it in foods more often. Or, to save more money and gain more profit, they use high fructose corn syrup, an artificial sweetener that is worse than plain table sugar. Other sweeteners include Aspartame, Saccharin, and 'regular' Corn Syrup.

Where does this become a problem? Well, with the gap between higher and lower classes increasing, most people try to save as much money as possible. Cheap foods are the ones that utilize HFCS and sugar the most, while organic foods cost much more. If almost all cheap foods contain some sort of sugar (or even worse, trans fat), and sugar leads to obesity and other health problems, yet we as humans like the taste and can become addicted, and companies decide to take advantage of that... it becomes a vicious circle where the only ones who can get out are the ones willing to look at the labels and spend more money on food.

I mentioned trans fat a little while ago. This is the only type of fat that is 100% bad for you (while other fats serve a function in the body). Why? Because it is man made. Most everything that has been artificially modified when it comes to foods means lower quality food and ultimately health issues. Trans fat is made from hydrogenated or hydrolyzed (or a similar adjective) oils which makes them solid and last longer. The problem with that is our bodies don't know how to deal with the chemically altered fat, making it difficult to process and may cause problems if used in excess. Always look at the ingredients for the hydro- buzz words - the loop hole in nutrition labeling is if the trans fat is less than one gram per serving, the manufacturer does NOT have to include it in the trans fats. Messed up.

I would like to thank my Nutrition class and prof for all of this information. It fuels my fire.
Oh, and watch out for corn [products], too.