I don't understand Twitter

Apparently, as of February 2009, Twitter is the 3rd largest social networking site (after Facebook and MySpace) with around 6 million users. That's great and all, but to be honest, I don't understand Twitter!

A friend of mine recently created a Twitter and sent me a link, and this was my first exposure. I had heard people talking about Twitters, but I never cared enough to go investigate before now. It looks like all you do is write quick posts under 140 characters in length, either from your computer or from your mobile device. I don't understand how this is different from a blog. It just seems like a blog with shorter posts.

Twitters have been used for ongoing commentary-type situations, like during the President's recent State of the Nation. People were writing instant feedback to literally every sentence the President said on their Twitters. I guess that's cool.... I guess.

My friend, however, just uses his Twitter for "witty" observations about every day life, such as "Liberal arts means you have to dissect a grasshopper to be a journalist," or "Whoever decided that Al Gore should get a Nobel Prize before the guy that came up with pizza delivery obviously did not go to college."

It's mind blowing, earth shattering information, is it not. I think he should just get an imaginary friend to tell all these witticisms to, so the rest of the world doesn't have to suffer through them.

Distributed Computing aka Chris is a nerd

About 98% of what I know about computers, technology and all that other stuff, I've learned from my friend Chris. He's a computer engineering major who creates Facebook applications in his spare time. So when I was talking to him last week about the discussion we had in class on contributory creation of new technologies, he's like, "Yeah, it's SETI at home, but more interactive." And I said, "Uh, what???"

He then explained to me in slightly condescending terms that SETI is the Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence - a government funded program of satellites north of San Francisco that constantly collect data from outer space, hoping to find some intelligent communication. It's a bunch of satellites that face the sky, so the picture to the right probably looks familiar.

After telling me the basics, he started to explain what SETI@home is. Essentially, starting in 1999, people could go to the SETI@home website and download a program. The program would send packets of unanalyzed information to your computer, and while your computer was in its screen saver mode, it would use your computer's power to sort through the information.

Image by Michael Heilemann via Flickr

The analyzed information was then sent back to a lab in Berkeley. It was a cheap way to have the computing power of tens of thousands of computers without having to purchase a painfully expensive super computer. As of January 29, 2008 the SETI@home achieved an average throughput of 387 TeraFLOPS, making it equivalent to the second fastest supercomputer on Earth.

If extra terrestrials aren't your thing, there are other options. Protein folding, LIGO, CERN and other projects are all looking to borrow your computing power. It's a way to contribute, without really doing much at all.

Books vs e-Books: A Family Holiday Debate.

It just wouldn't be the holidays without family, friends, good food, cheer and some sort of argument. This past holiday season, a contentious debate broke out between my father and oldest brother about the newest member of the family.... Kindle.

My father is an constant traveler for his work, and is weirdly proud of himself for owning one of the first Kindles ever sold on Amazon.com, since he purchased his on the release date back in November, 2007. He has gone through two more Kindles, since he tends to drop them a lot.

My brother, Brendan, is a constant reader (non-fiction, of course), and is weirdly proud of himself for having read all of the Pulitzer Prize nonfiction winners of the 20th Century. Far and away, his biggest monthly expense is books. This boy can't stop buying books. Despite the economic recession, I think he single-handedly keeps Amazon in business.

So my dad had this great idea: get Brendan a Kindle for Christmas. Even with the initial $230 you swallow for the purchase of the Kindle, it's actually more cost effective for the avid reader. Digital book downloads cost anywhere from $10-$20 while the actually hardcover of the same book costs anywhere between $20-$35. My dad thought by covering the biggest expense, he would saving my brother a lot of money and adding a lot of convenience.

Brendan feigned excitement at his gift, but it was obvious he wasn't pleased. The conversation went something like this:

Dad: But I thought you'd love a Kindle. You read so much you're running out of space on your bookshelves.

Brendan: But I like books. The actually, physical book. I write in margins, I make notes, I cross reference, I organize them on my shelf by theme.

Dad: Get with new technologies! Books will all be digital in 20 years! (This is also the man who used an ATM for the first time in 2005 and thought it was 'Fabulous!').

Everyone in the room not born during the Eisenhower administration: Eye roll.


Personally, I love books. Much like my oldest brother, I like to feel them and hold them and make little notes I'll find in 10 years when I read them again. Plus, you get to show off with the books you're reading. You can flash titles while you hold the book under your arm. "Oh, you're reading 'The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire?'" asks someone sitting next to you in class. "Why yes, yes I am." No one can tell how erudite you are by the white cover of your Kindle.

Well, my brother is getting married the end of May. Hopefully, on this family event, we can keep technology debates out of it.

Welcome

With all these new technologies around us, media can truly be a wild and crazy place. Hopefully, as a class, we can start figuring it out and achieve a better understanding of how and why we use media. I'm looking forward to a fun, interesting and educational semester.