Spam in Technology and Beyond

10 years ago when you heard the word "spam" you'd think "oh, yeah, that meat-like substance in the can!!!" but today its just a short word for "junk mail". In the article "Spam Mutates", Tom Spring takes a stand on spam and how it makes everyone's lives more complicated.

Spam in our email inboxes is old news - spam in the comments sections of our blogs is the newest form. What is difficult about fixing this problem is that there is no "junk mail" filtering to prevent it, per se. There is even a particular kind of spam blog out there - it's called a "Splog". The simplest definition of a Splog is a blog that is created purely for marketing reasons.

In light of that revalation - what, if fact, makes our attempts at commercial blogs different than Splogs? Perhaps it's the fact that at least to some extent we will provide information about the products we are trying to market instead of just website links. Also, our current attempts at commercial blogs are based on using Google Adsense ads, while the Splogs simply use the blog format to post links to websites that it turn will lead to money making. Go ahead, press "next blog" and my guess is that in the next 5-10 blogs you'll come across one of these Splogs.

So how do we go about cleaning up the spam in our life? Most email servers these days have "junk mail" filters so that only important emails will make it to your inbox. The problem with that is that sometimes REAL emails get stuck in the spam box. Sadly, I end up checking my junk mail as much as my inbox in case someone who isn't already on my "safe list" has emailed me. How about preventing comment spam.......well, Google's blog does have the option of typing in a verification code before submitting comments. This can prevent computers from just posting comments in the spam section, but it doesn't prevent individuals from typing in the code and putting the spam on your website themselves. As far as Splogs go, Google says that we can flag them for objectionable content and they will make every attempt to remove the content or delete the accounts. Way to go Google!

Workplace Blogging Policies

"According to a survery done by the Society for Human Resources Management in July, 85% of companies do not have a written policy that provides employees with guidelines on what is acceptable to write about in a personal blog." - Amy Joyce, Washington Post

Why would workplaces need guidelines about blogs? you might ask. Well, because apparently some people have actually been fired from their jobs because of something they wrote or pictures they posted in a personal blog. I myself have been astonished at some of the information people carelessly leave in their blogs. While using the "next blog" button I have come across serious work related blogs by people in the finance industry who apparently don't realize that their blogs are still accessible to the world! People like that are just asking to be discovered and fired. However, at the same time, if a person were to be completely anonymous and change all names, dates, situations, etc., who would really know?

The problem with blogging (like with email) is that there is always a traceable path. Kind of scary. Any work done on a workplace computer has the potential to be found. Even if you don't save it, there's the possibility that your network is interconnected and the tech guys are able to see what is going on on your computer screen. At least, that was my experience when I was doing administrative work at an investment banking firm last year. Any time I saw this little red eye on the bottom right side of my toolbar the ITS guys were checking out what I was doing. Actually, one time when my computer was having a virus problem the computer guy just flipped a switch or something and was able to work on fixing my computer from a completely different room! Woah!

So, I guess to make a long story short, think twice about what you write in your blog or in email. Some things are best left written in an old fashioned paper journal or not written at all!

MP3 blogs DO exist, and now I have one!

In class last week we talked about how cool it would be to have mp3 blogs and comment on each other's work. What was a source of speculation for us at the time actually already existed! There's a lot of mp3 blogs out there, though most consist of lesser known music in the soul/reggae/hip hop generes. This link will take you to a site that has links to many many many mp3 blogs.

My very own mp3 blog can be accessed at http://elainemp3blog.blogspot.com/

I have used mp3 blogging as my inspiration for my feed digest blog. Many podcasts are actually syndicated, so I have included my own mp3 blog, another person's mp3 blog, and two syndicated podcasts in the digest. Check it out!

http://classicalmusicmp3blog.blogspot.com/

It is fair to Adobe if I keep the Creative Suite?

Last week my friend Michelle was having major troubles installing her Adobe Creative Suite, and the last thing that tech support suggested to her was to attempt to install it on a different computer. Since my computer is the same model (though mine is a 14 inch and a little newer) she thought mine would be the best, so she came over and installed the stuff and everything works perfectly on my computer.

However, the question at hand is........should I keep it? I have more than enough hard drive space, so that's not an issue. The real issue is whether or not this is fair or legal, and I think that might be kind of a gray area.

On one hand, Adobe TOLD Michelle to install to another computer, and they probably didn't say "but you really really must delete it afterward". However, after reading Adobe's licensing agreement it's definitely clear that a copy bought for individual use can only be installed on another computer if the same user is installing it on a second computer for their personal use and wouldn't be using them at the same time. I interpret that to mean, one copy is on your desktop and one is on your laptop.

Legality aside........it's kind of nice to have some of these applications......that is what is preventing me from immediately deleting. The full version of Photoshop is great, and having the full version of Adobe Acrobat could be really beneficial. I'm not really sure what the other applications do.....but those two alone are enough to keep my interest.

Perhaps some of my guilt about keeping the Creative Suite comes from many many years of Catholic school, but in this day and age people are using the internet and technology to steal things all the time. That doesn't make it right, but it makes it more generally accepted by society. At the same time, I didn't "steal" this software. Really, I just happened to get it based on a lucky coincidence. There's nothing in Adobe's Licensing Agreement about a lucky coincidence like this.

I'm still undecided.........

BLOG - "New York" Magazine, Feb. 20th edition

The front cover has in huge letters BLOG on the front. I bought it like 20 minutes ago for that reason, and it looks like there could be a lot of info for discussion, so go buy it or read it in the library or find it online or something!

The front cover lists the following topics:

• The BLOG establishment


• The Traffic Racket


• Blognomaniacs


• The front cover picture is Peter Rojas of engadget.com, the first blogger to cross the million dollar mark

At the very least this should feed the blogging discussions in class and offer insight on the development of our commerical blogs!

Mommy, Help Me Download Farmer in the Dell to My mp3 Player - NY Times

I can hardly believe how technology has changed so much from the time when I was a child. One of my favorite things was to sit with my cassette player and listen to my nursery rhymes and children's songs tapes. And when I got a little older my younger brother and I used to record mini radio shows with our friends using the "record" feature. The only parental involvement absolutely required for that was asking Mom and Dad to buy new blank cassette tapes!

It's amazing how technology isn't just the new toy for adults or even teens, but now it's available for children as young as age three! According to this article, Fisher-Price is set to release a kid-friendly mp3 player and digital camera for the 2006 holiday season.

There are so many different positions one could take about this information. On the positive side, kids are introduced to the technological age practically from birth so they will grow up with all the knowledge and confidence necessary to use such technology. However, as the article points out, there are several major drawbacks:

• This is a toy that requires major parental involvement


• This kind of toy requires at least some reading comprehension to operate, and not many pre-schoolers are able to read. Actually, there's a lot of kindergarteners who can't read, and that's age 6!


• A personal mp3 player isn't much of a social toy, and kids should be encouraged to play with other children instead of regularly listening to music alone.

Another item of similar interest is the kid-friendly cell phones that are out these days. It is not like a regular phone with a keypad. They only have 4 buttons, from what I can recall. Each one was a pre-programmed number. One was for home, another for mom/dad's work phone, and an emergency 911 button. I can see why this would be of interest because it's really nice to have the opportunity to call and check in with your child regularly, but at the same time, kids need to learn a sense of independence and they can't do that with Mommy calling constantly. It could lead to some major attachment issues in the future.

What do YOU think?

Interesting music tech related articles in the NY Times

As I was browsing the NY Times online edition with my morning coffee, I stumbled onto the technology section, curious as to what the Times would have to say about such things. Two articles of interest appeared.

Mommy, Help Me Download 'Farmer in the Dell' to My mp3 Player

iPod on the Tracks

The first is about marketing technology to youth. The second explains just how emotionally tied people can be toward their iPods! My observations about these articles will follow later on today.

Finally, I'm a Firefox convert!

I've been experimenting with new browsers ever since we began studying HTML last semester. At the time, Safari was my favorite (largely because of the toolbar and address bar layout) and Internet Explorer was my least favorite. I downloaded several of the other browsers we discussed in class as well - Netscape, Firefox, and Opera. The only one that actually impressed me at the time was Netscape (due to it's page loading efficiency), so I deleted Firefox and Opera. Thus, the temporary end of my relationship with Firefox.

Particularly with the use of Blogger, I have notice major difference among browsers, and felt that my Safari, my favorite, was inadeqate. The only browser I like using in Blogger was Netscape, and I'm not the biggest fan of Netscape's layout (thus the reason I've never really been a Netscape convert).

Out of curiosity, and Dr. Gilbert's high opinion of it, I again downloaded Firefox.........

......and now I LOVE it! What I love most about Safari is all here in Firefox. I like the smaller buttons on top, and the bookmark bar just below. Additionally, there is the Netscape-esque efficiency of loading pages. The only downside is that I don't like how the progress of how a page loads is on the bottom right hand corner. I prefer how you can check that progress in Safari's address bar.

So anyway..........now Firefox is my browser of choice! :-)

The Life Long Student

The other day I stumbled across an interesting writing by a famous flutist who discussed the importance of being a life long student if one hopes to ever learn anything. This is absolutely true in music - you can't improve until you leave yourself vulnerable to the possibility that you could do things better and differently. Ultimately, this brings forth a more rewarding experience for the teacher and the student.

The same thing could be said about technology. In fact, the principle is possibly more important in music technology than music performance. Performance practice for the Baroque era, for example, probably won't change much, if at all, over the next for years, but the music technology of today will become all but a memory in a few years time. The CD players are being phased out by mp3 players, CD sales are dropping due to internet downloads (regardless of the legality), and cassette players are practically extinct.

So where is music technology going next? I think that consolidating technology is probably the next challenge for the industry. I got this idea a few weeks ago when I was shopping for a new cell phone. Cell phones are the perfect example because what was once a device used only to make phone calls now takes pictures, makes short movies, browses the internet, acts as an alarm clock, has a calculator, and keeps your calendar! And NOW - A couple models of the newest cell phones have mp3 players! How cool is that? This feature is still in it's early stages, but if it were possible to seriously store all my mp3s on a cell phone it would be a major technological rival to Apple's iPod.

In conclusion, the world is continually changing, so it is essential to remain an open minded life long student. Who knows what the future brings?!?

I'm an overachiever.....I know

I finished my first Flash animation! I actually had a bit of a tough time remembering all the steps and couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong at first. Right now I just have one text animation very much like the one we did in class yesterday. I'm going to experiment more and possibly post more as the week goes on.

Wanna see it? You can access it through my NYU homepage:

http://homepages.nyu.edu/~emo257/

To do, or to study?

Learning is about acquiring knowledge, but what is the best method to acquire that knowledge? I believe that every person has a different way of learning based on past success and there is no single correct answer. The best way that I learn is through example. Sometimes words alone aren't enough to get the point across in something as complex as music. Sometimes there aren't words to describe. This method works with one on one or group instruction, but what happens when you try to learn something on your own, outside of an academic setting?

I am now the proud owner of my own domain name and web host, but don't know the next step. I have been studying tutorials on Dreamweaver, but part of me wants to just start making my website even though I don't have so much as the slightest clue as to how to make the site I am envisioning. One should never abandon studying, but sometimes the only way to learn is by making attempts and finding out just how successful those attempts were.

I feel that CAI is a wonderful opportunity to participate in a music technology related independent study that still meets regularly to learn and discuss different aspects on the main topic. My goal for this class is to learn as much as I can about technology in a way that will assist me in developing my personal website.