Identity


For this week's Tech Corner I will be discussing Identity and Security on the internet. I decided I also wanted to blog a bit about the identity part since it is such an interesting topic.

It amazes me how far technology has come in just my lifetime which makes me wonder where it's going to be in the next 20 or so years. The internet is a strange phenom because you can be whoever you want to be. People who you maybe knew in high school and are friends with on facebook can portray themselves in a completely different light. In other words your internet you can be completely different then the real you.

Identity fraud is also becoming more common due to people using the internet in more ways; people putting personal information on social websites, banking online, and other things that even 10 years ago was unheard of. Just because internet and its usage is growing doesn't mean that people should be less cautious of the information that the put out there.

My Technology Toolkit…Oh, how empty you are

So before I took this New Media studies class I was completely and utterly under the impression that while I’m no tech geek I could hold my own. Boy was I wrong. As it turns out I have very limited technology skills. My technology toolkit is so sparse and in desperate need of a toolkit upgrade to gain a basic knowledge of all of the latest computer/web gadgets.

My current technology toolkit includes a basic working knowledge of social networking sites (i.e. how to update my status), Microsoft Office Suite although only a very basic knowledge of Excel, how to print things, a lot of the command shortcuts (that I must say a lot of people don’t know these so I feel like it can go on the list, and a basic knowledge of video editing (I know all of these don’t really count but I have to have something in my toolkit)
As for what is to come in the near future I hope my upcoming toolkit will consist of xhtml, CSS, scripting, some knowledge of graphic formats, and some photoshop knowledge.

Lastly as for future aspirations of what I want flourishing in my toolkit a great grasp and knowledge of photoshop and other aspects of design, excelling in xhtml and CSS, and multimedia. While I know that acquiring these skills will take work and patience on my part I am excited to embark on this new learning experience and really try my hand with these different tools.

The order of things for creating websites

As one of our class assignments we have been given the task to "analyze" websites based on a scoring rubric of our own creation. In class we discussed the "order of things" for creating and designing a website. It consists of planning, design, building, testing, and finally promoting the website. After looking over several websites with a more critical eye I am beginning to believe that some web designers are overlooking or just plain skipping some aspects in the order of things.

The first aspect is planning which website creators need to determine why they are building a website and what functions they want. As of late I am noticing more websites that have been created for no rhyme or reason.

Another thing that bothers me is websites that take several clicks to discover what they are truly about. The best bet for individuals designing websites especially those websites for personal use is to look at the “order of things” to determine what you want your website to portray and follow those steps to make an efficient website.

Blogophobia

So I am finally confronting one of my biggest fears (drum roll please) and that is blogging. I have always thought blogging was fun and intriguing from reading the blogs that my friends and classmates write to dare I say it Perez Hilton and his outrageous celebrity gossip blogging. It never really mattered to me whose blog it was as long as it was interesting. Now back to my fear I didn't/don't think my life is that interesting to blog about. And I know you don't have to necessarily blog about your life you can blog about anything but still I didn't think that I had the capability to do so in an interesting manner. To curb this fear my professor has unknowingly forced me out of my comfort zone. As an assignment we must blog once a week (wipes forehead) that is a lot at least for a non blogger such as myself.

So after saying all of that this is my FIRST official blog post and while it wasn't really about anything in particular there is much much more to come I PROMISE :)

ajg