The End

For someone who spends the bulk of her time on the Internet, I felt that I had sufficient knowledge about the Internet and what it has to offer. However, COM125 proved me wrong.

I learnt something new in every class. Even when I embarked on my research for my blog posts, I stumbled upon new terms and interesting features found on the Internet. Of course, reading my classmates' blogs too opened my eyes to information I never knew of. One example is Bitcoin, which I read about on Mandy's blog. A somewhat complicated but clever idea that I'm still trying to wrap my head around. 

I was especially intrigued by the lessons on augmented reality and the Ikea video shown in class. I had never actually heard of augmented reality before taking COM125, and was pretty fascinated by this invention. The same applies to Google Glass, which was featured quite a number of times in class too. I was embarrassed to find out that I had no idea of this invention, despite being a self-confessed Internet addict. It is like seeing your dreams become reality. 

When it came to selecting a topic for presentation, my group decided on the Internet of Things. Yet another term which I was completely clueless about. I later learnt that the Internet of Things was in the COM125 syllabus too, and was eager to hear more about this topic. Learning about the Internet of Things prepared me for the future ahead. I can now anticipate the exciting features that the Internet has in store for me (and also brag about it to my friends and family hehehe).

Learning about the Internet helped me to identify both the boon and bane of it. Undoubtedly, the Internet is a great help, a work in progress that is only going to enhance our lives even more. However, with this added convenience comes other problems such as privacy and security issues. Would it be too intrusive if we were to have the Internet monitor our movements 24/7? 

Now that COM125 has come to an end, I'm glad that it has enriched me with the little-known facts about the Internet. After learning so much, it is clear that the Internet is full of endless possibilities. If the future of the Internet is reflective of what was presented in class, I am definitely looking forward to its official arrival!

The Future of the Internet

It is very exciting to see what the future of the Internet has in store for us. I believe I mentioned in one of my earlier blogposts about how lucky I am to be an early 90's kid, being able to witness the rise of the Internet and how it has evolved from Web 1.0 to 2.0 and soon enough, 3.0.

The future of the Internet includes the "Internet of Things (IoT)", a term that has since made its way to the Oxford English dictionary.

Technology has spoilt us and being on the receiving end, our lives are only gonna get easier with IoT. In the very near future, the IoT will lessen our workload by helping us carry out our daily routines. In fact, devices such as SmartThings are already available in the market, so it won't be long till more people hop onto the IoT bandwagon.

Before introducing SmartThings, here's a video of Berkeley's Ridiculously Automated Dorm (BRAD), fully designed by a Singaporean student studying in UC Berkeley (yeahhh #Singaporepride). The features he used are very similar to that of SmartThings, except that he designed this whole program by himself :O This video never fails to impress me.

The first time I watched this video about a year ago, I dreamt of having something like this installed at home. Only after studying COM125 did I realise that this IS the Internet of Things, a work in progress, and I CAN eventually get my hands on one of these.

SmartThings is possibly my favourite IoT invention to date. Similar to the BRAD home automation system but a tad more detailed, SmartThings has the following features:

Ability to control lights and switches

Everytime we leave the house, my mom will ask me if I remembered to switch off the kitchen lights, iron, modem etc ONLY after I've locked the gate -_- This will result in me having to open the gate and door to check on these appliances. This is why I love this feature the most. It doesn't help that I've heard one too many horror stories about houses getting burned down because of electrical switches that were on for too long. I can also turn my switches on and off anytime I please by controlling it from my phone. This is especially useful when I leave something at home to charge (like my camera battery and Clarisonic) but do not want it to overcharge.

Ability to lock and unlock doors automatically

Perfect for when I arrive home with hands full of groceries (which happens a lot). My gate would be able to sense when I'm home, swing open for me and lock behind me after I've entered the house. This way, I would not have to fumble with my groceries while physically unlocking and locking the gate and door.

Alert in the case of dangers and damages

Here's a feature that every household needs – alerts should there be a flood or leaks, unexpected opening of windows and doors or suspicious movements in the house. This feature ensures that your properties are well protected. Take a peek at how it works!

Price at US$199-299, SmartThings is also surprisingly affordable and I can't wait for SmartThings to be brought to Singapore.

Google Glass

What IS in Singapore, though (physically, not in stores yet) is the amazing Google Glass, as seen on my friend, Sheena. I am so jealous.

credits to @myluckyboy

You're essentially wearing a computer on your face, how cool is that?!
The Google Glass allows you to take pictures/videos on command, set reminders, search for information on Google and a whole lot more (there are third party apps that facilitate this). Thank goodness they've done away with the face recognition feature (apparently) because that's a bit creepy.
Here's a video to illustrate life through Google Glass. Uber cool!

Internet & Journalism

The internet plays a huge part in the future of journalism. The internet is home to online news websites, online magazines, independent news websites and countless blogs. In the future, I'm certain that we will be seeing much more of these sites because, well, starting one is free (or a low yearly fee should you have your own domain). This is the future of journalism. But the million dollar question – is online journalism real journalism?

Because of its ubiquity, REAL traditional media journalists and educators have been asked if citizen journalists/participatory journalists/bloggers ARE journalists.

"I would trust citizen journalism as much as I would trust citizen surgery ... The blogosphere is no alternative, crammed as it is with ravings and manipulations of every nut with a keyboard." - Morley Safer, co-host of CBS's Sixty Minutes

More opinions by affluent journalists as we go along!

Many newspapers and magazines have online versions to complement their traditional, hard-copied counterparts and to facilitate features like video, audio and images to provide their readers with a more personal experience. Some examples are The Straits Times online and herworldplus. The journalists have been trained and require a certain qualification before being accepted into the company and there are editors who conduct fact checks before the news goes live. Therefore, I can say that such online news websites are credible.

However, this is not the case for most blogs. Blogs are usually run by an individual and are highly opinionated. Sure, some bloggers have connections to big brands and are constantly invited to attend media launches, the exact same ones that traditional media journalists attend. They receive the same press kits and take in the same information at the event. But bloggers are not journalists. Most bloggers are/were not even communication students and have never been trained in the field of journalism. Atrocious grammar and sentence structure aside, they are unaware of basic journalistic practices such as fact checking. 

Jack Kapica, a former reporter for Canada's Globe & Mail and writer and editorial advisor for DigitalJournalism.com, reiterates my point, "Much of the writing I’ve read, on most citizen journalism sites, shows little understanding of the process of gathering the news and writing it in a conventional form. Conventionality of presentation is important because it can give readers a recognizable framework to assess and understand what’s being written." "One of the critical things many citizen journalism writers do not understand is the necessity of interviewing people and quoting them. The value of original quotes cannot be overstated. Too frequently I see citizen journalists quoting the mainstream media stories and I can’t see how this differs from mainstream media."

Writer, communications coach, broadcast journalism trainer and filmmaker, Tim Knight agrees that bloggers are not journalists, "Bloggers are not by nature into accuracy, balance and fairness, the
hallmarks of good journalists" "And just so you know, before anything we write can go to print or on air, a senior journalist first checks and edits it for accuracy and grammar etc." "Bloggers' contributions can be extremely important to a news story. But before their information can be used it has to be checked by professionals. Only then, only if the information proves to be correct, can it be trusted and used."




Pakistani news executive, Talat Hussein does not think so either. He feels that unlike journalists, bloggers aren't backed by any sense of accountability or responsibility. This is true. Since they are individually run and do not represent any company which they can potentially ruin the reputation of, they are free to post their honest opinion and not get into trouble as long as it isn't against the law. Hussein also feels that there's too much idle talk and dumbed down content. This is especially true when they have to constrict the information to fit the character count on Twitter. Journalists are trained to report news straight to the point, eliminating unnecessary "fluff" but blogs on the other hand, have too much "fluff" distracting the readers from the main content. In addition, many are paid for their blog posts so it might be biased towards the brand they're advertising.

Well this guy got his facts AND grammar wrong #definitelynotajournalist

Bloggers are not true journalists, but this does not mean that other online news sites aren't as credible as The Straits Times online or herworldplus. There are some highly respected online magazines that function just like traditional media. One example is local pop-culture website, Popspoken.

Like traditional media companies, Popspoken has a department of editors and contributors (affectionately known as "curators"), so you can be assured that the news isn't just meaningless rambles. Their layout is impressive – polished and professional, with news that fall into a variety of categories. The contributors brave the crowds at events to interview affluent and high profile people. This dedication and meticulous behind-the-scenes fact-finding is something that sets these credible online news sites apart from your average blogger. They've even been quoted by The Straits Times – definitely legit!

A DigitalJournal article reports, "The problem is, veracity is deleted and placed in the trash bin. Unverified opinion is taking its place. Well-written, fact-checked opinion has a storied place in journalism history. But off-the-cuff, on-the-take opinion does not. Yet there is much more of the latter on the Internet than the former." And the number of independent, opinionated blogs will only increase.  Kapica believes that citizen journalism can be very powerful due to its speed and the fact that it can be reported anytime, anywhere, but the world of citizen journalism needs to be encouraged to hold high standards of itself and practice proper journalistic principles. This means that for more efficient news broadcasting, we'd need more websites like Popspoken, and blogs that strive to be like such respectable online sites instead of 16-year-old ramblings.

Sources: 

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/tim-knight/citizen-journalists_b_4045334.html 

http://digitaljournal.com/article/271696#ixzz2kJnvccvJ

http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/271657#ixzz2kJpkpD7L