A Recovering (video game) Addict Speaks Out.

I can still recall the (tragic) day when my parents officially revoked my Nintendo 64 privileges.  My two years of obsessive video game playing had finally come to an end.  I remember throwing an absolute tantrum and frantically searching every shelf and closet in hopes of uncovering my beloved Nintendo.   A true sign of an addict. Well, a few days later I found out that my parents had sold my set; this finally marked the end of my addictive teenage video game era…Little did I know I would have a mild relapse ten years later.

It wasn’t until fairly recently that I was reacquainted with the madness of the video game world, namely Nintendo’s Wii and PlayStation 2’s guitar hero.  My 13-year-old cousins were the ones to introduce me to Wii, and I was blown away by the virtual capabilities of this new game.   The level of interaction and emergent gameplaying is an unreal experience-especially for someone who’s been in the dark for almost a decade.   Anyway, it only took a few weeks of playing until the obsessive tendencies re-entered my life.  I now own a PlayStation 2 and quite a few games.  So, after a solid decade of video game sobriety, I have found myself becoming addicted…yet again…

Point being, I find the concept of video games fascinating and extremely addictive, but still feel that I am way behind. In general, I have no experience with MMOG’s, including the popular second life.  What surprises me the most is that as much as I love game play, the thought of playing the fantasy-ridden World of Warcraft is completely unappealing.   In fact, it makes me laugh.  I find this interesting and wonder whether my thoughts will change after this introduction.  All I know is that I can’t afford a third video game addiction, so let’s hope I don’t get too caught up in the star wars fantasies!

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ES

2 comments October 28, 2009

Google World Domination

As of right now, I’m leaning more toward the cautious side when it comes to whether or not Google is going to completely monopolize the internet.  I’m not 100% sold yet, but I’m beginning to get nervous for a variety of reasons.  Until fairly recent times, Google had managed to build a dominant market share in search primarily based on the strength of its technology, but not on a user base like Microsoft.  However, this is no longer the case, as Google has further extended its presence on the web to the desktop world.  In specific, Google has launched applications like  “Google Android” for mobile phones and the web browser “Google Chrome,” which are further steps toward the possibility of dominating EVERY application on the web.

Additionally, as Google continues to influence and dominate the mobile phone, web, desktop, and search markets, it will leave zero room for smaller companies to innovate and compete.  In this sense, Google is putting a cap on innovation and growth, which will lead to its eventual ownership of the internet.  Furthermore, Google has even become involved in law enforcement for the web, as seen with their ‘site blocking’ policy.  They are able to enforce these policies without the consent of site owners.  So, now we have the Google police on our backs?  Point being, I feel that Google is gaining way too much power and will certainly not pass up the opportunity to completely own the internet if chance becomes available.

These reasons alone cause me to fear Google’s capabilities… it really is all a matter of time.

Think I’m crazy?  Check this out…

http://googleworlddomination.com/

Add a comment October 21, 2009

The Life of a BEE.

When I turned one year old I received the nickname, “bumble bee.”  My parents gave me this name because I was supposedly very fast, hyper and as busy as a bee!  For these reasons, I have been called “bee” for 25 years.  Throughout the years, I have also been collecting bee paraphernalia, ranging from stuffed animals to clothes to key chains, you name it.  If this isn’t already weird enough,  I’ve also taken an interest in the profession and role that beekeeping plays in our environment and the prevention of bee extinction.  So…after doing some research a while back, I discovered that an online blogging community actually existed.  I’m not going to pretend that I’m a regular follower, but I will admit that I occasionally check in just to stay current with some of the trending topics.

Specifically, I found this guy’s blog called http://www.hive-mind.com/bee/blog/, where he chronicles his life as a beekeeper in Seattle, WA and discusses his passions surrounding  life of bees.  I’ve established this guy as one of the leaders in this rather buzzing blogging community.  He has a reasonable following and also offers links to other regional beekeeping blogs, which also have a strong presence in the beekeeping world.  Another dedicated bee blogger calledhttp://www.50000bees.com/ writes about his adventures in urban beekeeping and, again, offers a variety of blog and resource links.  While these blogs are more so personal accounts of beekeepers, there are also environmental websites, like http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/blogs/bees/ that write about many topics relating to honey bees and their importance in our environment.  This blog has a very regular and strong following.

In general, this blogging community appears to be more ‘mom and pop,’ but there also seems to be  mainstream environmental blogs dedicated to this topic. I definitely feel that this online blogging community reveals how small and niche, but ultimately powerful an online community can be for such an overlooked, but critical hobby/profession.

I’ll end with a famous quote from Einstein: “If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would only have four years left to live.”

Bee back soon!

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ES

Add a comment October 14, 2009

Bill of Rights for the Social Web? Sign me up!

After considering the idea of having a Bill of Rights for the social web, I say… count me in!

So, I would deem myself practical, safe and honest by nature, but the rise of social media has definitely brought these traits to a whole new level-maybe even paranoia?   But, I’m not alone in these feelings, check this out: http://bill.sweeney.net/?p=107 For these reasons, I find this proposed “Bill of Rights” for the social web very smart and consider it a step in the right direction.

It’s difficult for me because I want to embrace new social networks and tools and stay connected with online conversation, but I also find myself more weary and suspicious.  I’m mainly suspicious about what’s really going on behind closed doors.  For example, to what level are service providers exploiting my personal information?  And, well, what about those hackers?  Point being, can we trust any of the aforementioned parties with our information and how can we know?  Again, maybe I suffer from excessive paranoia, but I’d like to think I’m just keeping my eyes peeled on the ever-growing social mediasphere.

For me, the main benefits that this “Bill of Rights” offer is ownership, control, and the freedom of movement over our personal information.  Not to mention, this user-oriented approach is mutually beneficial for good users as well as business.  In the end, I definitely feel that this idea touches upon the key questions surrounding trust and how the role of trust and confidence can unlock the potential of the social web.  The mere thought of this already calms my nerves- no, seriously. So, like I said, put me on the ‘Bill of Rights for the social web’ roster!

See you soon!

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ES

Add a comment October 7, 2009