Allyson Otey

Although E-books are becoming more popular and is the way our society is going, many parents suggest that their children use actual books to learn to read. They insist on this because they think actual turning the pages will help their children learn shapes and colors. Parents also like the idea of cuddling up with their kids with a nice book, rather than a digital gadget

Even as the E-book is increasing, children only represent less than 5 percent of that. Children’s print books are popular at bookstores, as studies show that parents take their kids there and flip through different books, and thus, end up actually buying them because their children love them so much. 

Publisher’s of children’s picture books are increasing the number of print books that they put on e-books, to see which one will attract customers. Publishers are sure that parents would insist on print books rather than e-books, because it is history and the intimacy that plays into physically turning the page of an actual book. Although it is the digital era, parents do not want to make the switch just yet, and would prefer to keep purchasing print books over e-books.

This relates to class, as we had a big debate on this very issue. Although I was on the e-book side of the debate, I can understand why print books remain important. I think this article gets a glimpse of the future of books and shows that even with the advance of the digital e-books, print books are preferable to many people.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/21/business/for-their-children-many-e-book-readers-insist-on-paper.html?_r=1&ref=technology

Here is an example of an ebook found of Miami University Libraries website!

http://www.lib.muohio.edu/multifacet/record/mu3ugb2917414

Earlier today, my friend was freaking out when she checked her Twitter and saw a tweet that said Cleveland rapper, Chip tha Ripper was shot and killed. This caused more and more people to tweet about his death and question whether it was real or not. 

After a while, this caused Chip tha Ripper to tweet “I’m dead?” and “I AM ALIVE” to reassure that he is very much not dead. If you check his Twitter page, you will see all these people tweeting about it as well.

This relates to class, because it shows that Twitter is so quick and one tweet can go around the country. This social networking website is a way to spread immediate news and can go around the world instantly. 

Big Ben Parliament Creations is pairing up with Award-Winning Independent Filmmaker, Rich Simms, to create a brand new Christmas app for the iPad. This will be BBP Creations first app to hit the App Store!

The app will be called “Santa’s Christmas Activity Book” and should be released later this month. It is aimed for children ages three and up and features fun holiday activities such as decorating a Christmas tree, building a snowman, writing letters to Santa and matching holiday words game. It will also offer a print button where you can print out the results of each game. And it will even have a parental control button to limit certain features.

This relates to class, as we have discussed how apps are getting more and more innovative and how mobile technology is advancing everyday. 

Do you hate commercials? Ever wish you could control which commercials your forced to watch? Now you can! Both online video sites, Hulu and YouTube, are trying a new method of advertising where they can satisfy their viewers.

Earlier this month, Hulu upgraded their format with the “ad swap” button which allows users to change the commercial to something they actually enjoy or can relate to. It gives the audience a chance to switch an advertisement by multiple choice. 

To ensure users are not doing too much work, they added a button that allows them to just stick to the default advertisement. That way it makes sure that the viewer has a preference on whether they want to change it or not. 

Hulu’s success with this sparked YouTube’s interest in the matter. Now YouTube is trying this new button out. Both have made it so that those who log in to the site are more likely to see commercials that interest them. 

This article relates to class, as it shows how online websites are constantly changing. in order to gain more success and costumer satisfaction. YouTube is one of the most popular world wide websites, and advances like this will only benefit them, as it gives the users a chance to control what they like. I think it is a creative way to win over the viewers interest!

This article is for any psychologist looking for technology that could help increase productivity and efficiency in working in client care. It provides a list of various apps that could do just that!

The most recent technological advance is the iOS Application that can be accessed via iPhone. This can be used as a relationship builder, as it asking basic questions that should be considered before entering a relationship. This can be used with individuals during therapy, and can help the psychologist generate questions to ask the patient. It allows one to share the results to both Facebook and to email. This particular app is used to increase self-awareness and aids in providing insight into different relationships.

Another app that is offered to assist in Psychology, is called the “Memory Trainer.” This is offered on the Android and is used for psychologists working with patients with memory or attention deficits. It helps the psychologist get creative when thinking of ways to help the patient with memory lessons. For example, one exercise is called ToDo, in which in asks the patient to remember all parts of the sentence on the ToDo list. 

This article relates to class as it shows how more and more things are being turned into apps on the smart phones and how it can be applicable and relatable in real life. These apps are used to help generate different ways psychologists can approach patients.

Smartphone gamers are happy to hear that Angry Birds seasons special has been extended to year round. The popular game, that used to just be a standard version, created a seasonal version inspired by Halloween.

The Halloween version of the game got nearly as many players as the original, so this October season starts the extended year round of the Angry Birds Halloween special. 

In this particular version, the blue birds are dressed in classic Halloween costumes and are flying towards a hill of monsters and candy. 

Not only is this game extending to year round, but there is a bonus. The AngryBirdNest suggests that there may be a spin off of the film,The Nightmare Before Christmas, as an Angry Birds game. 

This relates to class, as a lot of people have Smart phones these days and it shows that games like this become well known and popular from people talking about it via Facebook or sharing their scores on other social media sites. 

This article is a true story that was posted on September 11th, 2011, about how social media can do damage to a business. In this particular case, a diner came into a restaurant one night, ate his dinner and went home, feeling quite ill.

When he arrived home, he made a public statement about the restaurant on Twitter and how he thinks he may have gotten food poisoning from his meal. The restaurant has a Twitter that was set up by an employee for the sole purpose of broadcasting and promoting events. 

The diner had not heard back from the restaurant via Twitter, so he went to his friend, who happens to be a lawyer, to seek legal advice. The diner was then sent to the hospital for dehydration from vomiting, so he sent the hospital bill to the owner.

The employee who set up the Twitter account is the only one who knows how to access it, so the owner of the restaurant had no idea what was going on and why he was getting charged. 

The employee later tweeted back to the diner claiming he was a “damned liar” and brushed off the issue. When the owner found out about this, the employee was ultimately fired for his cruel responses and not informing him of the issue.

This is important to realize because in any business, social media can be very beneficial, but if used in the wrong way, it could result very badly. 

I think Starbucks does a really good job promoting themselves to the public via social media. I think so, because they have a Facebook page where you can locate the nearest Starbucks and see drinks of the week. Also, whenever I am on my Newsfeed on Facebook, I constantly see an advertisement in the lower right hand corner, promoting their seasonal drink specials. Starbucks also has a Twitter account with tons of followers, where they also announce drink specials and discounts. Both their Facebook and Twitter pages allow customers to post and generate feedback on their satisfaction. I think Starbucks does an awesome job getting themselves out there with the help of social media.

Sunday afternoon, Thailand’s Prime Minister, Yingluck Shinawatra, was left confused and vulnerable, as her very own Twitter account was hacked. An anonymous hacker accused Yingluck of incompetence using her own Twitter name. 

Thailand’s Information Communication and Technology ministry searched all Sunday afternoon to reveal the hacker, but had no such luck. The hacker criticized Yingluck for her response to the recent flood and a variety of her government policies, all in eight posts. After being humiliated in criticized from previous tweets, the last questioned whether she can protect the country, if she can’t even protect her Twitter account.

This relates to class, as it proves that social media sites can definitely get hacked by strangers. It is important to be aware of that and to make sure you secure your website before you disclose yourself to the public.