The WAN Show

I've been watching Linus Tech Tips for almost a year now. He is a very knowledgeable outlet for pretty much everything technology related. With over 2M subscribers on YouTube, he is a powerhouse in the tech field. The WAN Show is a little unorthodox in the sense that several topics are discussed for smaller amounts of time. From my understanding, many other tech podcasts have a set topic for the entire duration of the stream. He also welcomes audience members to suggest topics by tweeting and leaving comments on the previous weeks video. This recipe works exceedingly well with addressing issues and developments that his demographic wants to discuss. Now, throughout this hour and half podcast, he touches base on Amazon drones, PS4 performance increases, YouTube movie deals and streaming services, and a multitude of other topics. The one that stood out to me most has to be the Amazon Drones.

I remember when the drones were first formally announced, everyone on the internet instantly became skeptical. It was right around April Fools day, and internet trolling was at an all time high. In all honesty, I think I've developed trust issues from all the trolling I've experienced personally. Anyways, enough about me. These things are absolutely awesome, but already in my opinion absolutely obsolete. I understand that they want to be innovative, and the disposable income they have allow them to do these ridiculous antics, but really? Let's start with the facts we already know. The drones will only have a 15 mile travel radius, which already cuts the people it can reach by about, oh I don't know, 95%? The delivery time is set to around 2 hours after purchasing an order, and the maximum weight has yet to be revealed. I have a better idea, how about I buy my product and drive to the facility in 15 minutes, and not have to worry about someone skeet shooting my purchase out of the sky. It's a cool idea, but definitely not an efficient one. Also, if Amazon thinks people aren't going to be actively pursuing these drones, they're probably not thinking at all. Linus mentions that if something is pretty and expensive, people will go to any means to obtain it. Overall, these things are pretty ridiculous. I'm all for innovation, and utilizing new technology in unorthodox ways to yield interesting results, but I think anyone with half a brain knows how this is going to end up. "Hey look, a bright yellow drone that sounds like a speed boat carrying someones purchased belongings, let's follow it and steal it!" Maybe my cynicism got the best of me on this topic, but I assure you, this has to be an experiment for data more than anything else. Happy Hunting.

Government Overstepping Their Boundaries With Police Surveillance

A new era of technology has a direct correlation with a new era of privacy, or lack there of. Over the past decade, it's been very apparent that the invasion of privacy is becoming more and more of an issue to the common US citizen. This has led to countless laws being implemented to deter government agencies from alienating the people they're supposed to protect. During the TED talk "The small and surprisingly dangerous detail the police track about you" delivered by Catherine Crump, an assistant clinical professor at Berkeley, a new technology being utilized by the police is described. This technology surveys the streets all hours of the day and takes thousands of pictures of license plates and converts them to plain text. This is constantly used to run license plates of everyone on the road, not only people of suspicion. Also, there is constant surveillance regarding travelling, which makes an every day commute something that the federal government uses to their advantage. All of these things are being stored in specified databases, and can be accessed whenever the government feels necessary.

Throughout the presentation, Crump displays several screenshots of what these technologies are capable of, and what they do every day. Showing a list of several license plate numbers, all taken seconds apart from one another, is simply a testament to how incredibly invasive and powerful these tools are. The pictures shown are very grainy and low resolution, yet the software that is used can instantaneously read them and push them into the desired database. The way Crump utilized the visuals really did hold a lasting effect on me. Seeing the sheer power of these tools really is intimidating, and raises countless questions regarding privacy. She refrained from using any humor throughout this presentation for obvious reasons. She knows the seriousness of this subject matter, and the demographic she was reaching out to. The pacing did seem a little quick, but I assume she had a time frame she had to stay within. That being said, this subject could easily be talked about for a 60 minute presentation, but she did well maintaining a clear path and covering a few focal points regarding the topic. Overall, this presentation did have me engaged throughout simply because of the trending aspect of this nationwide concern.

Companies and Social Media

The utilization of social media now a days is absolutely vital to staying afloat, especially from a business perspective. Having the ability to constantly interact with your consumers is an invaluable asset to have. Over the past few years I've noticed several companies become more prominent on Facebook and Twitter. Intel seems to be the first one that comes to mind. They are constantly updating their consumers and fan base on their technological developments, and always welcome feedback regardless of who you are. This invites conversation and invokes customer interest. It gives the corporation a friendly image, and humanizes the company. They handle their social meda image very professionally due to the demographic they're attempting to reach, which I assume are tech geeks and IT professionals/hobbyists. They hold competitions occasionally and make rewards available for those who participate. It really is an enthralling way to maintain customer relations. Looking at another organization that comes to mind, it shows the opposite side of handling social media. Taco Bell is notorious for their Twitter account more than anything. Whenever something mainstream happens, they're first to crack a joke. They can be very clever, and for the most part work in some of their products into the joke. Their demographic is obviously far different than Intel's, but they know them well. Continually making crass jokes about pop culture and drugs attract the people they're trying to attract. They utilize social media just as well, if not better, than majority of companies out there, simply because they know their demographic so well. The point I'm trying to make is the use of social media is incredibly subjective. Some companies use it to provide a professional persona, some use it to represent what they stand for, and others use it to amuse and simply create traffic towards their company name. There is no denying that social media is the most powerful tool available now for advertising and interacting with consumers, and it is very interesting to see all of the different approaches.

Why am I at MATC?

This is a question every student should ask themselves. Having an understanding as to why you're in school is absolutely vital to success and overall happiness. Striving towards any goal is something I find myself constantly doing because I refuse to sit dormant. The reason I decided to enroll in MATC is quite simple, it's the most responsible route to further my education fiscally speaking. MATC is a stepping stone to whatever endeavors wait ahead of me, so taking full advantage of all of the resources here will only increase my chances of success. I've always loved technology, ever since I was a little kid. I'm in the generation where technology was prominent ever since the day I could walk. This puts me in a somewhat advantageous position when pursuing a job in this field. A lot of the skills I have which include slight programming and overall computer literacy have been naturally obtained over the course of my lifetime. I'm very excited for what the future holds, but for now I need to stay fixated on maintaining a certain level of academic excellence all while learning ways to get my name out there in the technology field.