Google- A college kid's bread and butter

Google is one of the first original mass information web sites. The phrase "google it" is often heard around college campuses and high school hallways. Google is the go-to site for finding important facts and resources. The company began in 1996 when two Stanford grad students Larry Page and Sergey Brin came up with a search engine called BackRub. The site was local and serviced Stanford students, but eventually got too big for such a small audience. While expanding in 1997 Page and Brin came up with the name "google" after the word "googol" which represents the number 1 followed by an infinite amount of zeros. The name is a representation of the fact that google is a source of infinite information. In 1998, Andy Bechtolsheim invested in the company and from there on Google took flight. They took root in California and in 1998 they were awarded the search engine of choice for the year by PC Magazine. The company continued expanding, taking on more employees and changing locations various times. The site advanced as well, being translated into multiple languages. In May of 1999 the site earned its first Webby Award and then joined forces with Yahoo the following month. The company and site continued expansion and became the most used search engine in the world. They eventually released Google Images, Piknik, Google Earth, Maps, Gmail, and Blogger and continued partnering with other forces. 

In present day, Google’s projects are continuing to grow, becoming more advanced and easily personalized. Multiple backgrounds are offered on Blogger and all aspects of Google, even the homepage receive makeovers frequently. Google offers apps for smartphones and remains the most used search engine on the planet. You can even google how to use google apps and get all the information you need to utilize the site’s various applications. When first typing in www.google.com the homepage comes with tabs for images, videos, maps, news, shopping and gmail. The company began with a 100,000 dollar check from Andy Bechtolsheim and is now worth millions of dollars in revenue.  There are over two billion hits on google each day and the site is accessed almost every minute of the day by someone in the world. The site services the entire world and is available in almost all languages. The company began as a small search engine for college kids and has expanded into a revolution of mass media outlets.

Television

Television is a mass medium that has greatly affected society since the 1920's. TV is the first medium that transmitted messages visually while also accompanying audio. TV began in black and white and then advanced to color images. Television allows viewers to view recorded images and live broadcasted images. Recorded material has advanced over decades from video tapes to DVD's. DVD's have advanced even further with blu-ray and 3D options. The invention of the television was a big step for the public because it is more technologically advanced than any mass medium that preceded it. There have been many perspectives on the positives and negatives of television. Clearly, TV is a beneficial resource however in modern day its purpose has shifted to include a variety of topics and sources of entertainment. Many question how much TV is too much? People worry about the damaging effects TV can have on children because certain TV shows have inappropriate content. People have also found a correlation between excessive time in front of the TV and obesity. The following link delves deeper into this negative perspective on television. http://kidshealth.org/parent/positive/family/tv_affects_child.html While the public remains concerned about these issues, they also praise new technological advancements such as blu-ray and 3D movies and shows. Educators and parents even rely on television programs to help children's development. This link touches on the positive aspects of television within the lives of young children. http://kidstvmovies.about.com/od/healthytvhabits/a/tvgoodforkids.htm Ultimately, TV has pros and cons just like many other mediums. When it concerns technology there are many perspectives to consider. Television will most likely remain a vital source of mass communication within modern society.  

Technology within Communications

The field of Communications is vast and includes a variety of professions. It can include careers such as PR, advertising and marketing while also dabbling in social work and psychology. Although there is a lot of variety within both the major and the career field, there is a significant common ground. The common ground is the idea of communication itself, meaning the idea of a source relaying a message to a receiver or audience. This process can take place face to face, however modern day has provided the world with a more technological approach to communicating. Communications is the field that interests me, therefore exposure to technology is not only an interest, but a necessity when considering my future career goals. Some of the most important aspects of technology within comm are social networking and social media. Social media, specifically sites like Facebook and Twitter keep people connected in a faster and more efficient way. These outlets provide the opportunity to express opinions and ideas to the entire world rather than simply an individual or audience. This link will take you to a site that explains the benefits of both Facebook and Twitter within business. http://www.slideshare.net/axsystechgroup/advantages-of-facebook-and-twitter-for-business The site highlights the fact that both Facebook and Twitter are vital resources with never-ending connections and opportunities to expose brands and businesses. While social media is the newest aspect of communicating it is not the only aspect of technology used within this field. Other skills necessary involve things like graphic design, photography and even film. The following link will lead you to a site about the graphic design program at Bismarck State College. http://gdc.bscblogs.org/?page_id=430 The site includes information on the program and many projects within it, while also discussing multimedia and graphic design as a whole.  Communications is all about exposing ideas in the hope to obtain feedback, so the more ways this can be done, the better. The most efficient way to reach large audiences is through the technological advancements that have become accessible to the public. Technology is growing and its use within this career field will always remain important.