Give and Take in Mass Collaboration

Mass Collaboration is when a large number of people work together independently on a project.

The three kinds of internet-based mass collaborations are Give and Take, Needles in Haystacks, and Participation through Passion.

Focusing solely on one of the internet-based collaborations,“Give and Take” gets its computing capacity by user-shared distribution. The Give and Take collaboration relies on its users to run the program and uses its users computing powers and connections to in turn run the operations of other user’s. Without these users, the organization wouldn’t be able to run, and without the organization, the users wouldn’t be able to use it. The users and organization rely on each other.

An example of a Give and Take site is Skype.  Skype is a synchronous

free website requiring two or more people communicating at the same time through voice, video, and instant messaging. Both parties need to be at a computer or on an internet-based device at the same time in order to communicate. Skype is a client-server and peer-to-peer system. When users go on Skype they are allowing for Skype’s network to use their extra computing power and connections to enable other calls to be made. This creates a self-financing phone system. 

Skype is a type of crowd work, which is when members are doing the same thing at the same time. People using Skype all have the same goal in mind and rely on others to connect to them at the same time in order to work.

I think Skype is a very resourceful website and can be used for multiple purposes. I do, however, believe it comes with various risks. Because it is a collaboration site, some network administrators have banned the use of it in home, education, and work networks due to the claimed safety problems and unneeded usage of resources.

Web 2.0 Site Reviews

My choice of three popular Web 2.0 sites:

1)      Yelp

I just learned about Yelp this year, and it has been a big help to me ever since. Yelp provides an online search for local functions and is used to locate places nearby your current location.  It includes a list of different places and services that you may need, and gives you the closest location of that specific service.  For instance, the list includes restaurants, bars, gas service stations, drugstores, deals, hot new businesses and more.  The search in Yelp will give you the locations closest to you, their hours of operation, reviews, directions and a number to call.  You can also connect to friends via Facebook on your contact list, be able to see their bookmarks, and find out when they’re nearby.  The purpose of Yelp is to use local reviews and social networking to create a local online community.  I love this site and have downloaded it as an app on my phone for easier use.  In the past, I have used it to find gas stations when I was driving and needed gas, when I was out and hungry and needed to find a nearby restaurant, and to add my friends and be able to see where they are at different times.  Yelp is very easy to use, all you have to do is click your choice of service and it will figure out your location and give you a list of options nearby.  You can also type any kind of service in the search bar and it will give you a list of available options and how far away they are.

2)   WebMD

WebMD is the main source for trustworthy and timely health and medical news information.  It has many different parts and purposes to it.  WebMD serves as a type of dictionary that consists of hundreds of various diseases and illnesses.  All you do is either type in your symptoms and get information about what illness you may have, or type in what illness you think you have to get information on the symptoms and possible cures.  It also includes recent news articles, featured topics, blogs of physicians with specific topics, and a place to store personal medical information.  It has tabs with specific information on family and pregnancy, living healthy, and drugs and supplements.  Whenever feeling uneasy, I use this website to type in my symptoms to see what possible illness I may have, and possible cures for that particular illness.  This website is easy to use because of its process; all you have to do is write out any possible symptoms or presumed illness to get a page of links for information on that search.  All in all, this site is your go-to source for anything you need to know about a medical issue.

 

3)   IMDB
 

IMDB stands for Internet Movie Database and is the world’s most popular source for movies, television, and celebrity content. It gives information about every single movie and television show there is, including the cast, the year it was released, a plot summary, a trailer if it’s a movie, photos, reviews, trivia, quotes, and more. IMDB connects itself to other movies or shows with related cast members, directors, and other similar staff through on-page links . I use IMDB every time I see a movie and want to see who the specific cast members were. Once I look at the cast I can click on to one of the actors or actresses and see what other pictures they are in, or if they will be in an upcoming film or show. IMDB is fairly easy to use, by just going on the website and typing either the name of the movie/show or an actor/actress you want to see more about, and getting all the responding information. It is very popular amongst people that are strongly interested in entertainment because it is a reliable source of all there is in the entertainment world. 

Is Google Changing Us?

Nicholas Carr in the article states the point that technology is changing the way we think and affecting our ability to concentrate and contemplate.  I agree for the following reasons:

1. The more I use the internet, the more I have problems reading novels and getting myself deeply into a book or long article.  I am so used to skimming information and news articles online and have information so easily that when I have to read a long school assignment I find myself having difficulties concentrating and my mind starts to wander.

2. I have had many college reading assignments from online sources, rather than chapters in textbooks.  Teachers are more likely to put up readings online than to require readings in textbooks because its "easier" to access and get a hold of. Due to the access to numerous other web sources, I find it harder to concentrate while reading online. For example, while doing the readings for certain homework assignments online, I occasionlly find myself scrolling through social networks such as facebook or twitter feeds within ten minutes of the assignment.

3. While online the chances of recieving false or inaccurate information becomes greater.  Most websites are created by random users around the world, who can put up anything they want.  For instance, Wikipedia is used to put up random information about anything that anyone can edit and post.

4. I am so reliant upon using the internet as the source of my knowledge that I even forget what certain words mean. This is due to the usage of google to look up the meaning of any unknown words.

In the end I have to ask, what makes people smart these days.  Is it to know hundreds of facts and be what they call "a walking dictionary" or to be able to be a great critical thinker and be able to contemplate many things?

Google is still a great tool in source of knowledge, but you must still have the discipline to be able to maintain the skills required for critical thinking.