Com 300 Course Reflection

I am thoroughly happy with the result of taking this class. I feel that the knowledge I gained from Concepts New Media is the kind of knowledge that I can go utilize everyday I leave this classroom, and I think that for college students that is the kind of knowledge that sticks for a lifetime. I think the most important thing I learned in this class is that the internet and new media is constantly changing around us and that new technology is being made FOR us, BY us. We as consumers are creators, and we define who we are and what we want out of new media. It is an amazing to grow up during this new media boom, and sometimes the results can be overwhelming. I think what also helped in this class was to learn about new websites, especially news and political sharing sites, that I had no clue even existed previously. I just learned what YouTube was this summer and although time wise that seems not that long ago in relevance to my life I can’t believe I ever lived without! I wish we had more time to just study and be informed about new sites that we have never used or even heard of before. Just today I learned about 3 or 4 (epinions.com, digg.com, innocentive.com) that I knew nothing about! I know that searching and presenting websites could probably be a class on its own, just studying up and coming websites and their relevance to our lives, so I’m glad that I got to learn about the ones that I did. I think learning more about the resources that most of us have right at our fingertips everyday is incredibly important for not only our current lives but our later careers and lives as participating citizens of this world. The more we know how and where to locate our resources the better of we all are in utilizing them properly. Although I am aware it is important to learn the basics of how the internet works that was the least interesting topic for me, mostly because I STILL didn’t understand what was really going on, but I do have a better idea now! Thanks for teaching such a great class and I hope I have the opportunity of taking more of your classes in the future!

P.S. I HAD to add a PS to this post because I just finished my podcast (linked it to my Com300 site and esubmitted my annotated bibliography and script) and I just have to say that it turned out to be quite the learning experience! At times the process of learning out to edit and place everything together was hair rippingly irritating, but in the end I am so proud of what I have accomplished and learned along the way! Thanks for making us stretch our minds and previous capabilities to learn new ways of doing things!

Vonage vs. Speakeasy.net

After exploring both websites I have found the following conclusions from both services. At Vonage I can keep my original number which makes it easier for communicating with friends and for paying bills so I don’t have to inform other about a new number. The service is avaliable where I am currently located in Seattle (most likely because it is a large city), however I’m not sure how the billing would work out since I live in a sorority and all my phone, internet, and cable bills are payed within my quarterly housebill. It might actually cost less since more people would be using the service in one location, but you would need to purchase more equipment. The service says it is $24.99, plus the cost of installation I’m sure and taxes. There is an instant rebate on the equipment which was about $50, so you would get your money back from that purchase.

At speakeasy.net the service is also avaliable where I am currently located in Seattle and I can get the following services: dedicated line broadband, shared line broadband, business class broadband, or T1 and/or Bonded T1. The shared line broadband and dedicated line broadband are an excellent option since I do live in a sorority because I could get it just for myself (not sure how I could legistically work that out) or the whole house could get the shared plan for everyone, however our housebill would most likely be raised. Home VoIP would cost around $83.90/month (at a min not including installation, equipment or taxes or the amount of lines included). This would be for digital voice and broadband connection and I would have to get a new phone number.

Doing this exersize was interesting but also annoying on the websites because I wanted to get more information and more specifics on prices and equipment offered without having to give them all my information, so naturally, I gave them some fake information and some real. I think its important to know what different services are offered so that you can get the best value for your dollar, especially in regards to phone lines, internet, cable and broadband since there are so many different options avaliable. I think what would intice me to purchase any of these services is if they were included in my house bill already and the service really provided me with an additional asset that I don’t previously have in my life. As of now I can’t see that happening, but if I was given a trial option I might be able to locate how the service could help my life.