Guest Speaker: Erik Hanberg

In class last week, we had author and self publisher Erik Hanberg come in and speak with us about the struggle and accomplishments of self publishing throughout all the changes of the internet. Erik Hanberg may not be a household name such as J.K Rowling and George R.R Martin, but he has certainly made a name for himself. Erik started publishing his novels in 2010, and has been publishing a book pretty much every year. It was interesting to learn about all the different career opportunities that Erik has had, he is very much a self starter. He even asked to create one of his Universities websites and claims he didn't know how to make a website at the time! He seems to be very confident with how to get your name out there, how to start publishing, producing or promoting your own content. Some of the interesting facts that he mentioned when it came to publishing his novels, were how Amazon impacted self publishing. I never knew this but Amazon promotes books on costumer reviews and does not prioritize books that were published through a corporation. This was a huge impact especially since it was more convenient for some to publish books online then to pay for someone to publish them. It was a pleasure to have Erik come and talk to us in class, I still would love to be able to ask him more questions: such as his opinion on how the internet has made it so convenient for freelancers and this new form of self promoted work. Which I strongly think it has, what about you? Comment below!

Making a Website

Today I made a website, and I realized I want keep making websites. I am pursuing a degree in computer science, I love coding and yet I never tried writing in HTML. I have to say it is a refreshing change from writing java. From the work I have done so far making this website, which is just breaking the ice in making websites I am sure, I have realized a couple of things. This was exactly the kind of programming I have wanted to be doing. I love design and I love to be able create something that I can see the results of. As I began learning coding, I was always unsure of what career path I wanted to go down. I love being able to program, but I also love graphic design. Now I am really starting to think something along the lines of web development would be a viable career choice. I know now a days for web developers or designers, knowing CSS, Java and HTML as well as page layout design will make you highly successful in the field. But there is still some much to learn on the topic! That however is one of the main reasons I am pursuing my degree in the first place, I will never stop learning something new.

Email vs Snail Mail

When the first instance of email or electronic mail came to be, it impacted the way people communicate with each other. If we wanted to reach out to someone who we couldn't communicate with through person to person contact; say they lived far way. One of the best ways to reach them would be to write them a letter and send it through the mail service. Then email created a way to instantly send a letter to someone without the need of the mail service, but what are the key similarities and differences between email and mail?

One of the key difference is affordability, In order to send a letter you would have to pay for it to be shipped to the person you wanted it to go to. For email, all you would need to pay for is internet and electricity, which is a common necessity for most people. Another difference is speed. For mail to be sent, it could take days! It has to physically travel the distance to your designated location. However, with email it seems like all you have to do is press a button and its delivered! But what exactly is the process of of getting an email sent? And how does it play into the similarities between mail and email?

When we think of mail being sent there are a couple of steps we have to go through. Namely, delivering our letter to the post office and having the post office send the letter to the address it is going to. Well surprising enough it is nearly the same process with email! Your letter that you typed on the computer gets sent to an email server, which is sort of like a virtual post office. From there it is sent to the address that you have specified. Now this isn't the same a home address, in fact it is much more specific, but that email address has one and only one online "mail box" that it is sent to. Even though email and mail seem like very different processes, the mechanics of it are very similar; and with technology growing, who know what we could be comparing email with in the future.

What I expect from this class

    I am currently trying to type this while watching TV... and browsing reddit, also messaging and snapchatting my friends. Needless to say, I am a proficient multitasker. If spending an hour typing this counts as proficient that is.  As the class Living and Working in the Virtual World preludes, we as a society constantly surrounds ourselves in our own virtual worlds. In order to entertain ourselves, communicate with others, earn money; there are plenty of things to do online. But with great power, comes great responsibility. I expect this class to teach me the ethics and responsibility it takes to remain safe online. 

    More so, I am excited to learn about the history of the internet, and how much progress we made between then and now. Personally, I am pursuing a career in computer science, I love to remain up to date with the advances that so many companies are making in the field. I know that there are so many things I can learn about the past advances that have been made as well. The professor said in class how doctors live by a rule of ethics, and mentioned how there are no rules that programmers live by (besides the legal ones, though those seem to be broken occasionally.) But I have never thought about that until now. As a future programmer, what will be required and expected of me not only from my career, but from society. I expect this class to will lead me to the right answers.