Growing up, I remember watching The Jetsons thinking that that would be how the future would look. Who knew that some of the things that you saw on a cartoon would actually be used in modern day society. For example, The Jetsons use of the video phone can be compared to what we know today as Skype. For years, society has found many different ways for a message to reach its audience.
I remember the first type of phone that I used, which was a rotary phone. You could not go anywhere with that phone unless you had a very long phone cord. It took forever to make a phone call because you had to wait for the rotary to complete its spin. Good thing there were only seven number to dial back then. After the rotary, came the cordless which I thought was the greatest thing ever. No longer would you have to lug that big rotary phone around. With the cordless, all you had to carry was the receiver. You could go anywhere in the house and outside as long as you stayed in range of the base.
Around the time that the cordless phone came out, we were also introduced to the car phone and pager. Society became more mobile. If you wanted to reach a person that was not at home, you could hit them on the hip (page them). In turn, the person would go to a phone and call you back.
Fast forward to 2014 and it seems like everyone has a cell phone. Even young children have cell phones. According to the website aids.gov, 45% of all adults in the U.S. own a smartphone. 80% of cell phone users send or receive text messages, 55% of cell phone owners use the internet on their phones and 50% of cell phone users send or receive email on their phones (aids.gov, 2013). Mobile users are able to send and receive messages through multiple outlets on their mobile device. Mobile users can also sign up for message alerts from different sources of interest. I receive text messages from my dentist to let me know that I have an upcoming appointment. I also get messages from my credit card company, and I get weather and Amber alerts. A message has huge reach on a mobile device because of the ability to text, access the internet and read an email.
Another way to get a message out is through blogging. A blog is a website with which allows a user to speak openly and candidly about any subject the blogger desires. A blog is usually very informal, however that depends on the blogger. There are many websites that offer blogging platforms such as Blogger, Wordpress and Tumblr. By the end of 2011, there were an estimated 181 million blogs worldwide. 71% of all bloggers say they blog to speak their minds and share their expertise (aids.gov, 2013). Blogging is very interactive. It allows for followers to leave comments to the blogger and the blogger can respond back. You can also direct people to follow your page. The more popular the page, the more likely it is that your message will be seen. Right now, my blog is only seen by about 25 people and because of the students in my class. If I were to start my own personal blog about something that I really like football, I could ask all of my sports friends to check me out. I could share the link on other social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter.
What is Twitter? Twitter is a social networking site that allows users to share information and connect with people and organizations that share the same interests. According to aids.gov, 8% of U.S. Internet users use Twitter on a typical day, 20.6 million U.S. adults access Twitter at least once a month and there are over 177 million tweets sent every day. You can access Twitter via a mobile device, tablet or computer. Because of the easy access that Twitter allows, a message(Tweet) will likely be seen instantly. Mobile devices allow for users to get notified when a tweet is posted or shared. The more followers a user has, the better the chance their message will be seen and shared. If you have a million follower, more that likely a good majority will see that messages. Things can get sticky with Twitter because there can be good and bad tweets. If an athlete throws a tantrum on Twitter about a bad call, teammates or coaching, that messaged can be retweeted by a follower causing more and more people to see that message. In other words, you have to be very careful and very responsible on Twitter. There are good and bad messages that can reach an audience, so be mindful of what you post.
Please check out the links below:
www.blogger.com to go to Blogger.
www.twitter.com to go to Twitter.
Blogs. (2013). Aids.gov. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Retrieved from http://aids.gov/using-new-media/tools/blogs/
Mobile. (2013). Aids.gov. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Retrieved from http://aids.gov/using-new-media/tools/mobile/
Social Network Sites. (2013). Aids.gov. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Retrieved from http://aids.gov/using-new-media/tools/social-network-sites/
Hi April!
ReplyDeleteI love the fact that you referenced the past and what resources were available and the possibilities of what the future could hold, and the fact that many of those possibilities have become realities! Mobile devices have become one of the most prominent resources we have available for us to use daily. We have access to nearly everything right at our finger tips, which truly shows how big of an impact technology as a whole has on our daily lives.