Confessions of a Google Employee

            When we look at Google today, it is difficult to believe that it all began in a garage in California.  That is one of the first things we learn from the podcast titled, “Confessions of a Google Employee”, we hear from Doug Edwards who worked for Google as the director of consumer marking and brand management from 1999-2005.  Throughout this podcast, Edwards explains how he basically watched Google grow into what it is today.

            I found it amusing the way that Edwards described that he joined Google at the “terrible 2’s”.  Starting Google was like starting any other search engine.  They looked for ways to make them stand out, and this is where we see different changes to the average search engine.  Google added on very useful tools such as automatic spellcheck on searches.  They also created what is known as the Google Doodle today.

One of the reasons they had these fun and useful additions was due to the environment that employees worked in.  Edwards explained how Google was very open and they learned to listen to different and progressive ideas.  At Google, it was common practice to just fix something if it went wrong, no questions asked.  In turn, Google created the slogan, “Don’t be evil”, for their staffers.  These employees were getting more and more power in their work, and the intentions of Google were to be a search engine, not necessarily the huge corporation that they are today.

As a result of Google expanding their array of services, the company began running into issues regarding privacy.  The example that Edwards explains to us how spell check on searches uses a database from what other Googlers are searching.  It’s the idea of giving up privacy for product.

Although Google is huge, this powerhouse may not be done growing.  But for now, Google is facing new, more difficult situations.  I’m sure Larry Page and Surgey Brin we’re not anticipating having to work through these kinds of issues.  Google seems to stay on top, so they must be doing something right!

"True Life: I'm an Intern"

       This past Spring, I was given the opportunity to intern with the House of Representatives in Harrisburg.  The internship has easily been the best experience of my undergraduate career.  This photo was taken by me during the my internship.  This photo represents an average day at the Capitol for me. At the top is my planner, which is a MUST to remember everything, everyday. Manila folders, because there is always paperwork to be filed somewhere.  The phone for making research calls, appointments with other offices, or simply to call a friend to meet for lunch.  The perfect ballpoint pen, because everything must be in black ink.  My obvious pile of papers, for research.  And my mug of hot tea, to start the morning off right.

        I chose this image to represent me because this was a very exciting time in my life and I loved and enjoyed the work I was doing.  Although this just looks like a mess of papers, it was my pile of research for the piece of legislation I drafted.  I'm a research maniac.  I live by the rule to learn something new everyday.  Whether it be researching a piece of legislation, catching up on the news, or even just finding out an interesting fact. One of the main reasons I am so interested in government and politics, is so that I can be the person to inform and influence my peers to start cluing into their government.  I really enjoy discussing politics, whether we be in agreement or opposition.  That being said, I love to talk.  

      When I'm online, I hold conversations and act like I do in real life.  I spend a great deal of time online and some of the correspondence I have online is professional.  Therefore, I try to keep a clean Facebook, Twitter, etc.  You never know who will be looking you up online! 

The Media Equation

            Reeves and Nash’s article was very interesting.  We discussed anthropomorphism in class, but this article took it to another level.  They develop the media equation “media=real life”, and they explain how it applies to everyone.  According to many different studies, they have found that no matter how simple the media is, if it is similar to real life, it can activate natural social responses in humans. Psychology plays a huge role in human-media interaction.  The article explains how many of our thoughts or actions take place unconsciously, and how those are the reactions we see taking place in human-media relationships.

            Reeves and Nash also discuss the concept of media.  As humans, we are the experts of media (some more than others).  They explain we create these machines to exactly what the user is looking for.  The basic concept is the more similar that media is created with social and physical norms, the more enjoyable the machine is to use.  As humans, we enjoy social interaction, so why not have the machines be social as well?

            I found it very interesting how the authors chose to discuss politeness in technology.  They first explain that it is a social norm that all experience of trying to make people happy.  Of course, there are a few who don’t quite meet the description, but nonetheless, when people are having a direct conversation and another person asks a question, you respond politely.  The study that was done on the computers seemed like a very thorough analysis.  Although, they said all the subjects used had extensive experience with computer, which could throw off the results just a bit.

            Grice developed 4 principals that should be followed during conversation.  They are quality, quantity, relevance and clarity.  After reading through the descriptions, we realize how these principals apply to new media, and in an almost perfect respect.

            Overall, this was a very interesting article. I would have liked to see the study conducted using participants of different background of computer experience. Personally, I know I am guilty of anthropomorphizing technological machines, but as the article states, we all do it!