Upcoming Event at Puts Loyola Into Discussion of Tech and Journalism

On Tuesday, March 27, Loyola University Chicago welcomes Amy Webb, a digital media and technology expert, in discussing tech trends and the future of journalism and technology.

This event comes at a time when Loyola is actively trying to achieve a reputation for being technology-friendly and active in the discussion about social media and social justice.  With all of the controversy in recent years about how social media and technology can be used as tools for social action, extreme activism and as a way to publish violence, Loyola has chosen to join the discussion in a much more positive way.

Loyola has always been a champion for promoting the use of technology and social media and by adding journalism and education to the general discourse, Loyola has chosen an extremely positive path of discussion.

Webb's event tomorrow will highlight how to use technology in the classroom and in job searches and will explore how digital media is changing the world of communications and journalism.

The event will take place at noon tomorrow in Regents Hall at Loyola's Water Tower campus.

The All-New iPad

The newest iPad was released...did anyone notice?

The answer is no.  Without the leadership of Steve Jobs, Apple is seriously lacking in creating the hype that past products have created.  One of the most talked-about events related to any Apple product release was Jobs' keynote speeches about the products and now without Jobs, this release has gone so far under the radar that it is almost as if it never happened.

Its not a good day for Apple.

Cellphone technology captures police activity in Uptown

At approximately 11:30 p.m. Sunday, March 18 a car driving without a wheel sparked and caught fire in the Chicago neighborhood of Uptown at the intersection of Hazel and Montrose.

Police began questioning bystanders about what they saw.  No official stories have been published by any of the major news publications.  

This car fire was right in front of my apartment.  No one really knows what happened, but here are some crazy photos that show the car fire and the fire being put out by the fire department.

The car after catching fire.  Photo courtesy of Lili Bivings.

The car being extinquished by the Chicago Fire Department. Photo courtesy of Sarah Heimerdinger.

Science Fiction Influences Technology Development

Check out this awesome photo slideshow from Smithsonian.com highlighting technological developments inspired by science fiction films, books and television shows.

In a way, this is a perfect example of the social construct of technology theory of technology and culture influencing each other.  In a nutshell, social construct of technology theory, or SCOT, argues that human action shapes technology.  Science fiction writers, or writing in general is a human activity inspiring the development of technology.

Some of the items on Smithsonian's list could definitely be debated, as can SCOT theory in general (which is the basic argument among modern media theorists) but in general, the article points out an interesting link between entertainment culture and technological development.

I bet you could find a million references to a small, square, touch-screen computer in science fiction books and shows from the pre-iPad era. :)

I wonder what the next one will be.

Motorola DynaTAC 8000 series cellphone from approx 1986.  Photo courtesy of Flickr user egdc32.

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