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Are we screening out community with our time online?

08 Aug 2010 - Preaching the News for Sunday

“Where your treasure is, there also will your heart be,” Jesus says to his disciples in this Sunday’s gospel. When it comes to online activity, Americans increasingly treasure mobile communication devices and social networks, according to research results released this week. What Americans Do Online, a report released Monday by the media research firm Nielsen, says that use of social networks such as Facebook and Twitter has increased 43 percent in the past year and that they now take up more than a third of time spent online. As for the device of choice, smart phones (those with internet and text capabilities) that utilize Google’s mobile Android operating system appear to have supplanted Research in Motion (RIM)’s Blackberry and Apple’s iPhone as the most popular smart phones in the U.S., says market research company Canalys. According to the Canalys study, Google controls 34 percent of the market compared to RIM's 32 percent and Apple's 21.7 percent. That's not to say that Apple or RIM is posting financial losses. In fact, Apple grew 61 percent in sales year-to-year and RIM grew 41 percent. Part of the overall industry growth is explained by the exploding popularity of smart phones as the preferred method for online communication. Overall smart phone sales rose 64 percent on a year-to-year basis. As for what people do once they are online, within a few years social networks may supplant email as the number one activity. "The rise of social networking hasn't pushed email and instant messaging into obscurity just yet. Although both saw double-digit declines in share of time, email remains as the third heaviest activity online . . . while instant messaging is fifth," said the report from Nielsen. Behind all the numbers lie some larger questions: What does all this time spent online and in front of screens say about us as a society? Are we becoming more isolated and removed from one another as we become more attached to our gadgets and screens? What happens to personal interactions and the sense of community in the meantime? And how do we find a balanced way to enjoy the benefits of the new technology without getting swept away by it? Source: Articles by Jason Mick for DailyTech.com and Tim Conneally for Betanews.com

twitter facebook social network smart phones nielsen canalys

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Google searches for market mobility with Motorola acquisition

21 Aug 2011 - Preaching the News for Sunday

“How inscrutable are his judgments and how unsearchable his ways!” Saint Paul says of God in this Sunday’s selection from the Letter to the Romans. Investors and tech-watchers are trying to figure out the significance of search-engine giant Google’s announcement Monday that it will acquire Motorola Mobility, merging software and hardware development in a move sure to shake up the booming smart phone marketplace. Google is making a $12.5 billion bet that its future--and the future of other big Internet companies--lies in mobile computing, and with the acquisition the company moved aggressively to take on its arch-rival Apple in the mobile market. The move will allow the Silicon Valley giant, known for its search engine and Android phone software, to get into the business of making cell phones and tablets as well as providing the software that runs them. The deal, which requires regulatory approval, would also give Google a valuable war chest of more than 17,000 patents that would help it defend Android from a barrage of patent lawsuits. “Computing is moving onto mobile,” Google’s chief executive Larry Page said in an interview. “Even if I have a computer next to me, I’ll still be on my mobile device.” The effect of a Google-Motorola Mobility merger on consumers is unclear. But in the past Google has pushed the mobile industry by pressing cell phone carriers to open up their networks and by licensing its Android system at no charge, increasing competition. With the Motorola deal, analysts said, Google may be able to accelerate innovation in smart phones and tablets. “This is an emphatic exclamation point that Google is a mobile company,” said Ben Schachter, an analyst with Macquarie Capital. “It shows how important Android is to Google.” Source: An article by Evelyn M. Rusli for the New York Times

google larry page mobile industry acquisitions mergers motorola mobility ben schachter smart phones cell phones mobile computing

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The age of virtual mourning dawns

10 Jun 2012 - Preaching the News for Sunday

In sharing his final Passover meal with his disciples, as recounted in this Sunday’s gospel, Jesus was preparing them for his approaching death and offering words, gestures, and symbols that would sustain them in the difficult time ahead. Twenty centuries later technology has dramatically altered how people grieve and memorialize the dead. In this new era the bereaved readily share their sorrow via Facebook comments, light virtual candles on memorial websites, upload video tributes to YouTube, and extend sympathies via online funeral guest books.“It would be naive to assume that technology would leave the ‘death sector’ unaffected,” said Ari Zoldan, CEO of wireless-products provider Quantum Networks. “Technology has pervaded all aspects of our lives, and the honoring of our dearly departed is no exception.”Observers offer many examples of the emerging world of virtual grieving, such as streaming video of funeral services and mourners applying adhesive-backed barcodes or "QR code" chips to tombstones so visitors can pull up photos and videos with a scan of a smartphone. Those who want help remembering a yahrtzeit—the anniversary of a death in the Jewish faith—can sign up to get email reminders from websites such as ShivaConnect.com.The new mourning rituals come as society increasingly embraces all things digital. Nearly half of Americans own smartphones, according to the Pew Research Center. One in five own a tablet, up from one in 10 last year. Eight in 10 are on the Internet—and two-thirds of online users tap into social-media sites.“People are getting much more comfortable with multimedia,” said Elaine C. Haney, CEO of Tributes.com, an online publisher of local and national obituaries. “It's become simple for people of just about any age to use.”While the digital tools may be new, they still soothe age-old emotions, said Therese A. Rando, author of How to Go on Living When Someone You Love Dies. “Throughout history, we've memorialized people we've loved and lost,” she said. “These are not new needs. These are new ways of meeting the old needs.” Source: An article by Laura Petrecca for USA TODAY

mourning virtual grieving online funeral guest books shivaconnectcom ari zoldan tributescom therese a rando elaine c haney streaming video qr code grieving smart phones Technology barcodes

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We love our happy faces

23 Aug 2015 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The selection from the Letter to the Ephesians this Sunday describes how Christ and the church are in a great mystical communion in which the church is presented to Christ in splendor. Much of our communing these days is done via smart phone, and in doing so we like to present ourselves using emojis, those little digital icons or images that represent an idea or emotion. According to a new study, 76 percent of Americans use an emoji at least once a day. Homily hint: Smart phones have changed our lives in many ways and much of it is for the good. The challenge with this and all the new technology that fills our lives is to find a balance. Emojis that express emotions are cute but should not be confused with sharing our feelings with our loved ones in the flesh. Let’s not hide behind screens! For more on the popularity of emojis, see: The United States of emoji

Technology smart phones communicating

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