A Changing Landscape

The past two days have been painfully boring for me. After having successful surgery yesterday morning, I've pretty much been laying in bed watching TV and surfing the internet ever since. However, while I have been slowly losing my mind in my bedroom, I have taken notice of something. What you may ask? Answer: social media.

Now I know what you're thinking, "What?! You're just finding out about social media now?" Obviously not. I am and have been an active user in Facebook, Twitter, youtube, and obviously blogging for quite some time. Rather, what I'm talking about it the CONVERGENCE of social media and how it is finding its way into so many different aspects of the internet, and for that matter, our lives.

Now, as I read articles online from news sources like the AP, there are links at the top of the page for me to easily post the article link to my Facebook, or tweet the link on my Twitter account. Similarly, I was checking my fantasy baseball team out today and at the top of my league homepage, there is an icon for me to click to "like" my fantasy baseball league on Facebook. I'm sorry, but my fantasy baeball league is a private league and my fellow members and I would like to keep it that way.

Now I'd like to clarify and make sure everyone knows I am NOT a Luddite. It's not hard to see that technology is developing at a rapid rate and we need to be constantly aware of these changes in order to keep up with society. However I do find it a bit interesting/weird when I find myself on Baseball-reference.com looking at Lou Gehrig's career statistics (there was a question about him during a Yankees broadcast) and there is a Facebook icon for me to click to like the page. Keeping with the sports theme, ESPN is constantly reporting on tweets by current and former athletes on their plethora o different programs.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, if someone had told me five years ago when I entered college that social media would evolve into what it is today, I don't think I would have believed them. Not only have new mediums of social media been developed during that time span, but as I said before, these mediums have converged in such a way that few people could have foreseen. All I can do is keep myself informed so I don't end up like Ned Ludd.

The Forgotten Ones

Since the massive 9.0 magnitude earthquake struck Japan on March 11, the Japanese have been dealing with one disaster after another. The most powerful earthquake to ever hit Japan triggered a devastating tsunami that traveled as far inland as 6 miles. The tsunami severly damaged the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant resulting in a nuclear disaster that is being compared to the Chernobyl one in 1986.

Stories relating to these topics appear in the world news every single day, but there is one story that is getting very little attention. Lost in the shuffle of all this calamity are the people that lived within the evacuation radius of the power plant.  These individuals have not only had their life turned upside down by the aforementioned earthquake and tsunami, but cannot even return to their homes now that the flood waters have receded.

Fisherman, and farmers are among the many groups of Japanese who have had their income effected. They've lost most of their possessions and now have lost their ability to provide for themselves. I agree that the priority for Tokyo Electric Power Co is to handle the reactor crisis, but it is imperative that they not forget about the people that have been directly effected by this. Financial compensations are most likely the answer, yet a process for assessing the value and distributing them would be lengthy. This dilemma is a difficult one but it is one that Tokyo Electric Power Co needs to address and it needs to be addressed sooner rather later so these people know they are not forgotten.