Why Kids Can't Search

I was in the middle of finding an article for the class related to the topic of privacy, when I found this article in Wired by Clive Thompson (another great resource, I'll post later).  It had to do with how bad students are in searching for information.  I think it's useful to post this now as you get ready to find blog posts.

He starts by saying that young people tend to be the most tech-savvy among us.  But they are wretched at searching.  A group of researchers led by College of Charleston business professor Bing Pan tried to find out. Specifically, Pan wanted to know how skillful young folks are at online search.  His team gathered a group of college students and asked them to look up the answers to a handful of questions. Perhaps not surprisingly, the students generally relied on the web pages at the top of Google’s results list.

Other studies have found the same thing: In a recent experiment at Northwestern, when 102 undergraduates were asked to do some research online, none went to the trouble of checking the authors’ credentials. In 1955, we wondered why Johnny can’t read. Today the question is, why can’t Johnny search?

But it may not be your fault.  Professors assume you already have this skill, even though it is rarely taught.  "The buck stops nowhere."   Why not let students start a class blog on a subject and see how long it takes for it to show up in search results?  I may just try this.

Read more...  We'll talk about this more in class, but one of the reasons I post other websites is to get you AWAY from using Google (and YouTube) for EVERYTHING.  Try some critical thinking.  It will help you in the long run.  

For Super Bowl Ads, More Social-Media Savvy

According to CBS, some superbowl spots have gone for as much as $4 million for 30 seconds of an ad. With an audience expected to be more than 100 million people, it's the biggest thing on television. But advertisers know they also need digital, and they're going to great lengths to get it.

There are ads that ask viewers to vote on the endings (as Kyle pointed out in his blog for Lincoln), but there is also Coke ads.
Doritos was way ahead of the game. For the sixth year in a row, it's running a contest called Crash the Super Bowl, where people submit fully produced commercials. Out of some 3,000 entries, Doritos selected five finalists. People can vote for their favorites online.  And they're pretty impressive.  Go to this article and enjoy.  I spent WAY too long viewing these ads, and loving it.   Voting I think is "liking" on Facebook, though I see some liking on YouTube.

For a kick, check this out.

By the way, I'm watching House of Cards, a political drama adapted from a British show, and starring Kevin Spacey, Robin Wright, and others.  David Fincher (known for The Social Network, Seven) directed the first two episodes. But what's new about House of Cards is that all 13 episodes are available at once — and they were financed by Netflix itself.  The new Netflix produced show started today.  If you have Netflix, this is a game-changer in TV series.