LexisNexis is a database which provides us newspaper articles. We can get information, which is about what happened in the world or the world trends, through LexisNexis. First, I used keywords “Google” and “privacy” to find an article. I found some interesting articles about Google’s arguments with their privacy policy. Those articles’ writers say that some groups complained that Google and Yahoo’s partnership violated their privacy policy. Then, I used keywords “Google” and “privacy policy” for the further search. I found an article, which titled “Google and Yahoo Defend Ad Alliance at a Hearing” written by Austin Bogues. It was a newspaper article of New York Times, on July 16, 2008; it was a late article.

This article is about Microsoft’s complaint against Google and Yahoo’s partnership. Microsoft argued that their partnership would make them hold 90 percent of search advertising market. Also, Google search would be an opening to the internet, and Yahoo would enjoy the benefits because people would see their advertisement and buy them through Yahoo. It would violate people’s privacy and Google’s privacy policy. Then, I went to Google’s website and checked the privacy policy (http://www.google.com/privacypolicy.html). However, the recent modification was August 7, 2008; 1 month later when the article was written. I cannot find any violation on it.

The writer stays neutral. He writes both Microsoft and Yahoo-Google opinions. In a position of Microsoft, Bradford L. Smith, who is senior vice president and general counsel of Microsoft, warned that if Google occupy the search advertising market, “Congress won’t need to enact a federal privacy policy…. We will already have a national privacy policy – Google’s privacy policy.” On the other hand, in a position of Google, David C. Drummond, who is senior vice president and chief legal officer for Google, said, “Microsoft has a long history of abusing and extending its dominant positions through anticompetitive practices.” To mention of both opinions makes reader judge more fairly. However, the trend tends to lean toward Google. The author writes senator Herb Kohl’s opinion, who is Democrat of Wisconsin. He said, “A decade ago, today’s witness, Microsoft came dangerously close to quashing competition throughout the high-tech economy. We’re pleased that Microsoft has reformed its business practices.” He agreed with Google. Though the writer takes a neutral position, he accurately writes that the trend is leaning toward Google.

As Microsoft said, if the market is monopolized by one company, people will not have any other choice, and the creditability will become doubtful. However, if Microsoft wants to avoid it, they will have to establish a new system or policy, as Kohl said. When I read the beginning of the article, I doubt Google’s credibility, because there was Microsoft’s opinion at the first few paragraphs. However, as reading further, I think about it over once more, because of other’s opinion. Microsoft insisted their loss of benefits, even though they seem to fear the credibility of internet searching. After all, even whether being manipulated by information or manipulating information, it is our duty to choose correct information.

Definitely, online searching will be that the computers search independently in near future. Computers gives people information which people want to know or people might want to know. People will not need to type the words into the searching box. Cade Metz says, “You won’t search media with keywords in the future – you’ll search for media with media.” According to him, the system has already been taken the first step by some websites – Like.com, Polar Rose and Pandra. In the future, the computers will guess the people’s tendency, idea or mood, and they will provide them the proper information. It will become the people’s another brains.

Cade Metz points out Seth Godin’s ides of web4.0 which is “a place where you have even tighter online connections to your friends, family, and colleagues.” People will not lay computers aside any time. Also, Metz quotes Godin’s words, “There are so many things the Web can do for me if it knows who my friends are, where they are, what they’re doing, what they’re interested in. how they can help me – and vice versa.” Do we need to know these kinds of information? Even now, we can get information which is unnecessary. One of the examples is GPS (Global Positioning System). It gives us the information where the people who have the transmitters are. In these days, GPS system is miniaturized and some cellular phones have the system. It guides you the place where you want to go, or you can know where your children are. However, if someone you don’t like chases you, it will be scary. If you bring the computer anytime anywhere and someone watch your behavior through the computer, you will feel you are not free; even though it will be your family or friends.

Even now, the information is flooded. It will increase more and more if Web 3.0 is realized. It will be able to be horrible. We will not get the information, but the information will get us; that is we will have to know what we don’t want to know. The most important thing is not how to get the information, but how to control the information.

I will use three of them in the future. I usually read my friends’ blogs and leave some comments on it. Even if I or my friends are busy and cannot see or call each other, we can know each other’s situation. It is different from e-mails. While e-mails are written for specific persons, blogs are written for a large number of the general public. Writers do not need to think about specific readers eagerly. Also, readers do not need answer the article; if you want to response, you can leave a comment, and if not, you can just go through it. It can be a kind of communication tool.

Also, I have already used RSS to get some news. When I do not have enough time to search, it is really useful and easy to get news. If I do not have time even reading, I can just through it. It is like a delivery newspaper online version. Moreover, RSS is free. What a wonderful system it is! In addition, delicious will be also useful, though I had never used it before the class. It provides the most popular information among the people who are also interested in the same topic. It is like a virtual guide.

It is important to choose the way to get information. What do you need? How do you use the information for? It is needed to use different ways for different purposes. In this flooded information society, we need to pick up the appropriate information in the appropriate way.

Also, I often watch YouTube. Some videos are obviously recorded from TV programs; some of those might be released as DVDs. In this case, putting the videos on YouTube becomes a copyright issue? Sometimes, I never watch some videos again. Some videos on YouTube are deleted. That is, producer of YouTube delete them because it is involved in a copyright issue?

Most people might not care about if it is illegal or not, but most people also do not want to do illegal things. So laws should be clear. They should not have traps, which people are entangled without knowing it. Even if I am sued for a copyright issue and say that I didn’t know, the public will not allow the excuse, and will say that it is a law and it is not settled only “I’m sorry.”

The present copyright law is not clear. If watching YouTube or similar action becomes illegal, it should be showed the illegality. So the present law should be changed, in any case which is affirmative to downloading music or negative to it.

One of them is “I never hear the word ‘escape’…” This is a short poem and it is composed of 8 lines. I can see the whole poem at a glance. I don’t need to scroll the screen. I can read the poem just as same as reading a paper book. On the other hand, another poem which I chose, “Going to Heaven!” is a little longer than the other one. It is composed of 25 lines. I need to scroll the screen, or zoom out to see the entire poem. It is a little hard to follow the words. Usually, when we read a book, we just move our eyes to follow the words. However, when I scroll the screen, I work the mouse and follow the moving words. Also, if it is zoomed out, the letters are going to be too small. In this case, paper books might be much better than screen reading.

I have used CUNY+ before, while not Google Book Search. So it is difficult to compare with them strictly. However, after this search about Emily Dickinson’s poem, I thought that Google Book Search is not so effective way to research, because the part which I really want to read may not be available to read, even though it has a preview function. Not showing whole contents is irritating me because I can see the whole table of contents. It is like forbid eating favorite food in front of me. Then I have to go to other website to buy the book. On the other hand, CUNY+ provides information about the place where I can get the book, though it doesn’t have a preview function (it doesn’t matter). At least, as long as being a CUNY student, CUNY+ is more effective to research.

Barack Obama

Title of the article: Congress Passes Obama, Murkowski. Allen Bill to Ban Dangerous Mercury Exports (http://obama.senate.gov/press/080929-congress_passes_1/)

Site: BARACK OBAMA U.S. for Senator for Illinois (http://obama.senate.gov)

Publisher: Barack Obama (The author of the article: Michael Ortiz)

Audience: People who are interested in Barack Obama, his supporters, and citizens

Timeliness: September 29, 2008

Sales hook: There is not any hook in this article. It tells us a fact, which is Congress passed the Mercury Export Ban Act of 2008.

I found this article in the Barack Obama’s web site. First I went to Yahoo, which was a search engine I usually use. I typed “barack obama” in a search box. Then I got results and the site was on the 5^th rank. In the site, this article was on a hot topic which was located the very first screen.

John McCain

Site: McCain-Palin 2008(http://johnmccain.com)

Publisher: John McCain 2008, Inc.

Audience: People who are interested in John McCain and Sarah Palin, their supporters, and citizens.

Timeliness: It doesn’t show any time. However, this site is made for the selection 2008. So it might be written recently (not so old).

Sales hook: This site tries to make people support McCain for the President selection.

I found this site in the Yahoo’s result. First I also went to Yahoo, which was a search engine I usually use. I typed “john mccain” in a search box. Then the site was on the 2^nd rank.

First, computer searching has become useful day by day. The invention of Google was epoch making. With spreading out of internet, Google became one of the most popular search engines. Google provides people an easier and more efficient research. Also, Grafton says, “Now even the most traditional-minded scholar generally begins by consulting a search engine.” Everyone, even old styled researchers, notice that internet searching is useful.

However, internet cannot completely replace library, which is based on paper. Grafton says, “…the Internet will not bring us a universal library, much less an encyclopedic record of human experience.” One of the reasons is that each book has its own “copyright” and it might become an obstacle. Even though Google Publishing Partners, which is collaboration between Google and publishers, still protects copyright, for the books like nobody knows its “copyright” but still have it and already out of print, the problem become more difficult. Google tries to solve the problem, but still not available.

On the other hand, for books, they do not have “copyright” troubles, since they have already had it and published. Besides, original books have not only the information from authors but also a lot of thought that have piled up by the readers. Grafton says. “The form in which you encounter a text can have a huge impact on how you use it.” Some people, including famous writers, put their notes, which is what they thought at the time as reading, on their books. Also, as reading books in your hand, the books tell us about its history, like what kind of paper made it, or how long they exist. Those kinds of information are beyond “an encyclopedic record of human experience.”

Still, the early form, books are not for everyone. Grafton gives an example, which is that some countries do not have enough money or technology to publish books. So, in the area, spreading out the information is deteriorated. Nowadays, there are many scholars and researchers, and even for poor area, the researchers from the other area, where is rich, can help them to broad their knowledge or opinions. However, in the ancient times, there might have not been books which were written by the people who lived in that poor area, even though they might have had wonderful thoughts. Grafton says, “Poverty, in other words, is embodied in lack of print as well as in lack of food.” If people only depend on the information only books, they will not get the information from these kinds of area. That is, there is bias.

Both old style books and new style Web have advantages and disadvantages for research.. They should coexist. “The New York Public Library on Fifth Avenue and Forty-second Street,” which was Alfred Kazin’s favorite place, has both old and new. It might the best place for researchers.

This is my second year at LAGCC and it will be the last semester. My major is Liberal Arts: Social Science and Humanities.

This course, LRC103, is required for Liberal Arts major. I registered a class, which was an in-class course, at first. However, the class was canceled unfortunately, and I got the information about this online course. My English skills, especially listening skill, are still bad, even though I have been here for 1 and half year. So I thought that online course would be more useful for me since I could look and read again and again. Actually, I have feeling that the assignments will be annoying me… Anyway, each assignment in any class is annoying me, so I will just do my best. It is going to be for my future… I HOPE.!!

Now I am taking ENG103: Research Paper, ENG250: The Short Story, and LIB200: Liberal Arts Seminar. This course, LRC 103, might be helpful to write some papers for the other classes which need a research skill. Also, I would like to go to Hunter College to get bachelor and master degrees in nursing after LaGuardia- I was a nurse in Japan. A research skill will be one of the most important skills in the advanced colleges and career.