Initial thesis proposal

Apocalyptic meltdown

Strickland, Jonathan. "What would happen if the Internet collapsed?" 10 February 2010. HowStuffWorks.com. 17 November 2010.

So it appears my interest in developing a thesis based on the collapse of communication is not relevant. I will dig a little deeper to substantiate this first article. Shame though, I think my fellow classmates were really intrigued by the apocalyptic theme.

Recent read

I've gathered multiple books specific to Gen Y and have come across some interesting titles. I just finished "Young World Rising" by Salkowitz. I really enjoyed reading about the future of Gen Y, how they will create change in the world and how to forecast this change. This book directly correlates to my thesis work and was a great resource. The last two chapters became to specific to describing conditions within specific countries and will not be pertinent to my work.

I'm moving forward with an interest in compartmentalized information and its effects on Gen Y. This generation responds to texts, websites with small articles, and short emails. Through some focus groups I worked with over the summer I realized this generation will read more if they are given 'sound bites' of info. I'm curious if in an educational setting that adjusting the methods by which information is shared could produce greater results with students. At this moment, this is where my head is.

Articles of interest

http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/portal_libraries_and_the_academy/v005/5.3gardner.html

Article on a specific library that has surveyed college students to see how the library might better suit their needs. Specific emphasis on generation y.

http://www.learningtolearn.sa.edu.au/Colleagues/files/links/UnderstandingGenY.pdf

Describing the 'great divide' in the population.

And so the bucket begins to fill...

I've been scouring the internet for that perfect article, the one that springs forth as a leaping point for a thesis idea. In this tireless pursuit I've been repeatedly reading the same types of articles. Whether it be the New York Times, Wired magazine, Popular Science, or TED.com the articles I'm drawn to time after time include modes of thinking, modes of teaching, and generation y. I find the process by which we absorb, retain, and use information to be a high point of interest in my initial research.

As the internet has risen to completely restructure our society and how we will access information in the future I see this topic as having a high level of importance. The focus is not on the internet itself, but how we access information in completely new ways and how that will alter our society. I'll continue to post articles as a means to store the information I find pertinent. This also acts as a means to refer to them in the future. I'm not sure where this 'bucket' of information will take me, but that's part of the intrigue as well.

Here's a recent article referring to the future of our information systems:

http://www.pcworld.com/article/50366/predicting_the_death_of_the_internet.html

Collaborative minds unite!!!

http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/09/mf_kellyjohnson/

There's really no replacement for collaborating with creatives to reach an amazing and innovative solution. I love how this article refers to this as the 'hive mind'.

Visual thinking

http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/09/st_thompson_visual/

Love visual thinking, sometimes it's the only way I can communicate my ideas. The english language can fail us sometimes with its narrow scope of descriptive words and phrases.