"Technology changes how people relate to each other, and that's what religion is concerned with."

Click here for an interesting article on Technology and Religion

Of NLCE: #JesusPopCulture

#JesusPopCulture Of New Life Covenant Southeast Pastor John Hannah

Of Success in America:: "Money, Power, Respect: 3 the hard way"

Money, Power and Respect are 3 concepts that can determine one's success in America. These ideas contribute to one's image and how that image is read. Ironically, money can lead to one having a lot of power, that amount of power can determine how much respect you can potentially have.  

$Money!

"Money can't buy happiness, but it can buy things that make you happy."

People who are wealthy are seen as successful in America. Wealth alone says  that the person has worked hard to some degree to get where they are in life. However, the ways in which they get the money that he/she has also contributes to that view of success. Money runs the free world; actually money runs the world in general. With that, when you have a significant amount of something that has a very large impact on the world, you in turn have a lot of power. 

#Power! 

In the United States, the power in government is divided in 3 ways and is balanced via a system of "Checks and Balances" ..Our government is considered successful based on how they use the power that they have. As being held accountable for most of the decisions made in the free world, it is important to make sure that significant amount of power is placed in good hands. 

“All power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

We would hope that power would be used for the greater good, however, what we fail to recognize the moral weaknesses that develop from having so much power. While having a lot of power can be a sign of success, the ways in which one uses that power also contributes to that view of success. Those who have the most power on a larger scale are usually the most respect. 

->Respect 

As stated earlier, these concepts build from each other... The amount of money and/or power one may have can be a factor that determines how much one is respected. (I am in no way limiting respect as being based off of wealth and power).. When we think about what we see in the media, and every day life, we are always looking for ways to make are lives more efficient, easier, and more profitable. These concepts appeal to that very idea. People are looking to get "corporate/fortune 500" benefits with out having to work as hard as the blue collar. In general, those corporate jobs get more respect than that of the blue collar jobs. Think about the word "corporate" in general.. what ideas come to mind? I think of Money and Power... from that money and power, those people gain much respect. 

In closing, there are many ways to go about achieving success in America; these are just a few factors that I believe contribute to that ultimate success. 

Here's a link to my trial website..

http://blue1207.neocities.org/index.html

Google's 10 Commandments: "Underpromise and Overdeliver"

Google's philosophy, though created early on, still holds itself to be true. Google has set an immense standard and pushes to exceed that standard through its technological advances, staying relevant, innovative and by never breaking those "10 things" they know to be true. 

It is my goal to explore these 10 things from the perspective of an actual google user: 

1. Focus on the user and all else will follow.

2. It's best to do one thing really, really well. 

3. Fast is better than slow.

*4. Open is better than closed.*

5. Democracy on the web works.

6. You don't need to be at your desk to need an answer.

7. You can make money without doing evil.

8. There's always more information out there.

9. The need for information crosses all borders

10. You don't need a suit to be serious. 

11. Great just isn't good enough.

Google seems to harbor the desire to promote the self and self-sufficiency... However, this idea is only as it relates to the user's relationship with google... in other words.. we NEED google. 

*Ode to 11 vs 10*

Edwards' text includes 10+1 concepts that aren't necessarily included on the website. That concept would be #4 "Open is better than closed" ..Why isn't this included in google's current philosophy? According to the text, it was cut. Apparently this concept was considered as a threat to Windows.. or what they called "mooning the giant.." 

The bigger picture..

these 10 "things" help google to stick to their mantra of "underpromise and overdeliver" ..It is my goal to explore just how Google does that via personal experience and how observation of how Google manages to do this in the technological realm. 

Of Tumblr.Com

Tumblr happens to be a fairly recent social network for mini-blogging. While quickly approaching 7 years of age, Tumblr has managed to fall right into place by remaining relevant and innovative.. Tumblr embraces the aspect of "community" and manages to link everyone together by way of "#" ...With the use of hashtags, a new way of keeping up with trends, people are able to search videos, blog posts, links, images, and quotes et al. relevant to whatever they may be looking for.

#Community

Tumblr encourages aspects of community by embracing the individual and what he or she can add to the community. Let's consider aspects of a jigsaw puzzle. While the puzzle pieces may be different in shape, they all play a major part in completing the bigger picture/ puzzle. Tumblr is just that. While every blog/personality is different in style, content and appearance.. They all play major parts in completing the tumblr community.


#FollowTheWorldsCreators

Who are the world's creators? We are. Tumblr showcases aspects that make our "world" unique. While each user brings parts of their world to this network, a larger network is created. A larger community is created from the separate individuals.

Individuals with similar interests create smaller communities within this larger picture. Those smaller communities are what creates our world.

I plan to explore this "Part to Whole" idea with community via Tumblr..

Tumblr: Follow the World's Creators..

Of Steve Jobs: 2005 Stanford Commencement Address

"So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life."

Faith is defined as.. 
: strong belief or trust in someone or something

Steve Jobs' speech implies that he trusted in "something" to guide him through the toughest points in his life. I have reason to believe that this can be considered as faith in a religious context.. Though his developing situation gave him a plethora of reasons to think that the outcome wouldn't rule in his favor, he believed that the "dots would connect..." Jobs encouraged the graduates to never give up having this faith or "trust in the dots."

In each of his stories, he proved his "trust in the dots" to be a feasible deal. He was presented with some form of a plight or unfortunate circumstance in which his future ended up completely different than the picture that his present was creating. 

Jobs' firm belief in "whatever" definitely made the difference in his life..

"...trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.."

and for him, they did.