Howdy. I'm Brandon, a master's candidate in Ball State University's Digital Storytelling program. My time remaining at BSU is short, but a lot is occurring in the industry that is worth writing about. My focus is current and emerging Web technologies. More specifically, I spend my time analyzing Web 2.0 functionality and its progression. Within the [...]

Some things in life, I just don't understand: for example, text-messaging lingo. I never really got into texting. I know, I'm one of the rare people in the world. When my friends text me twice in a row, I will just simply call them. This may be agitating to my friends, but it helps [...]

I'm now a proud user of Digsby, an all-in-one instant messenger client with one major twist: It does social networking, too. Now when I login with my one Digsby account I see a panel of all the following services I subscribe to: Yahoo! Google Talk (GChat) AIM Facebook Chat & Updates/Notifications MySpace Updates Twitter Updates AOL Mail (I'm a product of the '90s [...]

Facebook chat is amazing.  A week ago, my friends and I were trying to think of a web technology Facebook still needed to integrate.  These were the results:1. Text chat2. Twitter-like "micro-blogging"3. Video chat4. GPS-connected information (ex. "Michael is on campus [click for Google Map]")One down.  Twitter is kind of useless to me so it could go by the wayside for all I care.Can we think of any others?  Because, if we can think of them, they're inevitable.More About Facebook Chat

Recently, I was surveying 5th graders in a local elementary school. As I parallel parked in the side street, I felt a sense of relief for having found the school. Considering that I am new to the city, I decided that if I had not found the school, because it was taking me much longer [...]

Maybe I am behind the times (I usually am, so this isn't surprising), but I just cannot get into online video. I have tried and tried, but for some reason it's just not for me. I don't get into YouTube, I have never used HuLu and despite my best efforts I don't care enough to [...]

Writing is one of the main focuses in education. Since I was in elementary school, I can remember being told time and time again how important it is to write well and express yourself in an eloquent and intelligent manner. And because they taught us that, and so often, I never think twice when writing [...]

...."my love," sang Justin Timberlake over the radio at the bus stop this afternoon.... I smiled as I noticed the woman next to me waiting for the bus singing along. Well actually, all she was able to vocally keep up with throughout the song was "my love" because when she was my age she was [...]

MUNCIE, IN - Sponsored by the likes of Verizon, BP, Cisco, and Nortel among others, Ball State University hosted its first Women Working in Technology conference today. If my name or picture doesn't give it away, I'm a man. Why did I attend? Two words: Insider information. For the survival of the race, our two species must interact... and often at work. So, I figured being in a room of over 100 professional women for eight or nine hours would be a good cultural immersion experience. Here's a swatch* of interesting things I learned at the conference. Virtual Worlds Sarah …

Moving is a stressful task. I've moved at least three times and the hassle that comes along with that type of change can really make a person go crazy. But what about when you change your cell phone number? Landline phones are the minority now so when you change your cell phone number it's almost [...]