Let me give you an example of my life in the cloud:
Yesterday was a snow day. How did I know? I logged into WCAX.com to check on school closings. I work as a recruiter and supervisor specializing in substitute teachers, so when I saw all my customer locations closed, I logged into the external website used for scheduling to cancel all posted absences, as well as send out automatic IMs to anyone scheduled to work. I also logged into my work email account to set up an out of office message to notify the world that I would be unavailable, and respond to all messages that came in the previous evening.
Once my professional obligations were dispatched for the day, I set up a streaming video on Netflix (through the PS3) for the kids, and logged into WaltDisneyWorld.com to finalize plans for a spring trip I'd been pondering. In a few clicks, I reserved a room, a flight, bought park tickets, and made dining reservations. Sweet!
Next, the kids and I played a little Wii. While they were outside playing with their Dad, I caught up with friends on Facebook, logged into Blackboard to do some homework, logged into my online banking account and transferred some money, killed a bit of time on the Television Without Pity website, downloaded some of the "winter fun" photos my husband took into Picasa, created and shared them on a Web album for those relatives that are not on Facebook.
After dinner (which featured a side of sweet potato hash from a recipe I'd downloaded to my phone from RealSimple.com), the kids were tucked in, and I was ready for sleep. I read for a bit on my Kindle, a new book that my brother had gifted directly to my account via Amazon.com, and then queued up an episode of Brothers and Sisters on Netflix to watch before falling asleep.
So there you have it; in one day, my work, my vacation, my money, my communication, my education, my dinner and my entertainment were all directly impacted by or utilized The Cloud. It's all integrated so seamlessly into my everyday existence that it's hard to separate the individual impact. Five years ago, I don't think I would have been able to predict how involved I would be in something like Facebook, which existed but did not have the overwhelming following that it does today. I hesitate to even speculate where I will be in the future!
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Laurie,
ReplyDeleteThe beginning of your post is excellent! What a great example of how we rely and live in the cloud. Everything you did yesterday involved the cloud in some way whether it be Facebook or cooking a recipe found on a website.
I am terrified to think of what my life will be like in the future in terms of my cloud. This assignment made me think my cloud was too large, but posts like this remind me that the cloud will only get bigger!
Thanks for the awesome example of the cloud in relation to your life.
Stacy
Great examples of how you use the cloud. I also use the internet for weather, netflix and of course Facebook.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your post on how you use the cloud in your day. Our schools are getting better about how they cancel. We now get an automated phone message. No more telephone tree with me having to call several more people next. When I sub, the teacher I'm working for must call me to cancel. They haven't gotten a person, or software to handle that yet.
ReplyDeleteWay to put it in perspective! I didn't realize how much time one could spend in the cloud, productively... I like your use of netflix for the kids! Radical way to keep them occupied heh :)
ReplyDeleteNice post, and blog man this place is well organized!