Power Point

After reading the assigned articles, I developed a deeper appreciation for Powerpoint’s usefulness as a tool for communicating information. Whereas in the past one needed to go through the cumbersome process of making a poster board to supplement a presentation, creating a power point slideshow can take minutes. Powerpoint also makes it easy to engage an audience. Emotionally intense images can be interested into the presentation to provoke a response. The downside of Powerpoint is that it is overused. One must be careful in their selection of templates and clipart not to bore audience members with images and templates they have already seen—personally I find it very annoying when I see overused clipart. My central recommendation to other students in the class is to keep their Powerpoint’s simple. The easier your presentation is to follow, the more likely it is that your talk will be stimulating and enjoyable. Below are guidelines which I think are key to making a great Powerpoint:

1) Strategically insert sounds and animations. Figure out the areas of your talk are likely to bore the audience and place an animation or image in these spots to enliven the presentation and engage the audience.
2) Pay attention to detail. Be sure to use spell check and read over your presentation for grammatical errors. Additionally, pick a color scheme and template that appropriately convey the mood you want to set. For example, if you are giving a business or academic talk, it might be wise to choose a template that appears professional and does not distract audience members from the content of your presentation.
3) Be pithy in your use of words. Your slides should not spell out every word which you plan to say in the presentation; rather, use the slides as a guideline or starting point for your talk. For example, a slide could briefly list a group sub-topics which you plan to elaborate on in your talk.
4) Ordering your slides logically. Organizing your presentation in a way that is logical and easy to follow will strengthen the cogency of your presentation and make it easy to hold the audience’s attention.
5) Do not embellish your slides with too many graphics. Using too many graphics diminishes the quality of your presentation and creates the impression that the presenter does not take the subject or presentation seriously. Professional photographs may be a good substitute here.

Google and Yahoo

In today’s class, I was surprised to learn that major search engines scan only 20% of the content available on the web. Previously, my impression was that these engines were effective to the extent that search algorithms comprehensively scanned all of sites and computers linked to internet with the aim of presenting a reliable list of websites that could be used for research on a particular topic. Moreover, it would seem that these search sites would compete for the title of the website that is able to search the most web content. Web users would flock to the engine with the greatest search capacity. As the reputation of the top engine spread, other search sites would be forced to adapt and improve.

I also learned that the Google and Yahoo search engines return very different results. For example, a site ranked first by Google may be ranked 30th by Yahoo; moreover, a site that is returned by one search engine may not even be returned by the other. This suprised me because the laws of economics dictate that a market with a high level of competition and low barriers to entry produce homogenous products. Given the ease with which someone could create a web search engine, Google and Yahoo should offer similar (if not identical) products.

Copyright Infringement

In today's class, I learned that the federal government seeks to vigorously protect and enforce copyright laws. An individual who has engaged in copyright infringement involving more than ten copies and material valued at over $2500 has committed a felony. While I knew their was a punishment for violating copyright laws, I did not have a grasp of the seriousness by which the federal government addressed these matters. The severity of this punishment scheme is made worse by the RIAA's vigorous prosecution of potential violators.

The central advantage of this punishment scheme is that potential violators will be deterred from infringing on copyright laws in the future. Repeat offenders will find that the costs of failing to abide by copyright laws exceed the benefits of passing another's work off as their own. As word of the severe punishments spread, the number of copyright infringements will decrease.

The disadvantage of making copyright infringement a felony is that talented and intelligent people could be disqualified from certain opportunities for committing a single violation. Third parties (i.e, employers, graduate schools) will be curious as to why an individual's record contains a felony and could potentially pass-over a well-qualified candidate for violating a single copyright law. Another disadvantaged of this punishment scheme is that the court system could force violators to pay excessive damage awards in court. Juries sympathetic to the plight of record companies that have lost millions of dollars due to the illegal distribution of music files may impose exorbitant fines on violators. Individuals lacking the capacity to make good on such claims may go bankrupt or experience undue financial strain.

My personal position on this issue is that scrict punishments are necessary to ensure that copyright laws are respected and upheld. Although there are some disadvantages to this position (as noted above), I believe that the benefits outweigh the costs. I found an interesting article in the New York Times about copyrighting photographs here.

How I Learned to "Excel" at Excel

My experiences in Essential Computer Skills have fine tuned my understanding of Microsoft Excel. I can skillfuly utilize tools such as the “if" function and conditional formatting so as to enhance the presentation of data. Moreover, I can easily maneuver between tabs and quickly locate a particular feature; as a result, the time I spend using excel to create charts and graphs has decreased.

These skills will be useful in my economics courses. My economics professors often require me to break down large amounts of data and apply my findings to the principles learned in class. Specifically, I have been called upon to determine the levels of inflation and unemployment in a certain country through the analysis of wage levels and employment data. As I learn to apply this knowledge, I anticipate that my economics professors professors will be impressed with the accuracy and presentation of my findings and that I will distinguish myself from other students whose knowledge of excel spreadsheets is limited to their experiences in high school.

My knowledge of excel will also enhance my attractiveness to prospective employers as I will develop a reputation as a worker who quickly grasped the complexities of spreadsheet use.
Since this skill is in limited supply in the job market, firms place a high value on workers who can create professional charts and graphs. Therefore, I will probably be paid a higher wage than a worker who has a limited familarity with excel.