Volume 2: Spring 2005 Issue- "I, Robot"

Artwork credit: T.King©

I, Robot

The sleek and silverish age of technology is finally here. A la the Jetsons, we're entering the age of hybrid vehicles, IPod mania, and web-crawling bots following us online.

China is cranking out lower-priced chips, threatening Texas Instruments and other giants, as China is projected to use $34.3 billion worth of semiconductors, making it the world's largest chip market. Tech hiring is up, projected at about 214,000 new jobs for 2005, however, tech salaries are down.

Why? Well, we're no longer in the tech bubble of '96-'00, so expectations need to be lowered. According to Businessweek.com's "Tech Hiring: An Oxymoron No More", this industry is now succumbing to both globalization and having to explore ways to consolidate- something the rest of the labor market has had to deal with for a while now.

Even though their Googlebots are irritating as heck, Google is always ahead of the curve. The bevy of job opportunities at this company reflects their projected growth as they diversify their product and service lines. They are now the founders of the virtual library- with Harvard, Stanford, and Oxford University already agreeing to digitize their massive libraries.

"pretty much the entire store of mankind's written knowledge will be available at anyone's fingertips" (excerpt from US News)

Our feature article "The New Ad Age" details how marketers attempt to cut through the clutter; they are predicting our moves surreptitiously. So, what does this mean? With a marketing degree myself, I by no means want to offend marketing executives, but I certainly hope our privacy is not jeopardized in the name of the bottom line. The new technology does seem to point towards the George Orwell prediction in 1984 that a form of "Big Brother" indeed might be watching. As a society, perhaps we need to really think about setting the corporate and governmental boundaries or risk giving up our rights to privacy?

Just to keep track of what is going on, a friend referred me to 10x10, another paradigm of art and information technology fusing in the name of global progression.

Jonathan J. Harris, you're a brilliant man.

"10x10™ ('ten by ten') is an interactive exploration of the words and pictures that define the time. The result is an often moving, sometimes shocking, occasionally frivolous, but always fitting snapshot of our world. Every hour, 10x10 collects the 100 words and pictures that matter most on a global scale, and presents them as a single image, taken to encapsulate that moment in time. Over the course of days, months, and years, 10x10 leaves a trail of these hourly statements which, stitched together side by side, form a continuous patchwork tapestry of human life." (excerpt from the site)

Voices of a New Generation

Let's try to plug out of "the Matrix" for a sec.

Please welcome the new NetWork Staff. Each is incredibly talented in their unique ways, however, you will find their voices- despite their differences- sound familiar. They sound like you... the voices of the new technology age.

You all know Glory Alcantara, who researched a comedic way to approach international language in the Diversity section.

Kevin Ferrell hasn't finished writing for The NetWork. He still has profound points to make... and in the Graffiti section you'll see him discuss the Ethics of Marketing in a fair tone.

Ken Tittle is a fresh, laid-back voice who had me laughing profusely at his jokes while we worked on the Sports section. Give him a high-five if you meet him offline... he's a cool guy.

Shaquita Murphy contributes to the technical theme for this issue in the Lifestyle section.

Lastly, Jonathan Gregg, whom I've known for a couple of years now, has quite an inspiring personal story (see his bio). He voices his concerns in the Business section about the current disparate elements in our economy, predicts the outcome, and offers solutions.

Please check out the new staff in the "About" section and get to know their personal stories. They bring a new energy to The NetWork, and I hope they will touch you as well.

K.D.

The NetWork welcomes your thoughts, comments, and ideas at contactus@mbadiversity.org

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Apropos Acknowledgements
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Ron Sibert
Businessweek.com
Independent Media Institute- Alternet.org
Real Simple magazine
League of MBA Bloggers
USNews.com
Younger Women's Task Force-National Council of Women's Organizations
KevinRScott.com
T.King Art©
Tenbyten.org
Lauren Nicole Sickles
Lori Manning
Melissa Tremblay
Alex Chu
Susan and the Kaplan Test Prep & Admissions team
Zeke, Kim and the Manhattan GMAT team
Deyan and Kamen at Eastisoft
David Sayyed
Kareem Rogers
Tasha Huebner
Bernard Jackson (for the daily e-mails of uplift)
MBADiversity Members that post in the forum
(y'all keep the forum HOT- much luv)

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