Final Week #2

Throughout this class I have learned many things regarding New Media and Web 2.0 sites. One of the most important things I have learned is that social networking sites are utilized by human resources departments as a type of preliminary screening during their hiring practices. Another important thing I learned was the 'digital divide;' this has to do with the availability of types of new media technologies based on an individual's region or area where they live. I also learned about the ways social and political movements utilize new media and the internet for political campaigns and organization; this was through my own research and writing for the final paper.

My favorite thing about this class is the relevance to today's media world. Most things we covered in this course will be important and relevant for much of my life because it is regarding new technologies that have prevailed into popularity. Some people today are uninformed regarding the use of internet web 2.0 services and the knowledge I acquired in this class will benefit me for years to come.

My least favorite thing about this class was that it was entirely online. I'm used to meeting my fellow classmates and the instructor of my class, so having online classes takes away the face-to-face interactions I find most beneficial to learning. That aside, I don't believe there was anything I disliked about the course. A possible improvement I'd suggest would be to make this course a hybrid class; by having the class meet in person once a week, it would be easier for students to understand what is expected if them and it would allow the students to meet their classmates and the instructor.

~T

Final Week #1

This class exposed me to a plethora of interesting and fascinating concepts. One of the readings I found most interesting came from Jordan's "A Virtual Death and a Real Dilemma." Swenson's blog about an imaginary daughter dying caught my interest immediately; I wasn't so interested in her 'lie,' but instead in the amount of people attracted to the blog! Thousands of people were concerned about a girl they had never met before, but they felt connected with her because they had be interacting with her blog online. This event exemplified the possibilities of online fraud, internet security, internet communities, and questions of morality online; this was so interesting to me because I never see people as passionate about strangers through face-to-face interactions, yet online, these people seemed to care a great deal about this young girl! Another aspect of this dilemma I found interesting was the fact that if skeptics of Swenson's blog weren't so adamant in figuring out the true identity of the person posting the blogs, there would have be no dramatic after-effects.

~T

Men Beware of Beautiful Beasts.

For my new media related article, I stumbled across an article from Time’s Techland regarding Facebook scams. According to a Daily Mail survey, men are more likely to be friend a stranger and share personal information, especially if the image on the profile is an attractive female. Images of buff/attractive men didn’t show the same results for women adding strangers. This isn’t surprising to me considering lonely men aren’t necessarily considering the possibility that the attractive female could try to scam him, but instead just wants to look at her pictures.

The article continues on explaining that people accessing social networking sites from mobile devices and other new technologies may also increase risk for fraudulent activity. I try my best not to access my Facebook frequently or on computers that aren’t mine. Though, this isn’t because I’m worried about fraud, but instead I try not to use the site often because I don’t enjoy it like I used to. There are some tips that explain what kind of things regarding a “stranger” trying to friend you should make you see ‘red flags.’ So, thanks to Keith Wagstaff for “Men More likely to Befriend Sexy Strangers in Facebook Scams.” This article can be found at: http://techland.time.com/2011/11/11/men-more-likely-to-befriend-sexy-strangers-in-facebook-scams/?iid=tl-main-feature

Enjoy,

~T

The World Wide Web

This reading was an enlightening view of the beginning of the World Wide Web's (W3) development. One of the main points made by the authors was to highlight the fact that prevailing technologies do not necessarily need to be the best, but simply good enough; the factors stated that are most helpful to a technology's success are price, availability, and open standards. This is interesting because humans are inherently lazy with certain mental processes. For example, if we know a certain way to get to a final destination, we usually take that route instead of finding the fastest because our knowledge is 'good enough.'

Another main point of the article explains what the world wide web defines. It defines a boundless information world where all information can be received and re-referenced as necessary through the address system (URI). There's a network protocol that helps increase performance and features of the markup language (HTML) used to transmit text or images.

The third main point I've chosen to highlight involves the system's future as the developers hope to construct it. Many of these future hopes have been met like more exciting interfaces, access to for-profit services (online shopping), real time features (conferences/gaming), and the ability for non-professional users to also publish online.

A Virtual Death and A Real Dilemma

Facebook becomes a Dogooder Partner!

Finally! I've been complaining much of my last ten years alive about consumers' lack of concern with issues regarding environmental and social justice, humanitarianism, and purchasing local goods from local retailers. According to an article posted by David Cohen, a site called TheDoGooder.com offers discounts for Facebook users so long as the things they purchase as ecologically/economically friendly.

Reading this post brought a smile to my face because people always love wasting their money, but rarely focus their funds towards bettering our planet. Hopefully this website's discounts are incentive enough for people to start spending more of their money more consciously. The conspicuous consumption of global north countries is the leading cause of greenhouse gases being released into the atmosphere and also forces people in the global south to live in impoverished nations.

Check out this post if you're interested.

~T

http://www.allfacebook.com/facebook-deals-greem-2011-11

Blogging: Self Presentation and Privacy

Karen McCullagh's article Blogging: Self Presentation and Privacy, had some interesting information regarding bloggers. Unfortunately, they can be properly generalized for all bloggers due to their non-random participants.

One main point of the article was regarding the cluster concept of privacy; there exists three aspects according to McCullagh. First is informational privacy, which states that an individual has the right to control their personal information and who else this info is disclosed to. Second is accessibility privacy, which should protect people from wiretapping, peeping Tom's, or other physical encroachments. The third aspect is expressive privacy, which states individuals should have the ability to freely act and interact as they desire without fear of scrutiny or being forced to conform to the existing social norms.

Another point the author makes is that one third of the participants were concerned with privacy of personal information. This relates to both their blog's audience and the things they chose to post. Audience members of a blog could be known to the blogger (real life friends) or they could be some random people in cyberspace. Bloggers explained that personal info, emotions, sex, relationships, arguments, financial info, work, health info, illegal activities, politics, and religion were all topics that can at times be too private to post.

Finally, I believe one of the study's main points is found in the discussion where the author talks about the archiving of blogs and how it could lead to issues later if tracked back to the blogger. By assuming privacy, bloggers are at greater risk and should consider the privacy mechanisms explained in the article. Without them, one day an old naive post could negatively affect the changed and grown blogger.

~T

The End of Books

This article by Robert Coover presents hypertexts, specifically fictional hypertexts. A hypertext is any text on a computer screen that is nonlinear, with lexias (or links to an infinite number of possible choices regarding where the reader could go next), and it is always in the middle (as opposed to having a beginning/middle/end like most print texts). Coover taught a couple hypertext fiction workshops at Brown University because he wanted to learn about these new texts himself. An interesting thing I learned was about the group fictional place the 'Hotel;' Brown and his students could use the hotel to write many interweaving stories that were determined by any and all authors as they so desired.

The most useful thing I learned from the reading is that these kinds of fictional texts exist! I understand that searching the internet gets overwhelming because there are so many things to read and directions to go, but I don't know how I would handle this free-range method of fictional storytelling.

~T

Navigating Technomedia

Navigating Technomedia by Sam Han covered a few main topics in a relatively short amount of writing. He spoke about a ‘digital divide’ between areas with different technological capabilities, discussed three historical eras of technomedia, and he spoke about the real time capabilities of broadcasting.

One main point Han makes is that there is a ‘digital divide’ between people who have access to the newest technologies and those without access to them because of their more rural location. This issue was even discussed by nations in Sweden during the United Nations’ World Summit on the Information Society in 2003.

The next main point Han presents in the chapter is regarding three eras of technomedia and their histories. The mechanical era refers to print media, printing presses, alphabet letters versus characters, and photography; he presents moralist photographers and scientist photographers as the two ‘brands’ that existed. Even film is included in the mechanical era. The next era of technomedia was the electric era. This era includes telegraphy, which first allowed text to defy distance and time by instantly being transmitted, the telephone, and even personal computers. The final era is the broadcast era; the era includes radio and television broadcasts.

An interesting subject Han discusses is in regards to static during broadcasts. The broadcast era brought with it live feed with real time capabilities, so even if the broadcast wasn’t live, seeing static made the audience believe what they were viewing was live.

~T

Google+ to Eventually Surpass Facebook?

For my new media article post, I found an interesting piece regarding Google+ in the New York Times.

The article explains that many of the earliest members of Google+ stopped using the site shortly after starting in July because their friends were not members. At a web 2.0 conference in San Francisco, Mr Gundotra, Google's vice president, explained that Google+ has a major advantage to gaining new members. People visit all kinds of Google sites and services everyday; Google will be encouraging people to join Google+ when they visit these sites.

I didn't think any social networking site would be able to compete with Facebook, until I read this article. I had not considered the networking power of Google and their ability to brainwash people into joining their SNS through advertisements on google maps or google's gmail. Good luck resisting fellow cyberspace users.

~T

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/20/google-will-get-new-features-and-new-users-executive-says/?ref=technology

Just Like Me Only Better

This research paper was surprisingly interesting given it relates simply to the avatars, or characters a user creates in cyberspace. I found it interesting that so many of the studied users made their avatars similar to themselves in appearance because from my personal experience my avatars usually bear no physical resemblance to myself.

One new thing I learned from the article was that the username of a character was considered to be a form of identity expression. Because the creation of an avatar often means following certain presets, naming one’s avatar can be used to express the user’s self. This is also somewhat surprising to me considering most characters I see during online play have ridiculous (and sometimes) vulgar names for their avatars. I’m not sure what the basis for Second Life’s game play is, but if it is supposed to be a simulation of reality, this could explain the variance in avatar naming.

The most useful thing I read in the research paper was the authors’ belief that global hegemony affected the standards of avatar creation. The authors found that most avatars followed a Caucasian standard of beauty, with youthful characteristics, and were physically fit. This is useful because it shows that regardless of the creator’s culture, their avatar often reflected themselves, though with Caucasian standards of beauty in mind. This shows that the Western ideas of beauty are plaguing most peoples’ ideologies.

~T

Technology and Society

Raymond Williams has written an article where he analyzed television as a cultural technology. He looks at different versions of cause and effect regarding technology and society, explains the history of television as a technology, and examines the social history of the uses of television as a technology.

One of the author’s main points is that we often fail to realize the specific meanings of how a technology has supposedly changed society. Williams argues that television hasn’t changed society, but instead several causes and effects could have changed society with the help of television. Television alters one’s perception of reality and in effect alters the reality we create by influencing our actions. Television is also a centralized entertainment medium and it centralizes our styles and behaviors because people all watch the same programming.

Another main point the author makes is regarding visual broadcasting’s contradictory issue pertaining to programs’ funding. Without sufficient funding, a program will lose creative possibility because they cannot hire the desired actors; use the desired special effects, etc to create their envisioned program. To resolve this issue, programs turned to advertisements and sponsors for funding. Those who fund their programs, as well as the producers and broadcast systems broadcasting their programs, in turn limit their creative possibilities because they will stop funding should they disagree with the messages of the shows. Oh the drama of art versus money.

~T

Community Media

Community media is such an interesting topic. The chapter we read was interesting, insightful and engaging. I didn't think of describing media that was created to empower members of the community actually had its own name and category.

One of the main ideas discussed within the chapter was the general apathy of western nations regarding politics. The author explains that media is seen as both an advocate for democratic values in society and an undemocratic entity controlled by the elite. Supposedly, the media’s negative coverage of political representatives and politics causes decreased voter turn out and political action by society. I’ve definitely noticed this apathetic plague spreading amongst my American peers and believe the media does have an effect; Americans are more interested in consumption, sports, American Idol, and their physical appearance far more than they care about morality, social justice, or environmental justice.

Another main point from the reading explains that community media can/has become the means for many voiceless members within the community to express themselves. Community media works to combat against the historical methods mass media uses to obtain and retain power. I’m not personally affiliated with any aspects of community media, but this is also a new concept to me. I not only find it to be interesting, but I feel that it could be a direction I should look into after I graduate.

~T

Facebook Updates to New Newsfeed

Scary how a computer is now telling us, which posts by friends are newsworthy and in real-time, based on an algorithm and the amount of time that has passed since our last login. According to Rob Spiegel in TechNewsWorld, the new update made by Facebook on Wednesday is likely a more convenient setup, but people are often used to the way things always were and resist to even subtle changes with social networking sites.

One aspect of new media I find so fascinating is the ever-changing mediums used to present information. A newspaper has (and likely will) always appeared, smelt, felt, and worked the same as newspapers did many years ago. Yet, with new media, a social networking site could change hourly, even daily if the programmers thought necessary. New media is something that will leave those who cannot quickly adapt feeling lost when they revisit the medium after a six-month break. This could be considered a bad thing because it could alienate some users, but the instantaneous consumer society we live in today forces constant change to keep the attention of our easily distracted minds.

~T

Should you be interested in perusing this article yourself, try this link:

http://www.technewsworld.com/story/Facebook-Goes-Under-the-Knife-Again-73332.html

Quality of Online Relationships

This article was actually more of a research paper, which surprised me given the title and topic. Interestingly enough, the abstract directly states that there are not sufficient existing studies pertaining to this topic, so I guess my assumptions weren’t terribly unique. Even though this research paper had more data then I generally enjoy reading, the topic is timely, interesting, and somewhat surprising.

Something I learned from this article is that computer-mediated-communication differs greatly from face-to-face interactions due to the lack of influence one’s class and attractiveness has upon one’s cyber-self. I was surprised that age didn’t play a larger role in predicting usage of OSNS considering most teens and young adults I know have a Facebook profile, but most of my parent’s friends are not using social networking sites such as Facebook.

One of the most interesting sections I found was in regards to “Anxiety.” The portion that I found most interesting stated, “There might be many lonely and socially anxious people who heavily use OSNS to establish online relationships.” This portion struck me like a blast from the past because one of my closest childhood friends used to be extremely lonely and anxious throughout middle and high schools. He also harbored many online relationships (not simultaneously! =P Get your head out of the gutter) and spent lots of time at home alone on the computer; however, today he is more comfortable in social situations and he forces himself to leave home and meet people face-to-face. When asked what changed, he simply said, “I learned what worked and what didn’t online, now I get to test it in the real world.”

~T

Medium is Message

Mcluhan seems to be as discontent with the ‘content’ of media as I myself often am. I’m surprised by how much I enjoyed this article because the first page seemed as if the entire reading was going to be bland.

One of main idea Mcluhan presents in the article, “The Medium Is the Message” is that technologies or media doesn’t change human activity, but instead it, “shapes and controls the scale and form of human association and action” (p. 203). He provides many examples, such as types of transportation, what an electric light is used for, or even modes of communication. I definitely agree with his explanations because today the internet hasn’t changed that people meet and communicate with one another, but instead the internet has changed how people may meet, how often they communicate (especially given the mileage between party members), and they way we communicate (f2f versus cyber-interactions).

The main point I think Mcluhan was trying to communicate throughout this article involves the affects media has on human thoughts and actions. He explains that because the general public is used to standards, uniformity, and continuous habits, people find themselves in situations where they are unable to adapt to a given situation because he/she is stuck in the usual or old ways that always used to work. I’m pleased he mentioned the cultural insensitivity of IQ testing and the fact that it doesn’t actually measure intelligence, but instead how well a person understands the culture that the test writers/graders belong to. The most interesting aspect of this point pertains to the subconscious effects media has on people; he explains that media doesn’t alter our opinions, but instead “alter sense ratios or patterns of perception” (p. 207), which I also believe is true because I sometimes am oblivious to the fact that I purchased a more expense product simply due to the brand name.

~T

Man-Computer Symbiosis

I can’t believe how spot-on much of the Licklider article was with the assumptions he made regarding the relationship between computers and mankind. Over fifty years ago he could already see much potential for this relationship to be symbiotic. I’m also surprised by my own enjoyment while reading this article.

Something new I learned from the article was the idea of “real-time” problem solving with the help of computers as a goal (3). I never considered that programming must already be written for basically every situation should a computer be able to help solve technical problems.

An interesting aspect of the article was his assumption that books would not be stored entirely on computers, when in fact most anything that is printed can also be purchased or found online. So, he wasn’t on point with that statement, but he was correct in saying that books will forever be a great invention for humanity. I say this because I always prefer to read something that is printed versus on a computer’s screen; it is simply easier for me to read and understand.

Smart Lists to Group All Our Dumb People?

This post is regarding an article I read from our instructor's 'All Facebook' link regarding friends lists (or groupings) on Facebook.

The author seems to believe that creating lists of friends will be the newest of privacy features for Facebook users. She explains that the new test feature has the lists called 'smart lists;' each list is supposed have customizable privacy settings, which would be useful to say the least. I hope the test feature is utilized so those who wish to increase their online privacy will be able to do so.

The author begins her article questioning why people complain about online privacy, but don't actually use friends lists to sort who sees what. I say, if one is truly worried about their privacy online, then get offline. Don't have a Facebook, or at least keep all your personal information offline. If Facebook wants to continue selling our information, they will; if they don't want to sell our personal information, someone will still easily be able to get it off servers and steal it for their own using. I don't trust so-called privacy settings, but then again, if I was worried about keeping my things private, I wouldn't post them online for others to read.

~T

Here's the link to the article should you so desire checking it out yourself:

http://www.allfacebook.com/facebook-really-wants-you-to-create-friend-lists-2011-09

The Quality of Online Social Relationships

This article was surprisingly interesting given the amount of data and research presented. One of the main points argued by the authors is that online interactions are less likely to encourage the development of a relationship that will be sustained when compared with face-to-face interactions or phone calls. I do agree with this statement given the criteria used by these authors to label online interactions; their data mostly included emails and listservs, but video-chat as the form of online interaction is likely to be more effective than a telephone call. Video-chat would be as close as one could come to a f2f interaction; this is because one can hear the other party’s voice, like in a telephone call, and one may also be able to pick-up the other party member’s nonverbal communication signs such as: body language, facial expressions, movements, or even hesitations during the conversation. I know I feel closer to my “cyber-friend,” (whom I’ve never met in person, but had skype conversations with numerous times) than several of my friends I’ve met in the real world; I would argue this is due to the illusion of closeness caused by video chat.

Not only do the authors argue that online interactions are less effective for developing and sustaining relationships, but they also claim that listservs are less effective when a member’s goal is establishing a sense of belonging or identity with the group than a small group of people offline. I agree with the authors here because I consider myself to be far less connected with my Comm 101C classmates, (who all received the same listserv as me) than the any of the students I’ve ever had in f2f classes. The authors’ claim that lack of interactions through the listserv is exactly my reasoning for why I felt disconnected from my fellow online students two years ago.

~T

The Evolution of Media

This reading was a little dull because it was an educational history, but I actually found most of the topics to be interesting because media has so much influence on humanity.

I think I was most surprised during this reading when I read that postal services were believed to have begun as early as 1600 B.C. by ancient Egyptians. Delivery seems to be one of the author's main points considering he even states, "A possible business opportunity might be in the area of automated physical delivery, not only of letters, but also of small packages containing various small goods" (p. 19). He is definitely correct regarding this point, because communication is now instantaneous, but physical delivery requires manpower.

Another interesting part of the reading pertains to the printing press. Writing took forever and was not easily copied compared to typewritten word. With the invention of the printing press, people were able to share their writing with many people. Now it seems the printing press may be on its way to extinction considering we have word processors that correct our mistakes as we type messages onto LCD screens for instantaneous sharing worldwide.

Foolish Boy

So, I'm a procrastinator, I'll admit it. I finished all my work for another class, then logged on to my email, D2L and blog spot for the first time this week. Like a fool, I didn't think about the 12 hour requirement. At least there's always next week for full credit.

Introduction Fall '11

Good Evening fellow 131p students,

My alias is Tornn and I am looking forward to my final year at SJSU. Feel free to get to know me, ask me anything you'd like, and question my statements to force me to defend my ideas.

Thanks,

Tornn