Favorite Reading

The concept of technomedia and the article we read from Sam Han's book on Navigating Technomedia was one of my favorite concepts we learned in this class. To refresh everyone's memory, Han was discussing how of all the media technologies are working together and how the "new media" is really just layers of media that have formed and evolved through the years. I really enjoyed reading about this because we are currently in a time where the Internet has become such a huge part of the media and many people who are unfamiliar with these concepts we have learned in class think that the current state of the media is something completely new rather than something that evolved over time. I really enjoyed learning the history of how the media came to be, and I chose this concept because it is something I will continue to research and learn about in the near future.

Learning and Favorites

2). What have you learned throughout this class?  What was your favorite thing about this class?  What was your least favorite thing about the class?  How can this class be improved?

I have learned many new concepts that pertain to the media and communications. Before taking this class I was just another person who was using media to communicate yet I never thought to analyze it the way this class has challenged me to do. I learned that through all these different forms of technology lie the messages that are all around us. Text messaging, email, and online social networks are a common form of technology that many people are comfortable using on a daily basis. Radio, television, and newspapers are still a source for information, but the Internet has advanced into a medium that can contain all of this media in one. I also learned that the "medium is the message" which I agree with and really enjoyed reading about. My favorite thing about this class was the way that it was structured. I really appreciated the fact that we had until Saturday night to complete our work because I have a job and have other classes I take as well. We were still required to engage and post on different days, but I really liked the fact that we had enough time to manage all of our work. My least favorite part of the class was vlogging, but I completely understand the relevance behind it all. I had to put that out there simply because I hate watching myself on videos and I don't like the thought of others seeing me either, but I guess it wasn't too awful. :)

Interesting Concepts

New Media Article

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/how-to-treat-facebook-and-twitter-like-your-kids/48027?tag=content;search-results-rivers In this article writer Jason Hiner makes an analogy between social media and parental favoritism amongst siblings. I thought this was an interesting article because it is explaining his reasons for deactivating the cross-posting that Twitter and Facebook allow. Many of you are probably aware at this point that a person can connect the two sites so that one is producing a live feed onto the other. I think that this convergence of all social media being used may work for some people who are trying to get out a certain amount of information at a faster speed. An example of this is someone who has a certain audience following them on Twitter, meanwhile they keep their Facebook for close friends and family. There still may be information that they want both audiences to know about. The problem of not wanting specific information transferring from one network to the other could possibly be solved with an option for each post on whether the person wants it to show up on more than one site. I don't have a Twitter account so this may already be possible. I thought it was also interesting that this article mentions to keep in mind the strengths and weaknesses of the social networks you are using in effort to use them in a way that works best for you. At the moment I only have a Facebook account, but I have often that for businesses and entrepreneurs Twitter would be a great way to get a lot of information out several times as opposed to Facebook which I see more for personal use.

World Wide Web

So there was a lot of technical information to this article about the World Wide Web and it's origins and I have to admit it gave me a headache because I forgot to print it out from work this week so I had to read it from the computer, but it was still INTERESTING to me. This was in 1994 yet it is still is how we know the technical side of the Internet to be today. In regard to HTTP and URLs I was familiar with them but not in terms of hypertext transfer protocol or the way servers work. It was also interesting reading about MIME as well as how HTML become the common language for the interchange of hypertext. This article was interesting to read now because it was meant to help people understand w3. It seems that many of goals that were defined at that time have been met through the development that followed. In terms of my own experience with this article is that the Internet has evolved and met several goals that were first set for it, meanwhile the many users still have no idea what they are using. I have to admit that I am not very educated in this field of knowledge so I enjoyed reading this article.

A Virtual Death-Jordan

"One of the most touted beliefs about Internet communication is that the medium
strips away users' offline identities and leaves them free to reconstruct a tetherless online persona" (Jordan,2005). I really enjoyed reading this article, and this statement in particular stood out to me because this ties in with what we have been studying all semester. In the article Jordan discusses a particular case of an online hoax involving a woman who was blogging as a 19 year old girl who was dying of leukemia. When the community discovered that Kaycee did not really exist and that the woman who was blogging they were upset and released a lot of statements from all over the world in regard to how they felt. This article brought up some very interesting points about the Internet serving as medium that allows people to deceive others based on the ability to hide certain information as well as portray themselves in a certain light. As we have learned throughout this semester many people are comfortable using the Internet to paint a picture of themselves ( not just literally, but in terms of how they want others to see them based on the pictures, videos, text, etc that they choose to put on their online social networks, blog cites, etc.) The story of Kaycee was not surprising to me because as the article often brings up, people have already been doing this type of deception for as long as we can recall and the Internet is now just another form of media that someone can use in this way. I liked how the article brought up the point that specific images (example "the bodybuilder") cannot conclude what a person is or is not (Jordan, 2005). We see this often with the Internet because there is an uncertainty on what we are looking at and our imagination is left to decide. I have questioned the authenticity of pictures of people before and whether or not they were really the person who was writing something on the Internet, but that is not to say I was right or wrong on whether or not the picture was really the person. The whole point is how would I really know? There is truly no way to know for sure unless I know the person in face-to-face contact. This is why I agree with the article that we should stay skeptical to a certain degree because if not we would likely be suckered in to everything we read online. It is unfortunate that other people who are staying truthful online had to receive backlash from the Debbie Swenson incident, but the truth is we don't know that these people are being authentic either. I think we can only trust and distrust as we have reason to and as we come across each new experience.

Smartphones

Article Link

Blogging: Self Presentation and Privacy

It was interesting to learn in this study that over half of the participants (62.6%) were blogging for social interaction. There were several great points brought up in this article in relation to privacy and expression. We read about the different types of privacy as well as how social construction plays in on how we feel comfortable expressing ourselves or disclosing personal information. There was the example of how if we didn't have these types of privacy that our relationships wouldn't differ between those with our mothers and those with our employers. I think that it's hard to make that assumption simply because there are still aspects of affection and nurture that we get out of our family members that we don't have with others due to how much time we spend with them, but I can understand what this means in relation to privacy. Basically privacy is what plays a huge role in our everyday lives. We do and don't do many of our actions because of privacy. Expressive privacy was found to be crucial in the way that bloggers value their privacy. In my personal life I have never felt comfortable creating a blog or uploading videos of myself onto any web forums, but I have made an interesting connection between this article and my personal life. When I had to create a blog for this course I felt comfortable doing so because I knew my audience would be classmates and my professor. I have become used to uploading videos of myself for educational purposes, but I know that I would not be comfortable putting these videos onto YouTube or a similar Internet site.

The End of Books Article

I thought this was a very insightful article that is highlighting where hypertext started, and also potentially where it is headed in the future. Like most of the articles I found some very surprising information such as hypertext fiction being published on disks as far back as 1991. When I think of online print now I tend to focus on the last ten years being a prominent source for hypertext taking off. Although I see book stores such as Barnes and Nobles still around there are still other companies that are going under like Borders books, and I often wonder what the future of books will be like. Especially now with technology like the kindle and even just our basic computers enable us to read books online. I know many people who still prefer to read their books in physical book form, but that doesn't mean that we won't see an end of books here in our lifetime. Much like people who were not so eager to switch over from cassette players to CD players eventually had no choice in the matter because technology moves forward whether or not we are displeased. When the technology of watching movies on the computer or streaming them with an HDMI cable to our televisions we slowly saw Hollywood Videos and many Blockbuster videos shutting down because there was not as high of a demand for a DVD to watch a movie. I thought that it was very interesting what the article mentioned in regard to hypertext using different font types to identify voice and plot elements. The way we used to know books is one type of font throughout the whole book that we do not often associate with what we are reading, meaning our minds interpret what is happening in the story based on the words, rather than how the text is displayed. With hypertext there is the ability to shift to several different fonts and even font sizes to place emphasis on specific parts of the content. Personally the thought of this is not appealing and I would prefer to read a simple text that stays the same, but I have no idea what I will be saying about this ten years from this point. I have always been a little bit slower than the average person in regard to technology. I never even understood how people preferred to listening to books on tape as opposed to reading them because I occasionally found myself annoyed by the person reading the book, and was unable to focus on the content. I think I might have a similar experience if I were to read a book through hyperspace and the font were to be constantly changing as if it was forcing me to accept specific content as being more important, serious, etc. than other parts of the book.

Grooveshark

http://sfappeal.com/culture/2011/04/big-fish-big-pond-grooveshark-app-no-longer-in-android-app-store.php

Technomedia

I really enjoyed reading the article Technomedia. In this article we learned that technomedia are when certain devices are operating together even if they were once something separate. The article discusses the history of several forms of media such as photography, the telephone, television, motions pictures,etc. All of these forms of technology are now working together by technomedia such as the Internet. The article gives the example of the Internet being the made connective medium, as well as how websites such as YouTube enable us to watch videos through Internet websites as opposed to watching the television separately. This interesting part is that many people are now using the Internet to stream movies onto their tv as opposed to renting DVDs for their DVD player. I also know many people who use the Internet to stream radio stations as opposed to listening to the radio station on an actual radio. Some people are even using the Internet from their cell phone to stream Internet radio through their car speakers or watch movies on their cell phones or laptops via the Internet. Technomedia is a great concept to learn because of where technology is today. Everything that is being designed has something else in mind while it is created. I think that this is a positive aspect of media technology to keep things working together rather than separate, but as the article mentions, I also understand the need for perspectives that people such as Avital Ronell point out in regard to communication and telephonage.

Personal Dynamic Media

Back from Spring Break to another really interesting article. This time we read Personal Dynamic Media which took us though the creation of the Dynabook, which was a future focus for The Learning Research Group at Xerox Palo Alto Research Center. The interesting part about seeing the picture of the mock-up of a future Dynabook is that is looks a lot like an ipad or a laptop computer that has been folded flat. The interim Dynabook is what we know today as a desktop computer which consists of a monitor, keyboard, and modem, as well as a "mouse" which is used to navigate. I couldn't help but laugh a little at the photograph of the Interim Dynabook simply because the modem looks like a dishwasher. The disk packs that are inserted into the Dynabook look like a similar size to music records. I learned a lot about the foundation of systems like Paint and other program design for computers while reading this article. I thought it was very interesting to learn that some children as young as 12 were helping to develop these programs because they are able to interact and have control of things. I found all of these things to be very useful while learning about the different forms of media and how the computer can be all these forms of media. We have been learning about this all semester and this article fits right in with everything else. I really enjoyed reading it.

Nintendo 3DS

http://news.cnet.com/8301-10797_3-20047253-235.html?tag=topTechContentWrap;editorPicks

From Computer Power and Human Reason

This was a fascinating article. I can't say I am surprised that the

ELIZA program that became known as DOCTOR had the effect that it

did on people. When you look around today we see so many people

looking for advice in books and magazines and they have no idea who

wrote the information. In these instances we can usually rely on the

fact that a human came up with the information( even though that's not

saying that it's helpful or reliable information). In the case of a

computer playing human, there are so many possible things that could go

wrong. Like it is highlighted in the article the context of our language is

key in communication, and as Weizenbaum mentions, there are things

that a computer should not be programmed to do. I like the fact that

he continues to point out the aspect of computer still being computers

regardless of what they are used for. Meaning, we can create a

program to give therapy to someone, but this therapy is still computed.

I also really like how Weizenbaum mentioned the fact that arts used to

be a source for humans to gain understanding and intellectual

nourishment but that science was becoming the sole form of

understanding (Weizenbaum). One interesting thing I thought about

while reading this article is that technology is becoming such a common

part of our daily lives that many people look to the computer for their

answers to everything. I find myself typing in questions some times

rather than asking a friend, or a teacher, or someone who may also

know the answer.

Second Life Article

I genuinely enjoyed reading this article. I learned a lot about the way gender is visually constructed in virtual realities like SL. In real life we are constantly surrounded by images of gender and what maleness and femaleness is supposed to look like. If we open up a fashion magazine that is directed toward women we see certain types of women with specific images of hair, makeup, clothing, etc. In men's magazines there are similar images that are constructed to fit a specific gendered appearance that our society accepts as male. The article discussed gender in the aspect that we "do" it based on the way we behave or our actions. In SL Delia and Georgia both designed separate avatars. Georgia designed Rude to be a female avatar while Delia decided to create a male avatar. Most of the options that users can select are distinctively 'female' or 'male' based on characteristics like large breasts, small waists, long hair, long legs, and for males there are broad shoulders, large pecs, and six-pack abs. Within time the researchers became used to the environment and were no longer surprised by images of naked breasts or the obvious gender stereotypes that existed in SL. I found this to be very interesting because it depicts many aspects of RL and the way that society constructs and enables gender roles for men and women. I like that the study pointed out that SL is still limited to what the creators allow for the user to create. Meaning someone may find SL liberating based on the ability to create their avatar in many different forms, but they are still choosing physical characteristics that someone else created for them.

http://mashable.com/2011/03/09/president-obama-cyber-bullying/

Question Two

Williams discusses technology and society and cause and effect. He
uses specific statements such as "television has altered our world"
in his analysis of Versions of Cause and Effect in Technology and
Society. He brings several different statements that all have one
thing in common-that they believe that television has altered the
world. This is true because television came before the use of
personal computers for news and entertainment. I know many people who
do not watch tv anymore because they choose other media to get their
information from, but if this other media were to disappear I think
many people would go back to watching more television. He identifies
the first class of opinion as technological determinism which he
states as a viewpoint regarding the nature of social change. He
explains the second class of opinion to be in contrast with the first
and considers technologies to be symptoms of other change. The
article then goes on to discuss how these two opinions are the cause
of a debate in regard to our thinking about technology and society.
The history of television is discussed as well as it's similarity and
difference to radio and cinema. I found this article to be very
interesting because there in personal experience I have heard many
people speak about how television is the cause of many problems as
well as it's effects on people, yet I do not hear much about the
debate behind it all. When we analyze it from the perspective of
television being a medium like anything else that technology helps
create, we then see how there are several forms of new media that most
people are using today for exactly what television was used for then.

Just Like Me Only Better

I found this article to be very fascinating. The study that was done involved the statistical findings of avatars that people from around the world were able to construct themselves for MUVE (virtual realities). The study found that the avatars created all resembled the Caucasian or western standard of beauty which consisted of light skin, thin nose, thin lips, etc. There was one black woman who chose an avatar that represented characteristics of her true self-identity which is overweight and black, but almost every other person in the study had selected an avatar that fit the Caucasian standard of beauty. In Germany there were some people who chose to create their female avatars with tan skin, however they were always accompanied with a thin nose, thin lips, and blond hair. Studies like this one are important because they help us analyze the reasons people are creating online versions of themselves to be what they consider the standard of beauty. The study points out that there was no surprise in regard to the hegemony that was identified in regard to the Caucasian standard of beauty. I was not surprised by this portion of the study either because it seems that many people throughout the world think the Caucasian standard of beauty is universally accepted. We live in a world where skin lightening cream is marketed as a "beauty" product and this is part of the problem.

7th Graders Expelled

Community Media

The author of this article believes that the idea of Democracy is not a concept, goal, or ideal, and that it is not something that can ever be reached. Within representative democracy the media is the center of it all because it enables people to practice democracy. The article gave specific examples of media such as the Women's radio station in Nepal, where they are now able to express themselves in a society that is dominated by men, and Zoom Black Magic Radio station that was based out of Fresno, California and was once a black-oriented station. The article discusses how community media is always democratic media, because it allows for  the individual and the community to be represented. I found it very interesting reading the statistic about how 44% of people who used the Internet in the U.S. in 2003 created some type of Internet contact that was either self-expression or representative of something. I agree that technology and the Internet as we know it today is a way for people to produce media as opposed to having to use a professional medium such as a radio station or news program. I really enjoyed reading the part about the "don't hate the media, make the media" because this makes a lot of sense to me. I occasionally find myself complaining about specific parts of the media without really taking the time to think about how I can be part of the media if I choose. If there are places where the media is being controlled by nondemocratic governments, it only makes matters worse for people who have so much to say to not represent for themselves or their community.