There were many extremely good points regarding politics and internet use in Photoshop for Democracy, The New Relationship between Politics and Popular Culture. It opened up with a scenario of characters that everyone is familiar with, Donald Trump and George Bush, and showed how the use of the internet can make just about anything happen. The editing done in film from the two of them made a completely different video that many people found humorous. Though it was degrading our president it shows that politics and the internet have created a bond where people's opinions can be easily displayed. Slapping the presidents behind in an online computer game reaffirms the point that the creator of the Trump/Bush scene wanted, and this is all done with the internet regarding politics.
The article talks again about the tools present in today's society and how they are used. In our previous article, Smart Mobs, they touched on this same point. The way people choose to use today's technologies is the point these two authors are trying to touch on. Smart Mobs focused more on cell phone usage, and Photoshop for Democracy is explaining how the internet is changing politics. Photoshop quotes, "His staff (referring to John Kerry in the 2004 elections) used blogging to create a more intimate, real-time relationship with his supporters." This quote is the idea that politics on the internet is a very popular and effective mechanism. Though it is all still done through the internet, it’s the technologies, not the actual people who make this happen. People have these grand ideas but the internet and its various tools are what transform these ideas into visual representations. Youtube is a perfect example of this. Almost anything can be found on youtube and it is all put on there by the public. Photos are also used as examples of taking political images and making them swayed in ways to show embarrassment. Photoshop again quotes on this subject, "The use of images may be blunt, and when Bush's face is morphed into Hitler's of Mad Magazine icon Alfred E. Neuman, or when Kerry's face gets warped to look like Herman Munster."
The article talks about Popular Culture and how it is involved with children and the youth.
The article also touches on how they think children do not feel involved because they are not allowed to vote until the age of 18 therefore they are not looked at as political subjects. They do not become involved with the news because they feel that it has nothing to do with them. Children chose to take the computer game, "Sims" and through their experiences with the game it was only then that people started to realize the intensity and confusion that kids felt regarding political dilemmas.
As I said before, Photoshop for Democracy touches on many important issues that are present in today's society. These things will continue to be present in daily life if changes are not made. The internet will continue to be an issue for both Democrats and Republicans, but while it will have its issues and problems it will continue to excel and educate. It's a catch 22 yet it's our world.
Please enjoy this youtube clip of a fellow American displaying his ideas on improving American politics!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Tvju0Nmja8
Saturday, April 26, 2008
this new development called the internet (revised)
The reading from Douglas Rushkoff was a little tricky to understand but I did feel that I got a little bit of a better understanding of it after rereading it. Douglas Rushkoffs main focus throughout his article is the internet. The main thing that I caught from Rushkoff was the fact that people, at first, didn’t know that the new development of the internet would take off so quickly. Once it did people were kind of aw-struck and didn’t know how to handle it. This is an understandable reaction because it wasn’t expected therefore it was difficult for people to understand how to fix it due to its new progress. A few ways that Rushkoff explained regarding how people did fix the internet problem was USENET and online communities. Early adopters chose to emphasize on community sharing and so forth to help solve the problems. As it advanced over time the internet became known as the Web and it became a broadcasting platform. The government tried to control it, like the pornographic sites and encryption technologies but was unable to control all internet communities. Looking at the internet today in 2008 compared to back when it began I would say it has been handled very well.
People have continued, and will continue, to come up with new ideas and plan on how to convert advertisements and profit in ways that the television has through the years. A simple example of this is when people watch television episodes online from such websites like ABC or NBC.com. If you miss an episode on TV, and for some un-god reason you don’t have DVR (that was a joke- laugh) you can watch that full episode online. It’s actually nice because the time they give for commercials is cut back from around 3 minutes to only 30 seconds, and instead of watching a variety of commercials you only have 1 to deal with. They have encompassed advertising with the internet, and this will only continue as the internet becomes more and more apart of our daily lives.
So if for some reason you missed LOST, seasons 1, 2, and 3, and are interested in starting season 4 please click the link below and enjoy hours upon hours on the island with just a few advertising interruptions.
http://dynamic.abc.go.com/streaming/landing?lid=ABCCOMGlobalMenu&lpos=FEP
People have continued, and will continue, to come up with new ideas and plan on how to convert advertisements and profit in ways that the television has through the years. A simple example of this is when people watch television episodes online from such websites like ABC or NBC.com. If you miss an episode on TV, and for some un-god reason you don’t have DVR (that was a joke- laugh) you can watch that full episode online. It’s actually nice because the time they give for commercials is cut back from around 3 minutes to only 30 seconds, and instead of watching a variety of commercials you only have 1 to deal with. They have encompassed advertising with the internet, and this will only continue as the internet becomes more and more apart of our daily lives.
So if for some reason you missed LOST, seasons 1, 2, and 3, and are interested in starting season 4 please click the link below and enjoy hours upon hours on the island with just a few advertising interruptions.
http://dynamic.abc.go.com/streaming/landing?lid=ABCCOMGlobalMenu&lpos=FEP
A few pieces of wood (revised)
After reading this article by Postman I can’t help but to agree and disagree with many of his statements. I somewhat agree when he says that politics is like a show business but I believe that it is up to the individual to further look into candidates running in political campaigns. When Postman talked about people viewing commercials regarding political problems and seeing fast solutions due to the commercials being only 30 seconds long, I believe that if people are truly interested in politics they will take those commercials and look deeper into the problems and the candidates. It’s up to the individual how much they choose to want to learn about candidates. I think Postman needs to consider this as a positive outcome because those who further look into candidates help contribute to the nation’s problems. By understanding these problems then finding a candidate who will help fix these problems helps everyone out as a whole.
I’m very happy that I waited until today to write my blog on Postman’s article because as I’m sure everyone now knows, Democrat John Edwards has dropped out of the presidential race. I know this does not have much to do with Postman’s article but one of the things that Postman says in his writing touches on what I saw today when I was watching Edwards drop out of the running. Just to set the record straight, I do support Edwards and I do believe in a lot of the things that he was and is pushing for to help better the United States. I believe he would have made a good president, but I also believe that he knew that there were two other people ahead of him who the United States would rather support. Making it clear that I do like Edwards I would like to comment on something Postman said in his article and something I saw on TV today. Postman quoted, “if politics is like show business, then the idea is not to pursue excellence, clarity or honesty but to appear as if you are, which is another matter altogether” (Postman 126). When I was watching Edwards step out of the race today I saw something that sort of disturbed me. After he had given his speech, and while the cameras were still rolling, Edwards along with his son (at least I think it was his son) were shown helping put up some wood strips on the porch where he gave his speech. The owner of the porch was a victim of Hurricane Katrina back in 2005, and with what was shown it was clear that the owner’s house was not fully back to normal. Now I know that one of the things that Edwards fights for is getting victims and New Orleans back on their feet. During his speech today he did say a lot about how there are still homeless victims in New Orleans and how he will not forget about them, but I just thought it was kind of a cheap shot to show him put up a few pieces of wood. I personally have gone down south 6 times to help rebuild houses that were hit by Hurricane Katrina and I think that is why I was so disturbed by what I saw. A few pieces of wood are not going to help anything but make Edwards, or as Postman would say, appear to be excellent and honest. The only thing I can hope for is that viewers watched that segment and instead of getting hostile like me at seeing him and his construction skills, hopefully they will see that 29 months later there is still much needed work to be done.
I have attached the video, via youtbue and CNN of Edwards dropping out of the presidential race. Please take notice to the background camera shots and all the commotion of people behind him. Unfortunately I was unable to find any footage of Edwards after his speech there he was shown messing with his “few pieces of wood.” But back in January, believe me the cameras did show him and his little participation. In my opinion Postman would agree that Edwards is displaying exactly what he is talking about in his article.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WxnX_US4Ag
I’m very happy that I waited until today to write my blog on Postman’s article because as I’m sure everyone now knows, Democrat John Edwards has dropped out of the presidential race. I know this does not have much to do with Postman’s article but one of the things that Postman says in his writing touches on what I saw today when I was watching Edwards drop out of the running. Just to set the record straight, I do support Edwards and I do believe in a lot of the things that he was and is pushing for to help better the United States. I believe he would have made a good president, but I also believe that he knew that there were two other people ahead of him who the United States would rather support. Making it clear that I do like Edwards I would like to comment on something Postman said in his article and something I saw on TV today. Postman quoted, “if politics is like show business, then the idea is not to pursue excellence, clarity or honesty but to appear as if you are, which is another matter altogether” (Postman 126). When I was watching Edwards step out of the race today I saw something that sort of disturbed me. After he had given his speech, and while the cameras were still rolling, Edwards along with his son (at least I think it was his son) were shown helping put up some wood strips on the porch where he gave his speech. The owner of the porch was a victim of Hurricane Katrina back in 2005, and with what was shown it was clear that the owner’s house was not fully back to normal. Now I know that one of the things that Edwards fights for is getting victims and New Orleans back on their feet. During his speech today he did say a lot about how there are still homeless victims in New Orleans and how he will not forget about them, but I just thought it was kind of a cheap shot to show him put up a few pieces of wood. I personally have gone down south 6 times to help rebuild houses that were hit by Hurricane Katrina and I think that is why I was so disturbed by what I saw. A few pieces of wood are not going to help anything but make Edwards, or as Postman would say, appear to be excellent and honest. The only thing I can hope for is that viewers watched that segment and instead of getting hostile like me at seeing him and his construction skills, hopefully they will see that 29 months later there is still much needed work to be done.
I have attached the video, via youtbue and CNN of Edwards dropping out of the presidential race. Please take notice to the background camera shots and all the commotion of people behind him. Unfortunately I was unable to find any footage of Edwards after his speech there he was shown messing with his “few pieces of wood.” But back in January, believe me the cameras did show him and his little participation. In my opinion Postman would agree that Edwards is displaying exactly what he is talking about in his article.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WxnX_US4Ag
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Everquest 2? Avatars? Attractiveness?
In one of my classes, T317- Children in the Media our teacher decided to give us extra credit if we agreed to participate in our AI’s research study. Desperately needing the extra points I decided to participate along with everyone else in the class. So our AI began his research study by passing out 3 papers that were stapled together. The first couple of questions we could answer on our own which were focused on attractiveness. We were to rate our answers on a scale from 1 to 10, 1 being the least attractive and 10 being the most attractive. We were first asked to rate ourselves and then rate how attractive we think society is around us. At this point we were still not told anything about the study, just simply told to answer the first few questions.
Then there were 2 more questions with yes or no answers where the questions centered around video games and computer games. They asked if we were knowledgeable on the subject of Second Life and the game Everquest 2.
After we answered those questions our AI told us that we would be shown some images of avatars and we were to do the same rating as before, 1 for how unattractive they were to 10 being very attractive. He didn’t explain to us what avatars were. If I had not taken C151- Intro to Pop Culture I would have been just as clueless as everyone else in the room. Fortunately I do know a little bit about Second Life and avatars therefore I knew what to expect from the images. As the first image popped up the room filled with laughter. The avatar was a large coyote looking person with large red eyes, wings, and armor protecting his body. No one was expecting this image and no one knew anything about it. The next image was just as unusual, an over sized toad with over sized hands holding weapons. There were 24 images of avatars that either had wings, were holding weapons, or had some type of armor protecting their body. After all 24 avatars had been shown and rated our AI had us turn in our papers and didn’t say anything else concerning the study, that was it.
Being familiar with avatars, Second Life, and knowing a little bit about War of the Worlds I understood what the characters were and why they looked so deformed. I could also tell that no one else in the class understood anything that was going on. I think our AI took the wrong approach by not explaining anything about the game Everquest 2 or even what avatars are. He just seemed to throw this study at us and not explain anything about it. After doing a little research I found out that the virtual game Everquest 2 involves combat fighting, hence the avatars armor. This was never explained to us. People didn’t know that there was a reason that these avatars were dressed a certain way, or why their deformities are a part of the game, they were just suppose to either know it or not question it. People also in the class didn’t know anything about avatars making the study, in my opinion, pretty pointless. Why have people rate of all things attractiveness on characters that they know nothing about? What kind of research is that? I think if he would have explained a little bit more either about the game or the design of avatars his study would have been a little more beneficial and people would have been more educated on the subject. I also think after the research answers were collected he could have explained why he chose to rate these avatars on a scale of attractiveness. I left the study full of questions but in actuality I was probably one of the most knowledgeable students concerning the subject topic.
What’s up with that?
Then there were 2 more questions with yes or no answers where the questions centered around video games and computer games. They asked if we were knowledgeable on the subject of Second Life and the game Everquest 2.
After we answered those questions our AI told us that we would be shown some images of avatars and we were to do the same rating as before, 1 for how unattractive they were to 10 being very attractive. He didn’t explain to us what avatars were. If I had not taken C151- Intro to Pop Culture I would have been just as clueless as everyone else in the room. Fortunately I do know a little bit about Second Life and avatars therefore I knew what to expect from the images. As the first image popped up the room filled with laughter. The avatar was a large coyote looking person with large red eyes, wings, and armor protecting his body. No one was expecting this image and no one knew anything about it. The next image was just as unusual, an over sized toad with over sized hands holding weapons. There were 24 images of avatars that either had wings, were holding weapons, or had some type of armor protecting their body. After all 24 avatars had been shown and rated our AI had us turn in our papers and didn’t say anything else concerning the study, that was it.
Being familiar with avatars, Second Life, and knowing a little bit about War of the Worlds I understood what the characters were and why they looked so deformed. I could also tell that no one else in the class understood anything that was going on. I think our AI took the wrong approach by not explaining anything about the game Everquest 2 or even what avatars are. He just seemed to throw this study at us and not explain anything about it. After doing a little research I found out that the virtual game Everquest 2 involves combat fighting, hence the avatars armor. This was never explained to us. People didn’t know that there was a reason that these avatars were dressed a certain way, or why their deformities are a part of the game, they were just suppose to either know it or not question it. People also in the class didn’t know anything about avatars making the study, in my opinion, pretty pointless. Why have people rate of all things attractiveness on characters that they know nothing about? What kind of research is that? I think if he would have explained a little bit more either about the game or the design of avatars his study would have been a little more beneficial and people would have been more educated on the subject. I also think after the research answers were collected he could have explained why he chose to rate these avatars on a scale of attractiveness. I left the study full of questions but in actuality I was probably one of the most knowledgeable students concerning the subject topic.
What’s up with that?
Saturday, April 19, 2008
tv-tv-tv
To catch up on my blogs I had to go back and re-read Neil Postman’s article, The Age of Show business regarding technology. It was very interesting on the subject of the internet, it’s is something we have been talking throughout the semester yet I just found it very appealing to compare this article, the first one of the semester to what we have been talking about here in the last weeks of the year.
Postman’s article focuses on technology as a control and a medium and also the biases of technology in the world. The article talks about the telegraph as being one of the first evolutionary technologies invented. The telegraph was a big stepping stone in the world for everything to follow from it grew and improved itself. What I got from rereading the article was the idea that Postman was trying to get us to actually think for ourselves. We are presented with all these technologies and opportunities to further our knowledge but it is up to us to actually use these tools to our advantage. We need to be the ones taking control of what we hear and choosing what to believe is real and not.
Postman also talked about the television as a technology that is being taken advantage of. Such things as the news and political debates was mentioned as being entertainment on TV rather than informative like it’s supposed to be. We as a society need to realize this when we see it and make the proper decisions to understand the real messages being sent out rather than the one that they want us to hear. We need to open the newspaper instead of believing everything we see on television.
Like I stated before, it was interesting to go back and reread this article and see how it’s subject and main focus touches on what we have recently been talking about in class. We have been focusing on Second Life and the internet as a media that many are attracted to. It’s easy to compare how the TV, like mentioned by Postman, and the internet are medias that many people become so involved in due to it’s easy access and simplicity.
A way to further my point on how the internet and TV are at our fingertips I have found a website (on the internet) which has television listings of programs. People no longer have to use such things as TV guides, or god forbid look up shows in the newspapers. It is now at a click of the button and you can find out when the next American Idol is on or what rerun of the Simpson’s is showing.
http://television.aol.com/
Postman’s article focuses on technology as a control and a medium and also the biases of technology in the world. The article talks about the telegraph as being one of the first evolutionary technologies invented. The telegraph was a big stepping stone in the world for everything to follow from it grew and improved itself. What I got from rereading the article was the idea that Postman was trying to get us to actually think for ourselves. We are presented with all these technologies and opportunities to further our knowledge but it is up to us to actually use these tools to our advantage. We need to be the ones taking control of what we hear and choosing what to believe is real and not.
Postman also talked about the television as a technology that is being taken advantage of. Such things as the news and political debates was mentioned as being entertainment on TV rather than informative like it’s supposed to be. We as a society need to realize this when we see it and make the proper decisions to understand the real messages being sent out rather than the one that they want us to hear. We need to open the newspaper instead of believing everything we see on television.
Like I stated before, it was interesting to go back and reread this article and see how it’s subject and main focus touches on what we have recently been talking about in class. We have been focusing on Second Life and the internet as a media that many are attracted to. It’s easy to compare how the TV, like mentioned by Postman, and the internet are medias that many people become so involved in due to it’s easy access and simplicity.
A way to further my point on how the internet and TV are at our fingertips I have found a website (on the internet) which has television listings of programs. People no longer have to use such things as TV guides, or god forbid look up shows in the newspapers. It is now at a click of the button and you can find out when the next American Idol is on or what rerun of the Simpson’s is showing.
http://television.aol.com/
OH FACEBOOK!!
The internet is a large network that has grown in the past years and will continue growing in years to come. Throughout the semester we have discussed many things pertaining to the internet but the last couple of weeks have become particularly interesting to me. Whether we were talking about Lambda Moos, Second Life, Facebook, of griefing I have taken an interest in each and every topic focused on. For this week we had a couple different readings pertaining to different topics that all had one thing in common, the internet.
Facebook, a word that was very new to me and many three and a half years ago, but when mentioned now it’s difficult to find anyone not know what you’re referring to. We talked mainly about facebook and even got a chance to check out our teacher’s facebook profile. Though to us facebook is more of a college student website, we clearly found out the type of network it has become. In one article we discussed how people were feeling violated by facebook and demanded a change. A petition was formed and passed around through bloggers demanding privacy settings to be changed. “Not surprisingly, the company was forced to adjust,” quoted one article. Though this change was made some still feel that facebook is not as private as it should be. The social network of facebook shows how strong the internet is today in 2008. For people to become outraged, demand a change, and receive a change all through the internet shows how important and how much of an influence the World Wide Web really has on society.
The articles also discussed through this week also explained how employers are actually surfing the web, including checking facebook and myspace pages to view future employees. Pictures, wall posts, and comments are all monitored and sometimes included in the decision making process when hiring future staff. As discussed in one article, a student teacher, age 25, was dismissed from her student teaching job due to a picture on her myspace page. There also was a student in class who told us that one of her friends received a job for next year, and two weeks after getting it she was told that she no longer had the position due to facebook pictures. No one really knows what employers are looking for and what they approve of and disprove of therefore it is difficult to know when one is crossing the line or not. All the subjects discussed in class give a better understanding to where the internet is today and its positives and negatives.
Facebook, a word that was very new to me and many three and a half years ago, but when mentioned now it’s difficult to find anyone not know what you’re referring to. We talked mainly about facebook and even got a chance to check out our teacher’s facebook profile. Though to us facebook is more of a college student website, we clearly found out the type of network it has become. In one article we discussed how people were feeling violated by facebook and demanded a change. A petition was formed and passed around through bloggers demanding privacy settings to be changed. “Not surprisingly, the company was forced to adjust,” quoted one article. Though this change was made some still feel that facebook is not as private as it should be. The social network of facebook shows how strong the internet is today in 2008. For people to become outraged, demand a change, and receive a change all through the internet shows how important and how much of an influence the World Wide Web really has on society.
The articles also discussed through this week also explained how employers are actually surfing the web, including checking facebook and myspace pages to view future employees. Pictures, wall posts, and comments are all monitored and sometimes included in the decision making process when hiring future staff. As discussed in one article, a student teacher, age 25, was dismissed from her student teaching job due to a picture on her myspace page. There also was a student in class who told us that one of her friends received a job for next year, and two weeks after getting it she was told that she no longer had the position due to facebook pictures. No one really knows what employers are looking for and what they approve of and disprove of therefore it is difficult to know when one is crossing the line or not. All the subjects discussed in class give a better understanding to where the internet is today and its positives and negatives.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
greifing
Julian Dibbell wrote the article titled, “Mutilated Flurries, Flying Phalluses: Put the Blame on Griefers, the Sociopaths of the Virtual World. The article discuses what the term Griefers applies to and it’s existence in online Second Life. Basically they are groups of people whose main purpose is to annoy other virtual world gamers. They will do anything and everything to annoy and piss off players which ultimately lead to players either logging off the game or watch their avatars become abused.
Griefing brings players lulz, which are laughs in Second Life. The griefing bring attacks and crashes servers on computers. It is done by various players online but it all focuses on one main purpose: to annoy and anger players.
Dibbell talks about the various groups of griefers, some of their names are: SA Goons, W-HAT, Voted 5/V5, and The Patriotic Nigras. In lecture we discussed one group, The Patriotic Nigras and talked about their characters. They all dress and appear to all look like African Americans. They claim that they are not a racist group, yet it is clear that their motives and appearances are racist. They say that they want to show that Second Life is taken way too seriously, yet their unwanted attacks show that they too take Second Life seriously. When they are kicked off or banned from their avatar characters they find other ways of opening new accounts. In my opinion if the online world somehow stopped all griefing they would be angered proving they take Second Life more than a game too.
As discussed in lecture, it is clear that I am 100% against greifing. I don’t understand why people would make virtual buildings of the twin towers with pictures of people jumping out the window. I was appalled when I read and discussed this subject in class and will continue to disagree with anyone who chooses to be a griefer online.
Griefing brings players lulz, which are laughs in Second Life. The griefing bring attacks and crashes servers on computers. It is done by various players online but it all focuses on one main purpose: to annoy and anger players.
Dibbell talks about the various groups of griefers, some of their names are: SA Goons, W-HAT, Voted 5/V5, and The Patriotic Nigras. In lecture we discussed one group, The Patriotic Nigras and talked about their characters. They all dress and appear to all look like African Americans. They claim that they are not a racist group, yet it is clear that their motives and appearances are racist. They say that they want to show that Second Life is taken way too seriously, yet their unwanted attacks show that they too take Second Life seriously. When they are kicked off or banned from their avatar characters they find other ways of opening new accounts. In my opinion if the online world somehow stopped all griefing they would be angered proving they take Second Life more than a game too.
As discussed in lecture, it is clear that I am 100% against greifing. I don’t understand why people would make virtual buildings of the twin towers with pictures of people jumping out the window. I was appalled when I read and discussed this subject in class and will continue to disagree with anyone who chooses to be a griefer online.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Gender-Swapping
Sherry Turkle wrote an article regarding gender-swapping called “Tinysex and Gender Trouble.” The idea of the article is about creating an identity online while gender swapping. Though this may seem very unusual and uncommon to many people Turkle makes a very good argument on the subject.
Online when you gender-swap you are wiping away social constraints. Many people wonder what it would be like to be the opposite sex and this is the perfect opportunity to experiment with it. Gender inequality is something that is very apparent in society, therefore if someone were to be the sex of a female and wonders what it is like to be treated like a male they can do it online. You create an identity completely different than yourself and see how others perceive you. The virtual life that you create is all up to you. In the online world you can say and do almost anything you want and don’t have to suffer any consequences. While creating your identity you also learn and act to be a different gender. For instance there are some things that males can get away with saying while if females do or say the same thing they are often judged or looked down upon. In my opinion the virtual world allows you to explore and act in ways that society would frown upon.
In the lecture we discussed how gender-swapping encourages personal growth and self-awareness. As I sat in class and listened to students comments I became very frustrated with their lack of being open minded. Students did not understand why someone would want to experiment with gender-swapping, but instead of embracing it and learning about it they were looking down upon it. I chose not to comment on their narrow mindlessness but as I sit here right now, being hidden from their judgments, I feel like I can say what I want. In my opinion this reflects what gender-swapping in the virtual world also does.
Some may think that in the virtual world gender-swapping only relates to people who are interested in becoming a transsexual. I do not believe this to be the case. As our teacher has explained through her research she too has experimented with gender-swapping, and to my indication she is not interested in becoming a transsexual. Learning how others treat you as the opposite sex is a very interesting subject. Like discussed in class, I believe it can be a sort of therapy session. In real life you cannot act a certain way without the consequences but in the virtual world you can. I have not played around with the virtual world but in time I may check it out. Sometimes people need to just get away from reality and try new things and I think the virtual world regarding gender-swapping is just the place to do this.
I found a study online regarding gender-swapping in the virtual world, and like Turkle, it brings up some very valid points. It talks about MUDs and MOOs and also gives reasoning why people choose to gender-swap in virtual worlds. There are comments and scenarios from people who have gender-swapped online and what they experienced. The outcomes are similar to what we discussed in class but again I would like to reiterate that the encounters that people have experienced are very interesting.
http://www.mith2.umd.edu/WomensStudies/Computing/Articles%2BResearchPapers/gender-swapping
Online when you gender-swap you are wiping away social constraints. Many people wonder what it would be like to be the opposite sex and this is the perfect opportunity to experiment with it. Gender inequality is something that is very apparent in society, therefore if someone were to be the sex of a female and wonders what it is like to be treated like a male they can do it online. You create an identity completely different than yourself and see how others perceive you. The virtual life that you create is all up to you. In the online world you can say and do almost anything you want and don’t have to suffer any consequences. While creating your identity you also learn and act to be a different gender. For instance there are some things that males can get away with saying while if females do or say the same thing they are often judged or looked down upon. In my opinion the virtual world allows you to explore and act in ways that society would frown upon.
In the lecture we discussed how gender-swapping encourages personal growth and self-awareness. As I sat in class and listened to students comments I became very frustrated with their lack of being open minded. Students did not understand why someone would want to experiment with gender-swapping, but instead of embracing it and learning about it they were looking down upon it. I chose not to comment on their narrow mindlessness but as I sit here right now, being hidden from their judgments, I feel like I can say what I want. In my opinion this reflects what gender-swapping in the virtual world also does.
Some may think that in the virtual world gender-swapping only relates to people who are interested in becoming a transsexual. I do not believe this to be the case. As our teacher has explained through her research she too has experimented with gender-swapping, and to my indication she is not interested in becoming a transsexual. Learning how others treat you as the opposite sex is a very interesting subject. Like discussed in class, I believe it can be a sort of therapy session. In real life you cannot act a certain way without the consequences but in the virtual world you can. I have not played around with the virtual world but in time I may check it out. Sometimes people need to just get away from reality and try new things and I think the virtual world regarding gender-swapping is just the place to do this.
I found a study online regarding gender-swapping in the virtual world, and like Turkle, it brings up some very valid points. It talks about MUDs and MOOs and also gives reasoning why people choose to gender-swap in virtual worlds. There are comments and scenarios from people who have gender-swapped online and what they experienced. The outcomes are similar to what we discussed in class but again I would like to reiterate that the encounters that people have experienced are very interesting.
http://www.mith2.umd.edu/WomensStudies/Computing/Articles%2BResearchPapers/gender-swapping
Saturday, March 29, 2008
ROCK LIKE THERE'S NO TOMORROW!
Howard Rheingold’s article, “Multi-Users” was a very new concept for me. As I have stated in the past I am not that big of an internet surfer or user, so I was very unaware of MUD and LambdaMoo and CMC’s and so forth. In high school I was introduced to the computer game SIMS and played around with it for a little bit but never got too interested in it. When we were talking about MUD and LambdaMoo in class SIMS was what I compared it to. I think it’s a very interesting idea of making your own character and forming their identity all online. I agree with the class discussion on how it’s a communication of person-to-person, but I think it is something that you have to get use to.
Something else that I found very interesting was when we talked in class how MUDs and MOOs use to be very popular with college kids. I’ve been at college for three and a half years now and I can say that this article and class discussion was the first time I had ever even heard of these terms. It’s fascinating to me to think that in the past these concepts and this computer world was popular yet as time goes by and technology is continuing to improve we as a society don’t use the same computer applications like we use to.
I do believe if MUDs and MOOs were as popular as say facebook then I think I would find myself enjoying making these identities and characters online. I sometimes go home to babysit for a family that I babysat through high school and a few weekends I went home to babysit and played this thing called Rock Band. It consists of playing instruments such as singing, guitar, bass, and drums which is connected to the TV. Though this sounds like it has nothing to do with MUDs and MOOs it actually is very similar. I found out a few weekends while playing it for the first time that you create your own identity for each individual rock band member. Choices are endless regarding the style and color of your characters hair to what kind of tattoo, if any, you want. I was fascinated by the endless amount of choices on how to make my punk rocker look as cool as possible. I actually found more enjoyment in creating my character than I did with the actual playing in the band. This is exactly what Rheingold is talking about when he talks about MUDs and how you create your individual characters through imaginary worlds of texts and graphics. The activities in MUDs are just as endless as the things offered are in Rock Band. Though I have made it clear that I am not a computer and internet savvy person I would like to state that had MUDs and MOOs stayed popular with our generation then I think my computer time would have changed dramatically.
If you have never experienced Rock Band, or have never heard of it, check out this clip on a few people rocking it out!
http://www.amazon.com/MTV-Games-Rock-Special-Edition/dp/B000TT4GBG?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1194388148&sr=1-2
Something else that I found very interesting was when we talked in class how MUDs and MOOs use to be very popular with college kids. I’ve been at college for three and a half years now and I can say that this article and class discussion was the first time I had ever even heard of these terms. It’s fascinating to me to think that in the past these concepts and this computer world was popular yet as time goes by and technology is continuing to improve we as a society don’t use the same computer applications like we use to.
I do believe if MUDs and MOOs were as popular as say facebook then I think I would find myself enjoying making these identities and characters online. I sometimes go home to babysit for a family that I babysat through high school and a few weekends I went home to babysit and played this thing called Rock Band. It consists of playing instruments such as singing, guitar, bass, and drums which is connected to the TV. Though this sounds like it has nothing to do with MUDs and MOOs it actually is very similar. I found out a few weekends while playing it for the first time that you create your own identity for each individual rock band member. Choices are endless regarding the style and color of your characters hair to what kind of tattoo, if any, you want. I was fascinated by the endless amount of choices on how to make my punk rocker look as cool as possible. I actually found more enjoyment in creating my character than I did with the actual playing in the band. This is exactly what Rheingold is talking about when he talks about MUDs and how you create your individual characters through imaginary worlds of texts and graphics. The activities in MUDs are just as endless as the things offered are in Rock Band. Though I have made it clear that I am not a computer and internet savvy person I would like to state that had MUDs and MOOs stayed popular with our generation then I think my computer time would have changed dramatically.
If you have never experienced Rock Band, or have never heard of it, check out this clip on a few people rocking it out!
http://www.amazon.com/MTV-Games-Rock-Special-Edition/dp/B000TT4GBG?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1194388148&sr=1-2
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Virtual Communitites
The Virtual Community: Homesteading on the Electronic Frontier written by Howard Rheingold is an article focused on the online website known as WELL (Whole Earth ‘Lectronic Link) that has been active since 1985 (Rheingold 95). Rheingold talks about how he has spent an enormous amount of time on the website and then goes into great detail the findings and his opinions on it.
The WELL is a teleconferencing system that is used to unite the world which was started by Stuart Howard. One of its main purposes is that it builds a sense of community for it’s users. It’s a website where its users must pay to chat or get information but again it builds relationships with the users. It’s also known for being a professional community so that it’s users know that it’s credible and reliable. Rheingold noted that through all the time that he spent on the WELL website he started to, “care about these people I met through the computer, and I care deeply about the future of the medium that enables us to assemble” (Rheingold, 95). The WELL website can be easily compared to the social networking website that many people are familiar with, Facebook. Rheingold, along with many facebook users, get to know people online and then form relationships with these people. The medium of to what level the friendship forms into is endless. Like talked about in class, our teacher uses online sources to build friendships with people she does not know yet knows that they will be there to listen and give advice when needed. Though some may say this is creepy, or unusual, it is a sense of Media Literacy whereas you know what you’re getting yourself into and are able to set your own boundaries on how you choose to start and keep friendships.
In his Virtual Community piece Rheingold talks about Computer Mediate Communication (CMC) which again is what I was talking about, communication through the computer. Rheingold defines it as, “Computers and the switched telecommunication networks that also carry on telephone calls constitute the technical foundation of computer-mediated communications (CMC)” (Rheingold, 97). The CMC is the network that allows communication that links people throughout the world, this then forms virtual communities among people. New Medias, such as the CMC, allows people to do things with one another in new ways. “Democracy, education, science, and intellectual life” are all ideas that are represented on the Net and then discussed by people throughout the world (Rheingold 98). Rheingold even quotes that he thinks the CMC may be the next great escape in the medium where traditional Saturday morning cartoons, soap operas, and even the radio will used on the Net and people will turn to it to view and listen. The CMC is changing how people are using traditional technologies, and in time will only continue to expand our media uses.
I agree with many of the points and examples that Rheingold presents in this virtual community article because I too use many of the tools presented on the internet. As I stated before, facebook is a media that many people use in different ways. Rheingold would argue that the timing that people are presented with these new medias has a lot to do with how they choose to use them. Like we talked about in class, as a senior I was presented with facebook when I was already a student therefore the way I use it is considerably different from those students who have been using it since high school. Rheingold used the example that people who have grown up in the cellular phone and television era are more likely to migrate and use new technologies forms on the internet. I agree with this because as I have grown up in the time period where having a cell phone is a necessity I can only imagine as time goes by what other things that are currently unavailable to me I will become accustomed to.
The WELL is a teleconferencing system that is used to unite the world which was started by Stuart Howard. One of its main purposes is that it builds a sense of community for it’s users. It’s a website where its users must pay to chat or get information but again it builds relationships with the users. It’s also known for being a professional community so that it’s users know that it’s credible and reliable. Rheingold noted that through all the time that he spent on the WELL website he started to, “care about these people I met through the computer, and I care deeply about the future of the medium that enables us to assemble” (Rheingold, 95). The WELL website can be easily compared to the social networking website that many people are familiar with, Facebook. Rheingold, along with many facebook users, get to know people online and then form relationships with these people. The medium of to what level the friendship forms into is endless. Like talked about in class, our teacher uses online sources to build friendships with people she does not know yet knows that they will be there to listen and give advice when needed. Though some may say this is creepy, or unusual, it is a sense of Media Literacy whereas you know what you’re getting yourself into and are able to set your own boundaries on how you choose to start and keep friendships.
In his Virtual Community piece Rheingold talks about Computer Mediate Communication (CMC) which again is what I was talking about, communication through the computer. Rheingold defines it as, “Computers and the switched telecommunication networks that also carry on telephone calls constitute the technical foundation of computer-mediated communications (CMC)” (Rheingold, 97). The CMC is the network that allows communication that links people throughout the world, this then forms virtual communities among people. New Medias, such as the CMC, allows people to do things with one another in new ways. “Democracy, education, science, and intellectual life” are all ideas that are represented on the Net and then discussed by people throughout the world (Rheingold 98). Rheingold even quotes that he thinks the CMC may be the next great escape in the medium where traditional Saturday morning cartoons, soap operas, and even the radio will used on the Net and people will turn to it to view and listen. The CMC is changing how people are using traditional technologies, and in time will only continue to expand our media uses.
I agree with many of the points and examples that Rheingold presents in this virtual community article because I too use many of the tools presented on the internet. As I stated before, facebook is a media that many people use in different ways. Rheingold would argue that the timing that people are presented with these new medias has a lot to do with how they choose to use them. Like we talked about in class, as a senior I was presented with facebook when I was already a student therefore the way I use it is considerably different from those students who have been using it since high school. Rheingold used the example that people who have grown up in the cellular phone and television era are more likely to migrate and use new technologies forms on the internet. I agree with this because as I have grown up in the time period where having a cell phone is a necessity I can only imagine as time goes by what other things that are currently unavailable to me I will become accustomed to.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
18 Claiming To Be 53?
In Andrew Keen piece, “The Cult of The Amateur,” he brings up many good points regarding the internet and its content. I both agree and disagree with some of his points, but I do want to mention that many of his arguments that he brought to the table I was very unaware of and never truly thought about. So I want to applaud Keen in the sense that I am more knowledgeable on this subject than I was before.
Keen first talks about the noble amateur, and after giving his own biased opinion on the definition and then one from the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary I believe it shows right off the bat that he does not enjoy amateur writing. He goes on to say that he believes that, “the professional is being replaced by the amateur, the lexicographer by the layperson, the Harvard professor by the unschooled populace” (Keen, 80). I think this is true when regarding the internet but I think that people know that they need to be aware when getting research off the internet because their sources may not be credible. Scholarly books are still very popular, and authors are continuing to make money off them so I believe that when Keen says all these people are being replaced I think he is just talking about them being replaced regarding on the internet.
Throughout his piece Keen continues to mention Wikipedia. He talks about how is can be edited by viewers, how it’s content is not expert knowledge but rather common sense knowledge, and the identity of the editors is not credible. The idea that people can pass as scholars and present false information is something that Keen is very against. I also agree with him in the fact that it’s difficult to accept the fact that, “the voice of a high school kid has equal value to that of an Ivy League scholar or a trained professional” (Keen, 83). Wikipedia is a web site than many people visit to get information but if people knew that it was done by a nineteen year old boy then I do not think they would take the information and believe it to be true. With that being said, in my opinion, if Wikipedia does not change their current way of adding information then I think people should realize that if they choose to get information off their website then they need to further their search to make sure that information is accurate and credible.
Something else that Keen talks about, which still has to do with amateurs, is citizen journalists and bloggers. He defines citizen journalism as, “journalism by nonjournalism” and quotes The New Yorker which describes them as, “people who are not employed by a news organization but perform a similar function” (Keen, 85). According to Keen’s piece, citizen journalists have no formal training or expertise, yet they regularly present opinions as facts. When talking about bloggers, Keen describes blogging as, “free, effortless, and unencumbered by pesky ethical restraints or bothersome editorial boards” (keen, 85). He is simply saying that when people have access to present information, weather true or false, credible or un-credible, they present it. When they are not forced to defend and explain its truth to the information they don’t. A good quote that he used to explain how people choose to present their information as truth is, “The simple ownership of a computer and the Internet connection doesn’t transform one into a serious journalist and more than having access to a kitchen makes one into a serious cook” (keen, 85). I believe this shows his opinion that people need to stop presenting information on the internet as true just because they can.
Keen also talks about the idea of, ‘The Liquid Library’ which is the idea of having books online where people can edit, cut and paste, and add ideas as much as they want. Keen, to no surprise, believes that this, “foretells the death of culture” (Keen, 90). I again agree with him here. I do not think that making credible books online available to be edited by anyone and everyone is a good idea. Cropping information would completely take away from the author’s original idea. Keen describes this with the analogy of, “a finished book is not a box of Legos, to be recombined and reconstructed at whim” (Keen, 91). Books are designed to present ideas and not to be changed.
Like I said before I both agree and disagree with many of Keens points but most importantly I became educated on a lot. Because of his article I am now more cautious about what I find on the internet and will research information before using it if I find it on Wikipedia. The internet is filled with citizen journalists and bloggers and it’s not always easy to spot out the true from the untrue. Because of Keen and his strong opinion opposing these people I will too make sure I don’t get dooped by that eighteen year old claiming to be a fifty-three year old Harvard professor when researching various topics.
Keen first talks about the noble amateur, and after giving his own biased opinion on the definition and then one from the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary I believe it shows right off the bat that he does not enjoy amateur writing. He goes on to say that he believes that, “the professional is being replaced by the amateur, the lexicographer by the layperson, the Harvard professor by the unschooled populace” (Keen, 80). I think this is true when regarding the internet but I think that people know that they need to be aware when getting research off the internet because their sources may not be credible. Scholarly books are still very popular, and authors are continuing to make money off them so I believe that when Keen says all these people are being replaced I think he is just talking about them being replaced regarding on the internet.
Throughout his piece Keen continues to mention Wikipedia. He talks about how is can be edited by viewers, how it’s content is not expert knowledge but rather common sense knowledge, and the identity of the editors is not credible. The idea that people can pass as scholars and present false information is something that Keen is very against. I also agree with him in the fact that it’s difficult to accept the fact that, “the voice of a high school kid has equal value to that of an Ivy League scholar or a trained professional” (Keen, 83). Wikipedia is a web site than many people visit to get information but if people knew that it was done by a nineteen year old boy then I do not think they would take the information and believe it to be true. With that being said, in my opinion, if Wikipedia does not change their current way of adding information then I think people should realize that if they choose to get information off their website then they need to further their search to make sure that information is accurate and credible.
Something else that Keen talks about, which still has to do with amateurs, is citizen journalists and bloggers. He defines citizen journalism as, “journalism by nonjournalism” and quotes The New Yorker which describes them as, “people who are not employed by a news organization but perform a similar function” (Keen, 85). According to Keen’s piece, citizen journalists have no formal training or expertise, yet they regularly present opinions as facts. When talking about bloggers, Keen describes blogging as, “free, effortless, and unencumbered by pesky ethical restraints or bothersome editorial boards” (keen, 85). He is simply saying that when people have access to present information, weather true or false, credible or un-credible, they present it. When they are not forced to defend and explain its truth to the information they don’t. A good quote that he used to explain how people choose to present their information as truth is, “The simple ownership of a computer and the Internet connection doesn’t transform one into a serious journalist and more than having access to a kitchen makes one into a serious cook” (keen, 85). I believe this shows his opinion that people need to stop presenting information on the internet as true just because they can.
Keen also talks about the idea of, ‘The Liquid Library’ which is the idea of having books online where people can edit, cut and paste, and add ideas as much as they want. Keen, to no surprise, believes that this, “foretells the death of culture” (Keen, 90). I again agree with him here. I do not think that making credible books online available to be edited by anyone and everyone is a good idea. Cropping information would completely take away from the author’s original idea. Keen describes this with the analogy of, “a finished book is not a box of Legos, to be recombined and reconstructed at whim” (Keen, 91). Books are designed to present ideas and not to be changed.
Like I said before I both agree and disagree with many of Keens points but most importantly I became educated on a lot. Because of his article I am now more cautious about what I find on the internet and will research information before using it if I find it on Wikipedia. The internet is filled with citizen journalists and bloggers and it’s not always easy to spot out the true from the untrue. Because of Keen and his strong opinion opposing these people I will too make sure I don’t get dooped by that eighteen year old claiming to be a fifty-three year old Harvard professor when researching various topics.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Transmedia and the Olson twins?
Transmedia Storytelling 101 focuses on the concept that “represents a process where integral elements of fiction get dispersed systematically across multiple delivery channels for the purpose of creating a unified and coordinated entertainment experience.” Transmedia coordinates across different media sectors therefore touching on a wider group of people. Using the example of the Matrix explains this very well. After reading the article and discussing in class all the various ways that the Matrix creators have dispersed their product I realized how interesting this concept really is. I think it’s very remarkable to get clues or understand different characters through such movies like matrix through video games and magazines. I have never been exposed to transmedia storytelling but I find it very fascinating.
I was very impressed by the presentation given by the student in class over Cloverfield. This again is an example of transmedia. I have never even heard of Cloverfield but after seeing the presentation I have a new found interest in the creators and even the fans of this theory of transmedia. I am intrigued on the way that they presented this movie and all the innovative and imaginative ways that they got their fans hooked. I like the idea of when doing transmedia they have a, “set of roles and goals,” they abide by. This makes it more believable and fans know that they will be able to get more information and will not be sent into a dead end. I also found it interesting about the Slushis that they marketed in the clues and websites before the movie even came out. In the article it talked about providing a, “back-story which enhances the viewer’s experience of the film even as they also help to publicize the forthcoming release (thus blurring the line between marketing and entertainment).” The Slushis in Cloverfield is this exact concept. Cloverfield’s marketing schemes made their sales skyrocket.
After discussing in class the concept of transmedia I thought of the actresses Mary Kate and Ashley Olson. Though their tactics would not be classified as transmedia storytelling they are an example of being horizontally integrated which is something the article talked about as well. They were characters in the hit TV show, Full House back in the 90’s, and since the show has been off the air they have continued their career through other medias and also different industries. First they chose to do multiple children’s videos which were very popular to young girls. Once they saw the popularity they chose to go into the market of making Mary Kate and Ashley dolls. They then continued to expand even more by designing clothes and make-up that would be sold at Walmart. This is all an example of how they have horizontally integrated themselves.
Again I would like to say that I enjoyed learning about the concept of transmedia and find it very interesting how they choose to expand over the various medias.
I was very impressed by the presentation given by the student in class over Cloverfield. This again is an example of transmedia. I have never even heard of Cloverfield but after seeing the presentation I have a new found interest in the creators and even the fans of this theory of transmedia. I am intrigued on the way that they presented this movie and all the innovative and imaginative ways that they got their fans hooked. I like the idea of when doing transmedia they have a, “set of roles and goals,” they abide by. This makes it more believable and fans know that they will be able to get more information and will not be sent into a dead end. I also found it interesting about the Slushis that they marketed in the clues and websites before the movie even came out. In the article it talked about providing a, “back-story which enhances the viewer’s experience of the film even as they also help to publicize the forthcoming release (thus blurring the line between marketing and entertainment).” The Slushis in Cloverfield is this exact concept. Cloverfield’s marketing schemes made their sales skyrocket.
After discussing in class the concept of transmedia I thought of the actresses Mary Kate and Ashley Olson. Though their tactics would not be classified as transmedia storytelling they are an example of being horizontally integrated which is something the article talked about as well. They were characters in the hit TV show, Full House back in the 90’s, and since the show has been off the air they have continued their career through other medias and also different industries. First they chose to do multiple children’s videos which were very popular to young girls. Once they saw the popularity they chose to go into the market of making Mary Kate and Ashley dolls. They then continued to expand even more by designing clothes and make-up that would be sold at Walmart. This is all an example of how they have horizontally integrated themselves.
Again I would like to say that I enjoyed learning about the concept of transmedia and find it very interesting how they choose to expand over the various medias.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Trekkies?--Well Call Me a Jacksonie Then
Henry Jenkins wrote the article “Get a Life!” which talks about “Trekkies” who are people who become obsessed with certain TV shows or movies. The article calls these people “fanaticals” who in Jenkins eyes are misfits in society. I knew little about these people who become obsessed with such things as Star Wars and Harry Potter because, I unlike them do not become obsessed with these types of things. In the article Jenkins talked about these "trekkies" being viewed as mindless consumers but they are not actually mindless consumers. They know what they are doing and by doing this they are only helping their economy for such things as Star Wars and Harry potter.
Before really discussing it in class I feel like I was like everyone else; I thought these types of people were weird. After reading Jenkins article and talking about it in class I started to ask myself why I considered them so weird. Like we discussed in class, no I don’t think I would ever date anyone like that, we obviously are interested in different things, but that’s ok. Everyone is entitled to enjoy and like certain things. I myself love Michael Jackson, now I know I don’t love him to the point that some of these Trekkies love their Star Wars, but I listen to his songs on repeat and occasionally watch his performances on DVD’s. Does that give me some type of a classification or is it just accepted because Michael Jackson was loved many?
Jenkins also explained that grass roots came about when these fanatics decided to create their own things in society. I say props to people who can stand up for what they believe in and enjoy what they want to enjoy. Again I will refer to my love for the King of Pop. I get the comments from people telling me how he molested little boys and how gross that is, but I still continue to stand up for him. No one will be able to change my mind on him and I sort of think that’s how Trekkies feel. No matter how many people think they’re lame or classify them as “social misfits, brainless consumers,” and “desexualized” they will continue going to their conventions with their expensive costumes and enjoy every last minute of it. Who are we to stop them? Who are we to even comment on them? We don’t know them, probably because we won’t give them the time of day to get to know them, but why should we be able to call them desexualized? We don’t know their sex life. Who gives us, or Henry Jenkins the right to call them social misfits? What even is a social misfit? So what I’ve learned through Jenkins article and discussions in class is that these are people who enjoy being this way no matter who talks about them negatively, and you know what, that’s ok. Who am I to talk negatively about them when I get it from people regarding Michael? So not only have I learned a lot through class and Jenkins article on the subject but I have also learned a little bit more about myself.
I have placed a YouTube video of Michael Jackson singing one of his famous songs, Black or White. I think this song represents what I have argued here. So enjoy his performance and take a good listen to the lesson he is trying to teach through the lyrics.
And always remember, it’s ok to like what you want, and it’s ok to stand up for what you believe in, no matter who or what is telling you that you shouldn’t.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUBVixV1H0s
Before really discussing it in class I feel like I was like everyone else; I thought these types of people were weird. After reading Jenkins article and talking about it in class I started to ask myself why I considered them so weird. Like we discussed in class, no I don’t think I would ever date anyone like that, we obviously are interested in different things, but that’s ok. Everyone is entitled to enjoy and like certain things. I myself love Michael Jackson, now I know I don’t love him to the point that some of these Trekkies love their Star Wars, but I listen to his songs on repeat and occasionally watch his performances on DVD’s. Does that give me some type of a classification or is it just accepted because Michael Jackson was loved many?
Jenkins also explained that grass roots came about when these fanatics decided to create their own things in society. I say props to people who can stand up for what they believe in and enjoy what they want to enjoy. Again I will refer to my love for the King of Pop. I get the comments from people telling me how he molested little boys and how gross that is, but I still continue to stand up for him. No one will be able to change my mind on him and I sort of think that’s how Trekkies feel. No matter how many people think they’re lame or classify them as “social misfits, brainless consumers,” and “desexualized” they will continue going to their conventions with their expensive costumes and enjoy every last minute of it. Who are we to stop them? Who are we to even comment on them? We don’t know them, probably because we won’t give them the time of day to get to know them, but why should we be able to call them desexualized? We don’t know their sex life. Who gives us, or Henry Jenkins the right to call them social misfits? What even is a social misfit? So what I’ve learned through Jenkins article and discussions in class is that these are people who enjoy being this way no matter who talks about them negatively, and you know what, that’s ok. Who am I to talk negatively about them when I get it from people regarding Michael? So not only have I learned a lot through class and Jenkins article on the subject but I have also learned a little bit more about myself.
I have placed a YouTube video of Michael Jackson singing one of his famous songs, Black or White. I think this song represents what I have argued here. So enjoy his performance and take a good listen to the lesson he is trying to teach through the lyrics.
And always remember, it’s ok to like what you want, and it’s ok to stand up for what you believe in, no matter who or what is telling you that you shouldn’t.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUBVixV1H0s
Monday, February 18, 2008
flicker flacker web address
So I couldn't figure out how to edit my flickr blog and since I didn't put up the web address in that one I'll just add it here.
HOPE YOU ENJOY THE SLIDE SHOW!!!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/23741723@N03/2263150324/in/set-72157603907164450/
HOPE YOU ENJOY THE SLIDE SHOW!!!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/23741723@N03/2263150324/in/set-72157603907164450/
Friday, February 15, 2008
flicker flacker
The flickr project was by far one of my favorite things we have done thus far in class. It was a really great idea to give us such a little amount of time to figure it out and then to document it. After reading the articles posted I found out that the way we were designed to do this project is called collaborative journalism. I just thought we were told to do it and being provided with a small amount of time to see what we could come up with. I think our group’s idea of concentrating on the smoking ban here at IU was a really good choice. It is an appealing topic that many people, both smokers and non smokers are interested in. As a smoker, I still find the ban here at IU a great idea. I also find it interesting that prior to the year 2008 IU said that there would be a ban on all of campus, yet when we get back to school we find out that there are designated smoking areas. I knew that they would change their rules, I just wonder if they knew they were planning on altering their policy.
After reading more of the articles I also learned a little bit more about flickr. I knew it existed, and even have a few friends that use it, but the more popular thing to do is to post facebook albums. I think flickr is different in a better way than just using facebook albums because the comments posted on the pictures are more useful. People seem to really enjoy posting and viewing and commenting on other people’s flickr pictures. It does make sense when the article commented on the fact that people will now document what they see and then post their pictures so others can truly get a sense of what was going on, they used the example of riots. One of the other articles also talked about Social Bookmarking. This was another term that I was not familiar. They compared Social Bookmarking to the favorites tab that many people use on their computers. I’m not on the computer much, and my lab top is from the 1950’s (well not really) so I don’t really use it much, other than checking my emails, some goggling action and facebook of course, but if I did use it more and it was more up to date I would definitely look into using the social bookmarking website. The website is designed to store bookmarks on the internet and make them accessible anywhere. When I went home the other weekend I noticed that my little brother used the favorites tab and has many links on it, I think he would be very interested in looking into the social bookmarking website. For someone like him who is constantly on the computer the social bookmarking web site would be very functional.
I am very glad that I got introduced to these interesting terms and ever flickr because after I graduate I am moving to Prague for a year to teach English and was wondering how I am going to keep my friends and family up to date with all my adventures. I could make the facbook albums like everyone else but I didn’t know how I was going to let my parents and older brother see my pictures. If I just post them on flickr everyone will be able to view them. Problem solved! So now that you are done reading my interesting blog please enjoy our flickr slideshow, and remember if you too are a smoker please smoke in the designated areas on campus. You don’t need Jenna coming after you!
(After you see the slideshow this will make sense)
After reading more of the articles I also learned a little bit more about flickr. I knew it existed, and even have a few friends that use it, but the more popular thing to do is to post facebook albums. I think flickr is different in a better way than just using facebook albums because the comments posted on the pictures are more useful. People seem to really enjoy posting and viewing and commenting on other people’s flickr pictures. It does make sense when the article commented on the fact that people will now document what they see and then post their pictures so others can truly get a sense of what was going on, they used the example of riots. One of the other articles also talked about Social Bookmarking. This was another term that I was not familiar. They compared Social Bookmarking to the favorites tab that many people use on their computers. I’m not on the computer much, and my lab top is from the 1950’s (well not really) so I don’t really use it much, other than checking my emails, some goggling action and facebook of course, but if I did use it more and it was more up to date I would definitely look into using the social bookmarking website. The website is designed to store bookmarks on the internet and make them accessible anywhere. When I went home the other weekend I noticed that my little brother used the favorites tab and has many links on it, I think he would be very interested in looking into the social bookmarking website. For someone like him who is constantly on the computer the social bookmarking web site would be very functional.
I am very glad that I got introduced to these interesting terms and ever flickr because after I graduate I am moving to Prague for a year to teach English and was wondering how I am going to keep my friends and family up to date with all my adventures. I could make the facbook albums like everyone else but I didn’t know how I was going to let my parents and older brother see my pictures. If I just post them on flickr everyone will be able to view them. Problem solved! So now that you are done reading my interesting blog please enjoy our flickr slideshow, and remember if you too are a smoker please smoke in the designated areas on campus. You don’t need Jenna coming after you!
(After you see the slideshow this will make sense)
Sunday, February 10, 2008
blog-blog-blog
There were many extremely good points regarding politics and internet use in Photoshop for Democracy, The New Relationship between Politics and Popular Culture. It opened up with a scenario of characters that everyone is familiar with, Donald Trump and George Bush, and showed how the use of the internet can make just about anything happen. The editing done in film from the two of them made a completely different video that many people found humorous. Though it was degrading our president it shows that politics and the internet have created a bond where people's opinions can be easily displayed. Slapping the presidents behind in an online computer game reaffirms the point that the creator of the Trump/Bush scene wanted, and this is all done with the internet regarding politics.
The article talks again about the tools present in today's society and how they are used. In our previous article, Smart Mobs, they touched on this same point. The way people choose to use today's technologies is the point these two authors are trying to touch on. Smart Mobs focused more on cell phone usage, and Photoshop for Democracy is explaining how the internet is changing politics. Photoshop quotes, "His staff (referring to John Kerry in the 2004 elections) used blogging to create a more intimate, real-time relationship with his supporters." This quote is the idea that politics on the internet is a very popular, and effective mechanism. Photos are also used as examples of taking political images and making them swayed in ways to show embarrassment. Photoshop again quotes on this subject, "The use of images may be blunt, and when Bush's face is morphed into Hitler's of Mad Magazine icon Alfred E. Neuman, or when Kerry's face gets warped to look like Herman Munster."
The article also talks about Popular Culture and how it is involved with children and the youth. The article touches on how they think children do not feel involved because they are not allowed to vote until the age of 18 and they are not looked at as political subjects, therefore they do not become involved with the news because they feel that it has nothing to do with them. Children chose to take the computer game, "Sims" and through their experiences with the game it was only then that people started to realize the intensity and confusion that kids felt regarding political dilemmas.
As I said before, Photoshop for Democracy touches on many important issues that are present in today's society. These things will continue to be present in daily life if changes are not made. The internet will continue to be an issue for both Democrats and Republicans, but while it will have it's issues and problems it will continue to excel and educate. It's a catch 22 yet it's our world.
The article talks again about the tools present in today's society and how they are used. In our previous article, Smart Mobs, they touched on this same point. The way people choose to use today's technologies is the point these two authors are trying to touch on. Smart Mobs focused more on cell phone usage, and Photoshop for Democracy is explaining how the internet is changing politics. Photoshop quotes, "His staff (referring to John Kerry in the 2004 elections) used blogging to create a more intimate, real-time relationship with his supporters." This quote is the idea that politics on the internet is a very popular, and effective mechanism. Photos are also used as examples of taking political images and making them swayed in ways to show embarrassment. Photoshop again quotes on this subject, "The use of images may be blunt, and when Bush's face is morphed into Hitler's of Mad Magazine icon Alfred E. Neuman, or when Kerry's face gets warped to look like Herman Munster."
The article also talks about Popular Culture and how it is involved with children and the youth. The article touches on how they think children do not feel involved because they are not allowed to vote until the age of 18 and they are not looked at as political subjects, therefore they do not become involved with the news because they feel that it has nothing to do with them. Children chose to take the computer game, "Sims" and through their experiences with the game it was only then that people started to realize the intensity and confusion that kids felt regarding political dilemmas.
As I said before, Photoshop for Democracy touches on many important issues that are present in today's society. These things will continue to be present in daily life if changes are not made. The internet will continue to be an issue for both Democrats and Republicans, but while it will have it's issues and problems it will continue to excel and educate. It's a catch 22 yet it's our world.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Nokia..I-Phones.. Blackberries OH MY
I completely agree with Rheingold from our reading and class discussion Monday about Smart Mobs. It is so true when we talked about it not being about the tools anymore but how we choose to use them. The examples in class and in the reading about such things like the cell phone couldn’t be more correct. I get incredibly bothered when I see students at this university sit through an entire lecture of class and not listen to one thing because they are too busy using the internet on their I-phones or blackberries. That’s what the world has come to and that is what Rheingold and his Smart Mobs discussion is all about. I like how he brings to our attention that communication through cell phones is no longer its only quality. The use of cell phones is no longer to communicate to someone else but through all the technological advances people now use their cell phones for such things as the internet. When we brought up the idea of buying a cell phone that can only be used for communication and no picture, or internet capabilities and discussed how it would be close to impossible to find such a phone now a day’s really made me think about Rheingolds whole argument. I never thought about that but it is completely true. The last time I saw a cell phone that DIDN’T have these abilities was probably years ago. It’s crazy to think where technology will go next but with the world that we live in and all the advances I’m sure the next big thing will become normal just like the internet on cell phone has.
Here I have two pictures of the Nokia Cell phones, one of the first ever invented, and one of their latest models. The difference between the two is unbelievable. You can see for yourself how much they have changed within the decade. I believe if Rheingold could add pictures to his argument this would fit in, and I quote Ace Ventura, “hewwww like a glove.”
Saturday, February 2, 2008
this new development called the internet
I don’t really know if I picked up on what Douglas Rushkoff was talking about in the readings, other than in chapter 3 him talking about the internet and how unexpected it was. He explains the internet basically down to a T and that’s that. The only thing that I feel I can comment on from this chapter is how Rushkoff explains how they didn’t know that the new development (internet) would take off so quickly, and once it did they were kind of aw-struck and didn’t know how to handle it. It’s understandable they didn’t expect it and again didn’t know how to fix it because it was a new progress that they had never dealt with before. Their worries were reasonable such as kids choosing to play games on the computer or spending their time on the computer rather than watching TV. At the time they didn’t know how far it would expand and how quickly the internet would become popular but looking at the internet today in 2008 compared to back when it began I would say they handled the internet and it’s popularity very well.
They have continued, and will continue to come up with new ideas and plans on how to convert advertisements and profit in ways that the television has through the years. A simple example of this is when people watch television episodes online from such websites like ABC or NBC.com. If you miss an episode on TV, and for some un-god reason you don’t have DVR (that was a joke- laugh) you can watch that full episode online. It’s actually nice because the time they give for commercials is cut back from around 3 minutes to only 30 seconds, and instead of watching a variety of commercials you only have 1 to deal with. They have encompassed advertising with the internet, and this will only continue as the internet becomes more and more apart of our daily lives.
So if for some reason you missed LOST, seasons 1, 2, and 3, and are interested in starting season 4 please click the link below and enjoy hours upon hours on the island with just a few advertising interruptions.
http://dynamic.abc.go.com/streaming/landing?lid=ABCCOMGlobalMenu&lpos=FEP
They have continued, and will continue to come up with new ideas and plans on how to convert advertisements and profit in ways that the television has through the years. A simple example of this is when people watch television episodes online from such websites like ABC or NBC.com. If you miss an episode on TV, and for some un-god reason you don’t have DVR (that was a joke- laugh) you can watch that full episode online. It’s actually nice because the time they give for commercials is cut back from around 3 minutes to only 30 seconds, and instead of watching a variety of commercials you only have 1 to deal with. They have encompassed advertising with the internet, and this will only continue as the internet becomes more and more apart of our daily lives.
So if for some reason you missed LOST, seasons 1, 2, and 3, and are interested in starting season 4 please click the link below and enjoy hours upon hours on the island with just a few advertising interruptions.
http://dynamic.abc.go.com/streaming/landing?lid=ABCCOMGlobalMenu&lpos=FEP
Thursday, January 31, 2008
A Few Pieces of Wood...
After reading this article by Postman I can’t help but to agree and disagree with many of his statements. I somewhat agree when he says that politics is like a show business but I believe that it is up to the individual to further look into candidates running in political campaigns. When he was talking about when people see commercials about political problems and see fast solutions because the commercials are only 30 seconds long, I believe that if people are truly interested in politics they will take those commercials and look deeper into the problems and the candidates. It’s up to the individual how much they choose to want to learn about candidates.
I’m very happy that I waited until today to write my blog on Postman’s article because as I’m sure everyone now knows, Democrat John Edwards has dropped out of the presidency race. I know this does not have much to do with Postman’s article but one of the things that Postman says in his writing touches on what I saw today when I was watching Edwards drop out of the running. Just to set the record straight, I do support Edwards and I do believe in a lot of the things that he was and is pushing for to help better the United States. I believe he would have made a good president, but I also believe that he knew that there were two other people ahead of him who the United States would rather support. Making it clear that I do like Edwards I would like to comment on something Postman said in his article and something I saw on TV today. Postman quoted, “if politics is like show business, then the idea is not to pursue excellence, clarity or honesty but to appear as if you are, which is another matter altogether” (Postman 126). When I was watching Edwards step out of the race today I saw something that sort of disturbed me. After he had given his speech, and while the cameras were still rolling, Edwards along with his son (at least I think it was his son) were shown helping put up some wood strips on the porch where he gave his speech. The owner of the porch was a victim of Hurricane Katrina back in 2005, and with what was shown it was clear that the owner’s house was not fully back to normal. Now I know that one of the things that Edwards fights for is getting victims and New Orleans back on their feet. During his speech today he did say a lot about how there are still homeless victims in New Orleans and how he will not forget about them, but I just thought it was kind of a cheap shot to show him put up a few pieces of wood. I personally have gone down south 6 times to help rebuild houses that were hit by Hurricane Katrina and I think that is why I was so disturbed by what I saw. A few pieces of wood are not going to help anything but make Edwards, or as Postman would say, appear to be excellent and honest. The only thing I can hope for is that viewers watched that segment and instead of getting hostile like me at seeing him and his construction skills, hopefully they will see that 29 months later there is still much needed work to be done.
I’m very happy that I waited until today to write my blog on Postman’s article because as I’m sure everyone now knows, Democrat John Edwards has dropped out of the presidency race. I know this does not have much to do with Postman’s article but one of the things that Postman says in his writing touches on what I saw today when I was watching Edwards drop out of the running. Just to set the record straight, I do support Edwards and I do believe in a lot of the things that he was and is pushing for to help better the United States. I believe he would have made a good president, but I also believe that he knew that there were two other people ahead of him who the United States would rather support. Making it clear that I do like Edwards I would like to comment on something Postman said in his article and something I saw on TV today. Postman quoted, “if politics is like show business, then the idea is not to pursue excellence, clarity or honesty but to appear as if you are, which is another matter altogether” (Postman 126). When I was watching Edwards step out of the race today I saw something that sort of disturbed me. After he had given his speech, and while the cameras were still rolling, Edwards along with his son (at least I think it was his son) were shown helping put up some wood strips on the porch where he gave his speech. The owner of the porch was a victim of Hurricane Katrina back in 2005, and with what was shown it was clear that the owner’s house was not fully back to normal. Now I know that one of the things that Edwards fights for is getting victims and New Orleans back on their feet. During his speech today he did say a lot about how there are still homeless victims in New Orleans and how he will not forget about them, but I just thought it was kind of a cheap shot to show him put up a few pieces of wood. I personally have gone down south 6 times to help rebuild houses that were hit by Hurricane Katrina and I think that is why I was so disturbed by what I saw. A few pieces of wood are not going to help anything but make Edwards, or as Postman would say, appear to be excellent and honest. The only thing I can hope for is that viewers watched that segment and instead of getting hostile like me at seeing him and his construction skills, hopefully they will see that 29 months later there is still much needed work to be done.
Monday, January 14, 2008
First time as a blogger
So I've never been big on the whole blog idea so I'm a little nerveous to see how it goes this semester. I feel what I will use the blogging for is it show articles or videos that I find to tell others in class. I do have friends who choose to blog and basically tell their life story through blogs but I am not that kind of a person. I find it a little odd when people read personal things about me and that's why I think I will just choose to stick with youtube and the internet.
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