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
Saturday, March 29, 2008
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.
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