New Communications Technologies has been one of my favorite courses this semester. Dealing with issues such as the internet, computers, media and media on the internet, screen and film and many other topics, I have found the course informative. The early lectures on the history of the computer and the internet was quite interesting because these things are so much embedded in our culture today. Adam's discussion on web 2.0 and Free Culture was interesting. Learning the purpose of creative commons and how it works has enabled me to be more aware to publish my own creations in these spaces. Josh Nichol’s lectures on the screen and consumption and production taught me about how our world is changing with technology. Media and entertainment can be accessed on the fly because of creations like the iPhone and iPod touch. The fact that people use to watch trees blowing in the wind on film just because it was on film and this made it exciting, tells me how far we have come. There is still no looking back, technology is continuing to evolve and breaking new frontiers.
Later on in the course, politics on the internet was introduced. Terms like eDemocracy and cyberpunk were introduced. Understanding that hackers are not actually bad or always considered criminals was good to know. I had always associated hackers with doing something wrong. I learnt that these people doing the wrong thing with computers and the internet are mainly known as crackers; although, hackers can be harmful - this would be when they break away from their 'Hacker Ethic'. We learnt about a specific code that hackers adhere to and agree to not use the information they discover in harmful or destructive ways. This 'Hacker Ethic' or code began in the 1960's. Learning all of these interesting facts and ideas added to my enjoyment of the course. I liked the idea of having to start up my own blog and being able to show my friends what I've been doing in this course.
Jason Nelson conducted an eventful lecture and showed us all that he doesn't struggle from shyness. I liked his style. His discussion on the .com crash and rethinking of ways to use the internet was of importance to other content we had learned. It interrelated with some of the topics Adam covered in discussing web 2.0 - the introduction of the more socially oriented internet world. I have to say, the whole idea of Active worlds and Second life got to me. They seem so pointless and Jason Nelson brought this up in his lecture. He said exactly that - that they really have no purpose or point and are designed to really do nothing.
Overall the course has been good and I look forward to some more informative lectures and readings to come.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Essay Topic and Resources
I have chosen essay question one: Marc Prensky's "Emerging online life of the digital native" and David Weinberger's "A New World" (this is chapter 1 from a book called "Small Pieces Loosely Joined" which is in the library as a physical book, it's available as an ebook in the GU catalogue, and it's also on the internet for free if you use your google powers!) both present different views of contemporary internet users. In light of your own experiences with new technologies do you think they are accurate portrayals? Discuss why or why not with specific examples.
I chose this question because I want to explore the different uses the internet has for different people. Some use the internet for educational purposes, whilst some use it for criminal activity.
Resource 1: http://www.smallpieces.com/content/chapter1.html
In this resource there is talk about the web putting a jolt through our culture. There is suspicion that perhaps the web is a new world we are inhabiting and it has much more to reveal. It discusses the uncertainty of the web and the unpredictability it holds. It describes the web as having nothing natural in it and having few rules of behavior and lines of authority.
Resource 2: http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky-The_Emerging_Online_Life_of_the_Digital_Native-03.pdf
“Students are not just using technology differently today, but are approaching their life and their daily activities differently because of the technology.”
– NetDay survey 2004, Conclusions.
This is a quote that explains in a concise statement what this article is about. The impact of technology on students is changing not just their lives, but the way they do life.
Resource 3: http://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&lr=&id=Agemw3yIfCIC&oi=fnd&pg=PR12&dq=Contemporary+Internet+Users&ots=IkYJbDSVs0&sig=63Il9KY0TcaB5Mp2_NrexVNrhIM#v=onepage&q=Contemporary%20Internet%20Users&f=false
This resource highlights the Internet in a general sense. It deals with how the internet is concerned with everyday life. This resource will be useful in the discussion of the contemporary internet user and how it relates to their life. It highlights how the internet has changed from primarily being used by elites to being used by common people for common purposes.
Resource 4: http://ssc.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/19/4/395
This article explores new variables from social-cognitive theory that looks into internet usage. Internet addiction is highlighted and discussed. It raises concerns of internet behavior and will be useful in discussing different behavioral trends.
Resource 5: http://www.cheeps.com/karlmaton/pdf/bjet.pdf
Marc Prensky’s discussion on digital natives led me to another source of information on this type ‘digital natives’. According to this article they are also termed ‘Net generation’. The article highlights that this generation of internet users have been immersed in technology all of their lives.
I chose this question because I want to explore the different uses the internet has for different people. Some use the internet for educational purposes, whilst some use it for criminal activity.
Resource 1: http://www.smallpieces.com/content/chapter1.html
In this resource there is talk about the web putting a jolt through our culture. There is suspicion that perhaps the web is a new world we are inhabiting and it has much more to reveal. It discusses the uncertainty of the web and the unpredictability it holds. It describes the web as having nothing natural in it and having few rules of behavior and lines of authority.
Resource 2: http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky-The_Emerging_Online_Life_of_the_Digital_Native-03.pdf
“Students are not just using technology differently today, but are approaching their life and their daily activities differently because of the technology.”
– NetDay survey 2004, Conclusions.
This is a quote that explains in a concise statement what this article is about. The impact of technology on students is changing not just their lives, but the way they do life.
Resource 3: http://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&lr=&id=Agemw3yIfCIC&oi=fnd&pg=PR12&dq=Contemporary+Internet+Users&ots=IkYJbDSVs0&sig=63Il9KY0TcaB5Mp2_NrexVNrhIM#v=onepage&q=Contemporary%20Internet%20Users&f=false
This resource highlights the Internet in a general sense. It deals with how the internet is concerned with everyday life. This resource will be useful in the discussion of the contemporary internet user and how it relates to their life. It highlights how the internet has changed from primarily being used by elites to being used by common people for common purposes.
Resource 4: http://ssc.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/19/4/395
This article explores new variables from social-cognitive theory that looks into internet usage. Internet addiction is highlighted and discussed. It raises concerns of internet behavior and will be useful in discussing different behavioral trends.
Resource 5: http://www.cheeps.com/karlmaton/pdf/bjet.pdf
Marc Prensky’s discussion on digital natives led me to another source of information on this type ‘digital natives’. According to this article they are also termed ‘Net generation’. The article highlights that this generation of internet users have been immersed in technology all of their lives.
Jason Nelson's Lecture - Week 9
Jason spoke about the .com crash. There was a lot of money pumped into the internet and then these investors realised they were not making any money. After 2000 these people began to rethink things. Jason highlighted some companies that had done well and made it through and this included Amazon.com. Discussion began about when yahoo was big before Google came along. This led to more talk about - there is always going to be the next best thing. First there was MySpace and then everyone jumped to Facebook and then twitter. Apparently, Google is bringing the next thing out and it is going to be called Google-wave?? I wonder if everyone will jump on board. Google seems to have their hand in everything that happens on the internet. We learnt that Bill Gates/Microsoft is trying to buy yahoo... Though, at the moment Google is still the flavor of the month.
Jason mentioned Cyber Utopia - I gathered this to mean things are constantly changing in the cyber world. This is evident in what was discussed earlier. In a business sense this is bad. Companies don't want to build cyber entities or buildings, as such, then keep knocking them down and starting again. It must be frustrating for these business minded people trying to make a dollar. Some have succeeded and some have failed. Some have done both... Jason described the net as an experimental space. There are brands rising and falling continually. Personally, being a consumer of the goings on in cyberspace, I can't say that I will only commit to one thing/site/company/brand. If something better comes out and all my friends are using that, well I will use it too.
Jason showed us the Wayback Machine found at archive.org - This machine stores information of websites that may not be in use anymore. He took us to the old Griffith site from 1996. Let us just say things have changed for the better.
Now on to some Internet usage stats: Most people only visit up to 6 websites on the internet. These are the sites that people are accustomed to using. This led into discussion about more specific focus of tailoring to people’s needs on the internet. For example, the vampire.net or whatever it was. It was tailored to people into vampires or the elf.com or net that was specifically for people with an elf fetish. These types of sites are showing their success because they can last. The sites that are attempting to get the attention of the masses soon crumble because they cannot sustain the momentum. People generally get bored and move on the something else. Jason said the web works most effectively when individuals consistently updating information run sites. This is rather than big corporations running the show.
Jason mentioned Cyber Utopia - I gathered this to mean things are constantly changing in the cyber world. This is evident in what was discussed earlier. In a business sense this is bad. Companies don't want to build cyber entities or buildings, as such, then keep knocking them down and starting again. It must be frustrating for these business minded people trying to make a dollar. Some have succeeded and some have failed. Some have done both... Jason described the net as an experimental space. There are brands rising and falling continually. Personally, being a consumer of the goings on in cyberspace, I can't say that I will only commit to one thing/site/company/brand. If something better comes out and all my friends are using that, well I will use it too.
Jason showed us the Wayback Machine found at archive.org - This machine stores information of websites that may not be in use anymore. He took us to the old Griffith site from 1996. Let us just say things have changed for the better.
Now on to some Internet usage stats: Most people only visit up to 6 websites on the internet. These are the sites that people are accustomed to using. This led into discussion about more specific focus of tailoring to people’s needs on the internet. For example, the vampire.net or whatever it was. It was tailored to people into vampires or the elf.com or net that was specifically for people with an elf fetish. These types of sites are showing their success because they can last. The sites that are attempting to get the attention of the masses soon crumble because they cannot sustain the momentum. People generally get bored and move on the something else. Jason said the web works most effectively when individuals consistently updating information run sites. This is rather than big corporations running the show.
Political Participation via The Internet
1. Sign an e-petition:
Tobacco Display Legislation – This e-petition was concerned with removing the proposals relating to the ban on the display of tobacco in shops.
2. Respond to a professional blogger at a major news site:
I responded to Sydney Morning Heralds entertain blog. The topic was concerning Kyle Sandilands being stood down for a month without pay. I said that I think he should be off the air altogether because he is a rude and ignorant human being.
3. What is Barak Obama up to today?
The best way I could think of finding out this information was to check Obama’s twitter. He tweeted that he is in New York meeting with world leaders at the United Nations. He posted a video and said watch this speech…
4. Find out who your local, state and federal representatives are:
Local: Ms Kerry Rea MP
State: The Hon Arch Bevis MP
Federal: I don't know. I couldn't seem to find a clear answer.
5. I found the latest Hansard and Kerry Rea's name didn't seem to appear. I don't know if she didn't get a mention or I ws looking in the wrong place. So I couldn't let her know what I thought because I couldn't find her last speech.
Tobacco Display Legislation – This e-petition was concerned with removing the proposals relating to the ban on the display of tobacco in shops.
2. Respond to a professional blogger at a major news site:
I responded to Sydney Morning Heralds entertain blog. The topic was concerning Kyle Sandilands being stood down for a month without pay. I said that I think he should be off the air altogether because he is a rude and ignorant human being.
3. What is Barak Obama up to today?
The best way I could think of finding out this information was to check Obama’s twitter. He tweeted that he is in New York meeting with world leaders at the United Nations. He posted a video and said watch this speech…
4. Find out who your local, state and federal representatives are:
Local: Ms Kerry Rea MP
State: The Hon Arch Bevis MP
Federal: I don't know. I couldn't seem to find a clear answer.
5. I found the latest Hansard and Kerry Rea's name didn't seem to appear. I don't know if she didn't get a mention or I ws looking in the wrong place. So I couldn't let her know what I thought because I couldn't find her last speech.
Political Possibilities
Due to strikes, there was no lecture this week. The content made available on elearning dealt with recent political formations emerging because of new technologies. In order to properly understand these political formations, CyberPolitics and eDemocracy had to be defined. CyberPolitics was defined as politics of the internet mostly found on the internet. It deals with how the internet is structured and functions and who decides these things (Internet Society and ICANN). Edemocracy is more concerned with how the internet participates in what is going on in real world politics. It incorporates how the government uses the internet. There was further discussion about defining, more generally, democracy.
In the discussion about mass media I gathered a number of main concepts. The fact that mass media has cut off democratic participation in a number of ways and the advent of new technologies has counteracted this choking of democracy. The new technologies are allowing more people to be involved in mass media and present their opinions and view others’ opinions too. Not only this, but these opinions and voices are appreciated and recognized by poeple. They aren’t just dismissed and ignored. More people are being able to find things out for themselves and not just be told everything from the one source (Newspapers, TV and Media). I see new communications technologies having a positive effect by bringing change in this way. The hold mass media has had in choking democracy is being loosened. Citizens realizing they have a voice and remembering they live in a democracy is important.
Democracy in relation to hackers was then discussed. Hackers don't see anything wrong with breaking into computer systems. They don't see computer systems as corporate property. They are often associated with a computer criminal, but in reality play a minor part in this scene. Hackers are different from crackers. Crackers are involved in criminal activity. They use the information they find, such as credit card details, to rip people off. Hackers are more interested in exploring and understanding hidden information within the canlas of computer systems. 'The Hacker Ethic' is said to have been around since 1960 and hackers adhere to this code. The code is concerned with not harming infromation found by hackers. Hackers are said to create democratic potentialities by finding new ways to information and providing access to these spaces.
In the discussion about mass media I gathered a number of main concepts. The fact that mass media has cut off democratic participation in a number of ways and the advent of new technologies has counteracted this choking of democracy. The new technologies are allowing more people to be involved in mass media and present their opinions and view others’ opinions too. Not only this, but these opinions and voices are appreciated and recognized by poeple. They aren’t just dismissed and ignored. More people are being able to find things out for themselves and not just be told everything from the one source (Newspapers, TV and Media). I see new communications technologies having a positive effect by bringing change in this way. The hold mass media has had in choking democracy is being loosened. Citizens realizing they have a voice and remembering they live in a democracy is important.
Democracy in relation to hackers was then discussed. Hackers don't see anything wrong with breaking into computer systems. They don't see computer systems as corporate property. They are often associated with a computer criminal, but in reality play a minor part in this scene. Hackers are different from crackers. Crackers are involved in criminal activity. They use the information they find, such as credit card details, to rip people off. Hackers are more interested in exploring and understanding hidden information within the canlas of computer systems. 'The Hacker Ethic' is said to have been around since 1960 and hackers adhere to this code. The code is concerned with not harming infromation found by hackers. Hackers are said to create democratic potentialities by finding new ways to information and providing access to these spaces.
My 20th Birthday - 3 minute video
This clip takes you through the happenings of my 20th birthday party at North Beach in Wollongong. The music in the background was created in Photostory by choosing numerous genres/styles, sounds and speed.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Free Culture, Free Society
In discussing free culture and free society three keywords were identified: community; collaboration; and choice. These concepts were presented in relation to computers and the internet. To understand how they relate with computers and the internet a brief history into computer programming and source codes was needed. In the early days of computer programming, the creators would share programs freely. It was a smaller community of people than it is today and these communities were normally based at universities. By collaborating on programs, different writers could contribute and make programs better. To do this, access to the source code of the program was required (the source code is like a recipe for a computer program). Access to the source code was readily available because program writers didn't withhold this information. This collaboration and community of software sharing was later called FLOSS - Free/Libre, Open Source Software. This pleasant community of code writers was interrupted by the monster known as 'Proprietary Software'. Some examples of proprietary software or companies that own the software are: Microsoft, Macromedia and Apple.
The interruption by more business minded people changed the culture of program writers. People began to realise they could make money by restricting access to the source code and making people pay for the program. Altering the source code became restricted because program writers didn't want people tampering with their creations. Richard M Stallman opposed this business minded and money making culture and started up the Free Software Foundation in 1981. This later became known as Open Source software. Stallman's goal was to create a completely free operating system to facilitate Opensource software that people could collaborate on and improve. The idea of collaboration amongst computer programmers could then be restored. Stallman's operating system is known as GNU. One main concept behind Stallman's creation was the idea of 'choice'. We shouldn't have to be dictated to by Microsoft and Apple. Having another option like GNU now enables us to break out of the Microsoft/Apple mould. It gives the sense of community, collaboration and choice back.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Consumption & Production
This week we discussed consumption and production of media. Traditionally consumers of professional media content didn’t produce, but only consumed. This has changed in the advent of new technology. This new technology has enabled the everyday person to create and publicize media content. The technology includes personal media players like iPods, mobile phones and Smartphones (iPhones). These gadgets have inbuilt camera/video camera’s so the user can create, view and publish content on the fly. The medium by which media content is viewed includes ‘big’ screens and ‘small’ screens. The ‘big’ screens of life are cinema TV and PC. The ‘small’ screens of life are personal media players and mobile phones. Through these small screen technologies the consumption of media is becoming increasingly personal. Previously, most media was viewed at a local cinema or hall where a projector was set up and everyone had to share. These media viewing spots were public and only consisted of big screen mediums. This is no longer the case because of the increase in personal media technology.
The ability to upload a video clip on You Tube has opened up the production of media content to almost anyone. Once a clip is on You Tube, potentially, millions of people can view it. Being able to get content out to this many people has caused many to become involved in producing small-scale media projects. In the lecture, we discussed fan-films and trailer mash-ups, which are created by amateurs and sourced through internet sites like You Tube. Here is an example of a trailer mash-up:
Napolean Dynamite / James Bond
The ability to upload a video clip on You Tube has opened up the production of media content to almost anyone. Once a clip is on You Tube, potentially, millions of people can view it. Being able to get content out to this many people has caused many to become involved in producing small-scale media projects. In the lecture, we discussed fan-films and trailer mash-ups, which are created by amateurs and sourced through internet sites like You Tube. Here is an example of a trailer mash-up:
Napolean Dynamite / James Bond
Monday, September 7, 2009
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