Article link: NYTimes
Yesterday I found this article in the New York Times about an emerging minority group of grammar/spelling "Nazis" who like to search for tweets on Twitter that have grammatical, spelling, or capitalization errors, and then send sometimes scathing messages to these victims, criticizing their mistakes. GrammarCop, for example, specifically targets celebrities who tweet. This article stood out to me because this is one of the first instances I've seen of a backlash on Twitter's fast-paced, micro-blogging trend.
The article also introduces readers to websites like Tweeting Too Hard and Twitter Fail, which compiles tweets deemed "self-important [or] fake humble" or just plain "stupid." The same way people used to ridicule others on message boards, people who contribute to these Twitter-related websites seem to feel a sense of empowerment in pointing out the flaws of others. It's very interesting how the same themes and trends evolve into different forms as the Internet changes.
(posted by Vicky Chung)
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Gaining Fame through the Internet
It seems that today singers and songwriters have a much easier way to gain their "fifteen minutes of fame." For almost popular song on the radio there are numerous covers of it posted on YouTube by singers hopeful to gain fans and have their music or voices heard. One singer moved quickly ahead and instead of simply posting videos of himself singing on YouTube he used the recently popular website Chatroulette to display his singing skills to the world- impromptu style. Chatroulette is a website that pairs up random users to video and/or text chat with one another. Members do not know who they will be paired up with and when they are ready to chat with someone new they can connect with another user with the simple click of a button.
This man with his piano, his black hoodie and black glasses goes by the name Merton and sings impromptu songs about the person he is paired up with on Chatroulette. Many quickly became curious about "Merton" and who the man under the disguise was. Some even began to wonder if he was actually the real-life singer, Ben Folds. Merton says that the disguise allows him to be "more free and more creative."
Merton's popularity caused CNN to do a segment on him. CNN actually video chatted with Merton, who sang a song for the news station.
(the link: http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/tech/2010/04/07/elam.chat.roulette.cnn?iref=allsearch)
Merton calls Chatroulette an opportunity for those interested in improvisation. Before websites like YouTube and Chatroulette were popular, people like Merton would have a much harder time become so nationally or universally known.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
College Applications Gone Viral
http://www.newsweek.com/id/40211#?t=75779487001&l=66352767001
In this video, Newsweek explores how the college application has become part of the internet age that our society is apart of today. Not only do students apply for colleges online, but now YouTube has become an essential part in the application process because certain colleges are allowing students to submit a one minute YouTube video explaining why they should be accepted to their school. The Personal Statement has now become the "Personal YouTube Video."
I have mixed feelings about this new addition to the college application process. First off, it is showing how our generation has grown creatively with technology as YouTube, a popular website, has gained educational merit as it becomes linked to the college application process. For my generation, YouTube has become a part of everyday life: from watching video clips for leisure or even seeing some YouTube clips in several of my lectures and discussions. It only makes sense that the people in charge of college applications would allow an option like this. This enables an even more in-depth look at all the college applicants for most of the videos are able to physically show the personalities, skills, and talents that many of these students possess. It's a chance at displaying creativity and uniqueness that couldn't be describes in a written personal statement. Of course, some videos are more on the funny and informal side as prospective students display their skills of solving a Rubik's Cube or dancing like a maniac just to prove that they are worth being accepted to the prestigious college of their dreams. A problem that some administrators may encounter in the application process are the numerous amounts of students who can solve a Rubik's Cube in thirty seconds or play a musical instrument well. Nevertheless, this is a new and exciting turn in our generation, for people are not only judged on their SAT or ACT scores, their AP scores, their extracurricular activities, or their awards, but they are also judged as a single human being, not college applicant #223678.
After watching this video, I find hope in the college administrators of today because now students are all given a chance to be different. A chance to show who they really are as a person and be accepted not just because of how well they scored on a test.
"Real World"
For class yesterday, we read the first chapter of Coming of Age in Second Life & this first chapter reminded me of my favorite anime, Serial Experiments Lain, which I watched during junior high. That's about... 7 or 8 years ago. Anyway, here's the opening of the anime:
Before I talk about the anime itself & its relation to the book, I'd like you to know that this anime was in fact broadcasted in 1998. When I watched it, I thought it was way ahead of its time & even now, it still is. Like Snow Crash, it's a possible future.
The anime itself is hard to summarize. At most, it's confusing. You won't get what the story is really about when watching it for the first time. Maybe the 2nd or 3rd, possibly 4th time you'll get it. Many things go on in this anime--from aliens to government conspiracies & etc., but it revolves around the "The Wired" (based on the idea of "connections" literally -- WIRES do appear a lot in the anime), which I believe is that anime world's term for "online/internet/etc." The story begins with Lain, the lead character, getting an email from a dead girl who committed suicide just the week before. From then on, she starts to develop an interest in "The Wired" and begins to immerse herself in it (literally--In the Lain world, it's being *in* "The Wired" -- not "on" it).
Many of the issues discussed in the first chapter of Coming of Age in Second Life also shows up in this anime. Things such as the issue of identity. During her time in "The Wired" Lain discovers that there is another "her," who is not her (though that is questionable). It is true that "online," a person's personality might change, but there's also those who take up fake identities of other "real" people, which is a problem Lain runs into (again, literally). Terms are another important aspect to this anime. Computers are called "Navi" and what is presumably the Internet is called "The Wired." Words like the "Real World" also show up in the anime. It also addresses possible issues that might appear in the future, such as the boundaries between what is real & what is "The Wired" becoming merged & confused over time (that seems already to be a problem now, especially with how much time is spent "online" while traveling through the "real world" -- FB in class or online games in class as an example). Another possible issue is the widespread and easy access to information (which may or may not be "fact") that is provided via "The Wired," so rumors or misunderstandings begin (we see that through FB, twitter, etc.). Stalking is also an issue which is present today & appears in the anime. There is also the topic of online games becoming too real & portable (there are portable "Navis") that confusion with the real world leads to tragedies--something that might just be a problem in our future. Basically, it addresses everything that we are experiencing now.
I guess what amazes me most is that this anime was way before its time & still is. Much of our technology still has yet to reach the state of that in Serial Experiments Lain.
BUT, I don't want to spoil too much of this anime... so, here's a clip to get you started (it's probably one of my most favorite episodes):
It's a pretty short anime--13 episodes.
Some extra info: It was also based on a short (several pages only) manga by ABE Yoshitoshi--http://per.hedbor.org/lain/aoiw/
This page contains scans from the artbook for Serial Experiments Lain, but starting with scan 52, you can read the comic.
Which reminds me, probably the most appealing thing about "The Wired" (our "online/Internet") is that it has the possibility of making a person "omnipresent" (Facebook is again, another example)--the ability to know everything (well, almost everything) that is going on is just such a... power trip, I guess. Well that's about it.
Linh My Tran (86636087)
What employers really can do on social networking sites
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qm_MGjl4R8&feature=PlayList&p=A52B35DDC022CCDF&playnext_from=PL&index=1&playnext=2
In this clip, lawyer Oren Saltzman talks about how employee background checks are going cyber and more employers are checking their potential employees out online at social networking sites. These employers are not only scanning profiles but are also legally allowed to email and message the applicant’s friends to find out more information about the applicant. Legally, this is permissible as long as the employer doesn’t discriminate with what they find (sexual orientation as an example). I knew that potential or current employers could look at someone’s profiles but I never knew it was legal for them to message our friends and try to find out information about us. I felt like this was a complete invasion of privacy but as Saltzman says, the law hasn’t really caught up with this.
Christine Kelemen
70032350
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Cyber-Bullying and Online Trolling/Mobbing
A couple of weeks ago I came across this clip from the Today Show that focused on online harassment particularly via facebook. So far through readings and lectures, I feel as if online/virtual communities exude a sense of freedom without much responsibility. The subject was recently brought up in regards to online gaming and what’s considered cheating/stealing. On another note, It seems like the lack of responsibility or rather what Danah Boyd refers to as semi-anonymity has led to an increase of crassness on social networks such as facebook. This crassness has evolved into blatant violence in some cases as discussed on the Today Show.
In a previous anthropology course I learned that with new trends come new boundaries. Of course, cyberspace is nothing new; however, its pervasiveness has recently enhanced through time and space quite rapidly partially due to the rise of social networking sites such as myspace, facebook, and twitter. Examples of new boundaries within these online networks are cyber-bullying and online trolling/mobbing. Because these violent actions cause negative effects beyond the computer screen, they have attracted much concern. This video clip focuses on the ways in which internet trolls prey on families with recently deceased children whose facebook profiles often remain active with repulsive and disturbing comments.
It is interesting to see how regulations on harassment translate to online social networks and how law enforcement takes strategic measures on solving the issue. Lastly, it’s amazing to see the significance of facebook memorial pages and how these pages serve as an appropriate space for people give their condolences to the dead and their families.
Here's the link:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/36113365#36113365
Transition from Web Browser to Social Browser
http://techcrunch.com/2009/08/14/the-rockmelt-mystery-is-it-just-a-facebook-browser-or-will-it-break-the-mold/
Here's an article about a new web browser in the making called RockMelt. The support from Marc Andreessen, co-founder of Netscape, is creating a stir about this new browser. The article mainly talks about the browser's Facebook incorporation. As we have mentioned in class, culture is not static-- it is constantly changing. In this instance, the role of a web browser is being altered and expanded upon with its focus on the social aspect of the web. With the development of multiple websites that are meant to connect people, it seems only natural that new web browsers are also evolving to match this change. The article also mentions other browsers like Flock, which calls itself the social browser, and Firefox add-ons that allow Facebook interaction that have already attempted to bridge the gap between web browsing and social interaction. Nevertheless, Rockmelt is currently in stealth mode so its level of innovation and its effect on the browser will be interesting to see.
Here's an article about a new web browser in the making called RockMelt. The support from Marc Andreessen, co-founder of Netscape, is creating a stir about this new browser. The article mainly talks about the browser's Facebook incorporation. As we have mentioned in class, culture is not static-- it is constantly changing. In this instance, the role of a web browser is being altered and expanded upon with its focus on the social aspect of the web. With the development of multiple websites that are meant to connect people, it seems only natural that new web browsers are also evolving to match this change. The article also mentions other browsers like Flock, which calls itself the social browser, and Firefox add-ons that allow Facebook interaction that have already attempted to bridge the gap between web browsing and social interaction. Nevertheless, Rockmelt is currently in stealth mode so its level of innovation and its effect on the browser will be interesting to see.
Today I went to the UCI Library page to look for some books that I needed. Well to my surprise I found out that The UCI libraries purchased an island on second life. Which they chose to name Anteater Island. It is just amazing how far technology has gone. And how our culture is immersing itself in it. Who would have thought that an university like UCI would also be participating in second life? This was the last thing that I expected to encounter. But I have to say that I like it.
Here is the link to see the Libraries' Island: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Anteater%20Island/152/188/26/
Here is the link to see the Libraries' Island: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Anteater%20Island/152/188/26/
Today Facebook, Tomorrow the World
http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/04/facebook-becomes-web/
Columnist for Wired.com's "Epicenter" blog, Ryan Singel aptly titles his article in reference to the continuing onslaught of Facebook's domination of the online, social world sphere. Facebook CEO and co-creator Mark Zuckerberg recently released a set of new Facebook policies that caused a stir throughout the online community as it included the forfeiture of intellectual propeties of user-generated content.
However, Singel's focus lies on the new stance Facebook is taking in its efforts of establishing itself as the center of all its user's interactions with the online world. Much like the way culture mediates our view of the world, Facebook is trying to mediate our view of the internet. They are translating the Like/Dislike function to nearly every website you visit (starting with popular hot spots like Pandora) so that for just about everywhere you go on the internet. Whether you "like" it or not, Facebook will know where you have been and will eventually try to alter your experience so that sites are "customized" as you load the page (ex: you visit Pandora and it loads up songs based off songs you've "liked" through Facebook).
For some, this means unifying all there favorite parts of going online into their favorite location. For others, Singel's words echo a disturbing sentiment, "The question is whether you are actually using Facebook to keep in touch with your friends and family–or whether Facebook is just using you."
Columnist for Wired.com's "Epicenter" blog, Ryan Singel aptly titles his article in reference to the continuing onslaught of Facebook's domination of the online, social world sphere. Facebook CEO and co-creator Mark Zuckerberg recently released a set of new Facebook policies that caused a stir throughout the online community as it included the forfeiture of intellectual propeties of user-generated content.
However, Singel's focus lies on the new stance Facebook is taking in its efforts of establishing itself as the center of all its user's interactions with the online world. Much like the way culture mediates our view of the world, Facebook is trying to mediate our view of the internet. They are translating the Like/Dislike function to nearly every website you visit (starting with popular hot spots like Pandora) so that for just about everywhere you go on the internet. Whether you "like" it or not, Facebook will know where you have been and will eventually try to alter your experience so that sites are "customized" as you load the page (ex: you visit Pandora and it loads up songs based off songs you've "liked" through Facebook).
For some, this means unifying all there favorite parts of going online into their favorite location. For others, Singel's words echo a disturbing sentiment, "The question is whether you are actually using Facebook to keep in touch with your friends and family–or whether Facebook is just using you."
Monday, April 26, 2010
Virtual Space now used for job training!
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126281862
Although this article from NPR does not really pertain to cyberspace or the use of internet, it explains how nuclear plans will begin to use virtual space as a way to train new employees and do emergency drills. The technology that they use for this project would be very realistic like those used in Pixar and Dreamworks movies. The virtual space that the software will provide will provide the users with an exact layout of the nuclear plant so the users will become familiar with the danger zones. Furthermore, the workers will go through multiple drills that may happen so that they would become familiar to the routine. This advancement is evident of how virtual world is becoming incorporated into the real world. In the future, I would not be surprised to find virtual space to be used more to train employees or even be used to hire them after finding out how people would react in certain situations.
Esther Yoon
Harassment by Q&A: Initial Thoughts on Formspring.me
danah boyd has a fascinating post recently about Formspring.me and teenagers. We are reading an article of hers soon. There might be some interesting ideas for you in this post!
http://www.zephoria.org/thoughts/archives/2010/04/26/harassment-by-qa-initial-thoughts-on-formspring-me.html
http://www.zephoria.org/thoughts/archives/2010/04/26/harassment-by-qa-initial-thoughts-on-formspring-me.html
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Social Networking Now Saves Lives
We all know that Facebook has been a great tool for networking and jobs, however, this article is an example of how social networking is starting to provide for the greater good of the community. A member of Facebook recently posted a status explaining that he needed a kidney transplant to save his life and another member turned out to be a perfect match.
Several years ago, before Facebook, this man would have most likely passed away. Being able to send information to a mass number of people has made Facebook not only a great way to keep up social networks, but now even to find a life-saving kidney match. It will be interesting to see in the future if the number of transplant matches increases, as Facebook and Twitter have made it easier for people to send mass amounts of information to a larger group of people faster than ever before.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
1.5 Million Facebook Accounts Hacked, Sold
I was messing around the YahooTech section and I stumbled upon this article, and I thought I would share it with y'all. It is kind of like a continuance to Christine Kelemen's post "Dangers of Social Networking Sites" and EmilyH's post "Facebook launches new Safety Center." Apparently, the dangers are all too real and the new safety center did not work out. It appears that some Russian guy hacked into 1.5 Million people's facebook accounts and was selling them for $25 per 1,000 accounts with 10 friends or less, and $45 per 1,000 accounts with more than 10 friends. Talk about a "gold farmer," crazy huh. To me, that is one of the most interesting things I've learned in class so far: how some guy can make real money from sitting there and playing a computer game or designing stuff in second life. Furthermore, it seems like there are also people out there that do crazy things to make a fast buck as well, whether they steal stuff designed in second life like what professor taught us, or they hack your facebook account info and apparently sell it to malware people. It appears that's one of the things that the article said the Russian guy could do with the hacked facebook accounts: sell the info to the malware sites. And from reading Christine Kelemen's post "Dangers of Social Networking Sites" it would seem that if "they" get into one facebook account, they can also get all your friends' info off links from your account as well. I guess that's why the guy was charging more money for accounts "with more than 10 friends." I don't really know what's up with Facebook or how it works, b/c I don't actually have an account yet (don't judge me), so I can't get all technical with the details, but if you would like to check it out further, here is the link to the article (don't worry, it's a really short n' fast read): http://www.baspeople.com/1-5-million-facebook-accounts-hacked-sold/
Joshua Yost
Joshua Yost
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Game Card?
This game that you would find on Facebook has become one of the popular games as noted in class but what I found to be interesting was the fact that not only has this game allowed users to crate their own avatars no realistically but in a cartoon-ish manner but now you can basically buy your way to a new level so to say instead of "farming" for the "money" or "gold" you can simply buy it or receive it as a gift. It seems to me like everything that has to do with online gaming of any sort has resorted to a way to buy your way to the top as opposed to in the past where buying your way through a a game was not as common as today's society which consists of not only people of different ages but those playing different games as well... Facebook games, online games, and even the games that you buy. I find it funny how the point of a game now seems to be getting to the highest level as soon as you can, where as when I was younger the fun of it was spending time trying to complete each level to the best it can be done...with that its no wonder why today's society constantly waits for new games to come out. Like my brother who is 12 but plays games using cheats and all that other stuff and being 12 it was shocking to see him ask my dad for his credit cards to get cheats and buy his way through the game then finishing it before a new one can every be made. Games that start off being free for everyone to use starts to offer a way to gain levels quickly which in turn allows them to make money by selling these so called "game cards". I just found how the changes being made are so different as opposed to the past. 
Caustic Joke or Online Death Prayer?
A recently created Facebook page reads, "Dear Lord, this year you took my favorite actor, Patrick Swayze. You took my favorite actress, Farah Fawcett. You took my favorite singer, Michael Jackson. I just wanted to let you know, my favorite president is Barack Obama. Amen."
It follows the creation of a very similar page with a prayer asking God "not to forget" Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Both pages were created anonymously. When the fallout of this controversial page reached facebook they claimed that, while the page was possibly offense, it did not warrant removal:
"We're sensitive to content that includes pornography, bullying, hate speech, and actionable threats of violence, and we react quickly to remove content that violates our policies when it is reported to us,"
- Andrew Noyes (Facebook spokesman)
The creator of the post that contained the prayer responded that the comment was merely a joke meant to express their distaste for Obama and not actually a plea for his death. However, his/her identity remained concealed.
This story brings to light issues that have previously been discussed, both in class and on this blog, anonymity and legality online. Certainly, the freedoms of speech and of the press are highly regarded in all forms of publication. However, it is improbable that a non-internet based publication of a similar stature would be able to get away with posting something that can be considered irresponsible without retraction. It is a frequent trend in our society that technology advances at a level that surpasses the development of legal/ethical principles and policies. This is not lessened by the fact that policing people online is hardly a feasible task. It is simply too easy for people to get around the law or blur its lines.
It is also interesting to note that the creators of both pages (about Obama and Ahmadinejad) chose to remain anonymous. It is quite comment (as noted by the Professor) for anonymous comments on various news cites to be unrestrained and, at times, brutal. The very crux of facebook as a social networking site, however, is that a person's actions are associated with their identity. The fact that the creator's of both of these pages chose to remain anonymous is indicative of an awareness. They knew that this would be ill-received but choosing to post it online ensures that they themselves would be spared any backlash. But is it really a good idea to give people that kind of freedom? Not of speech but from responsibility. What will be the fallout of creating a society dependent on something which is too difficult to control? At this point it seems it is just too early to tell.
See:
Facebook and the impact on face to face relationships
Going along with the post Jennifer posted a couple days ago, I stumbled upon a Dr. Phil episode that was about the impact that face-book has on intimate relationships. The show focused on how face-book and networking sites have taken over "real" life relationships. He mentions how not only do online sites take over and even ruin everyday relationships, but for some people online sites have altered their way of "social contact." For example, one of his guests, a 19 year old boy, was using face-book to meet girls to "hook up" with. Instead of going out in the real world to meet people, he was using the internet as a substitute. Another guests was telling his story about how face-book ruined his relationship by other's comments which can provoke unnecessary fights and or jealousy.
My take on this issue: Dr. Phil explains to the audience how intimacy in face to face relationships are being dominated and somewhat destroyed because of the convenience and popularity of these online sites. It is so available and open for the public to learn and actually know what one individual is doing at any particular time. Face-book's Status updates and news-feeds cater to exactly that. Twitter is also a culprit to the notion of losing relational intimacy between people. If every can read about one another's interest, favorite books and movies, favorite quotes, jobs, education, friends, and general basic information like one's birthday, the idea of "getting to know someone" goes straight out the window. The idea of a stranger is no longer present. Since everyone and their mothers are a part of face-book, face-book can look like an online database of our society. Online networking sites are so prevalent and influential in our society that it has changed parts of our culture. This can be proven simply by looking at language. Terms such as "friend" are being used as verbs, i.e: I'll "friend" you on face-book.
I don't necessarily think that online networking is a bad thing. However, i do think that online sites should not interfere or act as a substitute for meeting people or having intimate relationships in real life. Online sites should support or act as an addition to everyday face to face relationships. I think that having real life face time with another is far more meaningful and influential to a human being rather than using online sites to do the work for you.
Check out this clip from the Dr. Phil episode.
If you don't want to watch the whole thing, fast forward to about 4:45 and meet Vince. In my personal opinion i find him quite repulsive in the way he views how social life/meeting girls should be.
My take on this issue: Dr. Phil explains to the audience how intimacy in face to face relationships are being dominated and somewhat destroyed because of the convenience and popularity of these online sites. It is so available and open for the public to learn and actually know what one individual is doing at any particular time. Face-book's Status updates and news-feeds cater to exactly that. Twitter is also a culprit to the notion of losing relational intimacy between people. If every can read about one another's interest, favorite books and movies, favorite quotes, jobs, education, friends, and general basic information like one's birthday, the idea of "getting to know someone" goes straight out the window. The idea of a stranger is no longer present. Since everyone and their mothers are a part of face-book, face-book can look like an online database of our society. Online networking sites are so prevalent and influential in our society that it has changed parts of our culture. This can be proven simply by looking at language. Terms such as "friend" are being used as verbs, i.e: I'll "friend" you on face-book.
I don't necessarily think that online networking is a bad thing. However, i do think that online sites should not interfere or act as a substitute for meeting people or having intimate relationships in real life. Online sites should support or act as an addition to everyday face to face relationships. I think that having real life face time with another is far more meaningful and influential to a human being rather than using online sites to do the work for you.
Check out this clip from the Dr. Phil episode.
If you don't want to watch the whole thing, fast forward to about 4:45 and meet Vince. In my personal opinion i find him quite repulsive in the way he views how social life/meeting girls should be.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Teaching Facebook to the Older Generation
Upon returning from a conference for her profession, my Mom asked me if I could help her create a facebook account to advertise for her business. She offered to pay me by the hour to spruce up her page and create a fan page for her business. I had noticed before my mom came to me with her request, that many business have been appearing on FB pages. I remember when I first got a FB. My mom was so concerned about me releasing particular personal information. She was worried for my safety just like many parents were during the advent of violence resulting from improper use of Myspace. So, originally FB was for college students only, which helped to keep information more private. Now it's expanded entirely to include countless advertisers. However bizarre the transformation may seem, it makes sense that it has grown to this point. Being a friend of someone or a fan of something on FB seems to increase the likelihood that you will at least remember their existence.
So, I created my Mom's profile and a page for her business. I added a few dozen friends, but was going to have to actually sit down with her to talk about who else to add. Going through this simple process with her made me realize some things about our FB "friends". The most recurring point would be that we DON'T really care to know about the majority of them nor do we care to have them following us. We started by going through her best friend’s Friends List. She would recognize some names, and when I was about to click “Add Friend” she would repeatedly say “I don’t care about so-and-so”. I argued with her a little, and after a few sessions she is starting to see the point of the Friends List. I tried to explain to my mom that you don’t have to actually be ‘friends’ in the strictest sense of the word in real life. There are such things now as simply “Facebook friends”, that are referred to know in daily-real life. I personally have 739 friends on FB, and really only keep in contact with maybe 50 of them on a semi-regular basis; the rest are just buffer, there to make it seem like people like you. In my early years of FB, I was constantly finding and adding everyone I met, everyone I shared a drink with, or everyone I met through another friend. Now, I’ve relaxed a bit, seeing how unimportant it is to my purposes of FB.
However, with advertising, which is what my Mom’s purpose of FB is, she wants/needs to get her name out to as many people as possible. I told her, you don’t HAVE to keep tabs on everyone we are adding here, but for purposes of your credibility in your business, you need to make it look like you have a lot of people that like you. If you only have a few dozen friends: first of all, who is going to trust you to competently complete your business, second, people are not going to be as willing to use your business if they get the impression people don’t like you, and third, you won’t have as many people, who will in turn invite their people, to your business page. Bottom line: you don’t have to like the person, or care at all about them, to be FB Friends.
This is still a concept that I have to remind my Mom about. Just last weekend we were sitting together adding people. In the beginning of our session, yep I’m getting paid by the hour, she was still quite hesitant about adding certain people she barely knew, or had just met at a friend’s house party. I understand this concept is difficult for adults of her generation and older to comprehend. Now, my Mom is quite computer savvy, but when it comes to these virtual forums, she is at a loss. She is still of the mindset of calling and email messaging her friends and family. The short blurbs on FB seem insufficient, because she has a lot more to say (she always has a lot more to say). This shows how different mindsets have evolved in order to work with the fast pace of things like FB. My Mom has worked on just writing short comments, however she is quite unaware of the text etiquette that perpetually plagues her text messages (thankfully only to me) and now her FB comments. She sounds mad in every one of them! So, next is to explain to her the typing etiquette required of seeming friendly on FB.
So, I created my Mom's profile and a page for her business. I added a few dozen friends, but was going to have to actually sit down with her to talk about who else to add. Going through this simple process with her made me realize some things about our FB "friends". The most recurring point would be that we DON'T really care to know about the majority of them nor do we care to have them following us. We started by going through her best friend’s Friends List. She would recognize some names, and when I was about to click “Add Friend” she would repeatedly say “I don’t care about so-and-so”. I argued with her a little, and after a few sessions she is starting to see the point of the Friends List. I tried to explain to my mom that you don’t have to actually be ‘friends’ in the strictest sense of the word in real life. There are such things now as simply “Facebook friends”, that are referred to know in daily-real life. I personally have 739 friends on FB, and really only keep in contact with maybe 50 of them on a semi-regular basis; the rest are just buffer, there to make it seem like people like you. In my early years of FB, I was constantly finding and adding everyone I met, everyone I shared a drink with, or everyone I met through another friend. Now, I’ve relaxed a bit, seeing how unimportant it is to my purposes of FB.
However, with advertising, which is what my Mom’s purpose of FB is, she wants/needs to get her name out to as many people as possible. I told her, you don’t HAVE to keep tabs on everyone we are adding here, but for purposes of your credibility in your business, you need to make it look like you have a lot of people that like you. If you only have a few dozen friends: first of all, who is going to trust you to competently complete your business, second, people are not going to be as willing to use your business if they get the impression people don’t like you, and third, you won’t have as many people, who will in turn invite their people, to your business page. Bottom line: you don’t have to like the person, or care at all about them, to be FB Friends.
This is still a concept that I have to remind my Mom about. Just last weekend we were sitting together adding people. In the beginning of our session, yep I’m getting paid by the hour, she was still quite hesitant about adding certain people she barely knew, or had just met at a friend’s house party. I understand this concept is difficult for adults of her generation and older to comprehend. Now, my Mom is quite computer savvy, but when it comes to these virtual forums, she is at a loss. She is still of the mindset of calling and email messaging her friends and family. The short blurbs on FB seem insufficient, because she has a lot more to say (she always has a lot more to say). This shows how different mindsets have evolved in order to work with the fast pace of things like FB. My Mom has worked on just writing short comments, however she is quite unaware of the text etiquette that perpetually plagues her text messages (thankfully only to me) and now her FB comments. She sounds mad in every one of them! So, next is to explain to her the typing etiquette required of seeming friendly on FB.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Fios Brings Facebook and Twitter Onto Your TV
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiSYAIN6PZY
I saw this commercial on tv the other night and it just made me think back of the readings we had about LambdaMOO: "We aren't attached to the Internet, we're attached to communication" (or something along those lines). Even as you're watching tv now you can update your status on Facebook or Twitter. I wouldn't really know what people will say, but judging from the people I know, it will probably be like "(insert name here) is updating his/her status with the TV!" or something of the sort. This commercial is just showing how everyone these days can't get away from these social websites and are constantly updating about what they're doing.
Well, I guess now with this feature, people can post statuses about the shows/movies they're watching while they're watching it instead of getting on their computer and doing it afterwards. This is a whole new way to keep in touch with everyone else even when you're trying to relax (considering that watching tv is something you do in your spare time). Lastly, I really like how the other guy just butts in at the end of the commercial and he's ironically making fun of the speaker guy: "What does yours say, Fios is amazinggg?! 'Cause that'd be lame."
I saw this commercial on tv the other night and it just made me think back of the readings we had about LambdaMOO: "We aren't attached to the Internet, we're attached to communication" (or something along those lines). Even as you're watching tv now you can update your status on Facebook or Twitter. I wouldn't really know what people will say, but judging from the people I know, it will probably be like "(insert name here) is updating his/her status with the TV!" or something of the sort. This commercial is just showing how everyone these days can't get away from these social websites and are constantly updating about what they're doing.
Well, I guess now with this feature, people can post statuses about the shows/movies they're watching while they're watching it instead of getting on their computer and doing it afterwards. This is a whole new way to keep in touch with everyone else even when you're trying to relax (considering that watching tv is something you do in your spare time). Lastly, I really like how the other guy just butts in at the end of the commercial and he's ironically making fun of the speaker guy: "What does yours say, Fios is amazinggg?! 'Cause that'd be lame."
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Online Break-Ups
I don't know if many of you have seen this before.
dramatic reading of a break up email
It's a hilarious dramatic reading of a break up email that a girl sent to her now ex-boyfriend.
This goes along with class and our views of how technology has become the norm. Remember the good (or not so good) old days when couples broke up in person? Now, it's completely normal for couples to break up by phone, email, and text! It's weird to see how we've become so impersonal with relationships!
Facebook, has now become the place to learn personal information about people you vaguely know. When a status goes from "in a relationship" to "single", you can't help but gasp! Often times under those status changes comes a barrage of sympathy from friends. I can't help but wonder if this public announcement is a plea for sympathy. I don't know.
So enjoy these images of facebook break-ups that I found.
The second one was a bit more accusatory. But both were very public. I guess relationship problems are no longer a personal issue between the couples. Rather, it's frequently publicized for the world to see.
Basically, I feel like shows how generational ideas of breaking up are changing! There will no longer be face to face confrontations! Which is good or bad, depending on your opinion.
dramatic reading of a break up email
It's a hilarious dramatic reading of a break up email that a girl sent to her now ex-boyfriend.
This goes along with class and our views of how technology has become the norm. Remember the good (or not so good) old days when couples broke up in person? Now, it's completely normal for couples to break up by phone, email, and text! It's weird to see how we've become so impersonal with relationships!
Facebook, has now become the place to learn personal information about people you vaguely know. When a status goes from "in a relationship" to "single", you can't help but gasp! Often times under those status changes comes a barrage of sympathy from friends. I can't help but wonder if this public announcement is a plea for sympathy. I don't know.
So enjoy these images of facebook break-ups that I found.
The second one was a bit more accusatory. But both were very public. I guess relationship problems are no longer a personal issue between the couples. Rather, it's frequently publicized for the world to see.Basically, I feel like shows how generational ideas of breaking up are changing! There will no longer be face to face confrontations! Which is good or bad, depending on your opinion.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Evacuation Plans Using Avatars
***This is the Link: Evacuating 70,000 sports fans in less than an hour? Rehearse it with 70,000 avatars***
I thought this article was extremely interesting. I feel that it sheds some light on a different aspect of cyberculture. It seems like cyberculture tends to make me think of online gaming, online relationships, and a bunch of other "nerdy" ideas. This article lets us see how newer technology may be the answer to preventing thousands of casualties in case of a terrorist attack. The idea of being able to evacuate 70,000 people in a matter of 60 minutes is astonishing to me. That's simply unbelievable. Having a program like this could really change the face of major sports arenas. I wonder if it would influence/change the architectural designs of future stadiums or arenas that would be built. I thought it was interesting when the program manager, Mike Matthews says the program "will become a national standard." Although I feel that statement may be premature, I think the idea is fantastic. I would really want to see how this would play out on a computer considering that this program claims to be able to see how fans would positively or negatively react to a terrorist threat. I think it would be necessary to take the parking/exiting situations into account as well. Just because people are out of the area being evacuated does not mean they are completely safe. Causing a major traffic back-up in the immediate surrounding area would be contradictory to what this program is trying to accomplish. Anyway, I definitely think this article is something to think about.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Facebook launches new Safety Center
http://scitech.blogs.cnn.com/2010/04/13/facebook-launches-new-safety-center/?hpt=T2
The article briefly addresses Facebook's new launch of a "Safety Center." What is more interesting are the comments and feedback below it. Even though Facebook claims that their #1 priority is safety, some users commented that it was a PR move, and that Facebook really only cares about the money. Others claim the new "Safety Center" isn't really helpful because it is more of FAQ's. It's interesting that people wouldn't appreciate Facebook's attempt at promoting safety.
This topic reminded of our reading The Lessons of Lucasfilm's Habitat because the issue of safety came up as well. Moral questions came up in the game about murder, and the creators limited dangerous activity to outside the grounds in the forest. For Facebook, many questions arise about how to be safe, and the website has continually updated users' abilities to control safety.
As internet advances day by day and more people gain access to site, its dangers increase as well. Bullying has become a hot topic in the news lately, so it makes sense to me that Facebook would want to make it easier for people to find the "Safety Center" and get answers to their questions. On the other hand, Facebook probably receives millions of emails a day, so this saves them time from having to answer the questions. Either way, hopefully it can prove valuable for users and is easier to navigate through.
The article briefly addresses Facebook's new launch of a "Safety Center." What is more interesting are the comments and feedback below it. Even though Facebook claims that their #1 priority is safety, some users commented that it was a PR move, and that Facebook really only cares about the money. Others claim the new "Safety Center" isn't really helpful because it is more of FAQ's. It's interesting that people wouldn't appreciate Facebook's attempt at promoting safety.
This topic reminded of our reading The Lessons of Lucasfilm's Habitat because the issue of safety came up as well. Moral questions came up in the game about murder, and the creators limited dangerous activity to outside the grounds in the forest. For Facebook, many questions arise about how to be safe, and the website has continually updated users' abilities to control safety.
As internet advances day by day and more people gain access to site, its dangers increase as well. Bullying has become a hot topic in the news lately, so it makes sense to me that Facebook would want to make it easier for people to find the "Safety Center" and get answers to their questions. On the other hand, Facebook probably receives millions of emails a day, so this saves them time from having to answer the questions. Either way, hopefully it can prove valuable for users and is easier to navigate through.
Dangers of Social Networking Sites
Here is the link to the CNN clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3L71oPCHSGM
This clip from CNN explores the dangers of social networking sights. In Kurt Roemer's (a Citrix Security Strategist) opinion, there is a sort of "implicit trust" that forces people do do things they wouldn't normally do. When we click on links like "take this quiz" or "view this video" that our friends send us, we really don't know what is lurking behind the link and could possibly infect our computer. Through links on Facebook for example, not only our computers and our identities, but our friend's computers and identities can be compromised as well. According to Kurt, these attacks are "stealthy" and even trained people can't always recognize attacks. All we really have to do is mouse over something, without even clicking, and we can be compromised by the virus. Obviously, you can get viruses through websites that aren't social networking sites, but Kurt's major point is that the trust within sites like Facebook can tend to amplify the problem. I have to admit, when I had a Facebook account, I wasn't nearly as cautious as I should have been. I would basically click on whatever I wanted and would accept most applications. I am not usually like that on non-social networking sites, so I can see what Kurt means by a present implicit trust.
Christine Kelemen
So.. how much do you know about Progamers...?
Today’s class discussion about “how virtual world reshapes the real world,” and topic of progamer had to come up. It also was inevitable to talk about South Korean progamers in general…
But the question I want to ask is “how much do you know about it?”
For those of you, who have no clue about “progamers” they may look like this..
For those of you who know something about them, may look like this...
The accepted usage of American "progamers" or any other European ones are people who play games for money. They travel around the world to compete in many tournaments and “invitation matches” to play for the prize money or for the sponsors. Many computer related companies such as Razer, intel, and many more game developing companies often sponsor good players and teams of players to compete in worldwide competitions. If you are familiar with how proskaters and BMX sport players make money, that is pretty much the same way how American progamers make money.
Nevertheless, often these progamers are just being sponsored by the companies, meaning they practice their own in their house/center/ or wherever they practice together, and sponsors are just paying them to win the match. Also, many of them consider it as a job rather than career. They do this because they get to travel world and make money doing what they like to do, but not many of them see it as permanent settlement. It would be a stepping stone for better place. (I am saying this from experiences with a few people I met who call themselves “progamer,”and I do not follow communities like TeamLiquid, so I may have gotten wrong impression or making wrong judgment about the American progamers in general)
I have made some acquaintances with progamers who play WoW Arena for living. Clearly, they like what they are doing, but what I did not find was professional attitude behind what they do. They seemed to have more recollection about the hookers they bought during various world tours than the game competition itself.
Korean definition of progamer is a bit different from this idea…
When the idea of “progamer” first introduced in Korea around 2000, it was very similar from American version of progamer. There even was an incident where a famous progamer was publically humiliated in national television. In 2001, Starcraft progamer Lim Yo-Hwan (better known for his Starcraft pseudonym SlayerS_Boxer in US) was invited to very conservative and long-lasting public educational/talk program in the national television. The hosts of the program, however, started asking questions that is completely unrelated to what he does for living. The questions like “if you kill person in the game, do you really want to kill people in real life?” “I have heard you have millions in cyber money, how is that make you feel?” They asked these questions because this was the year MMORPG Lineage and gaming addiction has become huge public issue. Nevertheless, the questions were completely off the topic and unrelated to Starcraft and progaming in general. They basically treated him as a loser who plays game for living.. like this guy…
The program caused outrage from online/offline communities for their lack of understanding and effort to put a little work in researching about the profession. It took over 9 years of convincing and public education since to redefine the meaning of the word.
Now, in Korea, progamers mean something different. In order to become a Starcraft progamer, you need to win 2 of the official competitions held by Korean e-Sport Association within a year (meaning that you need to win 2 competitions in the same year), and take ethics education held by the association. However, since it is so hard to win these competitions, you have something call semi-progamers who are 4th place to 1st place in one of the official competition call Career Match. These semi-progamers gains the right to be drafted by 12 teams in the association, and practice under professional supervision. However, only after they become the progamer, they can attempt to compete in major competitions.
There are 2 major competitions each held every 3 months in Korea. One is Starleague; the other is MSL (short for MBCgame Starleague, where MBCgame is the name of the cable channel). Usually, almost every progamers apply for the qualification match. Only 24 of them makes the cut.
Out of 25,000 amateur players in Korea, only 634 are semi-progamer; out of 634 semi-progamers, only 324 are progamers; Out of these 324 progamers, only 180 are actively competing in any league; out of 180 progamers, only 50 gets to be in the major league, and only one becomes the best player in the season. And.. only after you win these competitions many times, you can call yourself as a “starplayer” (no pun intended :P) The following picture is the new progamers who made the cut and drafted by professional teams this year.
This is the link on National Geographic Channel’s documentary on WCG (the World Cyber Games)
This is 1 out 5 segments.. so go ahead and keep watching other ones if you are interested.
To correct some of the things they said in the documentary, Seo Ji Hoon (Xellos) no longer considered the best player in Korea. Usually, most of these “starplayers” only last about 2~3 years of their highest peak, then quickly taken over by new, brighter, younger, faster, and more skilled players. This documentary was made 5 years ago, so his stardom ended long time ago.
Also, Seo Ji Hoon’s fans are not the biggest as well. In 2006, Lim Yo-Hwan (Slayers_Boxer) had 600,000 fans registered in his fan site (even larger than the number of fans of top idol singers in Korea), and this was 4 years after his “prime,” so imagine his stardom at the peak of his career. Moreover, WCG is definitely largest competition when you consider it worldwide (In 2008, 800 professional gamers from 78 countries participated). However, winning the competition does not make you “the best in the world” as the documentary described because the Starcraft competition eventually end up competing for “who’s gonna beat the Koreans” (Since the first WCG in 2000, Korea never lost the gold medal in Starcraft). Because Korean players are so good, Korean qualification tournament for WCG Starcraft ends up being the selecting finalists. In other words, regular major competitions held in Korea every 3 months ends up harder to win than WCG.
Korea also has team league competition called Proleague. 12 professional teams in the association compete each other in a league where they meet 11 other teams 4 times. These professional gaming teams are very different from American idea of gaming teams. The following picture is the emblems of the teams.
These are not 5~6 players who gather up and make a team to play games, and hopefully get some sponsors to fund them. These are the teams with professional head coaches, assistant coaches, board of directors, head director, and facilities; not to mention 20~30 professional gamers who sign length contract to wear the team’s uniform and agree to follow the strict rules as a professional gamer. The progamer in Korea has mandatory practice schedule around 8 hours a day for Proleague, and most of them end up spending about 6 more hours for their individual competitions. During the major competitions, a progamer practices about 9 hours and 34 minutes in average, and during the offseason, they practice about 8 hours a day in average. This is why a lot of the gamers end up dropping out of school because they simply do not have time. (I am not talking about college; I am talking about high school; in Korea, high school education is not mandatory).
These are the people who sacrifice everything else other than practicing and playing game during their youth (the average progamer age in Korea is 20.5 years old, youngest being 15). It is very much like professional sports players. Millions try to become the professional athletes, but how many actually makes it? And out of those who become professional players, how many gets to become next Kobe or Lebron James? The ones who do not make it? They often end up going back to college, but it becomes so much difficult. Consider the same with progamers in Korea, except your prime is not 5~8 years and you get to play after 30, your prime is 2~3 years and by the time you are 30, you will facing retirement. The major problems for these Korean professional players are that they do not have much time before they pass their peak, and eventually their skills are caught up and outdated by younger players. Many of these progamers do not get to win the competition before they retire, just like not everyone in the NBA gets to wear the ring.
Then why do they do it? I mean besides the fact that they love playing games.
One of the reasons is money…. (the ones in the parenthesis are Starcraft pseudonyms)
Choi Yun Sung (iloveoov) signed $750,000 contract (corrected for CPI deflator of Korea and United States, nominal value was $450,000) from 2005 to 2008. Park Jung Suk (Reach) signed $669,000 contract from 2005 to 2007, and Lee Yoon Yul (Nada) singed 1milion dollar contract from 2004 to 2007. (His signing was the priest signing in history). Also, last year, Lee Young-Ho (Flash) who is currently the best Terran player in Korea and only 17 years old made $418,000. How much money did you made when you were 17?
Of course, you must consider not everyone makes this kind of money. Those are the starplayers who are exceptionally good and have huge number of fans. Kobe Bryant makes over $210,000 per game, but not everyone in the NBA makes that much money… it’s the same thing. Nevertheless, many go into profession because the earning potential in the young age is considerably higher than any other professions.
Another reason is being famous…
That picture is from a Starleague match. It wasn’t the final match of the season; it was just one of the matches during the league.
That is from 2005 Proleague championship match with 120,000 audiences cheering for two teams who made it to the championship. When was the last time did you gather 120,000 people cheering for you?
One thing the NGC documentary got was the Starcraft players have potential to become famous. In Korea, significant number of people in age 13~23 watch Starleague tournament, and they recognize good players. Like I said before, some of the players become even more famous than idol singers in Korea.
So…. I hope this clarified the Korean definition of progamer. In Korea, it means that you are a official member of Korea e-Sport Association that is recognized by the government; it means you are made the cut by being the best player within 1.23% of the armature players; it means you gets to wear uniform, lengthy contract, and cheered by fans; it means you will have to sacrifice your youth from 16~23 for playing games and playing games only; and it means you will get something much more than money.. you gets to be proud.
But the question I want to ask is “how much do you know about it?”
For those of you, who have no clue about “progamers” they may look like this..
For those of you who know something about them, may look like this...
Nevertheless, often these progamers are just being sponsored by the companies, meaning they practice their own in their house/center/ or wherever they practice together, and sponsors are just paying them to win the match. Also, many of them consider it as a job rather than career. They do this because they get to travel world and make money doing what they like to do, but not many of them see it as permanent settlement. It would be a stepping stone for better place. (I am saying this from experiences with a few people I met who call themselves “progamer,”and I do not follow communities like TeamLiquid, so I may have gotten wrong impression or making wrong judgment about the American progamers in general)
I have made some acquaintances with progamers who play WoW Arena for living. Clearly, they like what they are doing, but what I did not find was professional attitude behind what they do. They seemed to have more recollection about the hookers they bought during various world tours than the game competition itself.
Korean definition of progamer is a bit different from this idea…
When the idea of “progamer” first introduced in Korea around 2000, it was very similar from American version of progamer. There even was an incident where a famous progamer was publically humiliated in national television. In 2001, Starcraft progamer Lim Yo-Hwan (better known for his Starcraft pseudonym SlayerS_Boxer in US) was invited to very conservative and long-lasting public educational/talk program in the national television. The hosts of the program, however, started asking questions that is completely unrelated to what he does for living. The questions like “if you kill person in the game, do you really want to kill people in real life?” “I have heard you have millions in cyber money, how is that make you feel?” They asked these questions because this was the year MMORPG Lineage and gaming addiction has become huge public issue. Nevertheless, the questions were completely off the topic and unrelated to Starcraft and progaming in general. They basically treated him as a loser who plays game for living.. like this guy…
Now, in Korea, progamers mean something different. In order to become a Starcraft progamer, you need to win 2 of the official competitions held by Korean e-Sport Association within a year (meaning that you need to win 2 competitions in the same year), and take ethics education held by the association. However, since it is so hard to win these competitions, you have something call semi-progamers who are 4th place to 1st place in one of the official competition call Career Match. These semi-progamers gains the right to be drafted by 12 teams in the association, and practice under professional supervision. However, only after they become the progamer, they can attempt to compete in major competitions.
There are 2 major competitions each held every 3 months in Korea. One is Starleague; the other is MSL (short for MBCgame Starleague, where MBCgame is the name of the cable channel). Usually, almost every progamers apply for the qualification match. Only 24 of them makes the cut.
Out of 25,000 amateur players in Korea, only 634 are semi-progamer; out of 634 semi-progamers, only 324 are progamers; Out of these 324 progamers, only 180 are actively competing in any league; out of 180 progamers, only 50 gets to be in the major league, and only one becomes the best player in the season. And.. only after you win these competitions many times, you can call yourself as a “starplayer” (no pun intended :P) The following picture is the new progamers who made the cut and drafted by professional teams this year.
This is the link on National Geographic Channel’s documentary on WCG (the World Cyber Games)
This is 1 out 5 segments.. so go ahead and keep watching other ones if you are interested.
To correct some of the things they said in the documentary, Seo Ji Hoon (Xellos) no longer considered the best player in Korea. Usually, most of these “starplayers” only last about 2~3 years of their highest peak, then quickly taken over by new, brighter, younger, faster, and more skilled players. This documentary was made 5 years ago, so his stardom ended long time ago.
Also, Seo Ji Hoon’s fans are not the biggest as well. In 2006, Lim Yo-Hwan (Slayers_Boxer) had 600,000 fans registered in his fan site (even larger than the number of fans of top idol singers in Korea), and this was 4 years after his “prime,” so imagine his stardom at the peak of his career. Moreover, WCG is definitely largest competition when you consider it worldwide (In 2008, 800 professional gamers from 78 countries participated). However, winning the competition does not make you “the best in the world” as the documentary described because the Starcraft competition eventually end up competing for “who’s gonna beat the Koreans” (Since the first WCG in 2000, Korea never lost the gold medal in Starcraft). Because Korean players are so good, Korean qualification tournament for WCG Starcraft ends up being the selecting finalists. In other words, regular major competitions held in Korea every 3 months ends up harder to win than WCG.
Korea also has team league competition called Proleague. 12 professional teams in the association compete each other in a league where they meet 11 other teams 4 times. These professional gaming teams are very different from American idea of gaming teams. The following picture is the emblems of the teams.
These are not 5~6 players who gather up and make a team to play games, and hopefully get some sponsors to fund them. These are the teams with professional head coaches, assistant coaches, board of directors, head director, and facilities; not to mention 20~30 professional gamers who sign length contract to wear the team’s uniform and agree to follow the strict rules as a professional gamer. The progamer in Korea has mandatory practice schedule around 8 hours a day for Proleague, and most of them end up spending about 6 more hours for their individual competitions. During the major competitions, a progamer practices about 9 hours and 34 minutes in average, and during the offseason, they practice about 8 hours a day in average. This is why a lot of the gamers end up dropping out of school because they simply do not have time. (I am not talking about college; I am talking about high school; in Korea, high school education is not mandatory).
These are the people who sacrifice everything else other than practicing and playing game during their youth (the average progamer age in Korea is 20.5 years old, youngest being 15). It is very much like professional sports players. Millions try to become the professional athletes, but how many actually makes it? And out of those who become professional players, how many gets to become next Kobe or Lebron James? The ones who do not make it? They often end up going back to college, but it becomes so much difficult. Consider the same with progamers in Korea, except your prime is not 5~8 years and you get to play after 30, your prime is 2~3 years and by the time you are 30, you will facing retirement. The major problems for these Korean professional players are that they do not have much time before they pass their peak, and eventually their skills are caught up and outdated by younger players. Many of these progamers do not get to win the competition before they retire, just like not everyone in the NBA gets to wear the ring.
Then why do they do it? I mean besides the fact that they love playing games.
One of the reasons is money…. (the ones in the parenthesis are Starcraft pseudonyms)
Choi Yun Sung (iloveoov) signed $750,000 contract (corrected for CPI deflator of Korea and United States, nominal value was $450,000) from 2005 to 2008. Park Jung Suk (Reach) signed $669,000 contract from 2005 to 2007, and Lee Yoon Yul (Nada) singed 1milion dollar contract from 2004 to 2007. (His signing was the priest signing in history). Also, last year, Lee Young-Ho (Flash) who is currently the best Terran player in Korea and only 17 years old made $418,000. How much money did you made when you were 17?
Of course, you must consider not everyone makes this kind of money. Those are the starplayers who are exceptionally good and have huge number of fans. Kobe Bryant makes over $210,000 per game, but not everyone in the NBA makes that much money… it’s the same thing. Nevertheless, many go into profession because the earning potential in the young age is considerably higher than any other professions.
Another reason is being famous…
One thing the NGC documentary got was the Starcraft players have potential to become famous. In Korea, significant number of people in age 13~23 watch Starleague tournament, and they recognize good players. Like I said before, some of the players become even more famous than idol singers in Korea.
So…. I hope this clarified the Korean definition of progamer. In Korea, it means that you are a official member of Korea e-Sport Association that is recognized by the government; it means you are made the cut by being the best player within 1.23% of the armature players; it means you gets to wear uniform, lengthy contract, and cheered by fans; it means you will have to sacrifice your youth from 16~23 for playing games and playing games only; and it means you will get something much more than money.. you gets to be proud.
Rethinking Anonymity Online
I read a New York Times article called "News Sites Rethink Anonymous Online Comments" which talks about how news websites, such as Washington Post, will implement a real-name-only policy for comment-posting. Online anonymity has always been an inherent aspect of the Internet. It is utilized responsibly by some, but has caused real-life consequences for many others. Stories about the effects of online-bullying spilling over into real life are common.
Arianna Huffington said, “Anonymity is just the way things are done. It’s an accepted part of the Internet, but there’s no question that people hide behind anonymity to make vile or controversial comments."
I find the evolution of the Internet and its norms to be very interesting. Whereas in the past, provocative or ill-intentioned comments were so common and expected that no one felt the need to intervene, now various sites feel the obligation to ensure the appropriateness of their content, even if it's contributed by others.
However, I'm wary of how successful these sites will be in enforcing this policy. People could still use fake names and still make inappropriate comments. Even if a real name is attached to a comment, chances are users will still feel empowered by the inherent anonymity of the Internet, that no one can identify their faces.
(posted by Vicky Chung)
Arianna Huffington said, “Anonymity is just the way things are done. It’s an accepted part of the Internet, but there’s no question that people hide behind anonymity to make vile or controversial comments."
I find the evolution of the Internet and its norms to be very interesting. Whereas in the past, provocative or ill-intentioned comments were so common and expected that no one felt the need to intervene, now various sites feel the obligation to ensure the appropriateness of their content, even if it's contributed by others.
However, I'm wary of how successful these sites will be in enforcing this policy. People could still use fake names and still make inappropriate comments. Even if a real name is attached to a comment, chances are users will still feel empowered by the inherent anonymity of the Internet, that no one can identify their faces.
(posted by Vicky Chung)
Monday, April 12, 2010
The Science of Online Dating
The Science of Online Dating
"Sadly, browsing dating sites is the only thing I find more self-consciously lonely and sad than masturbation. Ten years ago, large numbers of people were internet dating, but they didn’t talk about it. Shoplifting was more publicly acceptable. Now, it is not only culturally acceptable, it’s the norm. One in five people meet online, and one study reckons online dating has finally taken over porn in terms of value, which, to me, is a between-two-evils scenario."
It seems as though those who are single have been looking for love all wrong. Gonzaga claims that one must look for love statistically. Claiming that eHarmony uses science focusing on 25 dimensions of compatibility to match their clients and the fact that they claim responsibility for 2% of all marriages in America is a bit hard to believe for me
Many claim that dating services/sites simply use "algorithms" to match up compatible clients. If these match-ups have been and are so successful, does that mean that in this day and age, we have come to crack down the logic of love? Is this going to lead to finding love just like we go shopping for the perfect top?
What's going to happen to the old-fashioned way of fate and finding our significant others?
"Sadly, browsing dating sites is the only thing I find more self-consciously lonely and sad than masturbation. Ten years ago, large numbers of people were internet dating, but they didn’t talk about it. Shoplifting was more publicly acceptable. Now, it is not only culturally acceptable, it’s the norm. One in five people meet online, and one study reckons online dating has finally taken over porn in terms of value, which, to me, is a between-two-evils scenario."
It seems as though those who are single have been looking for love all wrong. Gonzaga claims that one must look for love statistically. Claiming that eHarmony uses science focusing on 25 dimensions of compatibility to match their clients and the fact that they claim responsibility for 2% of all marriages in America is a bit hard to believe for me
Many claim that dating services/sites simply use "algorithms" to match up compatible clients. If these match-ups have been and are so successful, does that mean that in this day and age, we have come to crack down the logic of love? Is this going to lead to finding love just like we go shopping for the perfect top?
What's going to happen to the old-fashioned way of fate and finding our significant others?
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Virtual Bride
This story is a bit old, dating back to November 2009, but I think it's very interesting about the marriage union of a man and his virtual girlfriend from the Nintendo DS game Love Plus. He actually had a real wedding with a real priest and the virtual bride even made a speech during the ceremony!
I think it's interesting because it brings to the topic of what is considered a legal marriage and how would the government bodies of each nation deal with such topics of a virtual bride if this kind of situation arises again in the future and becomes a social norm? Will this situation become a social norm in the future? What do you guys think? And how are we as a society supposed to react to this kind of union? If this is acceptable, then what about other kinds of marriage that are not accepted in today's society?
Link here
I think it's interesting because it brings to the topic of what is considered a legal marriage and how would the government bodies of each nation deal with such topics of a virtual bride if this kind of situation arises again in the future and becomes a social norm? Will this situation become a social norm in the future? What do you guys think? And how are we as a society supposed to react to this kind of union? If this is acceptable, then what about other kinds of marriage that are not accepted in today's society?
Link here
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Hentai Video Games
This article is about japanese video games called hentai that promote sexual violence. One game in particular, called Rapelay, has received a lot of negative attention. It's a video game about a guy that rapes a mother and her daughter and are able to do different sexual obscenities to them. I was so shocked when I heard that video games like this actually exist. It's just so wrong! Can you imagine having your kids get a hold of this game and play the role of a rapist? It's especially scary to think about since this video game can be desensitizing kids to these kinds of situations and might even make some kids think that it is okay to do the things that this video game is allowing its players to do to the girls. The worst part of about this is that even though it has been pulled off shelves, kids can still have access to it online.
One thing that I thought was interesting about this article was their insight on whether or not video games like this would increase the rape percentage. Some people have the impression that if you allow kids to play violent video games, they would grow up to be violent while others have pointed out that research has not proven this and that murder rates have not increased just because kids play violent video games. However, the author points out that in Japan, where the video game was made, their low crime rate can be due to the cultural constraints that Japan has which gives uses shame and dishonor to keep their people in line. I never really looked at this before and after reading the article, I do believe that just because Japan doesn't seem to have in increase in crime rate due to their games doesn't mean that everywhere else will experience the same thing. A lot of what influences the actions of a country has to do a lot with the culture of the country. The article makes a good point by revealing that the United States youth is hypersexualized and has a relatively higher crime rate compared to Japan and games like this can have a greater effect on our kids who are more likely to experience domestic violence or dating violence.
Controlling the Digital Natives?
An NY Times article, "Teaching About the Web Includes Some Troublesome Parts" caught my attention because it was about how students are being taught in school how they should behave online. The article discusses a middle school teacher using lessons from a site/service, "Common Sense Media," to teach students about the consequences of their actions online. The teacher went into subjects including privacy (students thinking that their online journals were private when actually they weren't), intellectual property and plagiarism, and the importance of respectful online behavior (e.g. not cyber bullying or socially exclusion). He also tried to get the students to see the "permanence" of their online posts and the possible offline effects of online actions.
While everyone taking "Culture, Power, Cyberspace" should now know that culture is learned, how does this institutional learning differ from the experiential learning which takes place online? What seem to be possible negative or positive aspects of teaching children how to behave online? Do you think it's necessary to try to control "normal" (even if it's clique-ish or not-so-nice) teen and pre-teen behavior online?
While everyone taking "Culture, Power, Cyberspace" should now know that culture is learned, how does this institutional learning differ from the experiential learning which takes place online? What seem to be possible negative or positive aspects of teaching children how to behave online? Do you think it's necessary to try to control "normal" (even if it's clique-ish or not-so-nice) teen and pre-teen behavior online?
"We'll Enjoy Some Family Time."
When I saw this Sprint Commercial, I thought how cyberspace is redefining relationships in real life. In this case, it redefines what family quality time is and how this absorption into technology is being accepted into many families.
This video ties into how technology is gaining control of the family household. Unlike the Ham radio, the improvements of Wi-fi is not tolerated, but accepted into family life. Instead of being given a designated space in the household, Wi-fi is welcomed as it is. The convenience and efficiency this technology brings override family values. It allows family members to focus on their self, rather than the family to function as a unit. Technology furthers this independence and lack of intimacy. Soon, it becomes a norm, where simply occupying the same physical space will be the necessary family time shared between its members. The dependence is then shifted onto technology which may be the defining factor of relationships in actuality.
Technology gains a higher position in this power dynamic. It is a force to reckon with as it shifts its influence to these concrete, inherent relationships of family. The facilitation of information, entertainment, and communication is highly valued in society, as people passively accept its detraction on intimacy in relationships.
This example affirms how technology is constantly expanding and beginning to outweigh the values and fundamentals of relationships in varying contexts.
Friday, April 9, 2010
Love
This new MMO seems particularly interesting because of its indie roots (it was completely made by only one person), and it attempts to address the elusive druggie MMO crowd. While it doesn't seem too popular as of yet, the fact that a complete world was created by one person shows how easy it is becoming to not only join a virtual world, but to create your own.
http://g4tv.com/videos/36115/x-play-preview-love/
http://g4tv.com/videos/36115/x-play-preview-love/
Encyclopedia Dramatica Drama: Website Targeted by Australian Government
Encyclopedia Dramatica Drama: Website Targeted by Australian Government
Definitely an interesting article on what role the government (in this case, the Australian government) has taken in terms of internet censorship. Also, because of globalization, how much control does the Austrailian government have over the American owner, especially if the government has informed him that he may face fines and jail time?
Definitely an interesting article on what role the government (in this case, the Australian government) has taken in terms of internet censorship. Also, because of globalization, how much control does the Austrailian government have over the American owner, especially if the government has informed him that he may face fines and jail time?
Also, this blew my mind.
Now, I'll appreciate any new technology that comes along, but I'm starting to get scared. I feel as if the world is ceasing to exist in the physical when I see stuff like this. The link is a bit about a virtual reality conference in France, but the video at the bottom was what hit me. Too intense.
I'm now coming back to edit this at the end of quarter and adding to my initial thoughts. After hearing groups present about virtual worlds and communicating through games, I can't help but to think if this is what the future of technology looks like. Will communication only be through screens, instant text messages, and ambient knowledge? It is disconcerting to think of a world where socializing has become spending time on online gaming communities and through cell phones. True it is convenient for those who are far away from each other to communicate in this way, but we now see teens and young adults choosing to log-in to Facebook and YouTube as a sort of social outlet even while they are with physical friends. The thought of holograms as substitutes for real people is frightening. As someone who favors the physical highly over the virtual, it is fascinating to think about how the world in the near future may become dominantly virtual and what that will do to the psyche of the human.
This is just silly.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/facebook/7508945/Facebook-linked-to-rise-in-syphilis.html
Facebook contributing to a flare-up of syphilis? Really? Ridiculous.
Facebook contributing to a flare-up of syphilis? Really? Ridiculous.
Now coming back to edit my posts from the beginning of the quarter, I've really been influenced by my group project and the effect of online communities and their relationship with the physical world. Although my project on Yelp focussed on the mutualistic relationship of the two, this article is referencing the exact opposite. The internet and the physical world create a never ending circle; one is always going to be influencing the other. I can't help but think back to this quote from the "Mutilated Furries" article: “In the end, no matter what they say, life on the Internet really is a serious business. It matters. But the tricky thing is that it matters above all because it mostly doesn't — because it conjures bits of serious human connection from an oceanic flow of words, pictures, videoclips, and other weightless shadows of what's real. The challenge is sorting out the consequential from the not-so-much.” The availability of contact with other people on Facebook is what caused the firsthand intimate interactions leading to the flare-up, but not the STI itself.
This is just silly.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/facebook/7508945/Facebook-linked-to-rise-in-syphilis.html
Facebook contributing to a flare-up of syphilis? Really? Ridiculous.
Facebook contributing to a flare-up of syphilis? Really? Ridiculous.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Something about the Chinese Susan Boyle
This is pretty recent news, and its pretty interesting. Apparently there is a taiwanese singer at a taiwanese "American Idol" show sings "I will always love you" by Whitney Houston. This might seem pretty normal to most of the american audiences, however as a taiwanese myself, I know the seriousness in this event. The thing is, this is a pretty famous singing show in taiwan that most taiwanese and some chinese knew, however it is completely oblivious to american people. In 1-2 days after the show have been broadcasted, this taiwanese guy has gotten his face on american MSN news. Since the show has been there for about 2-3 years, I wonder what finally caused the Americans to take notice of this show, or this Taiwanese guy. Has the power of internet grown so fast to make a completely unknown thing famous to public? Its something to think about, and this guy I think is pretty damn good at singing this song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7NNr_qrmDA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7NNr_qrmDA
LambdaMOO
After reading the lambdamoo articles, I was curious to see how it looks. So, I googled an image of it and found this. If you think of the advancements of aim, chat-rooms, and other internet snazziness, it's pretty primitive looking. In my mind, it's like looking at the grandfather of aim. So, read and be amazed by their odd way of "chatting".
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Defining a "Cyberspace" Relationship. As if Relationships Weren't Confusing Enough...
Article Link: The Psychology of Cyberspace Relationships
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