Over 30,000 people have quit Facebook due to its current privacy policy change....again.
I thought this was interesting because it is a good example of how people try to use what power they do have to make changes in programs they use. Facebook does not, by anymeans, have to listen to its users about their preferences but as you can see users will "fight back" to get what they want.
The question will be is 30,000 people enough for Facebook to change its privacy to something that will make its users happy?
- Tasha Miller
Monday, May 31, 2010
My Post on Advertising with Second Life
Sorry, Advertising with Second Life was my post.
Joseph Fodor
Joseph Fodor
Advertising with Second Life
I don't remember what the commercial was about, but there was a female model who was advertising and using Second Life. She was using Second Life in order to intice people in buying some product,as do many models who pose in front of cars. She was saying that she plays in the game, believing that people will login only to see if they can meet her. Just like how many people say "If I buy that car, I can get a girl like her in the passenger's seat." I found that this to be funny, because in the past we generally assumed that only nerds were into computer games and related materials. This shows that we are constantly moving towards the virtual world, with many businesses capitalizing on this fact. Who knows, we may even have businesses in Second Life (which already exist) like Wal-mart or others who will capitalize on this system. They may even show advertisements. A problem that may arise can be businesses making virtual games into businesses, taking away the meaning of the virtual world. They may also monopolize within the game. Many laws may be created in order to protect the players, but these businesses can get away with a lot due to the fact that this would be an international issue alongside electronic laws. This may only hamper creativity of others and may make virtual life miserable to others. We may see virtual life coinciding with real life never before seen. Virtual life may become less appealing. Only the future can tell whether this may be the trend of virtual life.
The Office and Second Life
I was watching the Office one night and it was showing that Dwight was playing Second Life. I found this funny because we were just learning about the game and watching the professor play it in class. Dwight says that his Second Life character is exactly the same as himself in real life, except that he had the power to fly around. The funnier thing was that his title was regional manager, when in real life he is assisstant to the regional manager. He also looked liked his real self. This being shown on television implies that our generation is going more virtual. Not only that, it assumes that we are comfortable with virtual worlds and avatars. The show writers believe that we understand this online humor. It seems that our generation is moving increasingly more towards online communities not only for fun, but for many to act out their dreams and wishes as did Dwight playing as the regional manager. Although this was a plausible wish, there are others who may use Second Life for more serious reasons, such as walking in the virtual world when in reality they are paralyzed. It seems as if Hollywood is capitalizing on this trend and only the future may show what this type of technology can offer us.
Joseph Fodor
Joseph Fodor
Sunday, May 30, 2010
How To Be A World Of Warcraft Guild Leader, Now In Convenient Book Form
This article details the recent published book on tips for being a guild leader in World of Warcraft. It was made by Scott Andrews and his first hand experience at leading a guild in WoW. I found this interesting because a lot of people don't really realize the amount of effort that goes into running a successful guild. When it comes down to it a guild leader has to almost run a successful business within the game and keep many many people happy. However this is in the case of a guild actually being used in order to achieve something in game. There are many guilds based solely on the aspect of being social. Even these guilds however require a special kind of person as the guild leader. While everyone within the guild can be equal, the fact that someone is a guild leader puts them above the others to at the very least being a "first among equals" case.
A guild leader in WoW has a lot of ways to customize the guild to their liking and can even assign duties to other players within the game. It creates a sort of self government within the guild that can really change from guild to guild. There is a lot of depth towards the social hierarchy of a guild and I find a book thats based on this to be pretty fascinating. While the details talk about elves and other mythical things it can be easy as an anthropologist to pull out information that relates to other aspects of life. The fact that the government within a guild is built from the ground up is pretty fascinating to study how it develops. Even the ability for a guild leader to retire from his position and assign a new guild leader brings a lot of interesting details of human nature into play.
Without actually buying the book it's difficult to tell how much detail is spent on the aspects of keeping people happy without focusing on game related things. For example the article talks about how to pass out loot and having a guild identity but there is no information on how the book handles the individuals within the guild. It seems to talk in terms of keeping everyone happy based on WoW related things such as items. If anyone has ever been in a guild in an MMORPG they can tell that there will always be drama. It would be interesting to see if the book touches upon this at all. The social power that a guild can have creates a lot of situations that can be applied outside of a game like WoW.
http://kotaku.com/5533425/how-to-be-a-world-of-warcraft-guild-leader-now-in-convenient-book-form
A guild leader in WoW has a lot of ways to customize the guild to their liking and can even assign duties to other players within the game. It creates a sort of self government within the guild that can really change from guild to guild. There is a lot of depth towards the social hierarchy of a guild and I find a book thats based on this to be pretty fascinating. While the details talk about elves and other mythical things it can be easy as an anthropologist to pull out information that relates to other aspects of life. The fact that the government within a guild is built from the ground up is pretty fascinating to study how it develops. Even the ability for a guild leader to retire from his position and assign a new guild leader brings a lot of interesting details of human nature into play.
Without actually buying the book it's difficult to tell how much detail is spent on the aspects of keeping people happy without focusing on game related things. For example the article talks about how to pass out loot and having a guild identity but there is no information on how the book handles the individuals within the guild. It seems to talk in terms of keeping everyone happy based on WoW related things such as items. If anyone has ever been in a guild in an MMORPG they can tell that there will always be drama. It would be interesting to see if the book touches upon this at all. The social power that a guild can have creates a lot of situations that can be applied outside of a game like WoW.
http://kotaku.com/5533425/how-to-be-a-world-of-warcraft-guild-leader-now-in-convenient-book-form
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Facebook & Privacy
Link
The article I have linked above is called "Why Facebook's Privacy War is Not Over," written by Pete Cashmore of Mashable.
My mother has always insisted that I never put my full name or any other personal information anywhere on the internet, for fear of identity theft and other related scenarios. Therefore, I've always been concerned with privacy online.
I don't consider myself an avid Facebook user, but I've had to increase my participation because my group's research concerns Facebook and relationships. Because of our research I've become interested in privacy within Facebook since it has a steady gain of membership; it has over 400 million active users with 70% of users coming from outside the United States (source). To place an even bigger emphasis: it's unusual to find people that don't have a Facebook account. Privacy issues range from local Facebook stalking (through features like wall-to-wall and news feed) to global issues such as selling user information to companies for marketing purposes and more.
I always assumed that people were merely making a fuss about privacy issues- if you don't want your information out there, then don't make it public. For example, you can make your Facebook profile entirely private. Recent changes and ongoing developments within Facebook, however, are consistently pushing to make all information public. A few weeks ago Facebook changed their "Likes and Interests" sections so that your details were either public or deleted from your profile. The article talks about this and another update that "introduced 'Instant Personalization' which shares public information with third party sites" (I encountered this when I was on Yelp and at the bottom of the page, it told me "7 of your friends are using Yelp. Join now! - something to that effect). Both of these features have the option of opting out through changing privacy settings, but these features are on by default.
Mark Zuckerburg, founder of Facebook, said that "if people share more, the world will become more open and connected." There is no doubt that the world has definitely become more open and connected. There are many benefits and advantages to making details and personal information public. However, there are also many disadvantages; there seems to be an unavoidable increasing threat against personal privacy. It makes one wonder if there will ever be a time when you don't have the choice of opting out- and that the only way to avoid your information being public is by not joining the social networking website. But doing so might make people think you're a hermit or something, right? Or, people would just never know who you are.
The article I have linked above is called "Why Facebook's Privacy War is Not Over," written by Pete Cashmore of Mashable.
My mother has always insisted that I never put my full name or any other personal information anywhere on the internet, for fear of identity theft and other related scenarios. Therefore, I've always been concerned with privacy online.
I don't consider myself an avid Facebook user, but I've had to increase my participation because my group's research concerns Facebook and relationships. Because of our research I've become interested in privacy within Facebook since it has a steady gain of membership; it has over 400 million active users with 70% of users coming from outside the United States (source). To place an even bigger emphasis: it's unusual to find people that don't have a Facebook account. Privacy issues range from local Facebook stalking (through features like wall-to-wall and news feed) to global issues such as selling user information to companies for marketing purposes and more.
I always assumed that people were merely making a fuss about privacy issues- if you don't want your information out there, then don't make it public. For example, you can make your Facebook profile entirely private. Recent changes and ongoing developments within Facebook, however, are consistently pushing to make all information public. A few weeks ago Facebook changed their "Likes and Interests" sections so that your details were either public or deleted from your profile. The article talks about this and another update that "introduced 'Instant Personalization' which shares public information with third party sites" (I encountered this when I was on Yelp and at the bottom of the page, it told me "7 of your friends are using Yelp. Join now! - something to that effect). Both of these features have the option of opting out through changing privacy settings, but these features are on by default.
Mark Zuckerburg, founder of Facebook, said that "if people share more, the world will become more open and connected." There is no doubt that the world has definitely become more open and connected. There are many benefits and advantages to making details and personal information public. However, there are also many disadvantages; there seems to be an unavoidable increasing threat against personal privacy. It makes one wonder if there will ever be a time when you don't have the choice of opting out- and that the only way to avoid your information being public is by not joining the social networking website. But doing so might make people think you're a hermit or something, right? Or, people would just never know who you are.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Gtrot
One of my friends who attends Harvard sent me a new website that two Harvard
students started. It's a website that enables you to use your social network
to facilitate travel. It sounds typical, but it's actually a really cool &
useful site.
Gtrot works with Facebook to form a giant friend map that displays where all
your Facebook friends have traveled to and where they currently are. It's
useful because it makes it a lot easier to see who will be in the same place
as you, instead of having to ask around. Or, you can see who has traveled
somewhere you want to go, and you can ask for their expertise on your
destination.
You can also share your itinerary with your friends and utilize copycat
booking, which allows your friends to book the same itinerary as you.
Another feature of Gtrot is ride-sharing, where you can easily coordinate
cab rides with your friends or people in the area.
We already know how connected the everyone is already with each other, and
it's cool to see social networking is now being integrated into travel as
well. A lot of people talk about how Facebook minimizes face-time with your
Facebook "friends," but this website actually instigates more real-life
socializing with your "friends." It'll make it even easier to keep in touch
with those you've lost touch with, and you will be less inclined to decline
to speak with someone just because you aren't familiar with them. The notion
of saving money and having company will likely induce someone to reach out
to someone. Gtrot lets people know where you are without you having to
personally update someone, and you can see where your other friends are
going as well. A common destination results in not only increasing the depth
of your Facebook "friendships," but you also save money (on cab rides, etc)
and time.You can revive old friendships, strengthen new ones, or get to know
someone that you never really got to know. And-- you'll always have company!
http://gtrot.com/
Sharon Lin
#14144708
students started. It's a website that enables you to use your social network
to facilitate travel. It sounds typical, but it's actually a really cool &
useful site.
Gtrot works with Facebook to form a giant friend map that displays where all
your Facebook friends have traveled to and where they currently are. It's
useful because it makes it a lot easier to see who will be in the same place
as you, instead of having to ask around. Or, you can see who has traveled
somewhere you want to go, and you can ask for their expertise on your
destination.
You can also share your itinerary with your friends and utilize copycat
booking, which allows your friends to book the same itinerary as you.
Another feature of Gtrot is ride-sharing, where you can easily coordinate
cab rides with your friends or people in the area.
We already know how connected the everyone is already with each other, and
it's cool to see social networking is now being integrated into travel as
well. A lot of people talk about how Facebook minimizes face-time with your
Facebook "friends," but this website actually instigates more real-life
socializing with your "friends." It'll make it even easier to keep in touch
with those you've lost touch with, and you will be less inclined to decline
to speak with someone just because you aren't familiar with them. The notion
of saving money and having company will likely induce someone to reach out
to someone. Gtrot lets people know where you are without you having to
personally update someone, and you can see where your other friends are
going as well. A common destination results in not only increasing the depth
of your Facebook "friendships," but you also save money (on cab rides, etc)
and time.You can revive old friendships, strengthen new ones, or get to know
someone that you never really got to know. And-- you'll always have company!
http://gtrot.com/
Sharon Lin
#14144708
Online by Brad Paisley
I was just sitting listening to music on shuffle and this song started playing. I just thought it was really interesting how in class we talked about how online you can portray yourself in a certain way. Like in how second life you can choose to be a bunch of colorful bubbles, choose an avatar of a different gender, or create one that represents yourself. In class someone discussed how the majority of the times, people pick avatars that represent themselves or are close to who they really are. Regardless of the way you choose to represent yourself online, I think the idea of authenticity online is an interesting one. Below I’ve posted the lyrics and a link to the song on youtube.com.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UE6iAjEv9dQ
I work down at the pizza pit
And I drive an old Hyundai
I still live with my mom and dad
I'm 5'3 and overweight
I'm a Sci-Fi fanatic
Mild asthmatic
Never been to 2nd base
But there's a whole ‘nother me
That you need to see
Go check out MySpace
'cause online I'm out in Hollywood
I'm 6'5 and I look damn good
I drive a Maserati
I'm a black belt in Karate
And I love a good glass of wine
It turns girls on that I'm mysterious
I tell 'em I don't want nothing serious
'cause even on a slow day I can have a three way
Chat with two women at one time
I'm so much cooler online
So much cooler online
I get home, I kiss my mom
And she fixes me a snack
And I head down to my basement bedroom
And fire up my Mac
In real life the only time I’ve
Ever even been to L.A.
Was when I got the chance with the marching band
To play tuba in the Rose Parade.
Online I live in Malibu
I posed for Calvin Kline, I've been in GQ
I'm single and I'm rich
And I got a set of six pack abs that'll blow your mind
It turns girls on that I'm mysterious
I tell 'em I don't want nothing serious
'cause even on a slow day I can have a three way
Chat with two women at one time
I'm so much cooler online
Yeah I'm cooler online
When you got my kinda stats, it's hard to get a date
Let alone a real girlfriend
But I grow another foot
And I lose a bunch of weight, every time I log in
Online I'm out in Hollywood
I'm 6'5” and I look damn good
Even on a slow day, I can have a three way
Chat with two women at one time
I'm so much cooler online
Yeah I'm cooler online
I'm so much cooler online
Yeah I'm cooler online
-Nicole Vargo (ID# 37621684)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UE6iAjEv9dQ
I work down at the pizza pit
And I drive an old Hyundai
I still live with my mom and dad
I'm 5'3 and overweight
I'm a Sci-Fi fanatic
Mild asthmatic
Never been to 2nd base
But there's a whole ‘nother me
That you need to see
Go check out MySpace
'cause online I'm out in Hollywood
I'm 6'5 and I look damn good
I drive a Maserati
I'm a black belt in Karate
And I love a good glass of wine
It turns girls on that I'm mysterious
I tell 'em I don't want nothing serious
'cause even on a slow day I can have a three way
Chat with two women at one time
I'm so much cooler online
So much cooler online
I get home, I kiss my mom
And she fixes me a snack
And I head down to my basement bedroom
And fire up my Mac
In real life the only time I’ve
Ever even been to L.A.
Was when I got the chance with the marching band
To play tuba in the Rose Parade.
Online I live in Malibu
I posed for Calvin Kline, I've been in GQ
I'm single and I'm rich
And I got a set of six pack abs that'll blow your mind
It turns girls on that I'm mysterious
I tell 'em I don't want nothing serious
'cause even on a slow day I can have a three way
Chat with two women at one time
I'm so much cooler online
Yeah I'm cooler online
When you got my kinda stats, it's hard to get a date
Let alone a real girlfriend
But I grow another foot
And I lose a bunch of weight, every time I log in
Online I'm out in Hollywood
I'm 6'5” and I look damn good
Even on a slow day, I can have a three way
Chat with two women at one time
I'm so much cooler online
Yeah I'm cooler online
I'm so much cooler online
Yeah I'm cooler online
-Nicole Vargo (ID# 37621684)
"Female Gamers" vs. "Gamer Girls"
More so now than before, girls who play video games are very attractive to most guys. Because most guys consider video games a huge part of their life and will obsessively play certain games, it's nice (and often times more convenient and less stressful) to be with a girl who not just understands his passion, but shares it as well. This makes enough sense since for most guys, video games is one of the things they enjoy most. And while just lounging around with their girlfriend or going out to eat may be pleasant for them, they'd probably rather be killing blood elves or monitoring their minmatars.
Some girlfriends are fine with their boyfriends living that part of his life without them, but many others strive to share this part of their boyfriend's being. It's usually a self-esteem issue, where they feel they don't give their boyfriends a good time and fear their boyfriend always has more fun just playing video games with their guy friends. They're sick of being ignored or shoved aside, having plans canceled because their boyfriends need to level up or complete "important" missions. One solution to this is to adopt the gaming lifestyle as well, which is exactly what I did. I started playing video games because I wanted to connect with the guy I was with on a greater level. I spent hours learning and although I was always pretty good, I never got developed my own passion for it. Sure I enjoyed it and went through phases where I did feel compelled to keep playing but for the most part, I had to motivate myself to play. I never felt empty inside or anxious or anything close when I couldn't check up on my ships. I loved experiencing his happiness when we played together and seeing how seriously we played, but secretly I would've had just as much fun if we just went to the rose garden and laid around making fun of each other or did some arts & crafts (haha). But doing those other things wouldn't have got the same joy from him and so I made some sacrifices and forced myself to become a gamer and along with him.
Many girls are like me, but many girls "morph" into a gamer girl even before they are in a relationship. Dorkiness is the trend nowadays and most girls know the key to catch a guy's attention when stuck in a sea of all beautiful girls with all the same "qualifications," is to be a gamer! You will stand out and impress guys for being beautiful AND cool. Girls who game also come off as really low-maintenance and "chill," which is a huge turn-on for guys.
Female Gamers are those who actually enjoy gaming and never had a motive in playing video games. Although they realize the added bonuses of being female and gaming, they would still game without them. Gamer Girls can eventually be Female Gamers with time. It can be looked as: " the ends justify the means."
http://kotaku.com/5074007/the-difference-between-female-gamers-and-gamer-girls
Facebook: Friend, Foe, or Frenemy?
This article from newsweek.com discusses the recent privacy issues with Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg is the founder and CEO of this popular social networking site that is currently having issues with privacy controls. After changing the privacy settings to allow various businesses and other public industries to see some of your personal information, people got really upset and there were a lot of complaints. However, Mark and his public relations team don't seem to be helping the situation, only "Facebook's spin doctors just keep making things worse" (http://www.newsweek.com/blogs/techtonic-shifts/2010/05/26/facebook-friend-foe-or-frenemy-.html).
People are upset that the privacy controls on Facebook are hard to use, making it easier for their private information to be shared with the public. However, Facebook changed their privacy policy recently, but not so much as to resolve all complaints. The article feels like Facebook got caught trying to use user data and only fixed it temporarily because they were caught in the public eye, but still have it so that it is easy for others to obtain that information.
While the article from Newsweek.com feels like the website should make user information altogether private, except for people who you are friends with, I think if you really don't want your information shown, you will try to fix it or just delete your account altogether. I wouldn't have known how to change the privacy settings from public businesses having my information unless a friend posted her status on how to change it (the privacy settings). That also makes me wonder what else I don't know about, even if I think my information and profile is as private as it can be. The article says how pretty soon people will get sick of it and leave altogether. I feel like if anything else gets weirder, I will delete my account also because it won't be worth having a Facebook profile any longer.
Trina Polkinhorn Anthro 128C
People are upset that the privacy controls on Facebook are hard to use, making it easier for their private information to be shared with the public. However, Facebook changed their privacy policy recently, but not so much as to resolve all complaints. The article feels like Facebook got caught trying to use user data and only fixed it temporarily because they were caught in the public eye, but still have it so that it is easy for others to obtain that information.
While the article from Newsweek.com feels like the website should make user information altogether private, except for people who you are friends with, I think if you really don't want your information shown, you will try to fix it or just delete your account altogether. I wouldn't have known how to change the privacy settings from public businesses having my information unless a friend posted her status on how to change it (the privacy settings). That also makes me wonder what else I don't know about, even if I think my information and profile is as private as it can be. The article says how pretty soon people will get sick of it and leave altogether. I feel like if anything else gets weirder, I will delete my account also because it won't be worth having a Facebook profile any longer.
Trina Polkinhorn Anthro 128C
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Telling Friends Where You Are (or Not)
In the article, “Telling Friends Where You Are (or Not)” discusses the growing trend of revealing one’s location through applications on a smart phone. More specifically, the article discusses the application Foursquare. Foursquare is an application that allows users to have a list of nearby bars, restaurants and other public locations and reveal to their friends that they are there. The term that Foursquare has been using to catch onto the mainstream is “check in.” It will notify one’s friends that they are in certain location. This form of checking in is different than other tracking applications like Loopt and Google’s Latitude which constantly show one’s location though a map which is visible to a network of friends. The article argues that those applications are not for everyone because it tends to cross a level of privacy that most users do not wish to cross. The article goes on to discuss the history of the application Foursquare. Its predecessor, Dodgeball was sold to google. Dodgeball was a primitive form of “checking in” that sent out a mass text to one’s friends. A text was necessary at the time because most phones did not have GPS capabilities.
The article talks about the ever growing nature of foursquare and its growing number of users (over 500,000). They discuss the possible changes to the culture of smart phone users if “checking in” ever because mainstream. The manufacturers say that as many Twitter users had to incorporate tweeting into their daily lives, Foursquare users are going to need to incorporate “checking in” to their daily lives as well. Furthermore, many already established sites and applications are going to add the checking in feature. Sites such as Facebook and Yelp will soon be adding this feature, which will only expand the growing fan base. Moreover, business can capitalize on this growing craze by featuring coupons to users, which will only further advertise their business and the application.
I feel as if this new wave of “checking in” will be interesting as it hits the mainstream. It will definitely change how social networking and communication will be. It will make a world much more sociable. Having the ability to let people know where you are will make encounters and interactions much more frequent. The best part, however, is having a choice of when to “check in” and who to check in with. This enables someone to be alone when they want to be alone and be sociable when they want to be sociable. I personally have not tried any application that allows others to see my location or allow me to see a friends location, but it will be interesting to see how this new wave hits mainstream smart phone users.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/15/technology/15locate.html
Paul Idos
82431673
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Using the Internet for Unhealthy Habits: Yahoo!Answers
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20060708200645AAt83bG
While there are many advantages and opportunities that allow a person to get information in an instant, this information is not always positive. Yahoo!Answers is a tool many use to post up any question they have for the public to answer. In the above instance, a girl asks how she can hide her bulimia from her mother. A stranger gives her numerous options where similar girls talk about their condition and give each other advice. This is not advice to fix the problem, but rather, it is advice to further hide the problem and promote their harmful habits. The question listed above is only one of many questions of its kind. Others ask how to hide bulimia from their dentist or from the general public. Some of the responses tell the young girls to seek help, but others respond with personal experiences on how to hide their problem. I don't think there is necessarily a solution to this problem because it would be too difficult to monitor every single question posted on both Yahoo!Answers and any other site that allows this form of posting/interaction. This is something that must be changed culturally because of what people consider beautiful. This can be connected with our discussion in class on how perception of the ideal woman has drastically changed from a full figured and voluptuous woman to a our thin super models today. As a result, woman are also changing their lifestyles in an attempt to live up to these images. Hence, the fast growing web is not the true problem-- it's our culture.
While there are many advantages and opportunities that allow a person to get information in an instant, this information is not always positive. Yahoo!Answers is a tool many use to post up any question they have for the public to answer. In the above instance, a girl asks how she can hide her bulimia from her mother. A stranger gives her numerous options where similar girls talk about their condition and give each other advice. This is not advice to fix the problem, but rather, it is advice to further hide the problem and promote their harmful habits. The question listed above is only one of many questions of its kind. Others ask how to hide bulimia from their dentist or from the general public. Some of the responses tell the young girls to seek help, but others respond with personal experiences on how to hide their problem. I don't think there is necessarily a solution to this problem because it would be too difficult to monitor every single question posted on both Yahoo!Answers and any other site that allows this form of posting/interaction. This is something that must be changed culturally because of what people consider beautiful. This can be connected with our discussion in class on how perception of the ideal woman has drastically changed from a full figured and voluptuous woman to a our thin super models today. As a result, woman are also changing their lifestyles in an attempt to live up to these images. Hence, the fast growing web is not the true problem-- it's our culture.
Twitter and the Oil Spill
http://www.businessinsider.com/why-bp-should-embrace-the-fake-bp-twitter-account-2010-5
A fake BP twitter account was created that is parodying the Gulf of Mexico oil spill that happened last month. At first, many people were horrified at the lighthearted and negligent attitude that they though was coming from the real BP. Now, most people realize it is a parody, and the article above offers some suggestions on how to maximize its political and charitable power. It has about 50,000 followers, while the real BP twitter accounts have only around 6,000. This raises questions about identity "theft." Although this is not like identity theft to access bank account information, this is still a type of fraud. If the fraud is not for personal gain, but, for example, simply satirical, where does it fall legally? It is still published online, for anybody to see, and assumes legitimacy (or did when it started). Now that the twitter account has received media attention, it is selling t-shirts, the proceeds of which will go towards helping the oil spill. This is similar to "grey hat" hacking, which falls between "white hat" legal, fun hacking, and "black hat" illegal, malicious hacking. Although this is technically fraud, it is helping the cause it is satirizing.
Facebook Privacy
I recently checked my Facebook privacy settings, and noticed that under "tags and connections" several new options had been added. The new privacy settings had automatically set to "everyone", meaning that they automatically made some of my information available to anyone. While doing research, I've also read about something called "instant personalization", which means that Facebook shares your information with other websites. This article talks about how to turn off certain features you've probably didn't know you had, and about why Facebook makes it so difficult to keep your information private.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/silverman/6999208.html
How Does Technology Affect Kids' Friendships?
This article from the New York Times talks about the potential negative impacts that the ease of texting and online communication has on children's friendships. While people have been focusing on cyberbullying, we are just starting to think about how things like friendship are going to be affected. This article reminds me of the one we read in class that talked about Facebook and how the number of people one can have a relationship with is growing. Though they are worried that these technologies are preventing children from having intimate friendships, research on this phenomenon has only begun. The impact of this would not only be loss of close friendships, but also the method through which we learn things like empathy.
The Human Scientist Infected With a Computer Virus
http://gizmodo.com/5548254/the-human-scientist-infected-with-a-computer-virus
This is a very interesting article/ video from BBC, discussing how implanted chips not only have beneficial possibilities (such as allowing access to a secure building or allowing only one user to use their cell phone), but also potentially dangerous possibilities (such as spreading computer viruses from implanted chip to other circuit systems). As the world of technology grows, this seems to be one of the first instances of how computer systems are becoming more like biological systems, in that they can act and react much like living things to viruses. Its kind of scary how someone in the future carrying a car access chip in their hand can infect another person in their proximity with a computer virus that could potentially disrupt pacemakers, cochlea implants, etc. causing harm to others. Also, since the human race has become quite dependent on technology to survive, it is scary to think that our bodies have also become dependent on it, allowing the spread of not only biological virus' but computer ones as well, thus adding yet another variable of risk in the world. This relates to the class in how technology has been impacting our lives, and how it has overlapped reality in many ways. This is just another example of how technology is slowly becoming us, and we in turn slowly becoming technology ourselves.
First Phone Was Used By Women Back in 1922
http://gizmodo.com/5548245/first-phone-was-used-by-women-way-back-in-1922
This is an interesting film dug up by the British Pathé shot in 1922 representing a "mobile phone" used on the street. The women basically wrap a wire around a fire hydrant (for power maybe?) and open an umbrella with wires wrapped around it (representing an antenna of some sorts) to make a call to an operator somewhere else. I really do recommend that you watch the short film if you have a chance- its actually pretty cool.
The reason why I chose to share this article is because it reminds me of the many concepts in class dealing with the use of technologies/ conceptions of possible future technologies that seemed inconceivable at the time, but have eventually manifested themselves into reality today. Remember that video of a 'home computer' with the woman doing all the shopping online, and the man paying his bills all at home? This video beats that one by a mile, as it's in black and white, and shot in silent film format (sound wasn't introduced in film till 1930). Once again we find evidence of some crazy idea (a cell phone) that was thought of long before it became reality.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Virtual Schools
Smartboards and ipods litter the classrooms today. New media and virtual learning are playing a huge role in classrooms today. Ask any 8th grader how many moons Jupiter has and many pull out their phone, text kgb or google the questions presenting the correct answer in seconds. Gone is the age where students conducted research by flipping through pages in encyclopedias. What if we took away the classroom leaving behind the student and technology...we get virtual schools, a remote third space where children can learn art, business and even take AP classes. What began in
Virtual High Schools (VHS) offer courses such as 101 Ways to Write a Short Story, AP Biology, AP Economics, AP French, AP Spanish, AP Psychology, Art and the Internet, The Holocaust, and Basic Mandarin Chinese. There are also rumors circulating that due to the growing number of international students the International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum is going to be offered. VHS' mission is “to develop and deliver standards-based, student-centered online courses.” In extension each VHS participating school contributes by offering one classroom teacher to teach a VHS online course in his/her discipline as part of that teacher’s daily teaching responsibilities. In exchange, the school receives seats in VHS, which offer students courses not available from their local schools.
Think back to any online course or workshop you may have taken. Imagine having that ability to explore on your own time whenever and where you so desired.
For more information check out this VHS in
Simple yet turned Complex ...
I have been on Facebook and yes I know that is a very common thing to say in today's time but what surprised me was the fact that how so much can be linked together, from linking Facebook to multiple emails, to Twitter, and now such a simple thing as asking a question can be turned into another sort of social networking program. This also allows you to find friends just like on any other social networking site by either linking, or searching for the names. For those of you who have not seen or heard of formspring.me like me, let me quickly explain it...what its is quite simply its a place where its just asking questions or making short comments where the other person can reply, you have the choice of either using your account screen name, full name, or being anonymous when the question is processed, the person whose profile you originally addressed the question to can then answer it. I find this very interesting in the fact that such a simple thing as asking questions has become a type of social networking like Facebook and twitter. I think that this gives other people a chance to ask questions that they may not normally ask you in person or questions that they may want to know answers to but are too afraid to ask...this option to be anonymous shines a new light on the ways we can "fish" for details. I have always considered asking questions to be something simple where more broad questions are asked when first meeting someone and asking more detailed questions are reserved for those who are closest to you (family, close friends, and partners) but with this kind of website it is difficult to keep in track who is who as well as all of the questions and their answers, not to mention that the answers are open to whoever is viewing your profile. 
Snapza
http://snapza.com/?invite=8142/
This is a site where users are asked to post pictures of themselves and also follow other users of the site. I thought it was interesting because it is a supposedly "invite only" site, yet upon my first visit to the site there was a congratulatory banner at the top of the screen saying that I have received an invite to join to post pictures of myself as well. I thought this was interesting because it made the site seem exclusive because you could only post if you were invited, but really everyone is invited so the seeming exclusivity is completely moot. I also thought maybe the creators of the site were trying to make it seem more private because people are posting pictures of themselves, and they might feel more comfortable if they think only certain people can post on the site, not just any random person on the internet. I also thought this was a little ironic because people definitely feel more at ease if they feel there is privacy to something, but really in this case they are lured into a false sense of security because everyone is invited to the site. Also, I think it is funny when people are concerned about privacy online, because really if people try hard enough they can find anything online, regardless of privacy or privacy settings. Overall, I thought this site was an interesting mix of private and public domains that lured people into a false sense of security in order to use it.
Katherine Franz
81598818
This is a site where users are asked to post pictures of themselves and also follow other users of the site. I thought it was interesting because it is a supposedly "invite only" site, yet upon my first visit to the site there was a congratulatory banner at the top of the screen saying that I have received an invite to join to post pictures of myself as well. I thought this was interesting because it made the site seem exclusive because you could only post if you were invited, but really everyone is invited so the seeming exclusivity is completely moot. I also thought maybe the creators of the site were trying to make it seem more private because people are posting pictures of themselves, and they might feel more comfortable if they think only certain people can post on the site, not just any random person on the internet. I also thought this was a little ironic because people definitely feel more at ease if they feel there is privacy to something, but really in this case they are lured into a false sense of security because everyone is invited to the site. Also, I think it is funny when people are concerned about privacy online, because really if people try hard enough they can find anything online, regardless of privacy or privacy settings. Overall, I thought this site was an interesting mix of private and public domains that lured people into a false sense of security in order to use it.
Katherine Franz
81598818
exponential technology
http://gizmodo.com/5547170/the-seven+atom+long-transistor-that-will-change-the-world
This article reminded me of the video that we watched in class about a month or two ago.
"It only measures seven atoms but, according to project lead scientist Michelle Simmons, computers made with this transistor—the smallest ever made—will "solve problems that would take longer than the life of the universe with a classical computer."
It amazes me that they can put together something that small that can function. I'm both excited and scared of how future technology will impact the world. I don't want any terminator crap happening while I'm alive hahah.
Charles Huynh
Social Networking Sites Making Way into TV Murder Shows?
So I do not usually want the television show Criminal Minds, but a friend of mine told me about a recent episode that featured a serial killer that tracked his victims through their profiles on the internet. I am trying to find the episode online to watch the entire thing but this freaked me out a little. I decided to recheck all of my privacy settings to make sure all my semi-private information was only available to my friends or just myself. Its really scary to think that though this story is a fictional plot, it is entirely possible in this ever advancing technologically dependent society. How safe is our online information REALLY?
Below is a copy of the link to the TV Guide episode of the Criminal Minds episode called "The Internet is Forever."
-Laurissa Nieto
How Video Games Hook you-- and keep you hooked.
This first article is titled, "5 creepy ways video games are getting you addicted" and details how video games are employing psychological techniques in order to hook gamers, and keep them hooked, most notably using techniques pioneered by B.F. Skinner-- that's right, the rat guy.
http://www.cracked.com/article_18461_5-creepy-ways-video-games-are-trying-to-get-you-addicted_p1.html
Within this article is embedded a second article, one that details the psychological techniques used as well as a description of the results.
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3085/behavioral_game_design.php?page=1
Together, they form an interesting, and aptly named, "creepy" way of looking at games, particularly MMORPGS. We've talked about WoW a good bit, and the visiting professor (who plays WoW) may find this reading interesting.
--Chris Kwak
ID: 23742290
http://www.cracked.com/article_18461_5-creepy-ways-video-games-are-trying-to-get-you-addicted_p1.html
Within this article is embedded a second article, one that details the psychological techniques used as well as a description of the results.
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3085/behavioral_game_design.php?page=1
Together, they form an interesting, and aptly named, "creepy" way of looking at games, particularly MMORPGS. We've talked about WoW a good bit, and the visiting professor (who plays WoW) may find this reading interesting.
--Chris Kwak
ID: 23742290
Chatroulette (In)security
http://econsultancy.com/blog/5559-is-the-chatroulette-fun-about-to-come-to-an-end
nothing is anonymous. the internet knows all. unfortunately, the internet is not just sub omniscient entity judging our actions for later punishment, rather its a series of interconnections between you, your best friend, that girl you see around campus, and any other person with a computer. we're not dealing with God, we're dealing with each other, which is why there is no such thing as anonymity.
site like chatoulette promise a compromised anonymity. People think that the next button affords the opportunity to do whatever you want and get away with it, but the article tells us that "the computers of Chatroulette participants are connected directly, it's possible to identify the IP address of another participant. Chatroulette Map is taking advantage of this to build a geolocated database of Chatroulette participants. Chatroulette Map plots its data on a Google Map, and for each participant, a photo and the actual IP address of the participant are displayed."
The article goes into further detail on how some businesses could use this technology for further advertisement and other uses. No one is safe.
Basically, anyone of moderate technical know-how can find you and put your face on a map. Don't masturbate on this thing.
jennifer katanyoutanant
51675716
nothing is anonymous. the internet knows all. unfortunately, the internet is not just sub omniscient entity judging our actions for later punishment, rather its a series of interconnections between you, your best friend, that girl you see around campus, and any other person with a computer. we're not dealing with God, we're dealing with each other, which is why there is no such thing as anonymity.
site like chatoulette promise a compromised anonymity. People think that the next button affords the opportunity to do whatever you want and get away with it, but the article tells us that "the computers of Chatroulette participants are connected directly, it's possible to identify the IP address of another participant. Chatroulette Map is taking advantage of this to build a geolocated database of Chatroulette participants. Chatroulette Map plots its data on a Google Map, and for each participant, a photo and the actual IP address of the participant are displayed."
The article goes into further detail on how some businesses could use this technology for further advertisement and other uses. No one is safe.
Basically, anyone of moderate technical know-how can find you and put your face on a map. Don't masturbate on this thing.
jennifer katanyoutanant
51675716
Monday, May 24, 2010
Contrite Facebook CEO promises new privacy controls
This article is about the CEO of Facebook “confessing that the sprawling social network had "missed the mark" when it comes to its complex privacy controls.” This article is damage control and them talking about how their going to fix the privacy issues of facebook. It’s a good article.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ytech_gadg/20100524/tc_ytech_gadg/ytech_gadg_tc2204
Mariam Jahangiri
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ytech_gadg/20100524/tc_ytech_gadg/ytech_gadg_tc2204
Mariam Jahangiri
His Holytwitterer
Thought that everyone and their mother was already online? Well, think again. The Dalai Lama has a twitter.
For those that do not know, the Dalai Lama is the religious leader of a sect of Tibetan Buddhism who is thought to be reborn to enlighten others, this title has been passed on for centuries. Interestingly enough the topic of succession was on of the issues discussed by the current, and 14th, incarnation and was broadcasted to Chinese web users through secondary blogging cites, like twitter, despite the "Great Firewall" of China. China and Tibet have long had sour relations, and many believe that this was an attempt to further the efforts to secure Tibet's autonomy. Over 12,500 people selected 289 questions for the monk by voting through a Google Moderator site, which was blocked in China on Thursday. Although Twitter is blocked in China, Chinese users were able to access the chat, as Twitter allows third-party applications and servers to freely use its data both inside and outside China.
It will be interesting to note if the recently rapid influx of technological media will be able to impact the situation, as we become a global society it becomes increasingly difficult for governments to keep information from their citizens.
See:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100521/tc_afp/chinatibetdalaiinternet;_ylt=Ao0oq5O7wF3sGIBFFmvKGr76VbIF;_ylu=X3oDMTJ2YWNkZW1vBGFzc2V0A2FmcC8yMDEwMDUyMS9jaGluYXRpYmV0ZGFsYWlpbnRlcm5ldARwb3MDMzQEc2VjA3luX3BhZ2luYXRlX3N1bW1hcnlfbGlzdARzbGsDZGFsYWlsYW1hdHdl
As humans, it has been a tendency of ours to blame entities outside of
ourselves for the problems that we create in our own lives. Take
Facebook for example. While Facebook equips us with infinite
possibilities in networking, marketing, and life, many college
students habitually play the blame game and like to label Facebook as
the culprit for their academia-inhibiting woes. And, as you may have
guessed, holding a person back from studying (as if that's anyone's
fault but your own) is not the only self-inflicted issue that Facebook
has been blamed for. Since its creation in 2004, the site has been
held responsible for everything from the breakdown of marriage to
childhood obesity. Below are a few examples of some of the outcomes
that have been pinned on Facebook and other social network sites from
the head of the Catholic church in Britain to University researchers:
- Facebook 'fuels divorce'
- Facebook leads 'children to suicide'
- Facebook 'killing off traditional sayings' – the assertion that the
social networking site was the blame for the “slow death” of british
sayings such as “a little birdie told me” and hold your
horses” (source was a survey on communication trend- researchers found
phrases commonly used by parents and grandparents disappearing)
- Facebook blamed for 'rickets surge' (rickets is a disease caused by
chronic vitamin D deficiencies, triggered by long periods out of
natural sunlight and a poor diet)
- Facebook 'turning Britons into introverts'
- Facebook 'makes partners jealous'
- Facebook 'challenges legal restrictions'
- More middle-aged people 'learning to love' Facebook
- Facebook makes users 'feel unattractive'
source:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/facebook/7521035/Facebook-what-social-networking-site-is-blamed-for-amid-syphilis-claims.html
*post by*
Lillian Nguyen
29102408
ourselves for the problems that we create in our own lives. Take
Facebook for example. While Facebook equips us with infinite
possibilities in networking, marketing, and life, many college
students habitually play the blame game and like to label Facebook as
the culprit for their academia-inhibiting woes. And, as you may have
guessed, holding a person back from studying (as if that's anyone's
fault but your own) is not the only self-inflicted issue that Facebook
has been blamed for. Since its creation in 2004, the site has been
held responsible for everything from the breakdown of marriage to
childhood obesity. Below are a few examples of some of the outcomes
that have been pinned on Facebook and other social network sites from
the head of the Catholic church in Britain to University researchers:
- Facebook 'fuels divorce'
- Facebook leads 'children to suicide'
- Facebook 'killing off traditional sayings' – the assertion that the
social networking site was the blame for the “slow death” of british
sayings such as “a little birdie told me” and hold your
horses” (source was a survey on communication trend- researchers found
phrases commonly used by parents and grandparents disappearing)
- Facebook blamed for 'rickets surge' (rickets is a disease caused by
chronic vitamin D deficiencies, triggered by long periods out of
natural sunlight and a poor diet)
- Facebook 'turning Britons into introverts'
- Facebook 'makes partners jealous'
- Facebook 'challenges legal restrictions'
- More middle-aged people 'learning to love' Facebook
- Facebook makes users 'feel unattractive'
source:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/facebook/7521035/Facebook-what-social-networking-site-is-blamed-for-amid-syphilis-claims.html
*post by*
Lillian Nguyen
29102408
"When you're only text friends"
I thought this article about how online social networking tools are changing real life social interaction was very interesting (http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2010/05/02/when_youre_only_text_friends/).
It describes the phenomenon of being facebook friends with someone, yet failing to even acknowledge their existence in real life. The article talks about pretending to be texting or listening to an ipod as you walk by someone you know, in order to look distracted so you don't have to say hello. How many of you are guilty of this? How many of you have acquaintances, for example, someone who lived in the same dorm as you freshman year, as friends on facebook, yet ignore them/be ignored when you pass each other on ring road? I have personally experienced this, as I'm sure many of you have. Although social networking sites such as facebook definitely have useful functions, such as networking with someone you might normally be unable to contact, or allowing somebody shy to more easily communicate with someone than via telephone or face to face. But are these networking sites useful in these ways or are they actually nurturing shyness and isolation? The article notes, "The tragic, isolating thing is that we reach for our devices because we don’t want to seem lonely — which is causing us to avoid our peers and actually be lonely." My generation has grown up using AIM and text messaging, and it seems clear that tools like these are indeed disintegrating face to face social interaction. Is it because we have less emotional support "reserves" because we spend time interacting with many people online, or have we simply forgotten how to act in daily face to face interaction? A previous poster mentioned a new networking sight for children as young as 6 years old. How will future generations interact in face to face environments?
Gamers Refuse to Turn Off Xboxes
Article: http://www.switched.com/2010/04/27/gamers-refuse-to-turn-off-xboxes-keep-playing-halo-2-online
This article really solidified to me how much online gaming can mean to the gamers and how the online gaming can really become a community.
The group of gamers described in the article were so committed to playing Halo 2 on Xbox Live that they refused to turn off their Xbox consoles so they could keep playing Halo 2 together after the Xbox company decided to discontinue Xbox Live support for older consoles. Leaving the Xbox consoles on runs a huge risk of overheating and many gamers saw their consoles go up in smoke (literally) just so they could get a few more weeks playing together. The community grew smaller and smaller due to consoles dying and some losing connection and the players continued playing games together. I find it amazing that an online game can bring people together, so much so, that they are willing to risk the well-being of their game systems. Now that's commitment.
-Jen Uken
91178831
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Social networking sites threaten adoption policy
Anyone can find a given person with a name, birthdate, or any other type of personal information. This article talks about parents who gave up their children for adoption and years after the process, have contacted these children through Facebook. Should this be allowed? There have been complaints from adoptive parents saying that this is a form of "intrusive and unplanned communication." In my opinion, it should be left to the child to ultimately decide whether or not to contact their biological parents. However, it is difficult to form an opinion on this matter when there are so many different parties and stories and involved. Whatever the decision is, sites like Facebook can be a stepping stone for relationships that once never were.
http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/uk/social+networking+sites+threaten+adoption+policy/3656647
http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/uk/social+networking+sites+threaten+adoption+policy/3656647
MAY 31st to be "Quit facebook day"
Check out this article:
http://ca.tech.yahoo.com/blogs/ereviews/rss/article/4545
In a nut shell this article is about quitting facebook. The concern of privacy is the first factor that plays into people swaying away from facebook. The article explains how companies bombard facebook with advertisement that it tailored to each individual's facebook page, by using personal information that is put on face-book by the user. This arises the question, "How far will we go until privacy becomes an issue?"
Another factor that this article highlights is the notion of "out with the old, in with the new." It proposes the idea that facebook could be overthrown by a new social networking site called "diaspora." Since myspace was dominated overnight by facebook, some think it is safe to assume that facebook has an expiration date too. The author introduces this new social networking site, "diaspora" and explains all the funding that has been put into it. The founders of this company, launched a social campaign called "quit facebook day." Do you think facebook is popular and engraved into our society enough to surpass other social networking sites? Or is the end of facebook rapidly approaching without warning?
http://ca.tech.yahoo.com/blogs/ereviews/rss/article/4545
In a nut shell this article is about quitting facebook. The concern of privacy is the first factor that plays into people swaying away from facebook. The article explains how companies bombard facebook with advertisement that it tailored to each individual's facebook page, by using personal information that is put on face-book by the user. This arises the question, "How far will we go until privacy becomes an issue?"
Another factor that this article highlights is the notion of "out with the old, in with the new." It proposes the idea that facebook could be overthrown by a new social networking site called "diaspora." Since myspace was dominated overnight by facebook, some think it is safe to assume that facebook has an expiration date too. The author introduces this new social networking site, "diaspora" and explains all the funding that has been put into it. The founders of this company, launched a social campaign called "quit facebook day." Do you think facebook is popular and engraved into our society enough to surpass other social networking sites? Or is the end of facebook rapidly approaching without warning?
Saturday, May 22, 2010
The Double Life?
When people hear of the word WOW the immediate idea is the single male who is still living in his mother's basement. The article is an account of a 30 year old male married with a child living two different lives. The real world he is a journalist and in the virtual world in which he plays as an elf that battles and trains. The author gives into account the way the game has an affect on his life and also the way he deals living this double life. In the beginning of the article the author states that with age he would grow out of video games. That, however, was not the case for him because it almost became an escape. In WOW he was able to enter this world of community and take action to things he would not be able to do in real life. To take heroic action and have a direct affect to the world that his avatar took part in. The author ends with the idea that this second life of his may have direct affect to his son. In the case of following by example is there such a thing as being too old to play games?
http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1577502-1,00.html
Wesley Lin
74614976
http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1577502-1,00.html
Wesley Lin
74614976
Friday, May 21, 2010
Togetherville: For Children, a Social Network With Training Wheels
Here is an article from Yahoo about Togetherville.com, a new social networking site targeted for parents and their 6-10 year old children. It is a semi-private social networking site that requires parents sign up their children. Children themselves cannot innitiate their own profiles and behavior within the site is restricted to pre-constructed comments. It was created by a father who wanted his young son to enjoy the benefits of virtual communities while limiting potential social risks and cyberbullying. Ultimately, parents construct a hand-selected network of people with whom their children can interact. "The content on the site is curated so children can play games, make art projects, and watch or share videos, but everything they have access to has been vetted in advance," says mr. Dhillon, the sites creator.
It is interesting to see the new models of virtual societies that are targeted for chilren. While the site has a lot of potential, it is not without criticism and will definately change the cultural dynamic of social networking for young children and their parents. Nowadays, kids as young as 4 will be participating in social networking sites for their entire childhood. What will the backlash be when youngsters begin to rebel against their parents, their strict censorships, and their control over virtual identity? Even Mr. Dhillon himself says the site has its flaws, "We teach kids from a very early age, never let your identity be online, never let anyone know who you are, but were teaching kids some bad things. Kids dont learn how to be accountable." Accountability, a particularly interesting topic. The Internet and the virtual society landscape is definately creating generations of people who are more anonymous and less accountable, but what will be the future affects on our culture? Will they be able to transition into responsible, independant adults? Only time will tell.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/For-Children-a-Social-Network-nytimes-142793176.html?x=0&.v=1
It is interesting to see the new models of virtual societies that are targeted for chilren. While the site has a lot of potential, it is not without criticism and will definately change the cultural dynamic of social networking for young children and their parents. Nowadays, kids as young as 4 will be participating in social networking sites for their entire childhood. What will the backlash be when youngsters begin to rebel against their parents, their strict censorships, and their control over virtual identity? Even Mr. Dhillon himself says the site has its flaws, "We teach kids from a very early age, never let your identity be online, never let anyone know who you are, but were teaching kids some bad things. Kids dont learn how to be accountable." Accountability, a particularly interesting topic. The Internet and the virtual society landscape is definately creating generations of people who are more anonymous and less accountable, but what will be the future affects on our culture? Will they be able to transition into responsible, independant adults? Only time will tell.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/For-Children-a-Social-Network-nytimes-142793176.html?x=0&.v=1
Thousands Quit Facebook, Myspace Simplifies Privacy
http://www.cmswire.com/cms/web-engagement/thousands-quit-facebook-myspace-simplifies-privacy-007559.php
This blog stated that Myspace's co-president, Mike Jones, emailed Myspace users on Monday informing them that privacy settings for user profiles will be simplified. Amidst all the contraversy about Facebook's privacy settings, it is interesting that Myspace has decided to simplify theirs now in an attempt to please its users. One feature that was mentioned to be applied to privacy settings is that when the policy changes, all previous user profiles will remain automatically private. This is the opposite of Facebook because everytime they change the privacy policy (which has been quite a few times) all user profiles are automatically set to public. Is Myspace trying to make a comeback? It seems like every few years a new social networking site appears and takes over the majority of internet users (dead journal to myspace to facebook). But I have yet to hear any of the previous sites winning over users again so it will be interesting to see if the issues of privacy push people back onto Myspace. Perhaps Myspace isn't dead.
Patricia Wang
This blog stated that Myspace's co-president, Mike Jones, emailed Myspace users on Monday informing them that privacy settings for user profiles will be simplified. Amidst all the contraversy about Facebook's privacy settings, it is interesting that Myspace has decided to simplify theirs now in an attempt to please its users. One feature that was mentioned to be applied to privacy settings is that when the policy changes, all previous user profiles will remain automatically private. This is the opposite of Facebook because everytime they change the privacy policy (which has been quite a few times) all user profiles are automatically set to public. Is Myspace trying to make a comeback? It seems like every few years a new social networking site appears and takes over the majority of internet users (dead journal to myspace to facebook). But I have yet to hear any of the previous sites winning over users again so it will be interesting to see if the issues of privacy push people back onto Myspace. Perhaps Myspace isn't dead.
Patricia Wang
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Second Life
So I was watching channel 7 news and a story on Second Life came on. The reporter was talking about a couple who tied the knot in the virtual world but cannot be together physically because of their money situation. I thought this was interesting because I didn't hear of this virtual world until this class and now its making its way to the local news! Here's the link to the video, I hope it works!
http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/video?id=7447448
http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/video?id=7447448
Facebook Privacy
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/05/facebook-privacy-comes-to-a-head-changes-may-be-imminent.ars
I came across the above article the other day which addresses the controversial privacy issues that Facebook is currently facing. The main concerns are those of users who have a problem with how complicated privacy settings are. Many users feel like they are not protected enough by the site and as a result the FTC may be getting involved with the problem. The article points out to privacy bugs on Facebook where if you click on a disguised spam link, all your privacy settings can be changed and all your personal information can be seen by anyone. It also points out in a negative light Mark Zuckerberg's recently released IMs about obtaining personal information and calling users "dumb f*cks."
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/05/latest-facebook-blunder-secret-data-sharing-with-advertisers.ars
Then today, this above article was published which continues on about Facebook's privacy issues, but shares a report from the Wall Street Journal that discovered Facebook has been sharing secret data from users with advertisers. "When Facebook's users clicked on ads appearing on a profile page, the site would at times provide data such as the username behind the click, as well as the user whose profile page from which the click came. 'If you are looking at your profile page and you click on an ad, you are telling that advertiser who you are.'" From reading these two articles, I'm beginning to doubt the reliablity of Facebook. Of course, when putting personal information online, we should always be careful and smart about what we share. However, if this is happening, even if I think my entire profile is on private, somehow other people and advertisers can access my information. These two articles bring to light how careless and uncaring Facebook seems to be about the privacy of its users. I'm hoping that the FTC does get involved and all of this is resolved or Facebook might lose a lot of its users.
-Raisa
I came across the above article the other day which addresses the controversial privacy issues that Facebook is currently facing. The main concerns are those of users who have a problem with how complicated privacy settings are. Many users feel like they are not protected enough by the site and as a result the FTC may be getting involved with the problem. The article points out to privacy bugs on Facebook where if you click on a disguised spam link, all your privacy settings can be changed and all your personal information can be seen by anyone. It also points out in a negative light Mark Zuckerberg's recently released IMs about obtaining personal information and calling users "dumb f*cks."
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/05/latest-facebook-blunder-secret-data-sharing-with-advertisers.ars
Then today, this above article was published which continues on about Facebook's privacy issues, but shares a report from the Wall Street Journal that discovered Facebook has been sharing secret data from users with advertisers. "When Facebook's users clicked on ads appearing on a profile page, the site would at times provide data such as the username behind the click, as well as the user whose profile page from which the click came. 'If you are looking at your profile page and you click on an ad, you are telling that advertiser who you are.'" From reading these two articles, I'm beginning to doubt the reliablity of Facebook. Of course, when putting personal information online, we should always be careful and smart about what we share. However, if this is happening, even if I think my entire profile is on private, somehow other people and advertisers can access my information. These two articles bring to light how careless and uncaring Facebook seems to be about the privacy of its users. I'm hoping that the FTC does get involved and all of this is resolved or Facebook might lose a lot of its users.
-Raisa
Facebook: "Like/join to find out" scams
Those who actively use their Facebook know that some groups require you to become a member in order to gain access to particular information. Many groups project silly riddles or questions, but will not divulge the answers until you either "like" or "join" the page. This is an easy way to hook interest and get people to follow a particular group merely by exploiting user's curiosity. This function seems trivial, however I contend that it is unethical, harmful, and distorts the Facebook landscape.
Facebook profiles are visible reflections of users, meant to accurately identify people, friends, and interests. Your actions on Facebook are explicit, as other users can view your profiled identity and the entire network of labels with which you are publicly affiliated. Users make conscious decisions about whom or what they associate with and many attempt to accurately project themselves through their profiles. It is counterintuitive that somebody would choose to join a group that they know little to nothing about and explicitly associate it with their profile for others to see, when it is likely not an accurate reflection of their self or interest.
This trend confuses the validity of people's profiles and is merely a surface level marketing gimmick. People should know what they are joining and why they are joining any particular group, and not merely find out what they have associated themselves with after the fact. Many of these types of groups are purely detrimental and turn out to be scams, never really providing the user with any useful information. The dilemma seems trivial because Facebook is merely a virtual platform and only an approximate extension of self, but apply the same logic to a physical world situation. Would you actively associate yourself with some social group (team/club/event) that you knew nothing about just to get some tidbit of information? Likely not, so why do it on Facebook? Even if the consequences are not as dire, the ethics remain the same.
Facebook profiles are visible reflections of users, meant to accurately identify people, friends, and interests. Your actions on Facebook are explicit, as other users can view your profiled identity and the entire network of labels with which you are publicly affiliated. Users make conscious decisions about whom or what they associate with and many attempt to accurately project themselves through their profiles. It is counterintuitive that somebody would choose to join a group that they know little to nothing about and explicitly associate it with their profile for others to see, when it is likely not an accurate reflection of their self or interest.
This trend confuses the validity of people's profiles and is merely a surface level marketing gimmick. People should know what they are joining and why they are joining any particular group, and not merely find out what they have associated themselves with after the fact. Many of these types of groups are purely detrimental and turn out to be scams, never really providing the user with any useful information. The dilemma seems trivial because Facebook is merely a virtual platform and only an approximate extension of self, but apply the same logic to a physical world situation. Would you actively associate yourself with some social group (team/club/event) that you knew nothing about just to get some tidbit of information? Likely not, so why do it on Facebook? Even if the consequences are not as dire, the ethics remain the same.
Interstella 555
I was pretty bored last night and so I was just on video google looking for random videos to watch. I somehow came across daft punk and I discovered a video that was about an hour long. It was basically a AMV where it was an anime and the songs synced with the video. Going back to the lecture where the professor showed the different AMV's I thought that this was a good example of a AMV and it also has an actually story to it. The reason why its an hour long is because it plays the whole Daft Punk album throughout the video and its interesting to see how everything fits with the beat and when you actually think about it, this video must have taken forever to make because each scene matches up with each song. Here is the video: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5585590460724266855# I think that its pretty interesting and everyone should watch it.
Phil Lee
93033487
Girl Gamers
In the past I have been interested with female gamers. In the past I played counter-strike and it is really interesting to see that there are professional girl gamers and to see that they compete also. Going with the whole female gamers that we talked about in class, female gamers do exist and that they are just as good as guys. There is one team called SK-gaming and it is a organization that sponsor multiple games and have multiple teams for each game. So for Counter-Strike there is a mens team, and a girls team. I was researching females team history and they have won many competitions, but they were all against other girl teams. I don't think that a girls team would ever play a guys team for competition but I think that it would be really interesting to see how they would do against the mens team. This is a link that shows the different teams for each game and the girls team is at the bottom. http://www.sk-gaming.com/players/
-Phil Lee
93033487
3rd Person to 1st Person-- taking avatars to the next level?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHP2liY0oDE
This video made me think of some of the issues we've been talking about in class; how far do people identify with their avatar, even when it doesn't mirror their physical realities?
Is the tech here the next step in gaming? The concept of 'virtual reality' is by no means new, and neither is the idea of adding physical stimuli to go along with the auditory and visual stimuli that is already a staple of alternate reality/third place games. But it seems like the technology is slowly progressing to the point where this may become a reality. Obviously among the first candidates and issues to come up will be 'virtual porn' but 'violent games' (FPS, RPGs, MMORPGs) will not be all too far behind. How realistic should it be? Should we be able to feel pain from games?
Chris Kwak
--23742290
This video made me think of some of the issues we've been talking about in class; how far do people identify with their avatar, even when it doesn't mirror their physical realities?
Is the tech here the next step in gaming? The concept of 'virtual reality' is by no means new, and neither is the idea of adding physical stimuli to go along with the auditory and visual stimuli that is already a staple of alternate reality/third place games. But it seems like the technology is slowly progressing to the point where this may become a reality. Obviously among the first candidates and issues to come up will be 'virtual porn' but 'violent games' (FPS, RPGs, MMORPGs) will not be all too far behind. How realistic should it be? Should we be able to feel pain from games?
Chris Kwak
--23742290
Privacy Group Takes Actions Against Facebook
Lately many websites and online news sources tend to stress the issues of privacy on facebook and many are not happy about Facebook's privacys settings. There is a lot of talk over facebook's association with third-party companies and whether or not facebook shares its information with advertisers. Facebook claims that users are in control of the privacy of their own account and privacy settings can be changed on a person's personal account. A canadian privacy group however, asserts that in Canada a great percentage of people who use facebook at between 14 and 25 year olds and many students who fall towards the left of that category may not know how to change the settings (source: BBC News: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7428833.stm.
Some sites have gone far enough to petition a quit facebook day and seem to recommend leaving facebook until these matters of privacy are fixed. http://www.quitfacebookday.com/ calls for all facebook users to quit facebook on May 31, 2010 and http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/18/facebook-alternatives-lis_n_580486.html provides alternative social networking sites people could use instead of facebook. I honestly think that things like quit facebook day will not succeed because too many people are too dependent on facebook or do not worry much about the privacy I know for me switiching to another social networking site would be a waste of time because like many people, most of the people I communicate or keep in touch with are on facebook so if I switiched sites I would not have many people to talk to or keep in touch with. Overall I think facebook is very popular with its users and is a very large company so I am not surprised to find that facebook has not changed or budged with its new privacy settings. Does anyone have any other opinions regarding the issue of privacy on facebook?
Some sites have gone far enough to petition a quit facebook day and seem to recommend leaving facebook until these matters of privacy are fixed. http://www.quitfacebookday.com/ calls for all facebook users to quit facebook on May 31, 2010 and http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/18/facebook-alternatives-lis_n_580486.html provides alternative social networking sites people could use instead of facebook. I honestly think that things like quit facebook day will not succeed because too many people are too dependent on facebook or do not worry much about the privacy I know for me switiching to another social networking site would be a waste of time because like many people, most of the people I communicate or keep in touch with are on facebook so if I switiched sites I would not have many people to talk to or keep in touch with. Overall I think facebook is very popular with its users and is a very large company so I am not surprised to find that facebook has not changed or budged with its new privacy settings. Does anyone have any other opinions regarding the issue of privacy on facebook?
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Wild Ride to the future
Check out this article.
http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/109173/iphone-app-to-sidestep-att
It's about a new app for the iphone, called LINE 2. Basically, it turns your itouch into an iphone!
I thought this was interesting to see how intricate and fast technology moves.
http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/109173/iphone-app-to-sidestep-att
It's about a new app for the iphone, called LINE 2. Basically, it turns your itouch into an iphone!
I thought this was interesting to see how intricate and fast technology moves.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Openbook: "Conect and share whether you want to or not!"
http://youropenbook.org/about.html
So this is the about page for this site; like many articles we've been reading, it explains what facebook is doing and more of its failure to protect privacy, but also takes it one step further. Openbook actually exploits this deliberate hole left in its privacy security to provide a funny service, much in the way of fmlbook, failbook, etc. in that it will randomly search a term ("DNA test", "divorce trial", "going to a strip club""rectal exam") and display status updates with those terms in them. Refreshing over and over and just reading what other people-- complete strangers are doing is again, part of the voyeuristic pleasure people get out of it.
Now for those of you who are starting to get a little scared by all these facebook privacy articles, but don't really know how to mess with your privacy settings and aren't ready to give up your facebook yet, there is hope!
http://www.reclaimprivacy.org/
This site will scan your settings and show you where your vulnerabilities are. Their privacy terms are much more simpler, and it looks like they're fairly well-trusted around the interwebs (however much that means to you =p)
Chris Kwak
-23742290
So this is the about page for this site; like many articles we've been reading, it explains what facebook is doing and more of its failure to protect privacy, but also takes it one step further. Openbook actually exploits this deliberate hole left in its privacy security to provide a funny service, much in the way of fmlbook, failbook, etc. in that it will randomly search a term ("DNA test", "divorce trial", "going to a strip club""rectal exam") and display status updates with those terms in them. Refreshing over and over and just reading what other people-- complete strangers are doing is again, part of the voyeuristic pleasure people get out of it.
Now for those of you who are starting to get a little scared by all these facebook privacy articles, but don't really know how to mess with your privacy settings and aren't ready to give up your facebook yet, there is hope!
http://www.reclaimprivacy.org/
This site will scan your settings and show you where your vulnerabilities are. Their privacy terms are much more simpler, and it looks like they're fairly well-trusted around the interwebs (however much that means to you =p)
Chris Kwak
-23742290
Facebook & Females
According to the article, girls are putting facebook on a very high pedestal. 40% of girls between the ages of 8-15 identified facebook as one of the most important things in their lives, compared to 6% of boys. The survey also concluded that girls have put facebook above any other type of media form- magazines, television, and celebrities; going even further to say that the girls have also put it above immediate family members. Boys, however, seem to be more concerned with family, friends, money and school.
I'm really not surprised with these findings. At the age surveyed, most of the girls are just becoming adolescents, falling into the usual categorical girl- gossip, boys, and clothes. Facebook is the perfect way to easily access all of that information, especially with newsfeeds and access to photos from anyone who has privacy settings that allow you to see their photos. However, I think the more interesting question is how and if facebook is conditioning young adolescent girls on societal values and norms. Is the early exposure to intense social networking affecting the way they perceive themselves? How does this exposure change the way they interact with family, and does it affect their family values as well?
I'm really not surprised with these findings. At the age surveyed, most of the girls are just becoming adolescents, falling into the usual categorical girl- gossip, boys, and clothes. Facebook is the perfect way to easily access all of that information, especially with newsfeeds and access to photos from anyone who has privacy settings that allow you to see their photos. However, I think the more interesting question is how and if facebook is conditioning young adolescent girls on societal values and norms. Is the early exposure to intense social networking affecting the way they perceive themselves? How does this exposure change the way they interact with family, and does it affect their family values as well?
The Loss of Manuals
Surfing through the web, I was able to read this guy's blog comment in which he lamented the loss of manuals. He was saying how in the past we all used to have manuals for any type of game, and we would read that until we got home and actually start playing the game. Nowadays it seems like most people go buy their games and just dive into the game stright up without even reading the back of the game. Also there is hardly a manual for games now. Most tutorials of games are now posted online and you can also find actual in game replays that will guide you through a level in blogs or even on youtube. It was interesting how some people (like me) didn't even bother the change and didn't even notice. But on the other side some people thought that the loss of manuals was a sad thing and they missed it. In my opinion it's better to search for manuals on the internet because it actually works better for me. I guess it all depends on the individual but I thought it was worth sharing with the class and see what you guys think about the loss of manuals on nowaday games.
Steam Platform finally on Mac!
Ever since 2003, games such as Counter-Strike, Half-Life, and Left 4 Dead have been restricted for PC users, as the Steam Platform that runs these games was specific for Windows operating systems. However, just the other day, it was announced that a much more limited version of Steam was finally available for the Macintosh.
Reading through the article alone doesn't give the event real justice. Up until now, PC's were seen as exclusive for gamers, and Mac's were seen only as for college students, artists, and people who had no interest in playing games. The fact that these platforms have now combined changes the decisions consumers can take now in deciding which type of computer to purchase. It is now possible to buy a computer that can edit music and videos during the day, and that can run Counter-Strike at night. I have to admit that my next computer will now be a Macintosh , as the advantages of a Macintosh, combined with the compatibility with Steam, make for a great all-around computer.
It will be interesting to see if the Steam gaming community will have new characteristics now that a different "genre" of computer users is now able to access games that were once restricted to PC users. It won't be long before more games are Mac compatible, and keeping an eye on the online communities of these games will surely reveal the idiosyncrasies of Mac users.
-Arya
"Facebook Thinks You Are a Dumb F*ck"
http://perezhilton.com/2010-05-18-facebook-thinks-you-are-a-dumbfk
Posted Tuesday, May 18th, 2010 on perezhilton.com, "Facebook Thinks You Are a Dumb F*ck" brings attention to the issues of privacy and trust regarding the social networking site. Provided is a transcription of a conversation the creator and his friend had about the users and their information.
While questioning the credibility of the transcripted IM messages exchanged between Facebook creator, Mark Zukerberg, and his friend, this short post on perezhilton.com did get me thinking about the privacy issues that arise from the use of Facebook and other social networking sites. Until about a year and a half ago, I never really thought about identity theft and how it would be so easy for that to happen to anyone. Until that happened to a close friend of mine, I was always posting or filling in all of the information/interest boxes on Facebook and MySpace. I used to always download new applications onto my profile and play games or take stupid quizzes. But before you enter any of those, I recall you had to "accept" the company's and Facebook's terms to share your information or send you random spam. Now that my friend has experienced this unfortunate situation, I am a little more paranoid or iffy about what I am sending out into and receiving from cyberspace. I rarely download any of the applications, I cannot recall the last time I was on MySpace, and am slowing filtering out personal information from my Facebook profile. I even keep all of my privacy settings on "friends only" since I really only have Facebook to keep in touch with those far away or easily share information with my friends.
Regarding the information that is at Mark Zuckerber's hands, I have no idea what legal rights or implications would be if everyone's private information were to go public or have public access. I am just glad that I have semi-unplugged myself and am not taking Facebook so seriously as I used to.
Margarita Vincent
Posted Tuesday, May 18th, 2010 on perezhilton.com, "Facebook Thinks You Are a Dumb F*ck" brings attention to the issues of privacy and trust regarding the social networking site. Provided is a transcription of a conversation the creator and his friend had about the users and their information.
While questioning the credibility of the transcripted IM messages exchanged between Facebook creator, Mark Zukerberg, and his friend, this short post on perezhilton.com did get me thinking about the privacy issues that arise from the use of Facebook and other social networking sites. Until about a year and a half ago, I never really thought about identity theft and how it would be so easy for that to happen to anyone. Until that happened to a close friend of mine, I was always posting or filling in all of the information/interest boxes on Facebook and MySpace. I used to always download new applications onto my profile and play games or take stupid quizzes. But before you enter any of those, I recall you had to "accept" the company's and Facebook's terms to share your information or send you random spam. Now that my friend has experienced this unfortunate situation, I am a little more paranoid or iffy about what I am sending out into and receiving from cyberspace. I rarely download any of the applications, I cannot recall the last time I was on MySpace, and am slowing filtering out personal information from my Facebook profile. I even keep all of my privacy settings on "friends only" since I really only have Facebook to keep in touch with those far away or easily share information with my friends.
Regarding the information that is at Mark Zuckerber's hands, I have no idea what legal rights or implications would be if everyone's private information were to go public or have public access. I am just glad that I have semi-unplugged myself and am not taking Facebook so seriously as I used to.
Margarita Vincent
Abridged Series Online
Going back to the user-created content, the AMVs and the vastness that is YouTube, I'd like to share a trend that I got caught up with: Abridged Series. Literally, abridging means to omit and shorten content from a text, video or audio clip and narrow it down to its basic components. "Abridging" has been a historical technique used in parodies and satires. A famous abridged show are the The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) (also known as The Complete Wrks of Wllm Shkspr (Abridged)), first presented by the Reduced Shakespear Company in 1987.
Because the internet provides an easy way to communicate, share information and disseminate ideas, all kinds of abridged series surfaced on the web. Especially on YouTube. Most abridged series recycle footage from existing TV shows or movies but change the voice acting do create a comical effect. Of course, abridgers expect their audience to be somewhat familiar with the original source of the series. For example, most of my favorite abridged series are based off popular anime shows; I have seen many of these abridged series when I was a kid or a teenager. However, I did learn about new anime series through their Abridged counter-parts. Nice twist.
There are a lot of issues and aspects involving Abridged Series: Copyright issues, artistic talent, collaboration among abridgers who have met through their work, merchandising, etc. There are many people who are strongly dedicated to the creation of Abridged shows. And many are extremely hilarious.
http://www.youtube.com/user/GanXingba
http://www.teamfourstar.com/
http://www.ygotas.com/
Because the internet provides an easy way to communicate, share information and disseminate ideas, all kinds of abridged series surfaced on the web. Especially on YouTube. Most abridged series recycle footage from existing TV shows or movies but change the voice acting do create a comical effect. Of course, abridgers expect their audience to be somewhat familiar with the original source of the series. For example, most of my favorite abridged series are based off popular anime shows; I have seen many of these abridged series when I was a kid or a teenager. However, I did learn about new anime series through their Abridged counter-parts. Nice twist.
There are a lot of issues and aspects involving Abridged Series: Copyright issues, artistic talent, collaboration among abridgers who have met through their work, merchandising, etc. There are many people who are strongly dedicated to the creation of Abridged shows. And many are extremely hilarious.
http://www.youtube.com/user/GanXingba
http://www.teamfourstar.com/
http://www.ygotas.com/
Monday, May 17, 2010
Microsoft Office 2010 takes aim at Google Docs
Microsoft Office 2010 takes aim at Google Docs, by Jonathan Fildes, was a really goods article. It discussed the fact that Microsoft and Google are in a technological battle over customers. This all came about over Microsoft Office 2010, which is now aimed at businesses and home users and will know also be offered on Facebook. The article also goes in the fact that Microsoft and Google have been straying into each other's traditional markets. They also have been backing other ventures such as Microsoft has thrown its full weight behind the search engine Bing, whilst Google is about to launch its own operating system, known as Chrome OS. This was a very intrusting article about what going on with the two most powerful computer companies.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/10107799.stm
Mariam Jahangiri
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/10107799.stm
Mariam Jahangiri
Survey: What happened to Myspace?
Any of you who are interested in sharing your opinions please take our survey. There are two parts to the survey. There are some demographic questions and the rest are questions where you can share your experiences or opinions with Facebook and Myspace.
Thanks for your help,
The Loquacious Six
::::LINKS TO SURVEY::::
Part one: www.surveymonkey.com/s/VFGKYRQ
Part two: www.surveymonkey.com/s/VFHDPF6
Thanks for your help,
The Loquacious Six
::::LINKS TO SURVEY::::
Part one: www.surveymonkey.com/s/VFGKYRQ
Part two: www.surveymonkey.com/s/VFHDPF6
"Digital Nation"
I recently came upon, and watched, a recently released documentary by Frontline on PBS titled "Digital Nation". To follow on Netflix: http://www.netflix.com/WiMovie/Frontline_Digital_Nation/70131661?trkid=815301.
This special provides wonderful information applicable to many our the research being done in our class. It explores many segments of internet culture in our nation (and throughout the world) in social networking, multitasking, internet gaming, and virtual worlds. I plan to use some of the information it presented on for my group's project, and you should too!
In this blog I'll briefly discuss the first point made in this film - Can you imagine living without the Internet?
In the beginning of Digital Nation there is a collage of clips of people admitting their dependence on it, and that they didn't see this dependence coming or realize the absolute attention they give to the Internet. We have come to EXPECT simultaneous or instantaneous response to our curiosities and inquiries. Without the constant interaction or answers, we feel lost. This has changed the way we live, as we as human beings have evolved the way we live and are connected all the time. Recently I have become dependent on the Internet in a new way - the furthering of a romantic relationship. My boyfriend, a marine, was shipped off to Afghanistan well over a month ago. Most days we are able to communicate in some way. Once he gets to work in the morning (there is an 11.5 hour time difference), which is PST evening, he is able to send short messages to me from his computer to my cellphone - a new kind fo texting. This allows for immediate interaction with someone off at war, thousands of miles away. Of course, this doesn't get to happen every day, but he is capable of it most days. He and I communicate, however, mostly through email, which includes long paragraphs, stories and explanations. The text messages are short and not as detailed, but provide a different satisfaction (similar to status updates on facebook <-- sound bytes of our lives). Additionally, approximately once a week he is able to place an actual phone call to me.
When an unfortunate event (major injury or death) occurs, all communication is cut off leaving Afghanistan. So, I have gone a few days at once without hearing from him. Once, when I was voicing some frustration during a "river city" to my Grandfather, he made me realize how lucky I was to have the semi-instantaneous communication we were having. He said, "when I was in the War (WWII), we had to wait weeks to hear news from home. This news was only transferred through actual written letters! We did not have the Internet, or really even any use of phones." Wow, Grandpa, I don't think I could've survived if I was going to have to wait several weeks to hear how a loved one is doing. However, if I was living through the war that was decades ago, things would be different. My mindset would be different. Just as this documentary states, WE HAVE EVOLVED as human beings. We are addicted and dependent on communication, and I have decided to be thankful for it. Who knows what my relationship would be like if the circumstances were different? LUCKILY I don't have to answer that question.....
This special provides wonderful information applicable to many our the research being done in our class. It explores many segments of internet culture in our nation (and throughout the world) in social networking, multitasking, internet gaming, and virtual worlds. I plan to use some of the information it presented on for my group's project, and you should too!
In this blog I'll briefly discuss the first point made in this film - Can you imagine living without the Internet?
In the beginning of Digital Nation there is a collage of clips of people admitting their dependence on it, and that they didn't see this dependence coming or realize the absolute attention they give to the Internet. We have come to EXPECT simultaneous or instantaneous response to our curiosities and inquiries. Without the constant interaction or answers, we feel lost. This has changed the way we live, as we as human beings have evolved the way we live and are connected all the time. Recently I have become dependent on the Internet in a new way - the furthering of a romantic relationship. My boyfriend, a marine, was shipped off to Afghanistan well over a month ago. Most days we are able to communicate in some way. Once he gets to work in the morning (there is an 11.5 hour time difference), which is PST evening, he is able to send short messages to me from his computer to my cellphone - a new kind fo texting. This allows for immediate interaction with someone off at war, thousands of miles away. Of course, this doesn't get to happen every day, but he is capable of it most days. He and I communicate, however, mostly through email, which includes long paragraphs, stories and explanations. The text messages are short and not as detailed, but provide a different satisfaction (similar to status updates on facebook <-- sound bytes of our lives). Additionally, approximately once a week he is able to place an actual phone call to me.
When an unfortunate event (major injury or death) occurs, all communication is cut off leaving Afghanistan. So, I have gone a few days at once without hearing from him. Once, when I was voicing some frustration during a "river city" to my Grandfather, he made me realize how lucky I was to have the semi-instantaneous communication we were having. He said, "when I was in the War (WWII), we had to wait weeks to hear news from home. This news was only transferred through actual written letters! We did not have the Internet, or really even any use of phones." Wow, Grandpa, I don't think I could've survived if I was going to have to wait several weeks to hear how a loved one is doing. However, if I was living through the war that was decades ago, things would be different. My mindset would be different. Just as this documentary states, WE HAVE EVOLVED as human beings. We are addicted and dependent on communication, and I have decided to be thankful for it. Who knows what my relationship would be like if the circumstances were different? LUCKILY I don't have to answer that question.....
"Love and Heartbreak on Facebook"
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=4865303&page=1
This article explains that once the ups and downs of a relationship was kept within the intimacy of close friends, but now an simple click on Facebook or Myspace can mark the beginning and end of a relationship. Now, EVERYONE, whether it is your best friend or a random stranger can know your "relationship status" through cyberspace! Raymond recounts his uncomfortable situation when he declared himself single on Facebook and then his ex-girlfriend received endless phone calls from her friends which just added to the "pain of a sensitive situation." The author explores the idea that Facebook and other social networking sites are ruining the what intimacy is and normal rites for couples, which is usually engagement, marriage, divorce. '"Symbols in a relationship are huge, like a ring, or meeting the parents," says Marshall. And a Facebook profile may hold yet another symbol to be reckoned with in the 21st century relationship."'
I've had friends who have just changed their relationship status and then five minutes later, my newsfeed is filled with comments concerning their relationship status. The phenomenon of Facebook and its relationship with intimacy can even affect relationships when its over, as seen from the example given above. This is crazy!
This article explains that once the ups and downs of a relationship was kept within the intimacy of close friends, but now an simple click on Facebook or Myspace can mark the beginning and end of a relationship. Now, EVERYONE, whether it is your best friend or a random stranger can know your "relationship status" through cyberspace! Raymond recounts his uncomfortable situation when he declared himself single on Facebook and then his ex-girlfriend received endless phone calls from her friends which just added to the "pain of a sensitive situation." The author explores the idea that Facebook and other social networking sites are ruining the what intimacy is and normal rites for couples, which is usually engagement, marriage, divorce. '"Symbols in a relationship are huge, like a ring, or meeting the parents," says Marshall. And a Facebook profile may hold yet another symbol to be reckoned with in the 21st century relationship."'
I've had friends who have just changed their relationship status and then five minutes later, my newsfeed is filled with comments concerning their relationship status. The phenomenon of Facebook and its relationship with intimacy can even affect relationships when its over, as seen from the example given above. This is crazy!
Using Online Games to Get Movie Audiences Involved
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/17/business/media/17salt.html?ref=technology
"Sony Pictures has been hard at work on a project with a complex script about spies and terrorists, filming on location and using props that include a rented airplane." One would think that Sony is making a new hit movie, but this isn't the case here. Sony is actually creating a nine-week "episodic online game". The game is called Day X Exists. It's a series of Web episodes and companion challenges that reveal an important plot line. Recently many online games have become popular through social networking sites, such as the online games Mafia Wars on facebook, Sony is trying to use technology and social networking sites to advertise this new game. The game in itself seems just like a movie plot having to do with spies and terrorists and secret missions. The movie industry is having a huge influence on online gaming, and the plots of the game keep on getting more and more interesting! A new online game for gamerss so watch out for Day X-exist, which i think is a pretty badass name for an online game!
"Sony Pictures has been hard at work on a project with a complex script about spies and terrorists, filming on location and using props that include a rented airplane." One would think that Sony is making a new hit movie, but this isn't the case here. Sony is actually creating a nine-week "episodic online game". The game is called Day X Exists. It's a series of Web episodes and companion challenges that reveal an important plot line. Recently many online games have become popular through social networking sites, such as the online games Mafia Wars on facebook, Sony is trying to use technology and social networking sites to advertise this new game. The game in itself seems just like a movie plot having to do with spies and terrorists and secret missions. The movie industry is having a huge influence on online gaming, and the plots of the game keep on getting more and more interesting! A new online game for gamerss so watch out for Day X-exist, which i think is a pretty badass name for an online game!
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Man Used Facebook To Murder Teenage Girl
Looking at the title I was baffled, asking myself before I even read the article if this was for real. They say that a man in Australia lured an 18 year old girl by facebook and then killed her. Christopher James Dannevig who is the suspect of the case, created a fake facebook profile and advertised that he was a manager of an animal rescue service and offered the girl a job. This is a troubling case because millions of people are on facebook, and this social network is the largest in the country with competition with myspace. For most reasonable people we would not fall into a trap like this one, but what about the ones that do not see an invitation like the one in this case to be suspicious? With a growing population of people joining these social networks that has made so many people happy by being able to connect while not being able to see each other on a normal bases, the risks of people like Christopher trying to commit crimes like this is also growing. How many possible kidnappings, rapes, murders are in the works right now by these sick people? Time can only tell.
- Donovan Tan
http://www.elistmania.com/news/man_used_facebook_to_murder_teenage_girl/
- Donovan Tan
http://www.elistmania.com/news/man_used_facebook_to_murder_teenage_girl/
Spokeo: The Internet White Pages For Stalkers
many people on facebook set up privacy functions because they want to hide certain aspects of their "facebook life". Some people want to be so left alone that their make it impossible for people to find them unless they add the other person first. People in general are concerned about personal information, whether it be aspects of our life or something as important as our finances, Mark Zuckerberg has made everyone online more concerned. Who has created a website that can pull data from anyone’s social network site SPOKEO. Through Spokeo, you type in anyones name it will then pull data from its massive scraped database of personal information and provide you with every detail you did, or didn’t want to know about that person’s life. Spokeo collects information not only from online profiles, but also from government censuses, property listings, and business websites. It is funny because who would want or even need to know all that type of information about someone unless they were up to something no good, or a potential stalker. I honestly feel that a website like this should not be allowed, but all the information that is put is all information that a person advertises about themselves already (facebook profile). So all this at a mere $4.95 a month and you can become a full pledged stalker!!!
- Donovan Tan
http://www.techi.com/2010/05/spokeo-the-internet-white-pages-for-stalkers/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)