Mobiles phones are very hand for number of reasons. They are also becoming a new method of payment. I often travel to places by subway back home and the option of payment rather amused me. I hadn’t been back home for a couple of years and travelling on the bus and subway by myself made me nervous. When I went to the ticket booth to ask for tickets I realised that they no longer sold the paper tickets they used to. We could either purchase a one-time use card by pay with our phones. I was amazed to find a little chip which almost looked like a sim card inside my phone. This apparently was the new method of paying. I soon realised that the chip was linked directly to by dad’s credit card and if you placed them on top of the ticket machines, they automatically charge you.
I soon realised that it was not only subway and bus tickets that you could pay for. People could use them to buy things out of vending machines or even go shopping with them. For those of younger age without credit cards, this was a fast and easy method of payment. When going to through high ways you can also place your phone by the front window. When you drive through at slow speed, the bill is also automatically charged to your phones.
I have noticed that New Zealand is beginning to change to. I notice that majority of the car park ticket machines also have a new option of paying by text. This makes me wonder how far mobile phones will go in the future, and will they replace our everyday items?
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
In the Future
It funny where you learn things, I was driven to posing this final blog after reading this article on the popular internet comedy site cracked.com. The article in particular was about "forced artificial scarcity", the notion that in the future we will literally be paying for things we can get for free, in fact the author David Wong picks up that we have already begun behaving like this. For example bottled water, why do we pay for it? In Wong's opinion we pay for it because big corporations with their advertising tell us too, he draws comparison with the 2008 poisoned baby milk formula scandal, saying the reason people continued to use the formula even though it was poisonous is because they felt they had to. Now this might be a simplistic view but it still has some merits. Why else would we pay $3.00 for a powerade when water does the same job and its free? its also one way of identifying which consumer goods are fetish items, apple products for example rides the brand image to the death.
This problem is something we should all be concerned about, however the point of this article which really caught my eye in terms of this paper is the implications forced artificial scarcity on web culture. The development of the web seems to be becoming more packaged, that is, companies are learning how to best assert themselves online and with the growth of such companies we are having to pay for services which previously would've been free. An example of this is music sharing, at the inception of web 2.0 music sharing was free and very loose, however as we've progressed people are starting to pay more and more money for the same products. This has less to do with intellectual property copyright laws and more to do with the fact that the marketplace for music online has grown exponentially since the napster days. iTunes, beatport and the like all offer what is considered the most high quality mp3's and once again draws on the consumer characteristic of wanting nice things. Most people wouldn't be able to tell the difference in quality between free downloads on rapidshare or limewire and the same tracks on iTunes, however the idea that you are getting a better product is actually more important to consumers than actually getting a good product.
Another interesting point of debate brought up in the article is the status of ebook's in libraries, Wong gives a very funny and logical account of the problem which is basically that with eBook's consumers no longer need the libraries or the publishers to create hard-copy's of the book, all they need is one copy of an eBook and literally everyone can get a copy of it. You get the same feeling from most intellectual properties, the ability to duplicate existing materials exists in so many ways it seems as if capitalism is collapsing on itself. If everyone can literally get all these things for free it seems that even more hardline copyright laws are required or that businesses need to convince the consumer that they need to pay for their product.
Now I know that this is an article from a comedy website and understandably people would be fast to laugh off the issues raised. However hard I tried I could not separate what was a hilarious painting of the future from the underlying social implications Wong was trying to draw. It seems the internet is destined to become even more packaged, even more regulated in the future, and maybe in the future it won't be such a swell place?
Monday, October 18, 2010
Stalk Me
And so the last lecture for this paper has ended. Time to do a quick blog post on what we have been through the past couple of months.
I believe FTVMS 203 helped me decide on which particular scope of media I would like to focus on. When we started last July, I was just an Internet enthusiast, eager to learn more about technoculture and this 'new' media. There is this cool and hip sound to the paper, 'Technoculture and New Media', which enticed me to do it. I admit, I'm a social media geek that loves to try out new sites. I go online for fun, to procrastinate, and to keep contact with my friends around the world. But forward October, I have realised how interesting new media is and how I suddenly discovered my interest on it.
Okay, this won't get any cheesier. Kidding aside, I have learned how important new media is and its growing potential. Now I'm regretting on not taking this paper on a Stage 3 level.
A few weeks ago we talked about privacy issues. I believe, Foursquare is definitely one of the most controversial social networks yet. It is not as big here in New Zealand when you compare it abroad, but it is slowly catching more victims...err, users.
Pros? Definitely for the businesses and marketers. Who would not want to join in the bandwagon and sell their products to techno geeks. Don't forget to add a dash of glamor to your business by appointing someone a 'Mayorship'. Also, good news to stalkers and those who love the feeling of being stalked.
Cons? Privacy. On the one hand, is there anything we have right now that doesn't infringe our privacy? I guess, it all falls down to how you use it and how much information you would give out. Moderation and balance is the key, I guess.
Like what we have learned from this course, online society is constantly evolving. Who knows what's up ahead in 2011. We may even have a new concept of privacy and public sphere in a couple of years. Who knows? That's what makes new media a very interesting field to study.
Alliv, signing out.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Why Txt? Lets Kakao Talk!
Android phones are selling like crazy in Korea! Along with the iPhone craze android phones put out in the market to compete with the iPhones are creating big excitement between 'gadget freaks'. Some 'gadget freaks' go as far as changing their phone once every two weeks to experiment with every phone possible. Mobile phones are a must have for people of any age from primary school children to the elderly. However, having a mobile phone can often cause problems. Although the bills are fairly cheap compared to New Zealand I have still experienced monthly bills up to about $200.
However, new applications such as Kakako is the ultimate solution to expensive bills！This completely free application allows android phone users to send instant messages to each other at no cost. For this reason more and more people are shifting to android phones sand business men are said to be also benefiting from such applications as they are able to have instant group meetings on the go. Korean search engines dedicate a small proportion of the page to Kakao Talk. This allows users to see the instant messages being posted up. Kakao Talk allows users to enjoy both public and private aspects of social networking. Although about two week ago users were extremely upset at personal information such as credit card details being released through Kakao talk the new contract tends to be attracting more and more users. Experts have stated that the popularity of Kakao Talk tends to show similar trends to the Cyworld boom the most popular social networking site in Korea which over 92% of teens use in Korea. The big question here now is if txting costs money and Kakao Talk doesn't why txt when Kakao Talk serves the exact same function?
Friday, October 15, 2010
Generation i
Just few thoughts inspired by the posts The iPad. and Reinventing the Square Wheel, and Why It Doesn't Work, related to the Apple's new "magical and revolutionary product" iPad.
The popularity of the new device isn't really at question here, as it's directly proportional to Apple's multi-million advertising budget. Neither is novelty. What more interesting is the iPad's determinant power regarding the format and design, that now dominate the market.
Just a few interesting examples of the followers:
...among thousands of others.
piracy of comics
The piracy has been a big issue today.
There are more than 90 million internet users in Japan now, and there is an increase in piracy through the Internet. The phenomena of crime using the Internet are derived from its anonymity, widespread cyber crimes and those crimes tend to be committed by people at lower age. Most of those crimes are sales of illegal copy and upload without the permission. Now, uploading popular manga (comics) and anime (cartoons) on Youtube has become considerably harmful influence with Japanese youth. There is a significant increase in young people who involve with illegal upload those works.
14th of June this year in Japan, 14 years old boy has been arrested due to upload more than 30 titles and 120 works of popular manga such as Onepiece, Naruto and Gintama etc. This disclosure of piracy through Youtube is the first case in Japan. According to the report, those manga he uploaded have been played more than 8 million times and the amount of damage is worth 20 million yen (NZ$310000). Even the publishers offer a deletion of his upload, but he kept uploading those.
Manga or anime illegal uploading has rapidly increased since 2007. Japanese youth who upload works without permission do not realise that they break a law. Therefore, education that relates to copyright and piracy is required not only at school but also within a family and the society now.
There are more than 90 million internet users in Japan now, and there is an increase in piracy through the Internet. The phenomena of crime using the Internet are derived from its anonymity, widespread cyber crimes and those crimes tend to be committed by people at lower age. Most of those crimes are sales of illegal copy and upload without the permission. Now, uploading popular manga (comics) and anime (cartoons) on Youtube has become considerably harmful influence with Japanese youth. There is a significant increase in young people who involve with illegal upload those works.
14th of June this year in Japan, 14 years old boy has been arrested due to upload more than 30 titles and 120 works of popular manga such as Onepiece, Naruto and Gintama etc. This disclosure of piracy through Youtube is the first case in Japan. According to the report, those manga he uploaded have been played more than 8 million times and the amount of damage is worth 20 million yen (NZ$310000). Even the publishers offer a deletion of his upload, but he kept uploading those.
Manga or anime illegal uploading has rapidly increased since 2007. Japanese youth who upload works without permission do not realise that they break a law. Therefore, education that relates to copyright and piracy is required not only at school but also within a family and the society now.
Pixel Art: Cultural artifact of technological age
From the late 80s pixel based graphics formed an integral part of popular culture, and surprisingly up until today it still echoes in media and digital arts.
The era of mass popularisation of pixel graphics came in 1980’s when the technology was quick adopted by the video game industry. Early video games consoles featured a slow image processing capacity and worked within a very small screen resolution. For example The Atari 2600 had a screen resolution of 192x160 pixels and The Nintendo Entertainment System - 256x240. In comparison, today’s HD television features a resolution of 1920x1080 pixels. For such technical constrains, early video games could not be visually complex and featured limited 8bit colour palette, which posed a real challenge for game developers to produce minimalist yet representational and visually appealing graphics in the early video games. There is a classic story of Shigeru Miyamoto, the creator of The Legends of Zelda and Super Mario Bros. video games, who had to gave Mario big nose and a moustache to get around the lack of facial details of the character.
I think we can partially find an answer if look back into the history of arts. For, in it’s nature, pixel graphics is in many ways similar to various traditional art forms, such as embroidery (cross-stitch), mosaic, stained glass, beadwork, and many others types of art where image is constructed out of multiple small coloured elements. Even in the last century’s expressionistic paintings could be discovered the essence of pixel art.
Paul Klee - Southern (Tunisian) Gardens – 1919
Syosa, a pixel artist from Japan, explains in the interview: “When I pixel, I do not only use my artistic sensibilities. I have to beat my brain to develop the most efficient palette, due to colour and size restrictions. I find pixel art is very similar to Japanese Haiku. I've worked with 2 to 5 colour palette challenges, size restricted challenges and downsizing challenges in Japanese pixel art forums. Pixel art looks best when there’s no wasted colour.”
http://www.pixeljoint.com/2009/10/03/2938/Pixel_Artist_-_Syosa.htm
Pixel artist Jason Rory, in 2007 designed an 8-bit video game “Passage” featuring 2 characters, only 8 pixels tall each. In the documentary short called “Pixel” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mqAZ06dwKU) he explains that the beauty of pixel graphics is that it is representational and abstract at the same time, it’s expressive power lies in its ambiguity and simplicity. Also, nowadays many people find 8-bit graphics a creative answer to the modern 3D graphic industry with it’s strive for complexity and photorealism.
Most importantly, it is undeniable that the golden age of console games left a significant cultural imprint on the society and peoples past. As childhood experience generally plays an important part in any artists work, many graphic designers tend to nostalgically return to that retro image of 80s to recapture the spirit of “good old times.”
OLPC Project
The OLPC (One Laptop Per Child) is a non-profit project conceived and put into practice by MIT professor and media analyst Nicholas Negroponte. The stated mission of the enterprise is to supply developing countries with affordable study tool, an XO-1 laptop, and, according to the project outline, “to create educational opportunities for the world's poorest children by providing each child with a rugged, low-cost, low-power, connected laptop with content and software designed for collaborative, joyful, self-empowered learning." The project attracted a great deal of support from various companies and institutions including: AMD (the OLPC chipset designer), Ebay, Marvell among number of others.
Besides its lucrative possibilities, the project also received an enormous amount of criticism. The main areas of concerns involved such issues as:
-More vital necessities (food, water, medicine, etc.) in some of the targeted geographic zones,
-Technological determinism in non-technocratic cultures,
-Western cultural imperialism,
-Language barrier,
-Methods of equal distribution of computers, technical support and environmentally friendly ways of disposal,
and many others.
Yet, despite the valid criticism the idea of affordable learning and communication platform is enormously attractive, and, rather yields a strong potential in its technologically native “first world”. There’s great positive aspect about supplying local demands with cost- and resource- efficient alternative. Interestingly enough, Intel, one of the major opponents of OLPC idea, went on to release its own version of educational computer called “Classmate”, to supply the internal market with durable and low-cost tablet laptops.
Besides its lucrative possibilities, the project also received an enormous amount of criticism. The main areas of concerns involved such issues as:
-More vital necessities (food, water, medicine, etc.) in some of the targeted geographic zones,
-Technological determinism in non-technocratic cultures,
-Western cultural imperialism,
-Language barrier,
-Methods of equal distribution of computers, technical support and environmentally friendly ways of disposal,
and many others.
Yet, despite the valid criticism the idea of affordable learning and communication platform is enormously attractive, and, rather yields a strong potential in its technologically native “first world”. There’s great positive aspect about supplying local demands with cost- and resource- efficient alternative. Interestingly enough, Intel, one of the major opponents of OLPC idea, went on to release its own version of educational computer called “Classmate”, to supply the internal market with durable and low-cost tablet laptops.
New Media, the New Zimbabwe
The 'Oxford English Dictionary' definition for an audience as "an assembly of listeners" appears to be an insufficient description in relation to new media. Nowadays audiences influence, and even sometimes dictate the types of content they are going to consumer. The controls of audiences are apparent across various media platforms such as television and internet websites.
With the proliferation of advertising, television programmes are now produced with the main intention of catering to specific audience demographics. These demographics are solely based on the possibilities for an increase in revenue via advertising. For the most part, creative expression in television programmes have now gone. An example of the lack in creativity in television programmes is the amount of adaptations from the "Twilight" film series. Adaptations such as "True Blood" and "The Vampire Diaries" have become vehicles for advertising to similar audiences from the "Twilight" film series. Therefore audiences, to an extent, now dictate the content produced and presented to them because of the importance of advertising. If the television programmes do not appeal to different mass audiences types then advertising decreases and consequently the series is cancelled.
Similarly the internet is a media platform for audience dictation. This is because of the openness of the internet amalgamated with the anonymity of the internet. These two factors allow audiences to democratically voice their opinions. "YouTube" is a website where audiences control what is considered to be good-quality content and what is not. The quality of a video is instantly shown, simply by the amounts of audience views it has, with the actual physical size of the writing indicating the amount of views, being larger than any other information on the page of the video except for the title. Comments also have a significant contribution to the success of a video on "Youtube". I experienced this personally when uploading some of my own remixes of well known songs onto "Youtube". Within twenty minutes I had my first comment, a positive one. However six minutes later I received a comment so negative and brutal, that I was tempted to take down my small collection of videos. The open forum presented combined with the anonymous pseudo names that users hide behind allow audiences to possess a power they never had with previous media platforms.
With the proliferation of advertising, television programmes are now produced with the main intention of catering to specific audience demographics. These demographics are solely based on the possibilities for an increase in revenue via advertising. For the most part, creative expression in television programmes have now gone. An example of the lack in creativity in television programmes is the amount of adaptations from the "Twilight" film series. Adaptations such as "True Blood" and "The Vampire Diaries" have become vehicles for advertising to similar audiences from the "Twilight" film series. Therefore audiences, to an extent, now dictate the content produced and presented to them because of the importance of advertising. If the television programmes do not appeal to different mass audiences types then advertising decreases and consequently the series is cancelled.
Similarly the internet is a media platform for audience dictation. This is because of the openness of the internet amalgamated with the anonymity of the internet. These two factors allow audiences to democratically voice their opinions. "YouTube" is a website where audiences control what is considered to be good-quality content and what is not. The quality of a video is instantly shown, simply by the amounts of audience views it has, with the actual physical size of the writing indicating the amount of views, being larger than any other information on the page of the video except for the title. Comments also have a significant contribution to the success of a video on "Youtube". I experienced this personally when uploading some of my own remixes of well known songs onto "Youtube". Within twenty minutes I had my first comment, a positive one. However six minutes later I received a comment so negative and brutal, that I was tempted to take down my small collection of videos. The open forum presented combined with the anonymous pseudo names that users hide behind allow audiences to possess a power they never had with previous media platforms.
Morality Online
Much has been said about the perceived immorality of online culture. In the minds of many academics there is a growing concern that the internet is corrupting the morality of youths. This is a topic which concerns us "digital natives" as we seem to be the target of such criticisms. I find this claim to be a bit naive, especially coming from older generations who, by and large,do not share the same relationship with technology as we do. Andrew Keen in particular brings up all these horror stories of youths becoming addicted to online gambling, watching pornography, and developing extremist personalities through online forums. But what is there to suggest that these same people would not develop these same traits if the internet didn't exist? Keen brings up the example of a kid called Greg Hogan, now this kid was almost the perfect child, a musical prodigy, he excelled also academically, winning a scholarship to a prestigious Ohio college, as well as being the son of an Ohio Baptist Minister. However he became addicted to online gambling and robbed a bank at gunpoint. Keen goes on to point out that Hogan is not alone in this kind of behaviour with a further 1.6 million US college students gambling regularly. I agree that gambling is a major social problem but to demonize the internet over a claim like this is absurd, simply because for each of those 1.6 million students gambling there are far more that are not. Also, while the internet facilitates gambling, getting rid of internet gambling will not cure the gambling in reality, nor will it cure the online gamblers addiction to gambling. I feel these issues are not enough to negate the benefits of the internet, I think that while people tend to voice more extreme views on the internet people are relatively civil if you yourself are civil. In my experience it is usually better to behave as you would in reality online. Sure you may hit a few brick wall's but usually adopting a non-hostile attitude is better (interestingly, using correct grammar seems to play a major role in identifying civil discussion).
While i disagree that the internet is corrupting us I do think there is justification in the idea that we are becoming more immune to a lot of controversial information, not just things like porn and gambling but even to more mainstream information, stories and videos on news websites and the like. We have become so used to reading or seeing how bad things are I sometimes fear we do not appreciate the situation fully. However there are still that rare story that provokes far more reaction than others, and ones that just makes your skin crawl.
I see this fluctuation in responses as primarily a result of accessibility to far more information than we are capable of absorbing, it only makes sense that we gear ourselves towards more relevant news. Sorting data becomes an important skill one needs to negotiate such an environment, this is a skill digital natives have grown up with, one that is a lot harder for people with older generations to pick up.it's the reason we are so much more connected to technology then older generations.
Arggh I'm Captain John Silver the movie policeman
At the beginning of all movies we are repeatedly reminded to not 'pirate' this dvd, or others alike, but really seeing this at the beginning of an already copyrighted film doesn't have any affect. Researching on the wonderful search engine Wikipedia piracy equals a "war-like act committed by private parties that engage in acts of robbery and/or criminal violence at sea".
Now I dont think that 1. Wikipedia should never be trusted, 2. piracy is a cooler word for copywright infringement therefore we shouldnt even take note of engaging in acts of robbery and/or criminal violence at sea, and 3. that Sir Peter Blake iconic as he is (R.I.P) got 'pirated', becaus eit just doesnt sound right. In conclusion to this I would like to say that pirating is a big fail.
Onto copywright infringements, sure the short pre-movie to the pre-movie ads of 'would you steal this hangbag, ..would you steal this car,...would you still this video tape (and reproduce it), are slightly fun but still irritating to watch, do they really stop people from reproducing the tape?
I follow this question with another question, do those who illegally reproduce the tape and distribute it feel bad for what their doing, and do they even know the price that they have cost the origional distributor? I think heck no, firstly most of them dont care, or they must too much money to care. Problem is that by not caring that some of the pirated tapes in my experience (only seen fellow friends, not actually redistributed or bought my own) aren't upto a quality standard, hereby seeing figures who standup during the movie on the screen, also loud laughter during the funny moments. Due to these implications I think that the 'pirates' are getting what was coming to them for doing illegal things, and that the score is even therefore you should only pennalise the music copywrighters and not the movie ones, because lets think about it, no ones ever going to stand up in the middle of a song, laugh at the song, or have bad quality because piraters of this generation aren't dumb enough to record off the radio and give poor quality sound to their customers.
What happens, happens, if you get caught, then its your fault.
Now I dont think that 1. Wikipedia should never be trusted, 2. piracy is a cooler word for copywright infringement therefore we shouldnt even take note of engaging in acts of robbery and/or criminal violence at sea, and 3. that Sir Peter Blake iconic as he is (R.I.P) got 'pirated', becaus eit just doesnt sound right. In conclusion to this I would like to say that pirating is a big fail.
Onto copywright infringements, sure the short pre-movie to the pre-movie ads of 'would you steal this hangbag, ..would you steal this car,...would you still this video tape (and reproduce it), are slightly fun but still irritating to watch, do they really stop people from reproducing the tape?
I follow this question with another question, do those who illegally reproduce the tape and distribute it feel bad for what their doing, and do they even know the price that they have cost the origional distributor? I think heck no, firstly most of them dont care, or they must too much money to care. Problem is that by not caring that some of the pirated tapes in my experience (only seen fellow friends, not actually redistributed or bought my own) aren't upto a quality standard, hereby seeing figures who standup during the movie on the screen, also loud laughter during the funny moments. Due to these implications I think that the 'pirates' are getting what was coming to them for doing illegal things, and that the score is even therefore you should only pennalise the music copywrighters and not the movie ones, because lets think about it, no ones ever going to stand up in the middle of a song, laugh at the song, or have bad quality because piraters of this generation aren't dumb enough to record off the radio and give poor quality sound to their customers.
What happens, happens, if you get caught, then its your fault.
online dating : the culture of romance
The virtual space (internet/online) opens a window to numerous possibilities to finding friendship, distant family, people of the same culture and interests, people of the same religion, and also love. Online dating sites are hugely successful, no matter how old, or how big/small, short/tall, the virtual space breaks boundaries and allows those not as confident to put themselves out there, in a quest to find love. Although online matchmaking sites like matchmaking.com are quite popular, I believe the most influential are fantasy games and chat rooms. Fantasy games in the virtual world, for example Second life, are as I said before boundary breakers, it is all about choice, and because of the wall that the virtual world puts up, the choice to be who you want to be is quite appealing. You can be who you want to be, choosing every little detail of your image, to your job, house and car, your number of girlfriends/boyfriends, and where you live. The only thing that truly sticks is your voice. Some even so so far as too marry online. There is a huge element of imagination that goes on in virtual places, imaging ones fantasy in particular. Sure relationships can be and are formed online with other people but how good can you know someone without meeting them or even before meeting them. The virtual space leaves alot to the imagination, and questions the issue of trust. How much do you trust the person you are talking to or seeing a virtual image of? This is how paedophiles, rapists, cyber bullies, make their imprints, but for a lucky few they find love. So I say if your looking for love, and you've been looking for a while then why not try a matchmaking site just to 'check it out', but be careful as those who say they are something, could turn out to be nothing.
Sharing and Social Improvement due to Youtube?
Youtube has grown more and more popular over the last few years and has become a worldwide success user wise since it started in 2005. Youtube has made an improvement for educational and entertainment uses as well. The attraction is right there where music video, TV shows, movie trailers and just about anything that is media are available to watch. Most who use Youtube will agree it is a great source for entertainment and way to find visual and audio information. Even some media university courses are using Youtube videos for viewing and informing to use in their teaching. Sharing or posting videos has had a huge impact in the social sphere. Users can even leave comments if they wish and share their opinions.
To emphasize on the social importance of Youtube, even some individuals have attracted large amounts of publicity due their videos and have become somewhat famous. For example a talented singer Susan Boyle (who appeared on Britain’s Got talent) got so many hits and views on Youtube that it skyrocketed her to fame and success where she even got signed on and recorded her own album. I believe Youtube will continue to expand and gain more rights and popularity. Sharing social media through Youtube has made a huge improvement on social and culture of society due to its easy access to entertainment and informing videos. All in all Youtube is an excellent place for entertainment and place to access videos to just about anything relevant in society nowadays.
Privacy and the Online Public Sphere
When asked in the lecture about who is concerned with their online safety or safety in general, I was quite suprised that only a few put their hands up. But I think the reason why no one else did was because they were unsure of what their online safety constitutes. People need to think beyond just clicking the 'make your profile private' button and dig deep into all the access ways of the online world. I.P address, googlemap, google search engine, online networks, through all of these your valuable information is able to be accessed and outsiders are able to search through your private informaiton. Take for example an episode of 60minutes a few months ago where the reporter was able to access so much information of one random girl that she was able to find her at her job, during work hours, know exactly what she looks like, and have her contact details. Now if that doesnt make you think about internet safety, what will. i asked a friend her opinion of the matter and she thinks (studying law and all) that its your option to put whatever you want on the internet, and by putting it on the internet it means its out there for everyone to see, use, and access, just as blogs are, we can write our opinion, or comment about others, with or without their permission. Hearing on the radio this morning (Flava 95.8) a conversation with the hosts about online networks, and open opinion applications are now being censored, and you cant just write what you want. I think this is partly due to the Paul Henry case. But sure this could be good as internet bullying might be prevented or racial slurs be confined to personal thoughts, but really aren't they taking away a right we have a human beings? The freedom of speech, and being in a changing world it is online communication which is leading the way. Therefore shouldnt we be more concerned with those who are chosen to censor our words because they hold all of our information, I think if you put it on the internet then you want someone to set it, if you didnt then you probably would have dial-up, or no facebook page.
Downloading
Copyright and illegal downloading is such a big issue in todays society. The internet has provided people with limitless opportunities in pirating, copying, downloading and stealing. Movies and music can now easily be downloaded and accessed before the cinema release. Because it is free and easy to get, it is so tempting and frequently done by a majority of todays culture. When many are faced with the choice of downlaoding movies/music free versus purchasing them and paying to see them at the movies, the obvious decision would be the cheaper one. As it basically proposes no risks either.
I am proud to say I am a non-downloader. A strict purchaser of music via Itunes or by buying CDs. Much of the music market rests on these loyal followers of bands. This is the reason that CD's and concerts are still surviving. Dedicated fans are still going to be willing to pay for CDs and to see bands live. The novelty of owning a hard copy of a CD has not worn off. It is a lot more enjoyable flicking through Real Groovy that simply downloading off your favourite music site. Although I think the illegal download of music is inevitable and cannot be stopped, i do not think it will overtake the industry. Mp3s may be dominating the market but there is still a substantial amount of society who are considerate in what they download.
The increase in downloading music can also have its advantages as it applies more pressure to the bands to perform live. This is one aspect we cannot complain about. Mp3s and downloading may be the way of the future but there are so many aspects of music that will live on forever - i hope.
I am proud to say I am a non-downloader. A strict purchaser of music via Itunes or by buying CDs. Much of the music market rests on these loyal followers of bands. This is the reason that CD's and concerts are still surviving. Dedicated fans are still going to be willing to pay for CDs and to see bands live. The novelty of owning a hard copy of a CD has not worn off. It is a lot more enjoyable flicking through Real Groovy that simply downloading off your favourite music site. Although I think the illegal download of music is inevitable and cannot be stopped, i do not think it will overtake the industry. Mp3s may be dominating the market but there is still a substantial amount of society who are considerate in what they download.
The increase in downloading music can also have its advantages as it applies more pressure to the bands to perform live. This is one aspect we cannot complain about. Mp3s and downloading may be the way of the future but there are so many aspects of music that will live on forever - i hope.
Chatroulette a way to enhance sexuality and intimacy online
New Media allows for new ways to broaden intimate relationships in many positive ways but also many negative ways. In the lecture on sexuality and intimacy online we discussed how the Internet and sites such as Chat roulette are making it more and more easier to meet people online, to become intimate with the also to be put in danger.
Recently on 60 Minutes; they looked into the issue of Chat roulett and how its users are being harmed. In particular a mother and daughter who witnessed a young girl being raped by an older man. They stayed online while they called the police and attempted to find out as much information as possible about the whereabouts of this child. This relates to what we discussed about online pornography and it is now a lot easier to access pornography than it was in the past. In this incidence the people who were affected by the live video was not only the young girl in the video but all of the people watching it with no way of helping the victim. This site and others similar to it can be very dangerous when used incorrectly, and is the perfect example of how new media has changed the way sexuality and intimacy is viewed by society.
http://shufflepeople.woome.com/?wtm_source=google&wtm_medium=cpc&wtm_campaign=ShufflePeople-Search&wtm_adgroup=Chatroulette-SP&wtm_keyword=chatroulette&wtm_network=Search&wtm_placement=&gclid=CKynsYOL1KQCFQITbAodI39DKA This site is very easy to access, you do not even need a user name to sign in before you start playing. It is very concerning that the only warning that there could be explicit sites in the videos is '18+, keep it clean, or be reported'. There is no warning what so ever that you may see something you do not want to see.
New media and sites such as Chat roulette open up new means for deception in relationships to increase. There is more ways of seeing other potential partners through these sites, and as many people who are on these sites may be looking for new partners it is possible that users who already do have partners may find it very difficult to resist. But this type of new media is not always negative, it also opens up new ways for relationships to be experimental, for example if you have a long distance relationship there are many more ways to contact your partner with new medias such as Skype and mobile phones.
Recently on 60 Minutes; they looked into the issue of Chat roulett and how its users are being harmed. In particular a mother and daughter who witnessed a young girl being raped by an older man. They stayed online while they called the police and attempted to find out as much information as possible about the whereabouts of this child. This relates to what we discussed about online pornography and it is now a lot easier to access pornography than it was in the past. In this incidence the people who were affected by the live video was not only the young girl in the video but all of the people watching it with no way of helping the victim. This site and others similar to it can be very dangerous when used incorrectly, and is the perfect example of how new media has changed the way sexuality and intimacy is viewed by society.
http://shufflepeople.woome.com/?wtm_source=google&wtm_medium=cpc&wtm_campaign=ShufflePeople-Search&wtm_adgroup=Chatroulette-SP&wtm_keyword=chatroulette&wtm_network=Search&wtm_placement=&gclid=CKynsYOL1KQCFQITbAodI39DKA This site is very easy to access, you do not even need a user name to sign in before you start playing. It is very concerning that the only warning that there could be explicit sites in the videos is '18+, keep it clean, or be reported'. There is no warning what so ever that you may see something you do not want to see.
New media and sites such as Chat roulette open up new means for deception in relationships to increase. There is more ways of seeing other potential partners through these sites, and as many people who are on these sites may be looking for new partners it is possible that users who already do have partners may find it very difficult to resist. But this type of new media is not always negative, it also opens up new ways for relationships to be experimental, for example if you have a long distance relationship there are many more ways to contact your partner with new medias such as Skype and mobile phones.
Dailybooth, Dailytruth?
I recently discovered an online social networking site called Dailybooth, a photoblogging site which allows users to post pictures of themselves daily and to 'follow' their friends. A huge problem on this site is the emergence of 'Fakes', people pretending to be someone they're not.
'Fakes' have been highlighted through the emergence of Social Networking sites. I mean Britney Spears doesn't really have 20 twitter accounts!
Some social networking sites have tried to filter out these 'fakes'. The most effective way I think is on twitter by having verified accounts. This is where twitter posts a little blue tick at the top of the verified celebrities page saying 'verified account'. This makes it easier for the followers to sort out the actual celebrities from the fakes.
Generally when we hear about 'Fakes', its because someone is imitating an artist or famous person online. However, on Dailybooth the fakes run deeper than just celebrities. Networkers are stealing the identity of other everyday citizens. Stealing pictures, names, friends and followers from innocent and often unaware users of the site.
This goes back to the discussion we had in class about privacy. Generally identities are stolen from those who have the most information about themselves online. Celebrities are always in the media and a lot of their personal information is floating around the web making it easy to copy and re post.
Does this movement towards 'faking' ordinary people reflect our views on privacy?
Are we are posting too much personal information about ourselves online?
Don't dis me cause I got 'Friends'
Facebook "friends" - bringing a whole new 20th century meaning to "faking it"!
Actually I don't think it's like this at all. This blog post parallels that written by Rachael. The problem stems from Facebook itself having chosen such a simplified singular wording - friends - to represent this folder in which are stored all of your contacts. These contacts could have been added for any number of reasons as people's purposes for using Facebook differ, and the nature of their contacts differs likewise.
Rather significantly I feel, 'Friends' on Facebook are more fluid than friends in 'real life'. Those who you choose to associate regularly with can change depending on your current situation - what part of the world you are living, what career change you just made, right down to what lectures you are actually attending! At the same time, circumstances can just as much bring past friends back together. Facebook and social networking sites facilitate this fluidity extremely well.
Secondly, once a contact has been added, it is highly unlikely that you would ever delete them. Therefore, those who were close contacts whom for whatever reason are no longer so, are likely to remain in your "contacts" list forever. It is only inevitable that over time, people's "Friends" are going to grow so as to be a misrepresentation of their actual status. Unless, Facebook limited the number of 'Friends' significantly from the current 5000 limit then people will not need to adjust their friends list accordingly.
However, care should be taken not to dis those who have a large number of Facebook 'friends'. The reality is that, just because one has added a contact in Facebook which inevitably will be added to a folder called "Friends" does not mean that this Facebook determined term is suitable for all of ones contacts. Additionally, it means that the 150 friends study IS compatible with somebody who has a total number of contacts far in excess of that as the fluid nature of friendships in modern society becomes a significant factor.
Actually I don't think it's like this at all. This blog post parallels that written by Rachael. The problem stems from Facebook itself having chosen such a simplified singular wording - friends - to represent this folder in which are stored all of your contacts. These contacts could have been added for any number of reasons as people's purposes for using Facebook differ, and the nature of their contacts differs likewise.
Rather significantly I feel, 'Friends' on Facebook are more fluid than friends in 'real life'. Those who you choose to associate regularly with can change depending on your current situation - what part of the world you are living, what career change you just made, right down to what lectures you are actually attending! At the same time, circumstances can just as much bring past friends back together. Facebook and social networking sites facilitate this fluidity extremely well.
Secondly, once a contact has been added, it is highly unlikely that you would ever delete them. Therefore, those who were close contacts whom for whatever reason are no longer so, are likely to remain in your "contacts" list forever. It is only inevitable that over time, people's "Friends" are going to grow so as to be a misrepresentation of their actual status. Unless, Facebook limited the number of 'Friends' significantly from the current 5000 limit then people will not need to adjust their friends list accordingly.
However, care should be taken not to dis those who have a large number of Facebook 'friends'. The reality is that, just because one has added a contact in Facebook which inevitably will be added to a folder called "Friends" does not mean that this Facebook determined term is suitable for all of ones contacts. Additionally, it means that the 150 friends study IS compatible with somebody who has a total number of contacts far in excess of that as the fluid nature of friendships in modern society becomes a significant factor.
Piracy problems?
Piracy – what’s all the big fuss about, really?
Multi-national cooperation’s that continue to raise a huge hue and cry about how much piracy is eating into their revenue should really step back and have a think.
For singers, celebrities and producers alike, piracy is actually probably a good thing. At the risk of sounding a bit too optimistic - perhaps, the best thing that’s ever happened to the music industry. Piracy of music means that everyone has access to it – so more people are watching and listening to them than ever before. The way I see it, piracy has proven to be one of the most strategic marketing tools ever. Music and songs that otherwise may never have seen the light of day, are now on everyone’s lips; and only because it’s available freely and easily accessible.
Sure, singers probably make a lot more money through concerts because of reduced CD and song sales, but what’s wrong about that? The way that the industry and market has evolved is probably the only way it should have evolved. The result is mutually beneficial – audiences and listeners get free access to music & artists get a chance to get their music right out there & to the masses.
So give me a break. Piracy is hardly a hurdle desperately needing to be overcome, in fact, it’s what the music industry needs to grow, survive and thrive.
Creepy.
The world we live in today is seriously creepy. I know it’s been hammered to death that sites like Facebook and twitter have privacy issues that need addressing but I feel like I need to get my little rant off my chest. At a glance, Facebook doesn’t seem like it is as bad as sites like twitter, because you’re not always talking about what you’re doing right then and there all the time, whereas twitter sees people telling the world where they’re having lunch, almost inviting a stalker to come find them. Facebook, though, does have its own issues, one of which I read on www.stuff.co.nz is the fact that they keep ‘deleted’ photos from your account for up to 30 months after you think you have erased them. The question that immediately springs to mind is ‘what else can they be keeping?’ e.g. private mail messages. They say they are trying to sort it out now and shorten the time it is kept on the server but how will we know that in that time someone hasn't taken or saved that picture? Creepy.
Twitter I just don’t understand. People have tried to get me onto it but I’m a little tentative at this stage. The way I look at it, it just seems like people post what they’re doing right there and then. Obviously there is A LOT more to it than that but that is the general feeling I get especially when the people that have access to your tweets are known as ‘followers’. People complain about their privacy issues all the time but sometimes you just have to be more careful to stop yourself from putting certain things out there. Imagine if an angry ex got onto your page and could find out where and when you’re doing something and decided to make your life a living hell. Or someone just stalked you and followed you wherever you went. Creepy.
Twitter I just don’t understand. People have tried to get me onto it but I’m a little tentative at this stage. The way I look at it, it just seems like people post what they’re doing right there and then. Obviously there is A LOT more to it than that but that is the general feeling I get especially when the people that have access to your tweets are known as ‘followers’. People complain about their privacy issues all the time but sometimes you just have to be more careful to stop yourself from putting certain things out there. Imagine if an angry ex got onto your page and could find out where and when you’re doing something and decided to make your life a living hell. Or someone just stalked you and followed you wherever you went. Creepy.
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