One of the best things about new media is all the creative things people are doing, the internet especially is a way for people to easily share their creativity with the world, especially in games, comics, design.
The websites like Kongregate or Newgrounds acts as a sharing site where people or developers can place flashh games and provides a easy method for people give feedback or to donate to developers they like. Previously it was next to impossible to make games and distribute them easily without suport from a producer but with sites like these it it possible for people to produce and improve their skills and even earn money from creating games.
Threadless a website selling t-shirts designed by its users. Designs are submitted and voted on for a 7 day period, if they score high enough the design is put into production and the designer is awarded $2,000, a $500 voucher, a gift bag, and is elegable for a $20,000 best design of the year.
Comics have boomed on the internet. From small simple comics updated daily (Explosm, SMBC, Dinosaur Comics) to long storylines updated less often (Order of the Stick, Erfworld, Templar, Captain Excelsior) it is easier than ever to create and distribute comics.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Friday, September 17, 2010
Confessions of a Technophile..
So I posted a card in the mail today with a stamp and everything!!! This very basic action caused me to realise that technology has made me lazy. 
Usually Facebook warns me about upcoming birthdays so I have time to prepare an e-card for the lucky recipient. In this case however the recipient was turning three so that was not really an option. This lead me to think about the other ways technology has made my day to day life more ‘convenient’ examples such as these spring to mind. If I can’t spell a word rather than getting up to use a dictionary I Google it instead … see lazy! Skyping or MSN is the new ‘meeting’ a friend for coffee, we have a vacuum that does the work for us, lights that are voice activated, I try to make a whole conversation fit into one text rather than use the phone or even knock on my flatmates door (we have all done that!) it, rather than go out for a run in the fresh air I prefer workout with my Wii, so it isn’t all bad there is some exercising happening. So what is the point of this blog… well it seems obvious, I really cannot wait until my niece is old enough to use the internet so I can send her a virtual card!
To discover if technology rules your life as well check out this link…
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Privacy as a cover
Can I ask you something please?
If you had just won an international award for most outstanding short film in some prestigious competition, would you want this achievement to be kept private?
Ok, ok,
What if you just received an honour for outstanding service to your local community? Would you want that to be kept private?
Alright,
What about that photo of you at that dress-up party wearing a Nazi uniform and smoking pot? (no disrespect to you P.Harry!)
It seems that most informal debates in the classroom or lecture theatre about privacy focus on the idea that we have the automatic right to be in sole control of the release of all information about us. Therefore it seems that in these debates, the term 'privacy' has become inseparable from the term 'protection' - that is, when we are asked if we are concerned about issues of privacy, the majority of answers are based around protection of our actions. Be them done intentionally or by a lack of judgement at the time, the term 'privacy' did NOT originate to give us protection against the stupid things we do, or more mildly, the mistakes we make. At most, before the era of new media, the term privacy in terms of ourselves I would argue, only covered the protection of our naked bodies; when we get home, we have the right to close the curtains, lock the doors and change our clothes in private.
Of course there are areas beyond the exposure of the naked body that need to be protected by the idea of privacy - we live in the password era and we have the right to choose who we give our credit card details to. What we are discussing here is the need to take extra responsibility to ensuring that, before debating privacy, we are thinking properly about what information we really have a right to keep private.
The internet is a part of society. It is not a consequence free environment, and Privacy is not a cover.
If you had just won an international award for most outstanding short film in some prestigious competition, would you want this achievement to be kept private?
Ok, ok,
What if you just received an honour for outstanding service to your local community? Would you want that to be kept private?
Alright,
What about that photo of you at that dress-up party wearing a Nazi uniform and smoking pot? (no disrespect to you P.Harry!)
It seems that most informal debates in the classroom or lecture theatre about privacy focus on the idea that we have the automatic right to be in sole control of the release of all information about us. Therefore it seems that in these debates, the term 'privacy' has become inseparable from the term 'protection' - that is, when we are asked if we are concerned about issues of privacy, the majority of answers are based around protection of our actions. Be them done intentionally or by a lack of judgement at the time, the term 'privacy' did NOT originate to give us protection against the stupid things we do, or more mildly, the mistakes we make. At most, before the era of new media, the term privacy in terms of ourselves I would argue, only covered the protection of our naked bodies; when we get home, we have the right to close the curtains, lock the doors and change our clothes in private.
- If somebody drinks too much knowing they have work the next day and consequently under-perform, this is not a case around which you can argue for the right to privacy. You probably broke your contract and possibly put others in danger.
- If you or anyone else post a picture of you smoking pot on a social networking page, this is not a case around which you can argue for the right to privacy. Smoking pot is illegal [mmmkay]!
Of course there are areas beyond the exposure of the naked body that need to be protected by the idea of privacy - we live in the password era and we have the right to choose who we give our credit card details to. What we are discussing here is the need to take extra responsibility to ensuring that, before debating privacy, we are thinking properly about what information we really have a right to keep private.
The internet is a part of society. It is not a consequence free environment, and Privacy is not a cover.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Digital Language?
The new digital age has bought up a discussion about our language. This discussion seems to be whether the English language is changing or not. We all see it everywhere, in our texting, our IM use and facebook. Well facebook seems to have tensions on the use of language and our spelling. Certain groups of people have their own lingo and ways of spelling.
We clearly have social tensions. Structuralism (a theory of language) tells us that the sign is arbitrary. So letters and words mean different things in different languages. Maybe people on facebook don't talk to others from outside groups as they probably don't understand them. Yet since the sign is arbitrary certain words, spelling and phrases can be made accepted by people, if there is enough fluidity between people.
But some say that our modern ways of "txt spk" were found in the victorian age with poets. So since different kinds of people on the net use different ways of spelling and talking maybe there can be fluidity as they don't need to be afraid of change as it is something that has possibly always been there.
We clearly have social tensions. Structuralism (a theory of language) tells us that the sign is arbitrary. So letters and words mean different things in different languages. Maybe people on facebook don't talk to others from outside groups as they probably don't understand them. Yet since the sign is arbitrary certain words, spelling and phrases can be made accepted by people, if there is enough fluidity between people.
But some say that our modern ways of "txt spk" were found in the victorian age with poets. So since different kinds of people on the net use different ways of spelling and talking maybe there can be fluidity as they don't need to be afraid of change as it is something that has possibly always been there.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Privacy!
One of the questions that came up in the lecture was whether people are concerned about their online privacy being hacked, tampered with or used to get negative information. I am personally aware of the dangers with online privacy therefore I do not post anything I may regret on the social media sites I am signed up with, and if my friends post things that could get me into trouble at some stage later in my life, it’s deleted without a second thought. If someone were to take advantage of my Facebook profile and use the information I have provided to try and get me in some sort of trouble, they’d probably be quite disappointed with what they’d find (i.e. there’s nothing to snoop on).
There are some online privacy things that are very concerning, such as internet banking and using a credit card on the web, and some unlucky users are struck by credit card fraud and other such invasions of privacy. Even these can be controlled by the user them self having knowledge of how to avoid this situations, how scams appear and what to do if you get hacked.
The privacy statements on SNS are available for users to read, even if they are complex or lengthy. If people have a real concern about their privacy, they should read these statements and adjust their profile and settings to ensure their safety. Either that or just not sign up at all.
I guess what I’m trying to say here is that privacy policies are there for a reason: to be read/understood and used as a guideline for safety. People who are concerned about their personal information being leaked to whomever probably have something on their online profiles which must be hidden to ensure they obtain friendships or some sort of employment in their later life.
There are some online privacy things that are very concerning, such as internet banking and using a credit card on the web, and some unlucky users are struck by credit card fraud and other such invasions of privacy. Even these can be controlled by the user them self having knowledge of how to avoid this situations, how scams appear and what to do if you get hacked.
The privacy statements on SNS are available for users to read, even if they are complex or lengthy. If people have a real concern about their privacy, they should read these statements and adjust their profile and settings to ensure their safety. Either that or just not sign up at all.
I guess what I’m trying to say here is that privacy policies are there for a reason: to be read/understood and used as a guideline for safety. People who are concerned about their personal information being leaked to whomever probably have something on their online profiles which must be hidden to ensure they obtain friendships or some sort of employment in their later life.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Some might say we should be sufficiently conscious of our visibility online as to avoid any potential problems with prospective or current employers. It shouldn't be a problem, if you're careful not to put anything online that you wouldn't want a formal acquaintance to view.
This train of thought seems to assume the things employers are "stalking" us to see are merely photos of drunken parties and immaturity. Or, apparently, to read Twitters and statuses that complain about your workplace. Here's an "infamous" story about that. Think how easy it would be for employers to find you via Google if you got internet-famous via an offensive Tweet about a potential employer... not a good look.
But what if it's something you don't view as an issue, but your employer- because of their own beliefs- will judge you for? The gender or race of your partner, your religious beliefs, political leanings, your personal affiliations, any children you might have. Shouldn't we be more worried about it being harder to avoid genuine workplace discrimination because our private lives are more public with the internet- than worrying about being judged by employers for putting a stupid photo (or having a friend upload a stupid photo) on the net?
I mean seriously. If the internet hasn't taught you to be extra paranoid by now, it's probably time to start.
Bebo... then facebook!
Remember the good old days when all your friends used to have a Bebo page?
This was not so long ago (well about 4 years ago in my case), and now we have facebook as a replacement. Just in case you didn’t know, Bebo still does exist. The log-in procedure, the profile layout, there is no change in the system either. So what happened, between us and bebo that brought the devastating good-bye?
Bebo and Facebook are both a social networking sites (SNS). You can upload photos, write comments on your friends’ profile page, join a group, and change your display photo on both sites. The basic idea and functionalities are the same in these two different SNS. So how did we come to favour one over the other?
To start with, one of the interesting things Bebo let us have control over was to choose our own skin (the background). There were thousands of different skin designs that you could choose from, or you could even make your own! AMAZING! This way, you could express your identity through the skin as well, by the design, by the pictures on them, by the colour and etc. But really, there came the stage where you couldn’t find the right skin that defined you. I remember, I even tried to MAKE MY OWN, only to find myself failing miserably on the next minute.
Also, Bebo had a section that showed your friends, just as there is on facebook. But, Bebo called it ‘Top Friends’ and make us do the hard selection. For me personally, it was really hard to decide on who my top friends are. Since primary, I haven’t really made any distinctions among my friends, as to who is the better friend of mine, and I’m sure a lot of you have thought the same thing. HOW OLD ARE WE (or WERE WE), REALLY?
Ahh, and the hearts we could give out to our friends. For the first few weeks, giving out hearts and getting them back was pretty fun. But it got boring and tiring. I used to be stressed over whom to give the heart to each day (HAHA) and logged into bebo just for the sake of giving out hearts, cause you only got one each day. It was like an online peer pressure, almost.
Facebook gives us no choice, or in a positive manner, it allows no differentiation and we don’t have to bother. I guess this allowed us to spend less time, or even no time in customizing our page, hence extending the time in which we actually communicate with others online, and maybe this factor brought upon the success of Facebook.
So… sorry Bebo, it’s not you, it’s us. You gave us too much freedom that we couldn’t handle. Sorry.
This was not so long ago (well about 4 years ago in my case), and now we have facebook as a replacement. Just in case you didn’t know, Bebo still does exist. The log-in procedure, the profile layout, there is no change in the system either. So what happened, between us and bebo that brought the devastating good-bye?
Bebo and Facebook are both a social networking sites (SNS). You can upload photos, write comments on your friends’ profile page, join a group, and change your display photo on both sites. The basic idea and functionalities are the same in these two different SNS. So how did we come to favour one over the other?
To start with, one of the interesting things Bebo let us have control over was to choose our own skin (the background). There were thousands of different skin designs that you could choose from, or you could even make your own! AMAZING! This way, you could express your identity through the skin as well, by the design, by the pictures on them, by the colour and etc. But really, there came the stage where you couldn’t find the right skin that defined you. I remember, I even tried to MAKE MY OWN, only to find myself failing miserably on the next minute.
Also, Bebo had a section that showed your friends, just as there is on facebook. But, Bebo called it ‘Top Friends’ and make us do the hard selection. For me personally, it was really hard to decide on who my top friends are. Since primary, I haven’t really made any distinctions among my friends, as to who is the better friend of mine, and I’m sure a lot of you have thought the same thing. HOW OLD ARE WE (or WERE WE), REALLY?
Ahh, and the hearts we could give out to our friends. For the first few weeks, giving out hearts and getting them back was pretty fun. But it got boring and tiring. I used to be stressed over whom to give the heart to each day (HAHA) and logged into bebo just for the sake of giving out hearts, cause you only got one each day. It was like an online peer pressure, almost.
Facebook gives us no choice, or in a positive manner, it allows no differentiation and we don’t have to bother. I guess this allowed us to spend less time, or even no time in customizing our page, hence extending the time in which we actually communicate with others online, and maybe this factor brought upon the success of Facebook.
So… sorry Bebo, it’s not you, it’s us. You gave us too much freedom that we couldn’t handle. Sorry.
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