I thought this article was really interesting for a number of reasons. I love reading blogs and usually read them as if I were reading a book...starting at the begining and reading all the way through to the most current entry.
I came across a blog a year or so that really capivated me. It was a mother's journey through a difficult pregnancy. I read and read and read and looked forward to when her baby would be born. I was super compelled by her story and felt heartbroken when her daughter was born premature. He daughter survived the odds and was generally healthy...until one day completely unexpected she died of an unrelated illness to prematurity. I was immediately heart broken and felt for the family. The woman continued to blog and even now, after a year of her first daughters death I read her blog as she writes about her new baby girl. If I found out it was all fake and she still had two alive and healthy daughters (or none at all), I would definitely be angry!
After reading the article about "Kaycee" and her blogged death which turned out to be fake I was immediately angry. I mean...without even really knowing these people you really get attached to their stories. It was interesting to read about online hoaxes because for all we know, almost anything online could be a lie.We learned about online representations on social networks so why not make up a different life via the blog world?
All in all I thought it was a really good article especially because I read so many blogs....like I said...for all I know the blogs I read could be entirely made up...
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Friday, November 5, 2010
Nomatic Power and Cultural Resistance-Critical Art Ensemble
I read this article about fifty times and still have a tough time understanding it. Nevermind that I had a one year old screaming in my earts the first few times...even after I found some silence I was still confused at times. Hahaha
One of the quotes I found interesting was:
" The connection between history and necessity is cynically humorous when one looks back over the trail of political and cultural debris of revolution and near revolution ruins" (783).
I had never really though of that so it was interesting to learn and the CAE's examples (French, Russian and Cuban revolutions) made the point clear.
The article also discussed "The Persian War" in which Herodoctus describes the Scythians, "a feared people...who maintaineda horticultural nomadic society" (784). It also described how their homeland on the Northern Black Sea was "inhospitible both climatically and geographically, but resisted colonization less for these natural reasons than because there was no economic or military means by which to colonize or subjugate it" (784). I didn't know about the Scythians so that was another thing I learned.
The third thing I learned was about 'bunkers', "privitized public spaces which serve various particularized functions such as political continuity (government offices or national monuments), or areas for consumption frenzy (malls)" (788).
One of the quotes I found interesting was:
" The connection between history and necessity is cynically humorous when one looks back over the trail of political and cultural debris of revolution and near revolution ruins" (783).
I had never really though of that so it was interesting to learn and the CAE's examples (French, Russian and Cuban revolutions) made the point clear.
The article also discussed "The Persian War" in which Herodoctus describes the Scythians, "a feared people...who maintaineda horticultural nomadic society" (784). It also described how their homeland on the Northern Black Sea was "inhospitible both climatically and geographically, but resisted colonization less for these natural reasons than because there was no economic or military means by which to colonize or subjugate it" (784). I didn't know about the Scythians so that was another thing I learned.
The third thing I learned was about 'bunkers', "privitized public spaces which serve various particularized functions such as political continuity (government offices or national monuments), or areas for consumption frenzy (malls)" (788).
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Friday, October 29, 2010
The End of Books- Robert Coover
Okay, seriously, the end of books would be my definite worse nightmare ever!!!
I think my favorite quote is definitely the introduction, "...in the world of video transmissions, cellular phones, fax machines, computer networks, and in particular out in the humming digitalized precints of avant garde computer hackers, cyber punks and hyper space freaks, you will often hear it said that the print medium is doomed and outdated technology, a mere curiosity of bygone days destined soon to be consigned forever to those dusty unattended museums we call libraries" (706).
Hahaha, 'avant garde computer hackers'? 'Cyber punks'? 'Hyper space freaks'? Was I the only one that cracked up at this? I seriously laughed so hard...But anyways, it's pretty funny how the 'futuristic' image of the cyber world is so different than it actually is.
"...the print medium is domed and outdated technology, a mere curiosity of bygone days destined soon to be consigned forever to those dusty unattended museums we call libraries". This is seriously my worst nightmare!!
I love reading and would hate for print to be eliminated! I wonder what Coover would have to say of the world now...with texts, emails, etc.
This reminds me of how my boyfriend has been asking me over and over if I want a kindle or a subscription to a website where I can download audio books. As cool as that sounds, I love having the actual book in my hands and being able to feel the pages and display the book on our shelves.
Anyways, so sorry for such a space cadet-y post! I'm off for some pumpkin carving!!!
Have an awesome Halloween weekend!!!
I think my favorite quote is definitely the introduction, "...in the world of video transmissions, cellular phones, fax machines, computer networks, and in particular out in the humming digitalized precints of avant garde computer hackers, cyber punks and hyper space freaks, you will often hear it said that the print medium is doomed and outdated technology, a mere curiosity of bygone days destined soon to be consigned forever to those dusty unattended museums we call libraries" (706).
Hahaha, 'avant garde computer hackers'? 'Cyber punks'? 'Hyper space freaks'? Was I the only one that cracked up at this? I seriously laughed so hard...But anyways, it's pretty funny how the 'futuristic' image of the cyber world is so different than it actually is.
"...the print medium is domed and outdated technology, a mere curiosity of bygone days destined soon to be consigned forever to those dusty unattended museums we call libraries". This is seriously my worst nightmare!!
I love reading and would hate for print to be eliminated! I wonder what Coover would have to say of the world now...with texts, emails, etc.
This reminds me of how my boyfriend has been asking me over and over if I want a kindle or a subscription to a website where I can download audio books. As cool as that sounds, I love having the actual book in my hands and being able to feel the pages and display the book on our shelves.
Anyways, so sorry for such a space cadet-y post! I'm off for some pumpkin carving!!!
Have an awesome Halloween weekend!!!
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Just Like Me Only Better
I found the article, Just Like Me Only Better, pretty interesting in that while I had heard vaguely of Second Life, I wasn't completely sure what it was. The first thing that came to mind for me was an episode of The Office where Dwight has a Second Life account and if I remember correctly flies around a lot. So, based on what I remembered from The Office, I thought Second Life was a game where you could make an avatar and fly around.
I was immediately pulled into the article because I'd always wondered where the term 'avatar' came from, and here, in the very first sentences, I was being told, "The term avatar comes from Sanskrit and originally referred to the form that the gods assumed when the visited thew world". The entire introduction was new information to me and I was curious to find out more.
Reading this article cracked me up at points because Second Life (in my opinion) seemed to have one of the cheesiest mottos I've heard of, "your world, your imagination". Based just on the motto I was quick to figure out Second Life and problems with this kind of 'game' became easy to come up with. I mean, solely based on the fact that you can basically create an entire second life for yourself I can count numerous problems. From an interpersonal level (beyond the cyber world) this just can't be good.
For example, I have a friend who is very into online chat rooms and has basically created an entire life on these. Recently he's been going through some relationship problems (with his online girlfriend) and when I asked him if he had some friends he could talk to he replied, "My online friends...". When I asked if he has friends he could lean on besides his cyber friends he could only come up with two or three. Clearly something like this in problematic.
I was immediately pulled into the article because I'd always wondered where the term 'avatar' came from, and here, in the very first sentences, I was being told, "The term avatar comes from Sanskrit and originally referred to the form that the gods assumed when the visited thew world". The entire introduction was new information to me and I was curious to find out more.
Reading this article cracked me up at points because Second Life (in my opinion) seemed to have one of the cheesiest mottos I've heard of, "your world, your imagination". Based just on the motto I was quick to figure out Second Life and problems with this kind of 'game' became easy to come up with. I mean, solely based on the fact that you can basically create an entire second life for yourself I can count numerous problems. From an interpersonal level (beyond the cyber world) this just can't be good.
For example, I have a friend who is very into online chat rooms and has basically created an entire life on these. Recently he's been going through some relationship problems (with his online girlfriend) and when I asked him if he had some friends he could talk to he replied, "My online friends...". When I asked if he has friends he could lean on besides his cyber friends he could only come up with two or three. Clearly something like this in problematic.
Mythinformation
After a long week of midterms I could not focus myself to follow my reading! I had to re-read the reading several times over to pick out the main points of the article. However, I did find three things that were new pieces of information to me.
Winner talks about using the metaphor 'revolution' to describe and celebrate the coming of computerization. Winner disagrees that this is a reasonable metaphor, "Unfortunately this is not the case". He goes on to discuss how books, articles, and media specials aimed at a popular audience are usually content to depict the dazzling magnitude of technical innovations and social effects (589). He questions this metaphor further by making several thought provoking statements such as "One might suppose, for example, that a revolution of this type would involve a significant shift in the locus of power, after all, that is exactly what one expects in revolutions of a political kind" (589).
Another interesting point he discusses is his concern for the political meaning of revolution, "My concern for the political meaning of revolution in this setting may seem somewhat misleading, even perverse" (590). He talks about other technical revolutions such as the industrial revolution to bring up his point.
I found his discussion on information and ideology interesting as I am currently studying ideologies in another online class I'm taking.Winner discusses how "mythinformation is noteworthy as an expressive contemporary ideology" (595)
Winner talks about using the metaphor 'revolution' to describe and celebrate the coming of computerization. Winner disagrees that this is a reasonable metaphor, "Unfortunately this is not the case". He goes on to discuss how books, articles, and media specials aimed at a popular audience are usually content to depict the dazzling magnitude of technical innovations and social effects (589). He questions this metaphor further by making several thought provoking statements such as "One might suppose, for example, that a revolution of this type would involve a significant shift in the locus of power, after all, that is exactly what one expects in revolutions of a political kind" (589).
Another interesting point he discusses is his concern for the political meaning of revolution, "My concern for the political meaning of revolution in this setting may seem somewhat misleading, even perverse" (590). He talks about other technical revolutions such as the industrial revolution to bring up his point.
I found his discussion on information and ideology interesting as I am currently studying ideologies in another online class I'm taking.Winner discusses how "mythinformation is noteworthy as an expressive contemporary ideology" (595)
MySpace shared user data with advertisers: WSJ
I found this article really interesting and while I no longer use Myspace (and haven't been active on it for quite a few years), it was still of interest for me. According to The Wall Street Journal, MySpace has been giving advertising companies data that could identify members of the social networking service.
Apparently MySpace users have unique user ID numbers that are associated with users' names, pictures, gender, etc. From what I understand, MySpace has shared these IDs with a third party which has resulted in that third party having access to users' private information. One MySpace spokesman said that the information shared was 'nonpersonally identifiable information' and that MySpace's terms of services prohibit third party developers from sharing any user data, including these ID numbers.
The controversy in this whole thing is that apparently this third party has violated those terms.
I thought this was interesting because whenever I sign onto Facebook(my social network of choice) or even browse any random internet site, it seems as though the internet has been reading my mind with advertisments seemingly geared right at me. I personally find it kind of creepy but I guess I do post information on my Facebook that would make the advertisments geared at me. For example, after my sister got engaged, I posted the news in a status and since then I've been getting ads for engagement rings, wedding planning services, photographers, etc.
At the very end of the article I learned something new about MySpace. Apparently they are relaunching their services by targeting a younger audience and 'putting a premium on "self expression'"
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101023/ts_alt_afp/usitinternetmediamyspace
Apparently MySpace users have unique user ID numbers that are associated with users' names, pictures, gender, etc. From what I understand, MySpace has shared these IDs with a third party which has resulted in that third party having access to users' private information. One MySpace spokesman said that the information shared was 'nonpersonally identifiable information' and that MySpace's terms of services prohibit third party developers from sharing any user data, including these ID numbers.
The controversy in this whole thing is that apparently this third party has violated those terms.
I thought this was interesting because whenever I sign onto Facebook(my social network of choice) or even browse any random internet site, it seems as though the internet has been reading my mind with advertisments seemingly geared right at me. I personally find it kind of creepy but I guess I do post information on my Facebook that would make the advertisments geared at me. For example, after my sister got engaged, I posted the news in a status and since then I've been getting ads for engagement rings, wedding planning services, photographers, etc.
At the very end of the article I learned something new about MySpace. Apparently they are relaunching their services by targeting a younger audience and 'putting a premium on "self expression'"
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101023/ts_alt_afp/usitinternetmediamyspace
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