Facebook

This week in class we have been focusing on many of the security issues associated with Facebook and MySpace. We had multiple readings for Wednesday’s class from danah boyd that backed up this whole discussion. While I am not going to specifically focus on the readings from this week I am going to try to apply Facebook and security issues to my real life. We had some great conversation in class about how many of the security features have been found to have flaws and largely misunderstood by many of the users. There are such things as limited profiles, being able to see profiles of people that poke you (even without having to be friends with them, and more specific to my case are the pictures and wall posts that we have out there. Strange thing is I had a presentation in my S433 (Security) class after our lecture about just this issue, security in Facebook. It backed up many of the issues we had discussed in class as well as introduced many of the other security flaws and features we did not discuss. Needless to say I have a better understanding of this entire area now.

My main focus of this blog is how important it is to ensure that you have the proper setting on your Facebook to allow your friends to see material that is personal as opposed to that material that you would not want your parents or more importantly employers.

I am graduating here in two weeks and have been faced with a situation such as this, where I do not want future employers to see what my Facebook account entails. My first experience was when I found one of the partners of the CPA firm where I am going to work actually had an account of Facebook. I thought it would be cool to friend him on Facebook since he was one of the partners I enjoyed working with during my internship. I then got online to talk to another friend and the conversation turned into discussing, Facebook, very similar to Wednesdays class. Needless to say I had plenty of pictures of myself drunk as a skunk, doing things that older generations would not approve of and a plethora of wall posts where there was less than appealing language. I basically freaked out and went through my settings, pictures, wall posts and about me area and cleaned it up to make myself look professional. When I first became friends with the partner I did not even think anything about it, because my pictures did not involve me doing anything illegal, they just might have been looked down upon. It really hit home that I am going to be a professional and my profile cannot look like this. Since this time in February I have been keeping my profile free of pictures where I look like I am beyond drunk, and making sure that wall posts that contain foul language are deleted. This just goes to show a real life example where having a facebook profile that contains some of this stuff, could turn around a bit you in the ass.

Dibbell - Little 5 Special

PN YouTube Video

Dibbell once again opens our eyes to a new concepts in the online gaming world; griefers. We have discussed many different attacks on people in such worlds as Second Life and LamdaMOO, but we really have not touched on what these people are referred to. Dibbell, in her Wired article, defines griefers as, “as online version of the spoilsport – someone who takes please in shattering the world of play itself.” She then goes into saying that just because these griefers look to ruin your online experience, this does not necessarily mean that they hate the online world; they are just looking to get a rise out of the user and piss them off enough to accomplish their task.

Dibbell talks how griefing was started in the early 90s when it was used in such games as Counter-Strike. Teammates would kill each other with fragmentation grenades and kill other players that were much weaker than them. This goes to show that this type of behavior in the gaming world has been around for almost two decades now. It reminds me a bit of playing Halo with my roommates and neighbors. We usually attack those players that our weak, and when we are pissed off at a teammate for playing like crap, we turn on them and kill them, even if it means hurting the teams overall performance.

I believe this is where the discussion can be made on when griefing is going to far. The Patriotic Nigras, or the PN, have notoriously been known to cause havoc in Second Life. We watched some videos in class and the Dibbell article also talks about some of their attacks. A great video on YouTube shows some of these attacks in the past. I mean I understand that some of these attacks are meant to be funny, but when you are ruining the game play for other users then you are just being annoying and abusing your powers. In the example of my roommates and me playing Halo, when we go after each other for being weaker or killing our own players it is all in good fun, we all start a new game and continue playing like nothing happened. What PN and other groups are doing is creating an environment where others can’t enjoy their Second Life experience. I don’t know how far I can take my point or clarify it, because I myself have never been targeted in one of these attacks, nor have I even played Second Life. When you are causing servers to crash and accounts to be messed up I believe that you are taking things too far, and in some cases causing real life monetary damages (i.e. in the case of a server crashing). When you grief just to have some fun and be a “spoilsport” all within a reasonable limit, I believe this is just fine, but when it goes beyond this and into the realm of just being annoying, you have crossed the line.

Dibbell

O MY A LINK - HERE

Julian Dibbell introduced us to quite a topic with her reading for class on Wednesday, A Rape in Cyberspace. We have talked about LambdaMOO before when it comes to textual based MUDs and have also looked at it first hand through and example during class. Never did I think that all of this discussion of MUDs would I think it would lead to the discussion of rape. The basis of this article is about an avatar that called himself, Mr. Bungle. Mr. Bungle entered into LambdaMOO one day and stepped into the living room where he found two other avatars, Starsinger and Legba. Now the description that Mr. Bungle brought with him is something in itself; “he was at the time a fat, oleaginous, Bisquick-faced clown dressed in com-stained harlequin garb and girdles with a mistletoe-and hemlock belt whose buckle bore the quaint inscription “KISS ME UDER THIS, BITCH!” He had written a program that would make different avatars “say” that they were doing different acts. He was having them sexually service him and eventually turned his attacks to Legba and Starsinger in particular. He proceeded to make Legba eat his/her own pubic hair and Starsinger to violate herself with a piece of kitchen cutlery, all while laughing in the background. This obviously came at an outrage from the other people located in LambdaMOO and eventually the Wizard, Zippy, came to put Mr. Bungle into a cage.

What followed from this incident was outrage from the people that were involved with the incident and many days of discussing the event and what to do. While Mr. Bungle eventually got out of his cage he was then “toaded” after coming back as another avatar to sit back and watch as those who he had violated talked about him. This raises the question that we talked about so much in class, is this type of textual harassment to be considered rape? I definitely think that this is not a question that just one person can answer. I do know that in real life rape there is not only the emotional damage, but also physical damage so if anything I believe what has happened online in this “text” based world is no more than sexual harassment. Obviously there are many ways to approach this situation and to look at it, but in terms of this reader it is viewed as sexual harassment and not rape. The same type of argument is had about whether virtual cheating is like cheating in real life. WE have also discussed this “rape” in terms of a text based MUD, but what about a MUD similar to Second Life.

The article I have found that related to the Dibbell article is about rape in Second Life. The article is entitled, “Can ‘virtual rape’ in Second Life be a crime?” The article is talking about how the Belgian police are investigating an allegation of a rape in Second Life. They are trying to answer the question if a “pixilated” online game where you can exit at anytime if an activity such as this can be considered rape. They discuss how rape in real life is where the victim does not want it to happen and cannot stop it from happening and there is physical force involved. But in a MUD such as Second Life the victim is able to stop it from happening at anytime by simply signing off or unplugging or disconnecting. In this case the victim has power of the perpetrator. What needs to be understood is that the victim can stop it at any time. They discuss how that if the victim does not shut down what is happening, and then maybe they wanted it to happen to begin with??? The use of a MUD allows the user to experience something they might not otherwise be able to “experience” in real life. The Net allows for us all to do this. They leave you with the question…if you can unplug then, is it rape??? The question is out there for you to answer yourself…

Turkle

LINK IT: HERE

Sheryl Turkle introduced us to the concept of Virtual Sex in MUDs in the reading we had due for class on Monday. This whole concept is very interesting and intriguing in my mind. We have spent the past few classes discussing MUDs and the concept in general and some of the pros and cons of using them. We have just recently gotten into some very interesting questions regarding what actually goes on in these MUDs and in particular the concept of Virtual Sex. Turkle elaborates on this concept and defines it as, “consists of two or more players typing descriptions of physical actions, verbal statements, and emotional reactions for their characters.” What we discussed in class to a certain extent is how people that are playing as different genders engage in these activities with genders that in real life would be considered homosexual relationships. I mean you have women playing men, men playing women, people playing animals, and people playing as transsexuals.

All of these people are having sex with one another and most of the time is basing their entire online experiences around these sexual relationships. Turkle gives us an example of Tim and Janet, where Tim was having online sex with a virtual partner without his wife, Janet, knowing about it. Once Janet found out about this, Tim swore he would stop, but Janet is still wondering if his activities have ceased. This leads to the question that we have posted on the forums, discussed in class, and find here in the readings, “Are these sexual experiences in these virtual communities hurting marriages and real life relationships.”

Another example that Turkle gives is with Rudy and his girlfriend. While dating he found out that she was regularly having sex on the internet and it was usually with women. He broke off the relationship after this information was uncovered. A great quote that I think sums up this whole topic we are discussing is from Rudy, “We are not ready for the psychological confusion this technology can bring.” I believe this sums up the idea of virtual sex has done for relationships, marriages, etc. It seems to bring about a sense of confusion to all parties involved

The article that I have chosen to back up this point is from the website WebMD. The article is, Virtual Sex: Threat to Real Intimacy? The article discusses how the Internet is here to stay and how online sex is something that we will have to deal with. The first part of the article discusses where cheating on the internet is the same as cheating in real life. A quote from the article sums this up well, "It's hard to give a blanket definition of cheating, because it's based on the morals and beliefs of the marriage. But what matters is: does your spouse consider it cheating?" Many people have different ways at viewing this, but many believe that if you engage in virtual sex, it is just as unforgivable as the real thing. The go on to state the virtual sex is only going to continue to evolve and be something that is here to stay. The line to draw between virtual and real world is something that should be kept very separate. If this is the case then we will continue to evolve in terms of opportunities for virtual sex, but at the same time keep some of the moral backgrounds we have based many of our relationships and marriages on.

MUDs

Link it up: MUDs as an educational tool.

Howard Rheingold has once again introduced us to a new concept, MUDs. MUDs are known as multi-user domains or multi-user dungeons. These MUDs can either be text based, as the MUD we experimented with in class or can be three dimensional, such as our look at Second Life. Second Life can also be looked at as a MOO since it is object-oriented. Basically what MUDs are is a place where people can use simple commands to build these virtual worlds, solve puzzles, entertain one another, gain wisdom, seek revenge, and in some strange cases, even have sex. Many of these MUDs were created as “living laboratories” used for studying how virtual communities affect our everyday lives and psyches. This blog post really is more about what MUDs are and how they are used, both for good and bad. My example that I will present in the following gives us a look into how MUDs are used as an educational tool.

MUDs allow you to create what is an avatar, which is basically your identity, and then use this avatar to explore, build, emote, and interact with other avatars in the MUD. As mentioned, MUDs can be used as a laboratory for exploring the first-level impacts of virtual communities. MUDs are also not the only type of virtual community on the internet. Obviously we have communities such as Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, etc. It just goes to show how the Internet can facilitate all of these communities and teach us so much about the use of virtual worlds and communities. In these MUDs people can basically do whatever they want to and let the story play out the way in which they want. As shown in class, the professor has her avatar in Second Life and actually carries out virtual meetings in her home that she created in Second Life. While to some it might be just a game, to others, it can be used as an important too to help educate ourselves on these worlds. A MUD can also be considered a learning community where everyone teaches everyone else. This is because once you enter a new MUD everyone greets you and helps you on your journey to learn about MUDs and become part of this new virtual community. As mentioned multiple times already, these MUDs can be used as an educational tool as shown in the example I have shown below (links can be found at the beginning of the post and in the example itself).

The article is all about how a group of writing professors that were using MediaMOO came together to start using these virtual communities for their composition classes. These professors saw how these MUDs could help bring together the classroom and allow the professors and students to interact in a different way. They knew these MUDs could help students get into contact with people from all sorts of cultures outside their own. As the article states, “they would get immediate responses to their ideas and to the text objects they created, experiencing dynamically the effects their words have on others.” The article states that one of the most important features of using MUDs is that it takes away the hierarchy that can be found in most classrooms. Without this hierarchy students are able expresses themselves more freely and have a feeling their ideas and comments really matter. The article then goes on to discuss how these MUDs are sometimes being built exactly how a campus would be built. All of the buildings and area between, not allowing certain access to certain building and lectures, etc. Professors are being able to lock out students and silent everyone while they give a lecture, etc, all things which these professors (the ones with the composition classes) see is not facilitating the use of MUDs as an affective educational tool. The way these composition classes are using MUDs as an educational tool is exactly what Rheingold discusses in his article. Everyone is teaching everyone else.

Rheingold

Howard Rheingold introduces the concept of computer-mediated communications (CMC) in Virtual Communities: Homesteading on the Electronic Frontier. CRM is basically all of the computers and the switched telecommunication networks that carry the information back and forth between people. The Net as we know and Rheingold tells us, is an informal term for the loosely interconnected computer networks that use CMC technology to link people around the world into public discussions. It is these discussions that are shaping the way in which our World functions on all levels. These discussions are carried on through the Net through a number of people and after enough time begin these people, using human feelings, form personal relationships in cyberspace.

Rheingold then goes in to discussion how important it is for these communities and discussion to continue into the future. He states that because of the potential influence on so many people’s beliefs and perceptions, the future of the Net is connected to the future of community, democracy, education, science, and intellectual life. This means that in order for the people’s voice to be heard we need to continue to foster these relationships and discussions online. The future of the Internet has become way too important for us to let specialists and special interest groups to influence how it is used in our daily lives. Rheingold then discusses that as the Internet becomes more and more popular and influential, the people need to be having a say in how funds are being applied to the further development of the Internet. With this in mind the people can change their communities, democracy, education, sciences and intellectual life all with the power of the Net. The voice of the people needs to be heard though. Rheingold then goes into stating that if we do not develop a vision and let our voice be heard, the future will be shaped for us by large commercial and political power holders.

I don’t think one specific example can make the point that Rheingold was trying to make. The peoples voices are all around us in different situations that we have all heard of in the past. I mean we are using YouTube to help influence political campaigns and debates. We are using blogs to discuss political activities that the major news networks pick up on. These blogs are also discussing issues that have to do with the internet. We have formed communities to foster our beliefs through Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn and a variety of other sources. We find one another through these websites, form friendships, marriages, and form together to have a common voice on certain issues. We as ordinary citizens are shaping the way in which we use the internet and letting ourselves be heard as to how we want to continue to have the internet be used to let our voices be heard. If we were not to have had all of these different websites to facilitate this, the internet could very well be shaped by these large commercial companies into the future.

Keen

Link to Wired article

In class on Monday we were presented with the reading by Andrew Keen from his book, The Cult of the Amateur. One concept in particular that was talked about in class and in this book was that of a noble amateur and a concept of something known as the Web 2.0. Keen believes that these noble amateurs and the use of the Web 2.0 “threaten to turn our intellectual traditions and institutions upside down.”

He defines and amateur as a hobbyists, knowledgeable or otherwise, someone who does not make a living from his or her field of interest, a layperson, lacking credentials, a dabbler. He states that these amateurs on the internet are being praised for being amateurs and not because of their expertise. The Web 2.0 is also a concept that was discussed heavily in class. The Web 2.0 is web based meaning that it runs completely on the web. Such as Outlook mail, facebook, java applets or Half Life. IT is also built completely on social networking and collaborative content creation. Overall it can be said that the Web 2.0 is one of the biggest marketing gimmicks out there. Keen argues that this is what is ruining America are these amateurs out there that are acting like professionals and taking away from what the true essence of a professional is. This can be seen in the example with Wikipedia and the user “Essjay.” He claimed to be a tenured professor of theology with four academic degrees, but in reality was a 24 year old high school graduate with no academic background. There has been a lot of skepticism by the public and Keen makes this known that posts on Wikipedia cannot be relied upon because of these amateurs that are able to post anything they want.

An example of this can be seen with the news article I have selected where someone out there pulled a similar stunt compared to Essjay and Wikipedia. While Essjay was posting frequently on Wikipedia a similar incident happened in 2005. A man made a fake post linking John Seigenthaler, a journalist, to the assassination of JFK. The post was made by Brian Chase as joke with a fellow co-worker. After Seigenthaler caught word of this outlandish post of the internet he went looking for the man who did it. Brian eventually confessed to the incident and actually resigned from his job that he was currently at. Brian claimed that he did not realize that Wikipedia was used as a serious resource and for Seigenthaler a close friend of the Kennedy family, this was something all too serious. Thus, pulling into question the same points that Keen was making regards to these amateurs being able to post anything on the website. Seigenthaler actually blasted Wikipedia and its credibility in an article in the USA Today. He does not plan on taking criminal actions against Brian, and is not supporting more regulations on the internet, but he said, “Wikipedia is inviting it by its allowing irresponsible vandals to write anything they want about anybody." This is exactly the kind of situations that Keen is talking about and this example goes right along with the act of amateurs being able to edit Wikipedia at their own will.

Transmedia Storytelling

Link to Forums about Lost

Transmedia storytelling 101 is a very informative article that discusses the concept of Transmedia Storytelling. A definition of transmedia storytelling is a process where integral elements of a fiction get dispersed systematically across multiple delivery channels for the purpose of creating a unified and coordinated entertainment experience. This means that there is a type of “synergy” that is created, when different types of products come out all relating to, say for instance, a movie. This can be seen in the Matrix where comic books, animated series, novels and the actually movies worked together to form this type of synergy. Transmedia stores are based not on individual characters or specific plots, but rather complex worlds. These can have multiple interrelated characters and each of these having different stories. This then creates a phenomenon on encyclopedic impulses in both the readers and the writers. People are drawn to master what can be known about a world which always expands beyond their grasp. This impulse is completely different to the pleasure we associate with most classically constructed narratives, where we expect to finish the book or leave the theater knowing everything there needs to be known about the plot or story. This encyclopedic ambition can be seen in just about any of the television series that run in the primetime slot of most of the major networks.

Lost is a great example where this encyclopedic ambition can be seen. I myself am not a viewer of this series, but knew enough information to understand that this series is built on vastly complex characters and plot lines. I know friends that watch this show and all they talk about is how “lost” (ironic) they are in terms of the plot and what is going on. They are always telling me I can never watch the series because I would be so far behind in the plot, which I am sure, is true. Regardless my friends seem to have this encyclopedic impulse towards Lost. They are always trying to fill gaps or determine the extra details that might hint at clues to unfolding the entire plot. Jenkins discusses this in Transmedia 101. The viewers (in my case my friends) have a strong incentive to continue to elaborate on these story elements and work together with their speculations until they take on a life of their own. A great example of this can be seen in forums about the Lost series. Thousands of people go to these forums to gain answers, and fill these gaps about the series. One such instance is from tv.com and their forums about the series. One interesting forum I found was about the time delay that happens within the Lost series. If I understand correctly no one really knows exactly when this is happening or how long (If I understand correctly from what little I know). What this forum is trying to uncover is this time delay and how it is solved, but then at the same time it is ruled out. Thus, the viewers are still left in the dark. They are trying to use each other to figure out the plot “holes” and reveal the entire plot and the exact details of the show. This forums goes on with people trying to figure out what is going on and bouncing ideas off of each other. There are also multiple different forums on just this one website relating to Lost. There are thousands of other places where watchers can go to fill these ambitions that they have with relating to the plot.

Jenkins

Comic Book Guy - Fanatic

In Henry Jenkins article, “Get a Life!”: Fans, Poachers, Nomads, he refers to the concept of what a fan is. He first starts in by discussing what a fan started out as and a definition as literally, “Of or belonging to the temple, a temple servant, a devotee.” He comments that these fans are usually and frequently characterized as de-gendered, asexual or impotent. Jenkins also states that a fan will always remain a “fanatic” or false worshiper, whose interest are fundamentally alien to the realm of “normal” cultural experience and whose mentality is dangerously out of touch with reality. Basically his article is talking about how there are fans of say baseball and sports and then you have “fanatics” for such things as Star Trek, Star Wars or even following actors and actresses. These fans go above and beyond just watching the movies and shows, they try to become a character or live their lives entirely based upon these shows they are “fans” of. This even goes as far as Jenkins notes on page 13 of his article, “news reports frequently characterize fans as psychopaths whose frustrated fantasies of intimate relationships with starts or unsatisfied desires to achieve their own stardom take violent and antisocial forms.” This further reiterates the point that some of these “fans” go above and beyond, simply viewing or watching. These fans are not in touch with reality and as stated are often portrayed as being outcasts and not part of normal society.

The way of these people being portrayed as outcasts and cut off from society as social misfits can be seen on a very well known animated series; The Simpsons. This show, as many of you probably watch, features a character by the name of Comic Book Guy. Jenkins talks about how we classify these fans and this is no exception. Comic Book Guy is a stereotypical comic store owner and fanatic of comics. He is a bigger guy, hair in a pony-tail, a slob, no friends, and above all else a true comic fan. They regularly show him attending conventions where he is asking questions about an episode or comic book where he states the specific details about the particular book or episode, then wants to know even more about it. Usually the person that was staring in the feature has no clue what he is even talking about (showing how obsessed he actually is). This is showing that he is going above and beyond just viewing a particular episode or reading a comic book, he wants to be a part of it and lives his life by it. Bart and Millhouse regularly go into the shop and Comic Book Guy is very protective of his comics and they usually make fun of him for his appearance and “freak-like” nature. Jenkins talks about how fanatics are usually characterized as psychopaths take on this anti-social nature. This is no different when it comes to Comic Book Guy as he is probably the most anti-social character featured on the show. It is interesting how we see these types of fanatics in the media or in a YouTube video and in all places, an animated series. Comic Book Guy might not be a real person, but the creators have portrayed him exactly how Jenkins talks about how a fanatic is portrayed in real life.

Sugar and Spice - Flickr

Click here for the link to our Flickr slideshow!

Our Flickr assignment was actually really fun. I was a bit skeptical about the project at first since no one in the class really knew each other and we had to go explore out into campus to try to find something interesting to take pictures of. As far as the preparation work that was done, in the class before we had decided on some different ideas. Our first idea that we had involved taking photos of a student waiting for the bus on Third Street. Obviously we all know how this process goes, sometimes getting left behind, sometimes not having anywhere to sit. We decided not to go with this idea because it would be during the time when most people were in class so no one would be there to photo. Our next idea came as a bowling experience in the Union. We had everything planned out to take pictures and of course when we got there, the bowling alley was closed. We then had to think quickly on our feet to come up with a new idea, we figured the bookstore would be a great alternative. We were going to do this somehow by, trying to portray a student buying book and then spending a fortune at the cash register. After taking a few pictures we actually got kicked out because it is a Barnes and Nobles and you cannot take pictures inside their stores. This lead to our final idea of going through the transaction of buying a product at the store, Sugar and Spice. We had someone walk in, ask what was good, contemplate buying a water, standing in line, paying for the product and walking out. Overall the idea worked really well and as you can see from the link above the pictures turned out great.

Flickr was not difficult to use at all. We sat down and literally had our pictures on the Internet in 5 minutes. Which leads to way this technology can be a great citizen-based photojournalism tool. It would be a great tool because as I said, it is extremely easy to use and takes seconds to get your pictures online. The article, How Flickr single-handedly invented collaborative photojournalism, talks about how people took pictures of the French Employment Riots and how high quality and fast they appeared on the internet. This goes to show that no matter the event, the public can post pictures online as soon as they are taken. This means that instead of just 4 or 5 media outlets showing images, they can come from hundreds of people posting their pictures on Flickr with comments about what the picture is. Then others can share their pictures and have the Flickr team use their secret algorithm to put those pictures that have the most “interestingness” up front. No longer will you need these news outlets to piece together the stories for you, Flickr has allowed for ordinary citizens to do it themselves and revolutionize the way photojournalism is used. Obviously our photo story was not about Riots or a Obama rally, but still it shows how effective the tool can be. Maybe someone did not know about the store Sugar and Spice, but decided to search for it on Google. Theoretically our blogs are out there where we have all documented a trip to the store. An ordinary citizen can see the pictures and see what the store looks like without having to even go or try to find information on the IMU website. Same concept applies when pictures are taken of a political rally. Instead of trying to watch the news, just jump on Flickr and check it out.

Jenkins

Link to the article discussed further into the blog post: HERE

Henry Jenkins discusses in Photoshop for Democracy on page 317 of the readings the concept of spin in politics. This concept basically means that all of the spokespersons for that particular campaign are using a set of “talking points” that are used by everyone to interpret an event or topic. Everyone knows the talking points for the particular event and will continue to use the same points to talk about the party. Whether you are a party member on the Anderson Coopers show or giving an appearance on David Letterman, everyone knows exactly what should be talked about with each particular event or topic. In the past the public has not been able to pick up on this spin in the political parties, but now the public is becoming more aware of these methods of politics. Jenkins talks about how Kerry made an announcement to the supporters through email about his running mate. This turned around and had the Republicans come out with talking points about Edwards that gave details about his political career, voting record in the Senate and his comments on the political trail. This was all done to make sure that when Republican Party members were asked about Kerry or Edwards they would all know exactly what to say (good or bad). This has also allowed the uninformed public to pick up on these talking points to make sure they know what to talk about when they are having dinner with friends or a conversation on the bus. It creates a stir and gets everyone involved, once again whether it is good or bad. This goes even deeper because then bloggers start using the talking points or a concerned voter calling into a show about a candidate or even on our best friend Twitter. To Kerry he thought that this notification of his running mate would be a great idea, but it turned out only to hurt him and tarnish his running mate because the GOP came right back with these talking points to ensure that the public knew of Edwards before Kerry or Edwards could even get to the public. I say well played by the Republican Party, just as Jenkins has mentioned about spin, the public knows what it is now, but this does not stop them from using these talking points to help inform themselves about politics. While Kerry was hoping to gain the edge, he only tarnished himself. This whole concept of political spin and talking points used by parties can be seen in the article that has been linked to above. This follows exactly what Jenkins is talking about with how spin is used by the parties to develop talking points and then the public just uses these points and run with them, only thinking that this is what to believe. Senator Clinton made the comment before the Iowa caucuses in January 2008, “I’m in and I’m in to win.” Then, the following comment was made before the start of the caucuses, “As the presidential candidates engage in furious pre-caucus spin, one of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s most prominent Iowa supporters said Wednesday that she’s already accomplished what she needs to in Iowa, and can declare success even if she finishes in third place.” This just goes to show how the comment made by Hilary before the Iowa caucuses was made to state that she was in and in to win. Then however right before the actual caucuses were held a supporter then stated that even if she came in third she would still win. A win nonetheless? This article might be short but it is giving an example of how spin is used and these “talking points” are followed by the supporters. She was in to win, but even if she finished third she would win either way. The party wants you to believe that whatever they say, and in this case it is about winning, and whatever the outcome is, it will be spun to make it out their way. Jenkins touched on this with the Kerry example. Even though he tried to come out with a way to gain advantages by emailing about his running mate the GOP party used this to gain political spin about the candidate before Kerry knew what hit him. Turned out it did not work for Kerry. It was turned around and used by the Republicans as a way to gain an upper hand. This is just the same as Clinton did by proclaiming she was a winner whatever the outcome. So down the road even if she did come in third she is still a winner. Do we really want to have a candidate that is always spinning and trying to make the public believe what they want us to believe, as the article states? We need to know when an event is happening that the facts we receive are the truth and that the public is educated on this event and the real truth.

Rheingold

My blog for class on Monday is similar to the concept that Rheingold talked about with people overseas and especially in China and Singapore being able to use their cell phones to purchase items from a vending machine. The concept hit very close to home for me because I once had a similar idea, let me explain. I go to Florida quite regularly on breaks and have always gone to the same place, Naples. My family has a place down there that we have had for quite some time and it is nice to go down to relax. If you are familiar with the area Naples has quite a few wealthy individuals that fly in on private jets or sail their yachts. I usually go down with one of my friends and we always see these planes flying in and boats out in the Gulf. We always say "some day....some day" We sit on the beach and for hours on end we will try to think of different business ideas that could get us in that position to be that person flying in on that jet. About a year ago we finally hit on an idea, and that was using your cell phone to be able to pay bills, send transactions between bank accounts, send money to friends, or have your mom send you money while at college. All over the use of cell phones and text messages. Our idea actually came to us while at dinner when the check came all on one bill, it is always a hassle to have to pay your friends back or say, "ill get you on the next dinner." We thought why not be able to do this on your cell phone, somehow access your bank account and transfer money on your cell phone to your friends cell phone. Or when you go into Sports on a Friday or Saturday night, why not being able to send them a text message in order to pay the cover. Another example, what about being able to pay your rent out of your account while sitting in class because you forgot to mail the check. All of these ideas go right along with Rheingold speaking on the cell phone being able to help your purchase things or pay for things. Turns out, this technology is actually out there (I can't seem to find the link right now, but I'll keep searching) and it is available almost exactly as how I described it. This technology is just creating more of a mobile atmosphere and taking away from the human aspects of these tasks. What happened to just calling your mom and asking her to drive to the bank, deposit money, then you do laundry. This disappears with the use of this mobile technology, just a text and a transfer and no words even have to be spoken.

I know this post is different than a link or a YouTube video, but I thought it was really relevant to an idea that I had quite a while ago about the same types of technology. Just goes to show how much this mobile technology is affecting our lives and how much it is making us rely on mobile technology and not human interaction. Like I said I will continue to search and then post on twitter the link to this technology (as far as I know this was the only one out there in the US at the time).

Open Source Democracy

One of the topics that we have discussed in class on the Rushkoff was the give and take the Internet has given rise to. This is specifically seen in which “one-click” checkouts at online retailers have become more popular as a means of checkout for the consumer. The article in question comes from infoworld.com and the link can be found at the bottom of the post. We all know that the Internet has caused us to watch less TV and according to Rushkoff, 9 hours less. This means that now people are not seeing these advertisements for products on TV and therefore must rely on consumer’s online presence to gain sales. While TV still uses product placement and advertisement that are appealing to consumers, once consumers are online, there must be a way to keep them there to buy the product. When you are accessing the Internet and see an article, YouTube video or come across a new song from ITunes, you might be interested in buying the product. While the give and take has been achieved by now showing you these products online instead of through the TV ads or product placement a way to get consumers to buy is next in order. The article from inforworld talks about how once a customer fills a “virtually cart” most of them forget about it, never to see it again. While if you were in a grocery store this might not be the best option since you are physically leaving a cart sitting there, but in the online world it vanishes as quick as it was created. People are not interested in taking the time to fill out the address requirements, billing requirements and all of the hassle that comes with online purchases. Must consumers are used to going to the store and swiping the card and the transaction is complete. So one way in which this can be solved is through the use of this “one-click” checkout. There are programs out there that can be installed on your PC that allow you to basically upload your information with one click, so that you are saved the hassle of having to entered all of the information. The downside of this is that you are installing software and it can only be used on that PC. From my standpoint this is a major disadvantage because I know I have bought items before while out of town or while in a computer lab. The alternative option is to trust you data to a server held by a third party. To me this throws up flags left and right, I would never want my data to be stored by someone I do not know. The security hazard of them obtaining my credit card number is something that I do not want to face. Thus, we are faced with this give and take that Rushkoff spoke of. While we can go online and “virtually” select products to purchase, we are faced with the issues presented with being able to upload our information quickly in order to buy the product. Some might find this method easier, while other hesitant to use it. Only time will tell if our “one-click” world will be transformed into a normal everyday occurrence.

Link : HERE

Politics and the media

My blog for this week has to do with the topic discussed in class on Monday (1/28) and that is about politics and the media. It is a TV commercial for Barack Obama that was shown during the Iowa caucuses. Some of the points that were discussed in Postman’s article and in class have to do with commercials talking to us about what is wrong with us, not about their product. They like to tell you their slogans and about what they do, with sometimes not even showing you the product. This commercial, to me, seems to fit in well with the topics that were discussed earlier today.

As mentioned this ad uses the same methods and tactics that all commercials use when trying to sell you a product, in this case it just happens to be someone selling themselves to the public. The commercial starts off by Barack speaking about his mother that died of cancer in 1995 and did not have enough money to pay her medical bills. The whole while he is talking about this in the introduction there are images of his mother holding him as a child. Also there are the famous black and white images and close up images that make him look powerful and strong. He then goes into talking about how this should not happen at all and that health care reform has been talked about in Washington for 20 years and nothing has been done. This is him telling us what is wrong, obviously we do not have proper health care and he is going to just snap his fingers and everything is going to be better. Makes me want to jump out of my seat and head to the polls to place my vote. He states that he has a plan. O that is fantastic, a plan to reform health care (which he just stated has been in the works for 20 years) and he is going to tell me about it within the remaining 15 seconds of the commercial? He then proceeds to tell the audience that he sees this everyday with people (this is all while the pictures keep scrolling of him shaking hands of his faithful followers). He has a very interesting quote about his plan. “I plan to cut costs and cover everyone………but unless we stop the bickering and the lobbyists, we’ll be in the same place 20 years from now….I am Barack Obama and I approve this message because to improve health care we need to fix Washington.” This is the end of the message as you can imagine. My point I am trying to make about how this relates to class is that the commercial is set up in a way so you know the product in a way (him) and he tries to tell you about all of the things that are wrong and why you should vote for him. He does not go into how he plans to reform health care, but merely states “I plan to cut costs and cover everyone.” To me this seems like just a way to put that bait in the water and hook you with his catchy slogan. He is sort of talking about the issues but no way from this commercial would you be able to understand his entire political platform. He is offering a quick fix to obviously something that has been brewing in Washington for 20 years and claims that in order to do this, we need to fix Washington. I might not be the foremost expert on politics but I sure know that him getting into office is not going to just “fix” the problems.

Click HERE to jump to the commercial

Postman

So this is the first post for C151 that is relevant to any of the class materials. The readings for this week were from Neil Postman (Peek-a-Boo World and The Age of Show Business).

I really enjoyed the readings this week and I will comment about each of the two different readings including some of my views and opinions on what he has said.

In the first readings I thought that the Texas and Maine example was used well with regards to how information in context-free and has no real meaning to people. Just as information in Ohio completely unrelated to me would be meaningless to me if i were to hear it over the radio, tv or Internet. Postman uses the Telegraph as his example as what started the whole creation of this type of flow of information across the country. I find it quite relevant, especially linked to the next reading also. It is so true, we just sit around and watch tv, acquire these useless facts of information, then 2 minutes later.....its gone. This is exactly how it happened in the 1800s too. I mean I am sitting watching TV right now (actually How Things are Made) and the information is streaming across my TV and while it is interesting and intriguing, it has no relevance to me. I might sometime in the future use a useless fact I learned, but probably not. And yet I am still watching the show, because it is entertaining to me. Filled with dramatic music and a voice in the background, all things used to make it more entertaining. But this is the point Postman makes, TV is all about being entertaining. No matter the topic as long as it is produced in a way to keep me watching or others.

Trying to fix things

Just messing around with the blog trying to get things situated and fixed.

Hello World....getting this blog and C151 figured out. Should be an interesting semester...