Book Vs Box

Id just like to raise a cheer for the book, for the diary, for the novel, for the original physical page that you can touch, feel and turn. I’m afraid the box, the keyboard and the screen have never done it for me…
While the computer has taken on the vocabulary and terms of the book, has reproduced its characters, minimized its space and who knows what else… do you really want to sit up in your bed at night or on the beach on holiday and read something off a back lit screen? I know I don’t.

In this ‘digital age’ we see an ever increasing amount of literature available online. I looked up a book on ndeva the other day only to find that no; the uni library did not have a copy on shelf but that yes, they did have one online. Forget that, id rather drink instant coffee.

People are accessing this literature via a hundred different ways most of which I know next to nothing about. I even saw someone reading the Bible off his hand held pc the other day, the Bible!!

While advancements in technology are amazing and achieve great things I don’t think the book will ever disappear. It’s been present for thousands of years, a way of recording thoughts, ideas and narrative. On top of that there’s its nostalgic value with which we are obsessed. I think that nostalgia could be traced into some of the reasoning behind that theory presented via the graph (could someone post that up?) at the end of Luke’s lecture (2nd Aug) the other day. Along with that would have to be the authenticity a book has, an authenticity that people desire to possess.

Having said all this, I guess technology has impacted the book itself a lot over the centuries. Its production methods in particular have evolved from the Papyrus of ancient Egypt to being hand written and bound by priests in monasteries, followed by Gutenberg’s printing press of the mid 15th century and then on to the instant printing of today. It’s the aesthetics that are now being revolutionized from being physically accessible to being somewhere out there in this digital realm or dimension that we’ve invented and can access yet not touch…It’s this touch I love. The feel of a dog-eared page, a well worn cover, the coffee stain, the book mark…

Spare some change for a topup?

Well wasn't it to my utter surprise and amusement that while a guy begged (stuck his hand out) for change on Queen St yesteday, he was sneaking a text! He was texting! Texting! I'm fairly sure the phone is his (or became his) recently as I have seen him with it before but never using it. It was a fairly amazing thing to see, someone homeless (I know this because he used to sleep under the stairs of my gallery) who uses their spare change that we give them to top up.

It may be a random occurance but I think the idea of commodity fetishism has gone just a bit far. When you can be without cash, or very little, and still feel the need to txt people for a bit of social interaction, it just shows a strange priority list. It's a bit like my younger brother who got a cell phone and proptly spent all his money on it... to what point do we use these things so regularly?

I can't believe that there are people that can actually send 500 txts a month. Why do you feel the need? I'm not down on technology and I use my cellphone a lot (mostly business stuff) but I feel there's a pressure to have this thing and reply to someone's texts asap w. al da srthnd tht u cn musta...

I also don't know if it's a problem that will ever be solved, as it is in businesses best interests to keep fostering desire for the new and greatest technology. I just don't know why a 12 year old who bikes to his friends houses and a homeless guy need 500 texts, thanks anyways garry.

Blogging and Democracy

Blogging has been touted as the saviour of modern mediated democracy, however the great things about blogs are the very same things that make them incapable to fulfilling this role.

Blogs are widely regarded as providing a less abstracted alternative to conglomerate dominated infotainment – however is it really possible for blogs to replace more traditional sources of political information such as television news and newspapers?

The problems with blogs are similar to those inherent in Habermas' ideas about the public sphere, do the most people really want to spend their time learning and discussing political issues? or do they want to be told facts and discuss only relatively uninformed prejudices? Do people want to be informed or do they want to know? The mindsets of the majority of people in modern democracies (let alone the rest of the world.) are thus incompatible with the 'culture of unfinish' of digital media.

Blogs are restricted from these roles by many same flaws as other supposedly demotic hybrid media forms such as public access television. For example the inability to find a real balance between populism and informative value (which is obviously extremely subjective.) Because most bloggers goals do not include gaining wide readership or being explicitly entertaining their appeal is limited. Peter Merhole's metaphor of 'informational upchucking' is an appropriate one.

Blogs provide an amazing resource for the small group of people who have the time, technological resources and the will to spend their time learning and discussing. However they still encourage the creation of a critical class rather than having a more universal appeal. Irrational democracy still holds strong despite technological developments.

The problems of modern democracy will not be so easily solved.

- Linus Norman

Bloggings relation to journalism or documentary

In the reading for last week, Adrian Miles mentioned that blogs are an extended form of journalism or documentary. It notion was argued in tutorial by one of the member in our class. I would like to add my own view to this notion and to defend the view that it is seen as a medium similar to documentary journalism. In specific relation to the events in Lebanon crisis or conflict. When you search on the internet through any search engine such as google or yahoo, for information on damage to the nation, you're more likely to be provided with links to blogs and personal sites than a multi-national new corporation. I believe that news journalism and news documentary media is being redefined, this is due in part to the failings of multi-national news corporations such as fox and abc for not providing both sides of the story. To over come this sacristy of differing biases or vie ws, the general population have turned to the web which is largely un-controlled or mediated for the multitude of differing views on specific events. In addition to to this differing view on events, there are also pictorials published on blogs which otherwise would not have been presented to the general public, such as photos of marine life which has suffered as well in the conflict.http://beirutupdate.blogspot.com/2006/07/pics-of-environmental-damage-oil-slick.html Not only does the blog allow anyone with a computer to be able to present their views to a wide audience it also allows citizens to reports from restricted or isolated region in conflict and present their versions of what is happening or happened more or less live. http://gdaeman.blogspot.com/2006/07/lebanon-damage-report-2006.html So I total defend blogging as a form of documentary.

The Blog: an Accepted Vehicle for Minority Views?

During the lecture it was suggested the blog is a valuable resource for raising minority views in the West.

While this statement maybe gathering force as blogging becomes more common, this medium is still far from being universally regarded as authoritative. Here at university, this is particularly true for research based assignments, where one would hope the expression of minority views are taken seriously.

I argue from first hand experience. Last year I submitted a 2000 word essay on the war in Iraq. During my research online I stumbled across a blog written by ‘Riverbend’, supposedly a young Iraqi woman living in the war torn country.

Thinking I had discovered an original primary source advocating a minority take on the conflict, I used it extensively. Later, however, it was clear from the feedback and marking that greater weight should have been accorded to ‘expert’ evidence.

I understand a reason behind this might concern the veracity of such posts: how can we be certain that Riverbend is not some university student in the US attempting to protest against the regime and the war? All posts are indeed critical of both and regular access to a computer and internet in Iraq during the war arouses some suspicion.

Nevertheless, as blogs become more multimedia, video and photographic evidence should be sufficient to counter this problem.

Whether blogs will ever receive the same weight as more traditional authority such as books and journal articles is far less certain. At the very least the potential to gain a graphic insight into the reality behind mainstream portrayal of current events means the blog deserves considered attention. Markers should not be so quick to dismiss them as elaborate fiction.

Has anyone else experienced a similar reception when using blogs as authority in their essays? Is the blog now becoming accepted as authoritative? Will it ever receive the same weight as more traditional research mediums?

Brick and Phone Booth

Hey, did anyone see Brick at the film fest? Could be a bit off-topic but one thing I noticed about the film was the absence of technology. The protagonist, Brendan, mainly communicates through an old telephone box and pen and paper. The only digital tech foregrounded is his alarm clock, which is remediated on the film's site. I think he brorrows his best mate's ("the Brain") cellphone for a while but apart from that he seems quite resitant to modern tech, and his alarm clock kind of acts as a symbol of his impending doom.

The old telephone box reminded me of the contrasting tech use in Phone Booth. Made in 2002, post-nokia 3310 boom, some of it is a bit dated and even though it's more of a typical commercial Hollywood action-thriller, it makes some interesting points about mobile phone usage. The narrator mentions that "it used to be a mark of insanity to see people talk to themselves, now it's a mark of status." Being a publicist, the lead character Stu seems more hi-tech savvy than Brendan, but he too retreats into an old telephone box in the middle of a Baudrillard-esque urban landscape of hi-tech displays and advertisements.

I don't think the mobile phone has lived up to its promise of complete mobility and freedom, could tie back to the ideas of privacy/surveillance and Sadie Plant's "innies" and "outies" to hark back to 100. Anyone still use the old Telecom phone boxes or seen any films lately that display interesting tech use? Stella

One News, Your News, Our News?, Lazy News?

First of all, this is my very first blog, so ten points to me. Secondly, i cant spell and have terrible grammar, for this i blame text messaging and not owning a dictionary.

One News, "Was lowering the drinking age a mistake?", this is the kind of journalism that really makes you think. You all must have seen the advertisments posted in bus stops and on TV about how One News is all about you, your thoughts, your oppinions, but it seems their new approach to journalism is to not actually do any journalism themselves. If any of you have had the pleasure of watching One News then you'll see some of this, for example their snow reports taken on what seems like mobile phones with presenters from what seems like right off the street. Now i do see how this could be appealing, it's YOUR News, its yours, the stories I (or at least the majority) want to see, we get what we want, the popular always wins out when it concerns making money from advertisers. Luke described in the lecture how the audience having such a power (to mediate the media), can be a risky thing, i agree, but it seems that One News has attempted to do both (and in my oppinion failed due to their crap choice in an issue to advertise this on). What im trying to get at is how can One News claim to be our news and still primarily be a commercial organisation?

The Demise of Language?/case study: texting

I was reading a post here about texting, and whether it is 'dumbing down' society. As someone who finds great pleasure in using language, I am obviously fascinated by txt-speak. Discussion of this subject seems to divide people in two groups:

Group 1: Those who think the demise of a uniform English language is equivalent to the Apocalypse...
Group 2: ...and those who embrace the change (because they can't spell)

Naturally, I think it is unfavourable to be in either camp, and yet I can only stand back to watch my beloved mother-tongue become ravaged by an inarticulate barbarian txt-vernacular, that cannot be pinned down. The main point that I can find with the issue, is that, if anything, the 'demise' of traditional English brings into attention the main purpose of language: communication. In this case, due to constraints of the text message as a medium, i.e. limit of 150 words, the language has been condensed, with words being condensed usually through the omission of vowels. In many cases, the contractions are so complete that the remnant could stand for any number of actual words. However, when both ends of transmission can understand the language, then it has served its function.

There is a precarious relationship in text-language (and any language, in fact), between the need to communicate information, and the need for efficiency. For somebody like me (who, albeit reluctantly, falls into 'Group 1' mentioned above), it is somewhat difficult to decipher the text messages of more advanced cellphone users: my command of the text 'dialect' is weak. However, for advanced cellphone users, who create and decipher these short messages constantly, it is as simple as turning on a light, or criticising politicians.

What I am really trying to do is just have a look at language itself, and its fluid nature. I can't think of a precedent for such a rapid change of language as has come with the advent of text-messaging, and I think that it is sensationalist scare-mongering to even suggest that such an unstable form of communication, texting, could ever replace 'proper' language.

The pervasiveness of text-speak in digital media, such as Cellphones and video games, is related to the ephemeral nature of these communications; in these new media, information is not intended to be kept for posterity, but is sent out of urgency (in most cases); the information is sent for [near] instant consumption, and does not need to be polished. As long as both ends of the transmission can understand each other, it is irrelevant whether or not they conform to strict spelling and grammatical norms - the information is discarded almost as soon as it is consumed.

However, the purpose of having unified, agreed-upon language systems is to ensure that encoding and decoding are synchronised. If one end of the communication is incompatible with the other, i.e. if you send me a message filled with cryptic acronyms such as 'lol', 'rofl', or 'lmfao', you are going to have to send me a key at the end of the message, so that I can decipher your message. Or, alternatively, wait six months for me to figure out myself that 'lol' stands for 'laugh out loud' (I hope it does, anyway...)

- David W.

Bus stops

I would like to take a moment to illustrate my view on (the new) bus stops. I'm sure Craccum has talked about this already but I'd like to bring it up anyway.

Definition: The new bus stops have 3 walls and a roof. One of the walls are made out of a sheet of glass, which is placed on the right (facing the road) of the bus stop so patrons can see a/their bus approaching.

Problem: There are some people who like to stand infront of this glass thinking it’s not a see through wall, which inevitably blocks the view of everyone sitting at the bus stop. People also like to lean on the glass or chat for ages with friends standing in big groups infront of the glass.

I frequently take the bus home from uni and it’s usually the furthest bus stop near the music school.
Why do people stand in front of the glass?
-To have the people sitting down at the bus stop look at their ‘bottoms’?
-Because there is no where else to stand?~ when really there is…
-Because they really don’t take into consideration anyone else at the bus stop?
-Because they probably don’t even think about it?
It’s probably the last one and maybe I am being a bit harsh…

Message: Please, if you're at a bus stop (say the one on the far end, near the music school), DO NOT stand in front of the glass and block the view. People can’t actually see their buses and it REALLY sucks when you miss your bus.

Blogs enable people to present their views on certain subject matters, i.e. this blog has helped me to get this bus stop message out to you all. -this is my attempt to link this blog in to the actual Technoculture and New Media course, but really I just wanted to present my immense frustration of sitting at the bus stop today. -please also bear in mind I've only had 4hours sleep.

Ciao
Elaine

Confession: I am Rodney Hide

The university exam period. Attempts at study quickly decline into mindless procrastination. Many an hour is wasted away on otherwise pointless tasks.

Everyone has their favourite. Tidying one's room; constantly checking one's emails; alphabetically arranging one's CD collection. But when I need something to distract me from study I simply become Rodney Hide.

When I say "become" I really mean 'pretend to be'; and when I say "pretend to be" I mean it in a slightly satirical sense, not a creepy idolising/stalker way.

Yip, I am the Myspace incarnation of Mr Rodney Hide. "Sad" you might say, and I'd actually agree with you, but as I said above one takes desperate measures to ensure as much time is wasted during times of supposed study as possible.

The idea came to me when I noticed the growing number of people creating Myspace profiles for their favourite celebrity or icon. I thought 'why not turn this around' and create a profile for arguably the most hated member of parliament and see what happens.

So I present to you:

A Guide to Myspace Identity Fraud: Rodney Hide

1. Originality

Its hard to be original nowdays, but when choosing someone to create a profile for it is best to make sure someone else hasn't beaten you to it. Fortunately Rodney Hide was profile-less, and I was able to proceed to step two...

2. Sign up

If you already have a personal Myspace profile you won't be able to use the same email address to sign up for another profile. Why not go a step further in your identity stealing and make a new email address too? I chose rodneyhide@gmail.com

3. The Profile Photo (or 'pic' as the kids call it)

Google image search is a great way of finding most of the pictures the internet has to offer of your chosen victim. Non-press shots will make it easier to pass your profile off as the real person, but in the case of Rodders I thought an Act party publicity shot would do the job.

4. Getting the right feel

There are countless profile editors on the internet that generate code to manipulate the feel of your profile. People subconsciously make decisions about a person's worth based on the colour of their background and the song playing. I went with the Act Party colours of yellow and aqua, and chose Van Morrison to serenade readers.

5. About "you"

So you've constructed a feel you think is consistent with your victim's tastes, now comes the hard part; writing about them in the first person. This may require a little bit of research if you're wanting to get personal. However, good old Google (or GOG as this phrase has often been abbreviated) is here to help. We now live in an age where you can find out your local MP's date of birth, address, hell even their favourite food, simply by doing a bit of Googling.

6. Get yourself some 'scenester' friends

Indie kids are the best way to make instant friends, after all Myspace was apparently created to foster independent music. Browse Myspace until you find a local indie kid who looks like they use Myspace like air and request their friendship. When they accept make sure you post a "Thanx 4 tha add" comment. Not only is this Myspace etiquette, it helps you gain more friends through exposure. I utilised the immense picture editing capabilities of MS Paint to create a re-usable "Thanx 4 tha add" picture:
7. Sit back and enjoy your new-found identity

The hard work is over. You can now relax and wait for the friend requests to come flooding in. Be sure to thank every person that adds you as a friend, and reply to comments in a manner that neither confirms or denies your real identity.

Rodney now enjoys the friendship of 283 myspacers, receiving around 5 friend requests a day. Some of the comments he has received have been hilarious. For some people the thought that Rodney Hide might maintain a myspace profile and reply to comments and messages is in no way ridiculous.

Apologies for the long post.


PS... Here's a link to Tim Selwyn's blog from inside prison that the National Party tried to get shut down. Note that most of the posts on the blog are by Martyn "Bomber" Bradbury so you'll have to scroll down a bit to find Tim Selwyn's own posts.

Dear diary: blogging for grades

So I started writing a post the other day talking about how I don’t understand the whole blogging thing and that it bores the …. out of me (are we allowed to swear, as in real life, or is this an alter-universe? I'm not sure of blog etiquite), and that here I was being forced to write and worse READ blogs just so I can get a grade.

Then we talked about anonymity in the tutorial and I realised that had the class blog been anonymous I would already have posted that blog – that I had saved as a Word file and am now editing… significantly! Actually, I’m not using any of it.

So obviously anonymity does matter.

Here are some blogging issues I'd like to put out there:

On screen

Having a piece of paper to read is so much easier. You can come and go to it as you please, and you don’t have to dial up every time you want to read it again. Lovely if you have broadband but not when you have a USB modem that keeps kicking you off the internet….

Got yo’self a reader, boy

It’s hard concentrating on someone’s 1000-word post when the whole thing is sitting there in front of you, staring, taunting. Dennis, although your MySpace post was long, I really enjoyed it. But that may be mainly because of another thing we talked about in class, the echo chamber effect – you were preaching to the converted, brother.

Journals

Blogs and journals look rather similar, just in another guise. I almost started a livejournal, but lost interest halfway through setting it up. Plus, who’s gonna care what I did today: “Dear diary, today I went to school and I think I’m the only one in class who doesn’t like blogs.”

Now I’m re-reading this wondering if it is finished. (Who knew there would be pre-first-blog-post anxiety.) So to bring up another point from class – immediacy. Is this really central to blogs? If we are going to self-censor because the blog isn’t anonymous, then is it really immediate? Does everybody post exactly what they write the first time they type it up?

Dear diary: today I wrote my first post on the class blog.

dont try this at home

I was just watching the 10.30 nightline news. On the show they had a little segment on a certain video on 'you tube'.(sorry couldnt find link).. In the video a group of kids decide it will be an excellent idea to sit inside of one of those playground spinning wheels(hoping you know the type)the ones you sat on as a kid and someone would push you in circles and you would be forced outwards, as in most Mcdonalds playgrounds. The kids are on it and someone puts the back tyre of the scooter on the rotating disc which is parralell with the ground.... after a few seconds, the two children go flying off at an insane speed. what a suprise!. This video had been watched by over a million people via the web. This has rehashed the arguements relating to regulation of the internet which we discussed in class today with blogging. Should there be a system in place to protect the impressionable youth from such crazy endangering antics?... this is pure fantasy.
ironically, on the same news they had an article relating to the 25th birthday of MTV, the show which bought us such shows as Jackass. This argument seems to be thrown up every six months or so, and it seems to be you tubes turn at taking the blame. Being the fastest growing website in the world means alot of people are going to be throwing them down the gauntlet of ethical behaviour. The way i see it is the web is like a book that has lude and outrageous conduct. If we dont like the lude and outrageous conduct then we can either stop reading or never pick up the book in the first place. I just believe that the perception around the internet is that it is lo-culture and seems like a perfect medium to vent rage at the intrinsic idiosyncracies of our messed up (but fun) stage. Courts

Casting the Pod

First things first, make sure that you take a look at Mark's earlier post on good podcasts that you should check out.

I figured add a few of my favorite podcasts to the mix too, it's only been a couple of months that I've been hooked on podcasts but these are the good ones I've managed to hunt out.

Filmspotting
Two guys in Chicago discussing films. There's a fun community aspect to this podcast. It has some of the feel as old episodes of Siskel and Ebert (did you guys get that here?) with the times they disagree being the best. They review a lot of new films and also have ongoing "marathons" based around a theme where they watch older stuff. If you're interested in film (probably if you're studying in the department, eh?) then this is a good one to help you find your all time favorite movie.
(RSS feed or Add podcast to iTunes)

75 Minutes
One CD worth of indie music every week. Great resource for new bands and occasionally shorted segments that tell a band's story.
(RSS feed or Add podcast to iTunes

NPR Podcasts: All Songs Considered & Press Start
American public radio has started making many of it's segments available in podcast form.
All Songs Considered throws a wide net but catches an interesting mix of songs. Press Start is a video game centered podcast with an erratic schedule but some interesting discussions. It's interesting to see NPR and other radio stations move into offering podcasts. NZ National Radio also offers many of their programs in podcast form.
(p.s. Public Radio's This American Life is possibly the best thing about being an American, but no podcast form is available)

Positive Hip-Hop Podcast
A good swath of hip-hop usually centered around a theme. I've been searching for other good hip-hop/rap podcasts, especially something that showcases something in underground or freestyle.
(Add podcast to iTunes)

There don't seem to be many Aotearoa based podcasts. Anyone know anything good?

So a few of us were talking about it and we were interested in starting up a podcast. Who might be keen on getting something set up?

UPDATE: I left a thought hanging there so I finished it. Silly me.

Why.I.Blog?

Simpledog, Only exist in the virtual land, Full time student, Blogger.

Half of my blogs are composed during my late night at home, some time during the break at university. It’s becoming a kind of fab attempt that I began years ago. But now I just felt that the passion is not there anymore, the new topics in my blog are turning less and less.

My blog has been closed down 4 times seasonally, and the newest one (www.simpledog.net) that I maintain is located on wordpress and is more of a social environment for me. But I have recently begun to participate in writing challenges that loosely require criteria to be maintained. Initially, it was difficult to write on things that someone else was suggesting because I felt I had no insight to offer. I finally was able to fit what I know into what they require and it’s been a very fun activity to participate in.

I make an effort to not stick to one category when I blog. I have my site set up into topics regarding my work, sensation, point of view, and commentary on the world at large. I don’t want it to be just a student life site or just stories about what’s happen in my diary life site. While it is a personal web log, I purposefully avoid posting about how much money I spend today sore of those things. I rather put something interesting on it.

I used to edit myself a great deal insofar as expressing my opinion. The hardest thing to adjust to for me was when blogs started showing public comments as opposed to private emails. It was always nice to just click “delete” when someone was less than kind about something I had written. Leaving the comment up for someone to read who might come along later was very hard to do. I still twitch a bit when someone misses the point of a story but I’m getting better. I honestly think that the Oreo’s do have a calming effect.

Well, those are the main points I found while I doing my own blog. I hate to think that why I need it for, but I just want to do thing, to keep my life being colorful.

Podcasts and misc.

Not really of any vital importance, but I thought I would contribute a few links to some podcasts I enjoy. Please note, I am a geek, and this may be reflected in my taste...

http://weekinwhedon.org/
All the goss on Joss Whedon, creator of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Firefly, Serenity et al.

http://askaninja.com/
Surreal times from a man with too much time on his hands. Ask a question, and the ninja will respond in a video podcast.

http://bandtrax.podshow.com/
A great music podcast

And also vaguely and distantly relevant given the discussion in class today:

http://uncyclopedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
The anti-wikipedia. It's a pretty much accepted fact that none of the information on here will be true. Will intermittantly cause you to laugh hard enough to require a change of trousers.

Well, none of the above is useful, but then this is the internet, and the balance must be maintained.

::Mark S::

Potential for disaster

Potential for disaster and the death of the net as a free medium

REPORT FROM THE BBC

Social network sites face US ban

Many schools have already banned social network sites
Children in the US could be banned from using social networking sites in schools and libraries by a new law.
The Deleting Online Predators Act tries to limit the access paedophiles have to the networking sites which have become hugely popular with minors.

The act has already been approved by a large majority in the House of Representatives.

Critics say the act is too broad and could mean a huge number of websites are cut off from users.

Net ban

The DOPA Act was introduced into the US legislative system by Congressman Michael Fitzpatrick. It passed 410 votes to 15 in a vote on 26 July.

Speaking before the vote was taken, he said: "The social networking sites have become, in a sense, a happy hunting ground for child predators."

The act covers federal institutions that received funding for computers and net access via the US E-Rate scheme - primarily schools and libraries. The American Library Association (ALA) estimates that two-thirds of US libraries receive this funding.

It requires these organisations to put in place filters to stop children viewing social networking sites where they might be subject to "unlawful sexual advances".


Critics fear many popular sites could be caught by the law
Children will only be allowed to use the social networking sites if adults are present.

Social networking sites such as MySpace, Bebo, Facebook, Friendster and many others count large numbers of children among their users.

In both the UK and US many schools have already banned pupils from using these networks over fears that the children are taking risks with the amount of information they are posting.

The DOPA Act leaves the final definition of what counts as a social networking site to the Federal Communications Commission.

Critics say the act's broad description of what the FCC should take into account in its definition could mean a huge number of sites will be blocked by libraries.

The act says the FCC should consider any site that allows users to create and modify a profile, chat to other users and post personal information.

Those criticising the Act said this could mean that a huge number of websites, such as Slashdot, Amazon, blogging sites, wikis and news organisations could be cut off.

"DOPA is redundant and unnecessary legislation," said Leslie Burger, president of the ALA in a statement. She pointed out that the Children's Internet Protection Act already requires libraries to block net content that is harmful to children.

Some MySpace users have created an online petition to gather support for protests about the act. The petition, called Save your Space, aims to gather more than one million signatures in a month.

The act now passes to the Senate and a vote on its approval is likely to take place in early August.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

This raises questions as to who is controlling the internet and if the goverment is able to put in place a law that prevents teenagers from accessing certain sites, does that serve the same purpose as to stop freedom of speech and freedom of movement. Can it be thought of in those terms? Ultimately is the goverment protecting the children and teenagers or being over cautious on the consumption of media by our younger generation.

Shouting from my virtual soapbox...

I was just thinking...
A possible barometer for how far technology has come in entangling all aspects of our lives can be seen in our clutter and mess. As I look around my room while typing this it is a sea of cables, printers, plugs and numerous electronic devices. 10 years ago I would not have been able to imagine life with all this, now I don’t know if I could imagine it without it. Interesting how quickly we become dependant on new technology, particularly things like i-pods, laptops and cellphones, which we really don’t need. But do these things actually help simplify our lives and enrich them? The mess of cables all over my floor and desk would suggest not… : (

Is there really such a thing as 'Virtual Flirting'?

Hello 203 Co-Bloggers,

Re. Dr Goode’s question (in Lecture 2): Is there a prejudice towards the ‘notion of virtual’ – in that the idea of a ‘virtual community’ falls short of what’s considered a ‘real community’?

Extrapolating this out then….supposing that a ‘virtual community’ is not authentic, does this mean there’s a common notion that online flirting, on internet dating sites, isn’t really flirting – and it’s okay, because it’s only ‘virtual flirting’? Lévy and Turkle advocate that ‘virtual’ and ‘real’ are not always polar-opposites….but can we apply this argument to flirting?

And maybe somebody can confirm/deny the following theory? (But, it could be an urban tech-myth!):

Apparently, when DVDs were first produced, the original initials stood for ‘Digital Virtual Display’. However, marketing people thought the term ‘virtual’ would be off-putting to the general public (and difficult to explain) so they changed it to stand for ‘Digital Video Display’– even though DVDs are not actually videotape.

bests, AF

ps. 2 x Blogs this week as I couldn’t access the site last week!

(Blog Word Count = 170)

Discussion: 'Young Women and Music Videos'

Hello 203 Co-Bloggers,

The basis for my statement (during Lecture 2; 26 July, 2006) that "adolescent/young women are primarily interested in Music Videos for the presented fashion-style and perceived image – rather than the actual music track" derives mainly from the social research/writings by Gerry Bloustien on teenage/youth identity….and from comments by female advertising/marketing industry executives (accessed online) regarding the female-user-specific corporate sub-website: www.nikewomen.com

For more information (and the comments by the female executives) on the construction of ‘nikewomen’, I suggest you see the online article ‘Creative Showcase; Nike Women’ (April, 2006) accessed at: http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/882.asp

And, to access the online article ‘Nike Women’s Movement’ by Fara Warner, (July, 2002) about Nike’s marketing approach towards girls & young women through the social appeal of music/dance-culture, see: http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/61/nike.html

If anybody wants to discuss this topic further….please, blog away!

bests, AF

Primary Resource:
Bloustien, G. (2003) ‘Girl Making: A Cross-Cultural Ethnography on the Processes of Growing up Female’, Australia; Berghahn Books.

Secondary Resource:
Mazzarella, S. R. ed., (2005) ‘Girl Wide Web: Girls, the Internet, and the negotiation of identity’, New York; Peter Lang Publishing.

(Blog Word Count including references = 180)

Buying In. Selling Out?

It’s been one week, three days and twenty-two hours since I bought my very first cell phone. An apparent bargain, the Nokia 1100 cost 79 dollars and a sliver of my soul.

For as long as I can remember I have resisted new technology. As a child I shunned the brand of fantasy and adventure found in video and computer games; I played in real forests and built real forts. As a teenager I listened to vinyls rather than CDs. Though we had a burner, I crafted mix tapes until my old tape deck broke down. I stuck with a 35 mm camera given to my dad for his high school graduation, I said “no thank you” to mp3s, and I swore to never EVER have a cell phone.

What caused my technophobia? Was it rebellion? Snobbery? Ignorance? Nostalgia for some imagined ideal of the ‘good old days’? Or was it just that I didn’t need techno-gadgets?

So much for my principles. In the last week and a half my mobile has glued itself to my hip. Regardless of where I am and what I’m doing, the moment my Nokia sounds its friendly tones I spring to attention. I type texts and I take and make calls on busy streets and in buses- behaviour I used to scorn. The battery in my watch died but I haven’t replaced it. I have worn a watch since the age of nine, but now I just use the clock on my phone.

I haven’t yet decided whether I’ve sold out. Nor have I decided whether it really matters. Any thoughts?

blog yeah

Hi all. This was just a thought for Luke and Kevin, and I wanted to see what people thought. Everyone seems to be posting blogs which are far longer than what might be appropriate if we are having to hand in 6 amounting to not much more than 1000 words. It would be pretty hard to say anything in the 170-odd words we would have for each if we were to stick to this. I thought maybe the word count could be upped a little, or the number of blogs lowered to 5 maybe? Or something?
Sam

Timely Update

I was searching around on the internet and I found some new resources that I wanted to share when thinking about the Turkle article. First is the article that says that most men who play female avatars in online games do so just to get free stuff. Slashdot.org has a little bit of interesting follow up (read at a level 3 threshold to avoid the stupid comments). It really seems to put down the idea that most people play these games to explore identity, rather just to win. People note though that once voice chat is brought into these games the ability to construct these new identities lessens, no hiding that baritone.


I'd like to also note that there is something that is the modern day graphical equivalent to MUDs and that's Second Life a game where you are capable of sculpting your avatar and your own section of virtual land into anything you want. This is the case where I'd argue that increasing technological advancements are hindering open identity play. Sure, I can theoretically do anything I like in Second Life but I need to be able to program and have artistic skills in order to have this freedom. Has anyone here played Second Life or know anyone who has? I'm curious about how it works in constructing identity and mostly the limits. In the past I could just type my description into a MUD and that was who I was, now the barrier of entry to self-expression is higher.

Another thing that Turkle talks about SimLife and how computers interacting in unexpected ways represent a "post-modern computational aesthetic" (Turkle, p. 238). She discusses what would happen if the organisms could move from your computer to others. Well, a game that does just that is coming out soon, it's called Spore and it deals with a lot of the same issues that SimLife did only on a slightly more persona level. In a video presentation creator Wil Wright discusses how the universe your evolved creature lives in is populated, via the internet, by creatures that other people playing the game have evolved (check near the end of the clip). Now from the point of view of this article this is revolutionary, the organisms are living outside of the control of their creators! I find myself kinda shrugging at this. They're still only doing what they were programmed to do, the programs have just become more complicated. Has this new aesthetic come around? Or have things gone a different direction than where Turkle thought they'd go 15 years ago?

A new, old, controversial movie

After watching the film festival movie 'Princess' last week and pondering for a few days now as to whether I liked it or not, I've decided to remain neutral about the film. It had both good points and bad points:

The Good (technical aspects)
-The opening of the film was aesthetically awesome, it integrated 3D and real life still images into a very entertaining sequence.
-I liked how the actual animation was 2D (the best of cartoons are in 2D, in my opinion)
-the film used real life hand held footage from a camera which gave it a very unique touch and it was also actually relavant to the film, i.e. it didn't seem to be randomly inserted just to create an effect.

Using a regular hand held camera and 2D images (the old) and integrating them together has created a new way of composing a film. Very simplistic but also very different.

So recalling and linking this to the silent film Luke Goode showed in the first lecture this raises the questions:
Will we resort to the old after we discover all the new technology?
Will the old become the new 'new'?

The Bad...ish (narrative)
Some people may think the narrative was good...
All I can really say about it is that it was very controversial.
I don't want to give too much away because some people may want to see the film when it comes on video or something.
Basic gist: "Danish animated, violent anti-porn revenge drama". A female porn star dies leaving her 5 year old little girl with no one to care for her. So her brother(the little girls uncle), who is a priest takes care of the little girl. He vows to rid the world of ALL the footage and images of his sister as a porn star because it is a bad influence on the little girl. He does this by killing people in the industry. So he counters the the influence of the porn industry with severe violence...
After walking out of the film my friend said "I've never felt this way after a film before". We were both very stunned and speechless on the whole about the entirety of the film and confused as the whether we actually thought it was good or not.

Film narratives seem to just keep getting more and more controversial with more violence and sexual references...Don't really know if thats a good thing or bad thing? I guess I'll just remain neutral...

For those of you who actually saw 'Princess', what did you think?

I have added the link to the movie website but it might be a bit too graphic (violently) for some people.

-Elaine