A Second Chance- New Com Tech Essay

4. Is the “virtual community” (Rheingold, 1993) a useful way of understanding contemporary online life? Discuss using one example of an online community OR a video game world (Virtual community is not to be confused with a “social network” site).

A Second Chance

By Kylie Holland

“We human beings have often been referred to as social an

imals. But we are not yet community creatures. We are impelled to relate with each other for our survival. But we do not yet relate with the inclusivity, realism, self-awareness, vulnerability, commitment, openness, freedom, equality, and love of

genuine community. It is clearly no longer enough to be simply social animals, babbling together at cocktail parties and brawling with each other in business and over boundaries. It is our task--our essential, central, crucial task--to transform ourselves from mere social creatures into community creatures. It is the only way that human evolution will be able to proceed.”

M. Scott Peck

The Different Drum: Community-Making and Peace (1)

M.Peck made this statement based on the existence of real lifecommunities. In terms of virtual communities, things are very different– if not better. I believe a virtual community can be seen as a man-made heaven in that users are given god-like powers to create and adapt personal relationships with virtual people and objects alike. They are a useful way of understanding contemporary online life as a virtual community creates endless possibilities that the real world cannot present in both online and offline lives.

A man named Abraham Maslow proposed a theory on the basis of human needs called ‘Maslow's hierarchy of needs’. In a triangle from bottom to top he lists the most important needs in a human’s life.

Reingold explains that ‘People in virtual communities do just about everything people do in real life, but we leave our bodies behind.’ Therefore to establish a true representation of the real world, a virtual community would have to include the majority of Maslow’s triangle of needs. Second Life allows a user to experience this life and is an example of a successful virtual community that includes these needs virtually and realistically.

Created by Lincon Lab in 2003, Second Life ‘is the leading virtual world development platform for the creation of virtual goods and immersive, engaging and productive 3D spaces u

sed by individuals, artists, corporations, governments, academic institutions and non-profits.’(2) The name Second Life is a true representation of itself as it offers just that, a chance to start over. The chance to have a new life, a better life. Reingold’s theories of s virtual community are not far from Maslow’s triangle. He states that a virtual community should include three things.

Firstly, individuality where people have ‘perceptions, thoughts, and personalities’ that can be adapted to certain situations. Second Life allows users to choose the look of their avatar, control their actions, buy them property, clothes, and much more. It encourages users to use the Linden Scripting Language, which allows users to personally help develop the virtual world through programming. The sky is the limit. Users can program and animate any object imaginable. They exercise individuality and creativity to create the unimaginable– a stock exchange, virtual clubs, clothing accessories, emotions, create games, London fashion week, businesses and so much more. The expansion of virtual worlds is due to the contribution of worldwide users. Together, they create Utopia.

Secondly, the ‘level of person-to-person interaction where relationships, friendships, and communities happen.’ (1) Second Life encourages users to interact with each other avatars

and explore their surroundings. The platform creates a worldwide interaction opportunity like no other. Avatars can inhabit and interact with each other as they can talk via chat or voice over’s, become friends, flirt, cuddle, join a variety of organizations and be introduced to diverse culture’s from around the world. Simulation programs have been created in Second Life. DeGast-Kennedy explains, ‘Learners

have the opportunity to become much better equipped to handle real life situations and to make more appropriate decisions on matters of urgency because Second Life gives them a tool through which they can develop these skills in a safe yet virtually real environment.’

(3) This learning tool has not only helped improve grades but has allowed learners to interact and explore actual places, landmarks and scenario’s through virtual tours. Historians can see an imitation of the Egyptian pyramids, Avatars can fly up the Eifel Tower, practicing doctors can experiment on virtual patients and Avatars can attend virtual classrooms while their user controls them from the comfort of their own homes.

It has taken Google learning and surfing the web to a whole new level by disregarding traditional learning methods. It has expanded the possibilities and boundaries of learning to a virtual encounter of real situations and scenes that books and the web alone, cannot provide.

Thirdly, a social level must be achieved– ‘a combination of communication and physical power and the role of communications media among the citizenry is particularly important in the politics of democratic societies.’ (1) Second Life has incorporated these qualities in many ways. Users can create and sell virtual good’s inworld for actual money and have full ownership of their virtual creations. ‘A recent report from market research firm Strategy Analytics predicts that the adult social virtual world population will grow from 11.5 billion in 2009 to 32.5 billion in 2015.’(4)

As the number of users continue to grow, so do the figures. Strategy Analytics predict ‘that microtransactions are expected to grow to $17.3 billion in 2015 accounting for approximately 86% of the revenue generated by virtual worlds.’(4) This virtual community is creating money out of thin air– literally. An online user and successful virtual entrepreneur, Chuang, explains ‘"This virtual role-playing economy is so strong that it now has to import skills and services from the real-world economy."(5)

Businesses have the opportunity to enter the virtual world. Live conferences, meetings, PowerPoint presentations and other learning simulations create a business friendly environment for all. They are encouraged to use the advertising advantages of Second Life and the space provided to create virtual goods.

Second Life is a useful way of understanding contemporary online life as it includes social network basics, games, music, education, business development, personal achievements, shopping, entertainment, the power of expansion and an ever growing community. Created with qualities from leading sites– Facebook, Ebay, Skype, Google, MSN and YouTube– I believe this community will continue to expand (with time and better broadband connections) into a true representation of a Utopian-ized idea of life.

Word Count: 1077

References

1.) http://www.rheingold.com/vc/book/intro.html

2.) http://develop.secondlife.com/develop-in-lsl/

3.) http://education.secondlife.com/successstories/case/loyalist/

4.) http://www.strategyanalytics.com/default.aspx?mod=PressReleaseViewer&a0=4745

5.) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15163036/

6.) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow's_hierarchy_of_needs

7.) http://work.secondlife.com/en-US/

8.) http://education.secondlife.com/whysl/

9.) http://blogs.secondlife.com/community/workinginworld/blog/2009/06/01/the-future-of-healthcare-3-questions-for-dave-taylor-of-imperial-college-london

10.) http://develop.secondlife.com/whysl/

11.) http://secondlifegrid.net/

Week 10 Lecture

Week 10

This week was spent talking about the internet filter and online safety. 'Here in Australia, three telecommunications companies – Telstra, Optus, and Primus have said they will introduce one to block child porn and it will have no impact.' (1)

It is referred to as the clean feed. There is a site protesting against this clean feed by saying:

-The filter will do almost nothing to prevent the people who are willfully making, trading, and accessing child sexual abuse material.
-The filter will not prevent children from accessing inappropriate material.
-The list of material to be banned includes much more than child sexual abuse material.

So if for instance facebook and youtube was included in this banned list what would happen? My 3 main reasons for using the web would be facebook, listening and downloading music and for academic research. If this filter illuminated 2 of my primarily reasons for using the net, it would not be fun. It would only be used for work. And as i generally don't enjoy work, it would be associated of a academic tool and used only when necessary. Also if facebook was banned, i do honestly think i will die. Or at least have to attend rehab of some sort.

China
Dont move there. They have no facebook.
Apparently china 'had already prohibited the use of YouTube and every Google service such as Gmail, Google Apps and Google Talk (all modes of communication) weeks ago. Two of the most popular social networking websites are the latest victims of media control.'
Now facebook and twitter have been prohibited too!

In this way the government has control over what people see from the outside world. They are limited by the media to live in a way the government wants them too. This is good in some ways, bad in others.
'Perhaps they believe that such an action will contain the reports or discussions of the riots or stop them from happening completely.'


The relationship between In-Q-tel and facebook?
In-Q-Tel of Arlington, Virginia, United States is a not-for-profit venture capital firm that invests in high-tech companies for the sole purpose of keeping the Central Intelligence Agency equipped with the latest in information technology in support of United States intelligence capability.
So pretty much its like the CIA. It is a very clever way of keeping track of things, but really creepy for facebook users. I can't believe it!
Look at this: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Inqtel/107816819251423
It really is connected with facebook.

What is the Government's plan?

Minister Conroy has announced that he will introduce “mandatory ISP-level filtering of Refused Classification (RC) –rated content.”¹

• The filter will be based on URL filtering of a blacklist of between 1,000 and 10,000 URLs.
• The list of URLs will be based on the current ACMA blacklist, and will be supplemented by lists from international organisations (probably IWF).
• RC computer games will be excluded from mandatory filtering until the completion of the R18+ review.
• Additional funding will be available to encourage ISPs to offer voluntary filtering systems.

References
1. http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/362341/internet_filter_remains_alive_well_conroy/
2. http://nocleanfeed.com/
3. http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/internet-filter-wont-protect-kids-20100708-102ap.html
4. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/08/government-finds-uses-social-networking-sites
5. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Inqtel/107816819251423

Course Evaluation

This course has been very interesting and relaxed. The course in itself is a true example of how much easier technology allows us to do things. I found it easy in terms of accessing weekly tasks and lectures. In some ways this is good, in others bad.

Positive feed back

Easily accessible on our blogs

interesting lectures that are relevant to our generation,

fun

helpful advise from tutors, good class discussions were very helpful in understanding tasks

the course encourages us to not be afraid of technology

It is easily adaptable and laid back

Negative feed back

Although the blog allows us to put our work into practice in a 'virtual community', i found it hard to take my work seriously by knowing it is for a blog, whereas a Word document is a more academic layout that i am used to.

Because the course is so relaxed, i felt i didn't really know the extension of research we were supposed to put into our posts. It also made it difficult to know when to stop as technology is so broad.

I feel i have not given my best in this class as I found it very hard to get into new terminology –such as cyberpunk– because I am very restricted in what i research and what i believe. I do have a much more wider outlook on technology and have become a lot more accepting of it and the culture of the online world.I do believe however, that i have learned a lot from this course in terms of understanding the web from behind the scenes for example, learning about internet filters i found very interesting as i do worry about facebook and other sites containing my information and how they will effect me in later years. It has taught me about our culture and how it is widely influenced by technology. Also the history of technology was also interesting, old inventions that were the root of a blossoming garden of new idea's.
What would we be without technology. So much has changed so quickly. The rapid growth of its existence never phases to impress me. When will it stop? If ever!

Time seems to be a large issue in this generation. So many days pass by when i think i don't know how i can keep up with it all. There are so many songs to download and listen too- i want them all. So many movies to catch up on, series shows take ages to watch and theres so many i still havn't seen, constant facebook checks incase somethings changed, update my blog, read new books, magazines, scripts. So many programs to download, games to play, people to meet, blogs to read, unanswered questions to be researched. When does it stop?! I need at least a year to catch up on every type of technology and communication tools.

But it won't stop. As we speak more and more movies, songs, programs and everything else are being produced. People like me are studying to do the exact same thing. To add to the industry. Its all we know and all were focused on. It is the future but also the present.

Week 9 Essay Topic

For the meantime i have chosen topic 4:

Is the “virtual community” (Rheingold, 1993) a useful way of understanding contemporary online life? Discuss using one example of an online community OR a video game world (Virtual community is not to be confused with a “social network” site).

I am aiming at looking at the first successful virtual communities available on the web. I want to focus on MIRC, a chat room program created by Windows. MIRC was the first virtual community i was ever introduced to. All i know so far is that it was created in 1995. I want to know what happened to it and how it contributed to the success of contemporary online life.

I want to know how social networks that include virtual communities –such as 'facebook chat'– have effected MIRC and other primarily virtual communities. I will research the history behind MIRC, its contribution to the social web and how the idea of MIRC has been readapted to many other forms of social networks and virtual communities.

To begin researching this I have started researching the background of Khaled Mardam-Bey– the creator and developer of MIRC. Also the meaning of MIRC– why is it called that? what influenced Windows to create a chat program?. I will then research other chat rooms that were released between 1995 and 2010 and compare them. I will also compare stats and ratings and how they grow over the years. MIRC has reached their 150million download mark, i need to compare this to other virtual communities.

I do believe MIRC is a useful way of understanding contemporary online life. I need to research reasons why i believe this to back up my statements.

References for myself

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIRC

http://www.mirc.com/

http://www.fullcirc.com/community/communitywhatwhy.htm

http://traffikd.com/social-media-websites/

Week 9 Lecture

This weeks lecture was on William Gibson and Cyberpunk.

I explained Cyberpunk in last weeks post so will focus more on William Gibson. In his article 'since 1948' he writes:

In 1977, facing first-time parenthood and an absolute lack of enthusiasm for anything like "career," I found myself dusting off my twelve-year-old's interest in science fiction. Simultaneously, weird noises were being heard from New York and London. I took Punk to be the detonation of some slow-fused projectile buried deep in society's flank a decade earlier, and I took it to be, somehow, a sign. And I began, then, to write.

He created the subgenre of science fiction: Cyberpunk. He mixes real events with science fiction to make a statement. I think cyberpunk is one step up from science fiction. In terms of articles and movies i think this innovative idea of joining reality and illusion together can target a much larger audience than science fiction alone. He has written breakthroughs and best sellers such as The Sprawl Trilogy, Neuromancer, The Bridge Trilogy, The Blue Ant Trilogy and many more!

Our essay assignment allows us to choose the topic of William Gibson and another writer. After researching Gibson, i don't know where to begin. Is there anything this man hasn't succeeded at? His wikipedia page is massive, exploring every achievement and contribution to the technical age known to man.

He even has twitter! You can follow him on @GreatDismal

http://www.williamgibsonbooks.com/source/source.asp

Culture Jam Assessment

Have you seen the Griffith Uni homeless guy?

A man has been seen around the GC campus sleeping in different buildings and attending classes that he is not enrolled in.

This was the rumour we tried to create. Many people actually started to believe it.

My group and I decided to create a facebook group called 'Have you seen the Griffith Uni homeless guy?'. We sent out invitations to our friends telling them it was real. We also encouraged them to write on the wall as if they had seen him to make the news to help the homeless guy we had been 'seeing'.

Alot of the wall posts were created by the group and posted on the group wall by friends we had asked, the majority of the posts are purely created by friends own initiatives. Many of my friends asked me on facebook chat if it was real, arising speculation. Many joined the group in the hopes of seeing the end result of finding the man.

Group members posted comments leading the story. Saying things such as, I wonder what he studies? I wonder where he stays?

Friends were made to comment in relation to these questions giving personalised stories of encounters with the man. This made it a whole lot believable.

A group member also posted a picture on the group to give the homeless guy a real identity. This photo (??????insert picture???) and story was also posted onto CNN's iReport with the description:

Gold Coast Homeless Uni student living on campus

There has recently been speculation about a homeless man attending university on the Gold Coast Australia. It has been said he sleeps on campus and attends lectures that he is not enrolled in. From a Facebook group, many people have seen him and contributed to his background in order to help get him a scholarship or form a way to allow him credit for the work he has done over the last 3 years in order to allow him to graduate.

This was also linked to our facebook group containing 182 members! With over 30 wall posts from different people saying they have seen/heard of/met this homeless guy, the rumour seems a whole lot more believable.

Our group also created a flyer saying 'Have you seen the Griffith Uni homeless man???' with a reference to the facebook group. These signs were put up on the community boards around the campus. Unfortunately they were removed off the notice boards after a few short days :(. However this did lead to 26 new members in the group! The flyers were good to interact with people who had not seen the group and make the rumour more feasible.

Week 8 -Corporate control over society

The 2008 South African Xenophobic attacks have lead to the death of thousands of illegal immigrants, robots, and employee’s. This may be partly due to the critical unemployment crisis. Hundreds of native South African tribes were out to kill, as foreigners and technology continued to work illegally to sustain their employment. Many were victims to killings, beatings, sexual assaults, looting and the destruction of property.

Apparently Amnesty International called the South African government to take all necessary measures to protect the human rights of people that were involved in the attacks. This narrow-minded measure was the direct cause of what was to follow.

Amnesty International protected the rights of the ‘people’ but not the robots. Robots were then seen to be rioting against their dismissal of human rights.

With unresponsive telephones, cell phones, machinery and computers– factories and offices were forced to shut down, thus creating the highest unemployment rate in the world to date. South Africa’s skyrocketing crime statistics are also a result of this failure to acknowledge Robots and their contribution to the economy.

With the entire population at a stand still many still question if the government and Amnesty International can bring the country to a sustainable level without the use of technology.

In a live broadcasted interview– former citizen– Daniel Roth replied to this action by saying, ‘I often wonder if humans deserve human rights. Maybe some competition from the machines may snap the species out of narcissistic slumber. Right now is the best time to recognize robot rights, and..’ This was then followed by an electricity failure.

As resources begin to grow scarce and having no contact or help from first world countries, South African’s are truly all alone. A crumbled economy, an extremely high crime rate and an inexistent employment rate. Where are the ‘robots’ now?

http://www.cyberpunkreview.com/category/movie/essays/

http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/news/south-africa-must-protect-those-risk-xenophobic-attack-20080530

Week 8 Cyberpunk info and lecture

This weeks lecture focused on Virtual philosophy. We watched the matrix in the lecture. This movie questions virtual philosophies and ourselves as human beings. Virtual philosophy refers to the virtual world, although it is virtual and abstract it is still very prominent. Although many things on the web are virtual and not an actual object, we can still interact with it and recognise it for what it is. Shopping online for instance,virtual images are uploaded of a product. The image does not allow one to touch, move or interact with the actual object however it allows a virtual replacement of the real thing for shoppers to interact with. They recognise it as the real product.

A definition of Cyberpunk:

Since 1990 or so, popular culture has included a movement or fashion trend that calls itself ‘cyberpunk’, associated especially with the rave/techno subculture. Hackers have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, self-described cyberpunks too often seem to be shallow trendoids in black leather who have substituted enthusiastic blathering about technology for actually learning and doing it. Attitude is no substitute for competence. On the other hand, at least cyberpunks are excited about the right things and properly respectful of hacking talent in those who have it. The general consensus is to tolerate them politely in hopes that they'll attract people who grow into being true hackers.
(http://www.answers.com/topic/cyberpunk)

I think the good thing about cyberpunk'ing is that by reading these articles and/writing them, it forces us to think about technology in a different way. It allows us to see the way technology is taking over our lives, time and the world! Many of the issues in the news in some way have a relation to technology. Whether it be infrastructure, the stock market, law suits, politics fighting over broadband etc. Its there. It is controlling our lives.

I looked for a cyberpunk on the topic: Control over society
The article is called:

Do Humanlike Machines Deserve Human Rights?

Whilst doing this i read something very interesting and very true. Basically a person comments on this article and its relation to having a control over society and the access to information.

'You control the information, you control what the sheeple think, and therefore, you control the society.'

http://www.cyberpunkreview.com/category/movie/essays/

Week 7 Tutespark

A few months back i downloaded GIMP because i didn't want to buy photoshop. I have never had photoshop so cant really compare it to anything, but i find the layout pretty easy once you get the hang of it. It was free which is good in any case. The only problem i have found with it, is that it seems to pixelate some images, or my printer just prints out the images not very clearly. Most of my friends who are photoshop users say you cannot compare GIMP to photoshop but for a free application it is well worth the download.

Iv downloaded Mozilla Thunderbird. I generally like to stick to the usual hotmail/mac email programs because its what i know and what i am used to. It has helped get rid of alot of my junk mail i always recieve after signing up to stupid scams and things on the internet. Im sooo glad because im so sick of them and theyy are tyring to delete.

Firefox is the shizzz niz! It makes me dread going on a pc that doesn't have it. I find the layout more modern and 'not so square n cold'. It doesn't have unneccessary icons everywhere that we hardly use. There's more space for tabs. Basically it is simple. Simplicity is more effective.

Week 7- Tutorial task

1. What is creative commons and how could this licensing framework be relevant to your own experience at university?

Definition of: Creative Commons

An organization that has defined an alternative to copyrights by filling in the gap between full copyright, in which no use is permitted without permission, and public domain, where permission is not required at all. Creative Commons' licenses let people copy and distribute the work under specific conditions, and general descriptions, legal clauses and HTML tags for search engines are provided for several license options.

http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia_term/0,2542,t=Creative+Commons&i=40468,00.asp

Creative Commons can be relative to my experience at Uni because it gives me freedom to embark on an old idea. I can build on the work of others if i stick to the copyright laws that the creator has set. This would allow me to take an idea further or alter something to make it better, i can experiment with someone else's work legally. Dj's do this quiet often as they remix songs together and create a single song into different genre's whilst obiding the copyright laws. In uni this makes it legal to put my work into practise in hopes of learning and expanding my degree. Appropriating art, using images in my slideshows, post things on my blog, edit music, learn from other creations. Creative Commons.org explains this more clearly..

We provide free licenses and other legal tools to mark creative work with the freedom the creator wants it to carry, so others can share, remix, use commercially, or any combination thereof.

Creative Commons

This video is what its all about

2. Find 3 examples of works created by creative commons and embed them in your blog.

#1

#2

#3

3. Find an academic article which discusses creative commons using a database or online journal. Provide a link to and a summary of the article.

http://www.informaworld.com.libraryproxy.griffith.edu.au/smpp/section?content=a727322970&fulltext=713240928

This article focus's on copyright laws of folk music and its commercial control. It talks about thelengths a copyright should be restricted to and the rights folk music should have to prevent people changing it completely. It also speaks about the gradual extension of copyright regulation and how it has changed over the years. '1) continuity, whereby the same songs can be found in different places, (2) variation, whereby subtle differences may be found in each manifestation of the song and (3) selection, whereby variants of the song will be judged by the community and accepted and passed on or, if not favoured, discarded.' are the three things a folk song should have. Compilations, infringement and copy right and leasing are all big threats to the folk music industry. They state 'the folk song is, by definition, and as far as we can tell, by reality, entirely a product of plagiarism' and question the right of Creative Commons.

4. Have a look at Portable Apps (a pc based application) – provide a brief description of what it isand how you think this is useful.

(2) An application stored on a USB flash drive that can run on a computer without leaving any trace of itself when the application is finished. It is designed to restore all changed settings when the program is closed. Non-U3 portable applications are typically dependent on a particular brand of USB drive. U3 applications require U3-enabled flash drives.

RFRNCE

Portable Apps allows people to carry information on their USB, ipod or memory card without leaving any traces of it behind when it is disconnected. Portable apps are a free collection of games, computer applications and files that can be put onto a USB for easy access. Its handy when on the go. People can download programmes they want and use them on public computers that wouldn't normally have these programs and when they disconnect the USB all information will be terminated off the public computer.

RFRNCE

Week 6- Tutespark

Leading on from the lecture on online privacy & social networking....


Who owns the content you put on the internet on various sites?

This includes pictures, video, text, etc?

Think about all the content you upload onto social networking sites - Do you own it?

Who has the right to use your creations?


I found this quote on a website.....'You hereby grant Facebook an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, fully paid, worldwide license (with the right to sublicense) to (a) use, copy, publish, stream, store, retain, publicly perform or display, transmit, scan, reformat, modify, edit, frame, translate, excerpt, adapt, create derivative works and distribute (through multiple tiers), any User Content you (i) Post on or in connection with the Facebook Service or the promotion thereof subject only to your privacy settings or (ii) enable a user to Post, including by offering a Share Link on your website and (b) to use your name, likeness and image for any purpose, including commercial or advertising, each of (a) and (b) on or in connection with the Facebook Service or the promotion thereof.'

We have the right to delete our account but facebook is still aloud access to all of our old stuff that was on their. Its pretty shocking, we don't realise the power they actually have against us.

There terms and conditions state: 'You may remove your User Content from the Site at any time. If you choose to remove your User Content, the license granted above will automatically expire, however you acknowledge that the Company may retain archived copies of your User Content.'

Its all written in the small detail that nobody bothers to read. Even though we know this agreement is risky we still agree to join it. But why? Why do we all spend half our time looking into lives of friends virtually. Why not just be with them.

The thing about facebook is that it creates a whole new world of oppurtuintys. I have immagrated from South Africa and experienced every birthday party, funny event or the latest gossip via facebook. I am still connected to the people that are no longer a part of my current life. I don't know what i would do without it. It is highly addicting, highly entertaining and informative and a link to a virtual world i no longer live in. For this reason, i personally will risk my information on the net to be apart of this social community.

I choose what goes on there, i limit photo's and comments. My personal details are just that, personal. They are not available on facebook and therefore i feel confident enough to allow facebook to have control of my photos, videos and comments.
I do however think they have created a 'treaty' that is very risky and rather unfair. Why would they want the right to our personal information? Its manipulative and really suspicious and probably i cannot relate to it until something has been used against me.

I must admit, when seeing a drunk tagged photo of me i do believe that when i am famous some 'virtual-only' friend will exploit it to the media and it will be spread across gossip magazines circling area's of my body to highlight the result of to much booze.

What i don't like about social networks- Every1 knows everything about what you say and do, you cant say 'i hate my job' cause ur boss is always around, i cant write a status about just anything it is limited and has to be appropriate to the friends i know are watching. 'Dam my boyfriends moms annoying.' whooooooooooooops.

its annoying. For this reason twitter is the shiznizz! no one has twitter accept celebritys who only care about themseleves anyways. My account is on private, no-one can follow me accept the ppl i choose, no-one knows where im from, what i look like or who i am. Its great.

Even still people own my posts. They own me. Facebook owns me. Twitter owns me. They can pretty much do whatever they like with my information. This is why the virtual world is not as fun as it could be. There are always limits. So if i cant trust twitter, or myspace or facebook or possibly even tumblr. I just blog. My friends dont know about it, my email is different and my name is not used or location. Its a way to release and connect with other people that you feel you can be open to. No embarassment, no limits. Its a freedom like no other.

Week 6

If you are reading this, like me, you are involved in a virtual community. Meaning we are people who communicate with others via the internet. What makes us different from each other is when we choose to express our individual identity. First signs of this may have been chat rooms- a place to create a name that presents yourself. A place to talk to unknown people about things you wouldnt usually say to a stranger, or a friend even. A place where 'hot_lad101' could be a fat forty year old whos spent the last 15 years of his life sitting on a couch scoffing dorito's. BUT if he is creative, can say the right words, never show his picture and lie about every aspect of his life, he might actually be the guy for you ;) ha!

Internet dating is also a way to have a second hope of finding the perfect soulmate. My aunty actually met a guy online while she was in South Africa and him a South African living in Australia. They talked for about a year, she came over for a few holidays. Eventually she sold her house, immagrated and married him! 3 years ago she never thought she'd be living in a different country, married to a man she didn't previously know and be pregnant at 42! The internet has given her- and many others- hope. Its like having a best friend with you all the time.

Sharing interests is a whole lot easier online. You can admit to having a nasty rash is a random area and people who arn't doctors can help you sort that shizz out! Its amazing! You can get a recipe, a quote, lyrics, order pizza, dictionary, movie times and every other thing you need in your daily lives in seconds!

The ego-centric social network has taken over where people have formed more of their own individual identity instead of joining groups. The individual is becoming the main source of entertainment or information. No longer is it about 'you or me' its about I. I went to the beach today. I hate julia gilard. I have this nasty rash that wont heal.

Social netweorks have grown over the last few years, facebook -as we know- has expanded the most. What i have noticed in the 3 years of having facebook is that the more my friends grow the more addicted i get to facebook. With every new friend an extra few minutes a day is added on to stalking people, writing on walls, replying to notifications, making my profile give me a good image, wonder who's stalked who, check up on X boyfriends and hope their still single etc.

But why? why do we care? Why do we care who is at the gym and 'apparently' not really working out as they update their status. Its small minuscular things that dont matter but by knowing these things we connect, share interests, agree, disagree, get educated, laugh and so much more. I am highly highly addicted to facebook and twitter. As my alarm goes off at 6.30 i lie in bed with blury eyes trying to focus on anything i may have missed in the last 8 hours. Im on it so much that i get each notification one by one, sometimes ill be on twitter on my phone and facebook on my computer so that i can see both at the same time.

It is ridiculous and because its information and socialising with friends i think of it as harmless. But it actually is harmful! Its harmful to my education at Griffith that i put on hold to talk to friends that i hardly talk to in real life, its harmful to my internet bill, harmful to my body as i sit here all day in a room while the sun is shining, harmful during a breakup, harmful having to have a connection with your parents friends who you find very rude but felt obliged to accept their friend request, harmful to real life socialising as we sit on our phones and harmful to our eyes that forget to blink. I actually had a twitch in one eye for months and had to go to doctors and message therapists to make it stop. how ridiculous is that!

HOMEWORK

'There is a false rumor that Facebook shares your location without your knowledge or consent. You control your information on Facebook. With Facebook Places, you choose when to share your location by checking in or allowing friends to check you in. Your location is never given to anyone automatically.'

http://www.facebook.com/careers/life.php this video is inspiring!!! just found it now!

What the 2009 Horizon report predicted

I wrote this essay a while ago on the 2009 Horizon report. I enjoy reading them yearly. Its interesting how predictions are normally so accurate. When writing this previously i was astonished and excited for these new innovation and now that most of them are here it seems so normal.

We live in an evolving decade that innovations are fluid and ever-present. We constantly have access to technology that presents us with freedom and endless opportunities while protecting our freedom of expression and privacy (Anton, 2009). Technology has not only made our society more independent but also made information easily accessible from anywhere in the world, at any time. The Internet has presented a global platform for information, personal expression, innovation and economic development that has not only shaped our lifestyles but our minds too (Anton, 2009). Few could have predicted that at the start of 2009, one-and-a-half-billion people worldwide access the Internet. It has also globalized education and enabled educational institutions to be able to offer courses to students anywhere in the world (Bonga,2007).

The 2009 Horizons Report aims to predict upcoming successful technology that will be used to expand teaching, learning, research, or creative applications within the next 5 years. Six merging technologies including Mobiles, Cloud Computing, Geo-everything, The Personal Web, Semantic-Aware Applications and Smart objects aim to create an evolving future of excellence.

Mobiles, single portable devices that can make phone calls, take pictures, record audio and video, store data, music, movies, and interact with the Internet all in the palm of our hands. The mobile device will be the primary connection tool to the Internet for most people in the world in 2020 (Rainie, 2008). Mobiles have enabled student’s information of every kind so satisfy their every need. They have become a gadget consisting of very educational need possible thus eliminating other necessities being calculators, watches, laptops, cameras, iPods, video recorders and diary’s as mobiles continue to combine every technology into one device.

In 2007 a platform called Android was created to allow devices to communicate with one another creating social applications. Privacy is of a concern to fellow consumers as some might not want to notify others of their vicinity. This insight to an open virtual world includes voice texting with automatic spelling correction, direct uploads to you tube and a 360degree-rotating screen (Chu, 2008). These devices should be seen in the next year.

Like Mobiles, Cloud computing is also seen to appear in one year or less. Cloud computing aims to create a platform where applications are easily accessible by users on the web instead of their computers. This benefits us as it is in a virtual space therefore no destruction can be done to it and the user will have permanent access to their files form anywhere in the world. Tools are easily available on the Cloud, sharing data is fast and simple and applications are always available, saving clients large amounts of money and time. It is estimated that within the next five years, the annual global market for cloud computing will surge to $95 billion (King, 2008). While this seems like the perfect innovation, people worry about the possible misuse of their information as secondary data (Horrigan, 2008).

There are also worries of privacy with Geo-everything. Geo-everything refers to a program that is used to show location with just two co-ordinates. It determines and captures the location of a person, an object or a place. By taking a photo of an object or area a built-in geolocative program tags it and can track down where it is. The device incorporates our experiences in the real world with the virtual world online changing the way we think, behave, and interact. By looking at your mobile handheld map, your photos will appear in the areas they were taken in (Pash, 2008). A virtual geocaching is a drop box online used to store images and other media of any specific location, a perfect set-up to educate virtual tourists.

Many are concerned the upcoming technology will be abused and made sleazy, isolating as well as the abuse of people privacy. GPS has improved convenience of our life, it has also degenerated and worsened our integrity and privacy. As Iphones can upload images directly onto a map, one can trace another’s photos. If some of these images include a persons house or many photos from one area, people can instantly know where one another live, making it very dangerous. Cell phones can be used to pinpoint your location and a skilled hacker could likely get that data from your mobile carrier (Honan, 2009).

The personal web explores tagging, aggregating, updating, and keeping track of content of a persons personal need. Personalized windows to the networked world display ones interests, social and professional activities. Facebook, Twitter and Myspace are in the mainstream and encouraging personal web use, being a member of all three myself I find them very addicting, enjoyable, sociable and very time consuming when trying to write a Horizons report. It aims to educate at the same time as a means for personal and professional reflection. People are able to interact, voice their opinions and see things in a different light. Friends are updated on your online actions, which can be seen as stalking to a degree. As profiles educate others on your life it may cause real life social interaction problems as some can only socialize in the virtual world (Holland, 09).

Semantic-aware applications are tools designed to make the use of a search engine, a whole lot easier and more like the human mind. No longer will keywords be necessary in a few years as use this tool aims to understand a question being asked and provides a direct answer saving time and effort when researching. As it still has programming faults it is expected to be seen in 4-5 years. However for the first time society can see a foundational shift in technology well in advance of its arrival (Ohler, 2008). It is a Pro-based invention that many others and I wait in suspense for.

In a similar time frame, it is expected for smart objects to head into the mainstream in 4-5 years too. They aim to connect the physical world with the world of information, as objects will know what they are, where they are and why they were made. By scanning your objects you give them a sense of being. This smart object can identify your belongings, tell you the weather, guide you to a destination thus incorporating the Internet into every object in the world as the virtual world will be the heart of every appliance. They will aim to make every day life simpler and faster, soon some objects will be able to know a lot more about what you want to know. One of the major problems people think will arise from smart objects is our own personal security, privacy, and safety. People can be tagged just as easily as objects. The question is, will people care about being tagged when their Smart Fridge texts them to tell them their low on milk (Timo, 2008).

We say technology brings freedom and endless opportunities as our economy expands in many new and exciting ways, but is having your life recorded back to front on the easily accessible web really a good idea? By living in the virtual world so often, will we be set back from real life experiences as we are continuously pulled into this ever-evolving growing market? Only time will tell, but until then I look forward to these New and Emerging Media Technologies.